Contractor Foreman vs Joist
We give Contractor Foreman and Joist the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Contractor Foreman grades higher on value for money and features. Joist grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Contractor Foreman
Construction management for contractors, priced by team size
Joist
Estimates, invoices and payments app for solo contractors
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAContractor ForemanGood | 2.6GPAJoistGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStandard is $105 a month billed yearly ($139 monthly) for up to 3 users. It's built for construction, so we graded it against its listed rivals, and the two that publish prices, Houzz Pro and Service Fusion, cost a crew of three about twice as much or more. | CRun, the plan with visit scheduling, is $58.33 a month billed yearly ($70 monthly) at a 30% introductory price with no end date. Joist sells to solo contractors and doesn't say how many people a plan covers, so we can't say what a crew of three pays. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day free trial, longer than most here. There's no free plan, and the 100-day money-back guarantee only covers yearly Plus and up, which isn't a free way in anyway. | CA 14-day trial of Run with no card needed. The free plan has been discontinued. |
| Features | BEstimates with AI takeoffs, Gantt and crew schedules, daily logs, change orders, AIA-style progress invoices with retainage, time cards, a client portal, and service tickets for dispatching calls. The whole job for a builder, with service work covered too. | CEstimates to invoices, online payments and deposits, homeowner financing, change orders on Elite and job scheduling on Run. Good at quoting and billing, but there's no dispatch, routing or crew management in its listing. |
| Ease of use | C4.32 from 557 App Store ratings, a step below most apps here. And with this many modules there's a fair bit to set up, which is why the bigger plans throw in free implementation help. | A4.75 from 14,362 App Store ratings. Turning an approved estimate into an invoice takes a few taps without retyping, which is the whole appeal. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Stripe, Gusto, Zapier, CompanyCam and Google and Outlook calendars. No desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, but the only integration listed is QuickBooks. No desktop app. |
| Best for | small contractors running construction projects | solo contractors who quote from their phone |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Contractor Foreman and Joist. How we grade
Price against what you get
Contractor Foreman starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Joist starts at $8.34 a month and scores 3.0.
Joist scores higher and starts $40.66 a month lower. Of the other field service apps on the chart, 3 score higher than Contractor Foreman for less, and none scores higher than Joist for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Contractor Foreman starts at $49 per month for 1 user, billed annually. Joist starts at $8.34 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly).
- Contractor Foreman also covers Gantt & timelines, time tracking and reports.
- Joist also covers expense tracking and review collection.
At a glance
| Contractor Foreman | Joist | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month for 1 user, billed annually | $8.34 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial | 14-day free trial of the Run plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Contractor Foreman | Joist, Inc. |
| Price read from | contractorforeman.com | joist.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Contractor Foreman
- General contractors who want project management priced by team size
- Subcontractors that bill on AIA progress invoices with retainage
- Construction firms that also run service and warranty calls
Joist
- Solo contractors who mainly need estimates, invoices and payments
- General contractors and handymen quoting from a phone on site
- Part-time contractors sending only a few documents a month
Worth knowing
Contractor Foreman
- It is built around construction projects, so a service trade that only needs dispatch and invoicing gets many tools it will not use.
- Basic covers 1 user and is sold only on yearly billing; the next steps are 3, 8, 15 and unlimited users.
- Local material pricing from 1build is not included on Basic or Standard.
- The 100-day money-back guarantee applies to yearly Plus, Pro and Unlimited plans; monthly plans get 30 days.
Joist
- Basics allows only 5 documents a month; unlimited estimates and invoices start on Pro.
- Scheduling and job organization are only on Run, whose 30% introductory discount has no stated end date.
- The free plan has been discontinued; the 14-day trial is the only way to try it free.
- The AI Receptionist is a $49-a-month add-on, and Joist Payments charges standard processing fees.
Key features
Contractor Foreman
- Estimates, takeoffs and bids
- Estimates with bulk and line-item markups, takeoffs measured from uploaded plans with a built-in AI helper, and side-by-side comparison of subcontractor bids.
- Gantt and crew scheduling
- A Gantt chart scheduler for projects, a crew schedule the team can check on their phones, and calendars that sync with Google and Outlook.
- Progress billing and change orders
- AIA G702 and G703 style progress invoices with retainage tracking, change orders that update the contract, and card or ACH payments through Stripe.
- Field records
- Daily logs, punchlists, inspections, permits, safety meetings, incident reports and time cards, all tied to the project and its costs.
- Service tickets and work orders
- Service tickets handle dispatching, scheduling and time on service and warranty calls; work orders cover small jobs without a full project.
- Client portal and documents
- A client portal shows progress and shared files, a document writer fills contracts and lien waivers, and drawings and PDFs can be marked up.
Joist
- Estimates to invoices
- Build estimates with line items and photos, then turn an approved estimate into an invoice in a few taps without retyping it.
- Online payments and deposits
- Clients pay online and you can request deposits; processing fees can be passed on to the client, and homeowner financing is offered on every plan.
- Change orders and reports
- Elite adds change orders, license and insurance details on documents, and business and sales reports.
- Jobs and scheduling on Run
- Run organizes work into jobs, schedules visits and links each job to its estimates, invoices and client.
- Expenses and QuickBooks
- Track expenses against jobs, see real-time reports, and sync with QuickBooks to keep the books current.
- AI Receptionist add-on
- For $49 a month, an AI receptionist answers missed calls while you work and records new leads for follow-up.
Plans
Contractor Foreman
Basic$49
per month for 1 user, billed annually
$588 a year; sold on yearly billing only. The material database is included without local pricing.
Standard$105
per month for up to 3 users, billed annually ($139 billed monthly)
$1,264 a year. The material database is included without local pricing.
Plus$166
per month for up to 8 users, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
$1,997 a year, with a 100-day money-back guarantee on yearly billing or 30 days on monthly.
Pro$221
per month for up to 15 users, billed annually ($279 billed monthly)
$2,654 a year. Marked most popular; adds free setup and implementation help.
Unlimited$332
per month for unlimited users, billed annually ($399 billed monthly)
$3,984 a year for any number of users, with free setup and implementation help.
Joist
Basics$8.34
per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)
$100 a year. Up to 5 documents a month, estimates to invoices, online payments, AI tools and homeowner financing.
Pro$14.17
per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly)
$170 a year. Unlimited documents and clients, your logo, line items with photos, client activity tracking and work orders.
Elite$26.67
per month, billed annually ($32 billed monthly)
$320 a year. Adds license and insurance details, change orders, business and sales reports, Joist Reviews and social integrations.
Run$58.33
per month, billed annually ($70 billed monthly)
Introductory price, 30% off a crossed-out $100 a month, with no end date given. Adds job organization and visit scheduling.
Ways to pay less
Contractor Foreman
- Annual discount
Save up to $804 a year with annual billing
Yearly billing lowers Standard from $139 to $105 a month, Plus from $199 to $166, Pro from $279 to $221 and Unlimited from $399 to $332.
Joist
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Yearly billing costs $100 for Basics, $170 for Pro and $320 for Elite, against $10, $17 and $32 billed monthly.
