Each one comes down to a single number or a single question. This page is for finding the right head-to-head fast, not for reading my opinion of all of them at once.
Just want the numbers? The price index puts every verified figure in one table, checked quarterly.
Want the ranking rather than a head-to-head? That's four tools handle most NZ tradies, which covers all of them side by side. Already paying for two of them and want the total? The stack cost checker adds it up.
Whether knowing your margin per job matters more than the tool being easy to learn.
Read →Job volume per head. One bills by the job, the other by the person, so the cheaper option flips on the shape of your work.
Read →Whether your jobs are staged builds with progress claims, or fast turnarounds. Also crew pricing against per-seat.
Read →Whether your work is jobs or projects. One is a public-priced subscription, the other a scoped quote with implementation.
Read →Not a choice: GeoOp stopped taking new users after the Access takeover. Where NZ crews land, and what to export first.
Read →Retentions and formal progress claims, and whether you want to be billed in AUD.
Read →The tier-by-tier maths, worked at 5, 10 and 20 staff, including where the job-volume model stops being the cheap one.
Read →Xero retired it in June 2024. Three options, not the two everyone assumes.
Read →What you already pay for. An eligible Microsoft 365 subscription includes more than most firms realise.
Read →One question about relationships and row-level security. Usually the answer is the free one.
Read →The shape of your data, and whether the formula language can build the interface you actually need.
Read →They are not the same product and they are not priced the same way. This one catches people out constantly.
Read →Whether the job needs judgement. One trigger and one fixed set of steps does not, and the flow is far cheaper.
Read →High-volume system-to-system work, anonymous public apps, and jobs where the per-user licence outgrows the time saved.
Read →Every page above assumes you are picking from a shelf. Sometimes the right answer is that no product on the shelf fits, and the 30% it does not cover is where your margin lives. That is the work I actually sell, so treat what follows as interested rather than neutral.
The two numbers worth knowing before you take that seriously: what custom automation actually costs a Canterbury trades business, and what a custom Power App costs in New Zealand. If either makes you wince, buy the subscription. That is the recommendation more often than not.