The short version: Tradify prices one flat rate per user, $48 to $62 a month, with no crew band and no volume discount. Fergus prices by plan instead, ServiceM8 charges by job volume, simPRO is quoted for heavier project work, and NextMinute's crew bands undercut Tradify outright past five people. A Microsoft 365 build is the fifth option for firms already on the licence.
Why crews look beyond Tradify
Two things in Tradify's own pricing structure send people shopping, and both are stated plainly on its own pricing page rather than inferred. The first is that there is no base fee and no crew band: the bill is the tier price multiplied by everyone who uses it, so every hire adds $48 to $62 a month forever with no discount for headcount. The second is tier-gating: timesheets and progress invoicing sit behind Pro at $52, and purchase orders and bulk invoicing sit behind Plus at $62, so a crew that wants one Plus feature pays the higher tier for every single seat, not just the person who uses it. A crew that wants a band that gets cheaper per head, or a plan that isn't priced per seat at all, has reason to look at the four below.
The alternatives, priced side by side
All figures are NZD ex GST, verified on this site's own pricing posts for each tool.
| Alternative | Published price | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Fergus | $53 to $75 a month by plan, timesheet seats from $26 | A crew that wants plan-based pricing with a cheaper seat for field-only staff. |
| ServiceM8 | $29 to $349 a month by job volume, unlimited users | Small crews running high job counts, where per-user billing punishes headcount. |
| simPRO | Quoted per business, no published price | Staged commercial work, maintenance contracts across sites, and stock control. |
| NextMinute | $199 a month for 3 to 9 people, $349 for 10 to 14 | Crews of five or more, where the band beats Tradify's per-user rate outright. |
| Build on Microsoft 365 | Dataverse NZ$32.40 a user a month, Power BI Pro NZ$22.60, typically $8,000 to $18,000 to build | Firms already on M365 that want to own the job tracker rather than rent one. |
The job list, quoting record and a WIP view can be built directly on the Microsoft 365 licence a firm already pays for: Dataverse at NZ$32.40 a user a month, with Power BI Pro at NZ$22.60 for whoever reads the report. A build like that typically runs $8,000 to $18,000, a fixed number regardless of headcount. It does not replace Xero or the accounting sync each of the four tools above ships with, that stays exactly where it is; what it replaces is the per-seat subscription itself.
Common questions
What are the cheapest alternatives to Tradify for a small NZ crew?
ServiceM8 is cheapest for a small crew with normal job volumes, from $29 a month with unlimited users, since Tradify's $48-a-user Lite plan has no volume discount at all. NextMinute's $199 band overtakes Tradify's per-user rate once a crew reaches five people. Fergus prices by plan from $53 a month rather than by seat. simPRO publishes no price; it's quoted per business.
Does Tradify get more expensive than these alternatives as a crew grows?
Yes, because Tradify has no crew band or base fee, so the bill is the tier price multiplied by every user, forever. A nine-person crew on Lite pays $432 a month; the same nine people on NextMinute's band pay $199. ServiceM8 stays flat regardless of headcount too, since it's priced by job volume with unlimited logins on every paid tier.
Can a Microsoft 365 build replace Tradify?
For the job list, quoting record and reporting, yes: a build on Dataverse, NZ$32.40 a user a month, with Power BI Pro at NZ$22.60 for whoever reads it, typically runs $8,000 to $18,000. It does not replace the accounting sync Tradify and the others ship with, Xero or MYOB stays exactly where it is.
Work out which one fits your crew
If you're stuck between plans, or between any of these and a build, book a free 30-minute call. Bring your crew size and how your jobs flow, and run the numbers yourself first with the ROI calculator if a custom build is even on the table.