NextMinute is built for staged residential builds, tracking variations and progress claims against a signed contract that runs for months. Tradify is built for quick turnaround jobs, quoted and invoiced inside a week. They share the basics, scheduling, mobile apps, Xero sync, but the job each one is actually good at is different enough that picking wrong costs you months of fighting the tool.
What is NextMinute built around?
NextMinute started in Auckland in 2008, founded by Simon Greenwood, and as at July 2026 it's still an independent, unfunded Kiwi company, not folded into one of the bigger overseas platforms that have been buying up this space. That matters, because the product is shaped around the job type it was built for: a residential build or major renovation that runs for months and gets invoiced in stages, not all at once at the end.
The features prove it. NextMinute tracks variations from the site: log a change, get the client's written approval in one tap, and the approved variation rolls onto the next progress claim automatically instead of you trying to remember it at handover. It reports actuals against budget in real time, by job and by stage, so a cost blowout on stage two shows up before you're three stages in and can't do anything about it. Purchase orders, a site diary, equipment charge tracking, all built around the same shape of job: long, staged, and running on a signed contract.
Pricing follows the same logic. As at July 2026, NextMinute charges by crew size, not by seat: its Tradie Growth plan is NZ$199 a month for a crew of three to nine, Tradie Pro is $349 a month for ten to fourteen, and every plan includes the full feature set regardless of tier. Add a labourer partway through a job and the bill doesn't move until you cross a crew-size line. For the full spread including ServiceM8, I've covered all four of the main options in the NZ job management software guide.
What is Tradify built for?
Tradify solves a different problem. It's built for the quote, do the job, invoice, move on to the next one loop that service trades run all day, plumbing, electrical, general maintenance, jobs that start and finish inside a week. It's the most widely used job management tool in NZ trades, and being easy to pick up is most of why. A tidy mobile app, a gentle learning curve, and a Xero sync reviewers consistently rate well.
What it doesn't cover is the staged, contract-driven side of construction. There's no deep variations workflow and no progress-claim engine tracking approved changes against a build contract over months. Tradify was scoped for jobs measured in days, not stages measured in months, and it does that job well. If you're weighing Tradify specifically against a NZ-built rival with more job-costing depth, I've written that comparison up separately in Tradify or Fergus.
On pricing, Tradify runs per user rather than per crew: as at July 2026, its entry plan starts around $48 per person per month, climbing through mid and top tiers as you add features. There is no crew band and no base fee: the bill is the tier price times the number of people using it. One thing worth knowing before you commit: Tradify was bought by the UK's Access Group in October 2024, in a deal reportedly worth more than NZ$100 million, with founder Curtis Bailey staying on. The product still trades under the Tradify name and nothing about day-to-day use has changed, but it's no longer a standalone NZ company the way NextMinute still is, and that's worth factoring in if who owns the software you build your business around matters to you.
The tell
If you invoice in stages against a signed contract, if a job runs for months and gets paid out at framing, lock-up and completion, NextMinute is doing exactly the job it was built for, and Tradify will leave you bolting on workarounds for variations and progress billing. If your jobs start and finish inside a week or two and you're moving straight to the next one all day, Tradify's speed and mobile-first workflow will beat NextMinute's staged-build machinery every time, because you'll never touch most of it.
Most businesses know which one they are within a sentence. If you're not sure, count how many active jobs run longer than four weeks. Most of them, NextMinute. Almost none, Tradify. NextMinute isn't the only staged-build specialist either. If Ascora's on your shortlist too, see Ascora or NextMinute for that comparison.
Pricing at realistic team sizes
Figures below are indicative NZD amounts as at July 2026. Both companies change plans and pricing periodically, so check the current rate before you budget against them.
| Crew size | NextMinute | Tradify |
|---|---|---|
| 3 people | ~$199/month (Tradie Growth, flat to 9 users) | ~$144/month (3 × ~$48/user) |
| 8 people | ~$199/month (same plan, still under 9) | ~$384/month (8 × ~$48/user) |
| 12 people | ~$349/month (Tradie Pro, 10-14 users) | ~$576/month (12 × ~$48/user) |
The pattern matters more than the exact dollar figures. NextMinute prices by crew band, so growing your team from three to nine people costs nothing extra until you cross into the next tier. Tradify prices per seat, so every person you add moves the bill directly. If you're a small crew doing staged builds, NextMinute's pricing model works in your favour twice, once on fit, once on cost as you grow. The band boundaries and the exact crossover maths are worked through in the NextMinute pricing post.
What to check before you switch
Two things matter more than either sales pitch.
Data export. Ask exactly what comes out if you ever leave: contacts, job history, quotes, invoices, and in what format. A vendor that makes it easy to get your own data out is usually more trustworthy than one that goes quiet on the question.
Existing job history. If you're mid-build on a job when you switch, work out whether that job's history, variations approved so far, progress claims already invoiced, timesheets logged, migrates cleanly or whether you're re-entering it by hand. Most vendors will run a trial or a parallel period. Use it on a real, messy, in-progress job, not a clean demo one, before you commit your whole crew to the move.
Questions I get on these two
Is NextMinute the same kind of tool as Tradify?
No. NextMinute is built around staged residential construction: tracking variations, progress claims and job costing against a signed contract that runs for months. Tradify is built around quick turnaround service jobs that are quoted, done and invoiced inside a week. They share basics like scheduling and Xero sync, but the core job each one is designed for is different.
How much do NextMinute and Tradify cost in NZ?
As at July 2026, NextMinute prices by crew size: NZ$199 a month for three to nine users, NZ$349 a month for ten to fourteen. Tradify prices per user, from around $48 a person a month on its entry plan. Both change pricing periodically, so check the current rate before budgeting.
Is NextMinute still an independent NZ company?
Yes, as at July 2026. NextMinute was founded in Auckland in 2008 by Simon Greenwood and remains an independent, unfunded New Zealand company. Tradify, by contrast, was acquired by the UK's Access Group in October 2024, though it still trades under the Tradify name.
How do I know which one fits my business?
Check how you invoice. If most of your jobs run for months and get paid out in stages against a contract, with variations along the way, NextMinute is built for that. If your jobs start and finish inside a week or two and you move straight to the next one, Tradify's quicker, simpler workflow will suit you better.
Still not sure which shape your business is?
Free 30-minute call. I don't sell either product, so you'll get a straight read, including "just use Tradify".