Jobber vs Joist
Joist wins on cheap, fast mobile invoicing for solos; Jobber wins as a full scheduling-to-payments field-service platform for growing crews; both still send the books to QuickBooks (Jobber also Xero) — which is the gap a books-included tool like Stairkey fills.
Jobber and Joist solve different sizes of the same problem. Joist is the lightweight, flat-rate estimate-and-invoice app a solo contractor uses to quote a job and get paid fast from a phone. Jobber is the heavier field-service platform — scheduling, dispatch, CRM, quoting, invoicing, and integrated payments — that a growing crew of HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or landscaping techs runs the whole operation on. One is a focused invoicer; the other is field-service ops.
This page is written by Stairkey, a competing tool, so we'll be straight about where each genuinely wins. Joist really is the cheaper, simpler way to send a quote; Jobber really does have the more complete field-service workflow, a stronger tax engine, and a bigger ecosystem. The honest catch they share is the books: both push to QuickBooks Online (Jobber also supports Xero) rather than keeping a real ledger themselves — which is exactly the seam an all-in-one with native accounting is built for.
At a glance
- Jobber
- $49/mo monthly, $29/mo billed annually (Core, 1 user)
- Joist
- $8/mo (Basics, billed annually)
- Stairkey
- $20/mo, capped
- Jobber
- Published tiers; per extra user
- Joist
- Published flat tiers
- Stairkey
- Published, flat, usage-capped
- Jobber
- No — one-way sync to QBO/Xero
- Joist
- No — one-way sync to QBO
- Stairkey
- Yes — native double-entry GL
- Jobber
- Strong — tax groups, overrides, report
- Joist
- Basic single-rate on docs
- Stairkey
- Native HST/GST
- Jobber
- Yes — core strength
- Joist
- No
- Stairkey
- Yes
- Jobber
- Yes
- Joist
- Yes — fast, mobile-first
- Stairkey
- Yes — line items or takeoff
- Jobber
- Yes — integrated payments
- Joist
- Yes — integrated payments
- Stairkey
- Yes
- Jobber
- Yes
- Joist
- Not a focus
- Stairkey
- Yes
- Jobber
- No
- Joist
- No
- Stairkey
- Yes
- Jobber
- No
- Joist
- No
- Stairkey
- Yes
- Jobber
- Growing field-service crews
- Joist
- Solo contractors invoicing fast
- Stairkey
- One tool, books included
Who each one is for
you run a growing home-service or field-service crew and need scheduling, dispatch, CRM, quoting, invoicing, and integrated payments in one platform — and you want a strong Canadian tax engine (tax groups, per-property overrides, a taxation report) and a bigger add-on ecosystem, with the books handled in a separate QuickBooks or Xero subscription.
you're a solo or very small crew who mainly needs to quote a job and get paid fast from your phone, at the lowest flat price — and you don't need scheduling, dispatch, or deep reporting, with bookkeeping kept in QuickBooks Online.
you want estimating, scheduling, invoicing, and real double-entry accounting with HST/GST in one flat-priced tool — without bolting on QuickBooks — plus AI photo/voice task capture and, for realtor-contractors, a built-in real estate module.
Pricing
Prices verified June 18, 2026. Quote-gated vendors change pricing without notice — confirm before you buy.
Published tiers up to Plus ($529–$699/mo); extra users ~$29/mo each, plus paid add-ons and 2.9% + $0.30 card fees. Accounting lives in a separate QuickBooks or Xero subscription.
Flat-rate (not per-user) tiers — Pro $15/mo, Elite $32/mo, plus a limited Free plan; annual billing gives 2 months free. Real bookkeeping requires QuickBooks Online (not QBO Self-Employed).
Optional +$20/mo accounting add-on adds extra usage allowance and native double-entry books. First month free, no credit card; usage capped at $100/mo so no surprise bills.
Where the others win
Both rivals genuinely beat Stairkey somewhere. Joist is cheaper at the entry door and is one of the fastest, most-loved mobile estimate-and-invoice apps for solos — if all you need is to quote and get paid, it's hard to undercut. Jobber is the more complete field-service platform: its scheduling and dispatch, its flexible Canadian tax engine (tax groups, per-property/per-invoice overrides, a dedicated taxation report), its integrated payments, and its larger add-on ecosystem (AI Receptionist, Marketing Suite) are more mature than a younger tool can claim. Stairkey is newer, with a smaller brand and a smaller third-party integration marketplace; it has no built-in telephony, automated SMS dispatch, or AI phone agent, no aerial roofing measurement, and it isn't a full payroll system (it does contractor tax slips, year-end, and mileage, not payroll). Its edge isn't the longest feature list — it's keeping the whole job and the actual double-entry books, with HST/GST, in one transparent, capped-price workspace instead of syncing out to QuickBooks.
Common questions
Is Joist cheaper than Jobber?
Yes. Joist starts at $8/mo (Basics, billed annually) with flat-rate tiers up to $32/mo, while Jobber starts at $29/mo (Core, billed annually) or $49/mo monthly and charges roughly $29/mo per extra user, so it gets more expensive as a crew grows. Joist is the cheaper pick for a solo invoicer; Jobber buys you a full field-service platform for the difference.
Do Jobber or Joist include accounting?
Neither keeps its own books. Both rely on a one-way sync to QuickBooks Online (Jobber also supports Xero), so you pay for and maintain a second subscription for financial statements and a real ledger. Stairkey includes native double-entry accounting with HST/GST in the same workspace, with invoices and expenses posting straight from the job records.
What's a good all-in-one if I'm outgrowing Joist but Jobber feels like a lot?
If Joist no longer covers scheduling and reporting but you don't want Jobber's per-user pricing plus a separate QuickBooks bill, an all-in-one like Stairkey bundles estimating, scheduling, invoicing, and real double-entry books at a flat, usage-capped $20/mo (plus an optional $20/mo accounting add-on), with the first month free.