Housecall Pro vs Joist
We give Housecall Pro and Joist the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Housecall Pro grades higher on features. Joist grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Housecall Pro
Scheduling, quotes and payments for home service businesses
Joist
Estimates, invoices and payments app for solo contractors
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHousecall ProGood | 2.6GPAJoistGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $59 a month but holds 1 user, so a crew of three starts on Essentials: $149 a month billed yearly ($189 monthly) for up to 5 users. That's the middle of what this category charges. Route optimization and service plans wait for Max at $299. | 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 14-day trial of the Max plan with no card needed, which is the usual deal here. There's no free plan to fall back on afterwards. | CA 14-day trial of Run with no card needed. The free plan has been discontinued. |
| Features | BOnline booking, scheduling and dispatch, estimates, invoices, card and bank payments, a price book, job costing and review requests, with routes, GPS and checklists on Essentials. That's the whole job. AI call answering and payroll cost extra. | 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 | B4.65 from 31,013 App Store ratings, more ratings than any other app in this category. The crew app runs in English and Spanish and techs can still view jobs offline. | 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, Thumbtack, Google Local Services, Gusto, Mailchimp and CompanyCam. Zapier and the open API need Max, and there's no desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, but the only integration listed is QuickBooks. No desktop app. |
| Best for | home service crews that take bookings online | 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: Housecall Pro and Joist. How we grade
Price against what you get
Housecall Pro starts at $59 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Joist starts at $8.34 a month and scores 3.0.
They score the same, and Joist starts $50.66 a month lower. Of the other field service apps on the chart, 2 score higher than Housecall Pro 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
- Housecall Pro starts at $59 per month for 1 user, billed annually ($79 billed monthly). Joist starts at $8.34 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly).
- Housecall Pro also covers appointment booking.
- Joist also covers expense tracking.
At a glance
| Housecall Pro | Joist | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $59 per month for 1 user, billed annually ($79 billed monthly) | $8.34 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Max plan, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of the Run plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Housecall Pro (Codefied Inc.) | Joist, Inc. |
| Price read from | housecallpro.com | joist.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Housecall Pro
- Home service trades such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical and cleaning
- Owner-operators who want booking, dispatch and payments in one app
- Teams with Spanish-speaking technicians
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
Housecall Pro
- Basic includes 1 user, Essentials 5 and Max 8; the pricing page prices extra users only on Max, at $35 a month each.
- Route optimization, recurring service plans, Zapier and the open API are only on Max, the plan sold through a demo.
- Card processing starts at 2.59% a transaction and bank payments carry a 1% fee.
- AI call answering, payroll, bookkeeping, websites and vehicle GPS are add-ons with no price on the pricing page.
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
Housecall Pro
- Scheduling and dispatch
- Assign technicians to jobs on a shared schedule. Essentials adds routes and phone-based employee GPS tracking; Max reorders a day's jobs by live drive time.
- Estimates, invoices and payments
- Send estimates by text or email, invoice from the field, take cards and bank payments, deposit checks in the app and offer customers financing.
- Online booking and reviews
- Customers can book and pay online from Google or the business's own website, and review tools ask for reviews after the job and help share them.
- Price book and job costing
- A price book keeps service prices current and job costing tracks what each job costs. Essentials adds flat-rate pricing with margins and commission rates.
- Crew mobile app
- The iOS and Android app works in English and Spanish, with offline viewing, and from Essentials adds job checklists and annotated photo reports.
- Service plans and add-ons
- Max adds recurring maintenance agreements and visual sales proposals. AI call answering, payroll, bookkeeping, websites and vehicle GPS are sold separately.
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
Housecall Pro
Basic$59
per month for 1 user, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)
Online booking, scheduling and dispatch, estimates, invoicing and payments, a price book, job costing and review management.
Essentials$149
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($189 billed monthly)
Adds routes, flat-rate pricing, checklists, photo reports, employee GPS tracking, commissions and QuickBooks Online sync.
Max$299
per month for up to 8 users, billed annually ($329 billed monthly)
Adds route optimization, recurring service plans, the sales proposal tool, the open API and a dedicated onboarding specialist. Extra users $35/mo each.
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
Housecall Pro
- Annual discount
Save $20 to $40 a month with annual billing
Annual billing lowers Basic from $79 to $59 a month, Essentials from $189 to $149 and Max from $329 to $299.
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.
