Free handyman apps for the self-employed handyman: 11 free plans compared (2026)

Published November 10, 2026 · Every free plan checked on the vendor's own pages on November 10, 2026

• I run Deepsel, free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors. It has a free plan, so it competes with every app on this page. It isn't in the list, the tables or the picks. It gets its own section near the end, with what it's missing for a handyman.
• I didn't sign up for any of these apps. Every limit, price and fee comes from the vendor's pricing page, help center or app store listing, read on November 10, 2026, and each one links to its source.
• The list is alphabetical within each group. It isn't a ranking.
• What handymen want from an app comes from r/handyman and r/HandymanBusiness threads, quoted with links.

Short version: a self-employed handyman can run on a free app. I found eleven with a free plan that sends real estimates or invoices from a phone. Eight are job apps, built around the job from quote to invoice, and three are estimate and invoice apps you pair with a free calendar. Each one has a catch (a cap, a fee or a missing feature), and the catches are what this page compares.

• One phone app with no cap on estimates, invoices or users: Swivl's Starter plan. Texts, AI estimates and photo storage come out of 250 free credits a month.
• An established app, if you do fewer than about 30 jobs a month: ServiceM8 Free, one user. Every card payment you take through it adds a job to the month.
• Getting paid before you leave, with the schedule in Google Calendar: Square's free plan. Tap to Pay on your own phone is 2.6% + 15¢ a payment.
• Invoices plus the books for tax time: Wave Starter.
• A helper on the crew: Zoho FSM's free edition (up to 20 users, 30 appointments and 30 invoices a month) or Opsler (owner plus one tech, 50 jobs a month).
• Jobber, Housecall Pro, Joist, Invoice Simple and Markate have no free plan. They have free trials, covered below.

If you run another trade, the review of free field service software covers the same question for HVAC, plumbing, electrical and the rest. This page is for the one-truck handyman who looked up free handyman software, or a free app, between jobs.

The 11 free handyman apps at a glance

"What's free" is the free plan's limit as the vendor states it. "Next step up" is the cheapest paid plan, monthly unless it says otherwise. Card rates are on the free plan; where a vendor doesn't print one, the table says so.

Free app or free trial? Jobber, Housecall Pro, Joist and the rest

A lot of "free" on page one is a free trial. A trial gives you every feature for 7 to 30 days and then asks for a card; a free plan gives you fewer features with no end date. Jobber and Housecall Pro, the two field service apps handymen mention most, are trials only, and Joist, the one older handymen remember as free, ended its free plan. Here's what each one offers on its own page today.^19-31

Joist is worth a sentence of history, because so many old threads still call it free. In March 2025 one owner on r/handyman wrote "Joist basic is free," and the next reply corrected him: "You only get 3 (or 4) free invoices a month now. It changed about a year ago."³⁴ Another, trying the free version that April: "It forces me to use a logo that says 'your logo' and will not let me change it until I pay."³⁷ Today there's no free version at all.

What a self-employed handyman needs from a free app

Before picking an app, look at what handymen use now. In r/handyman and r/HandymanBusiness since January 2025, about 17,000 posts and comments talk about invoices, estimates, scheduling or software. Jobber comes up in about 380 of them, a spreadsheet in about 280, QuickBooks in about 250, Housecall Pro in about 160 and Square in about 80. Wave, Joist, Markate, Google Calendar and Zoho come up 30 to 60 times each.⁴⁶ A mention isn't a customer, and plenty of those mentions are complaints.

Read those threads with one eye shut, too. App makers post there constantly, asking for "feedback." When one did in September, an owner answered: "Lady, we get at least 20 of these posts a week." On November 3 the r/handyman moderators removed an April thread on what software is worth paying for, with the note "No advertising, this includes market research for your app or product."⁴⁵ I sell software too, which is why every quote below is from an owner who, as far as I could tell, wasn't selling anything.

A July 2025 r/handyman thread asked exactly this. "Most of the apps I've found are either paid or have very limited free versions," the poster wrote, asking what solo workers use for appointments, client contact info, job notes and invoicing. The top reply: "Google - Sheets, Docs, Calendar and an old fashioned paper notebook."³³ That's the baseline every app here has to beat. It costs nothing, and it works until you're retyping the same job three times. If Sheets is your app for now, the free handyman invoice template does the totals, the minimum charge and the sales tax for you.

Free handyman estimate apps: quote on the spot, or that night?

Handymen don't agree on when to quote, and the app should handle both. In a January thread titled "Verbal estimate on-site VS. Itemized estimate a day later," the top answer was "Never give a verbal quote - when you can't remember what you told them, it becomes your word versus theirs. I always wait a day or two to send the estimate." Another owner drew the line at simple work: on-the-spot quoting is "cutting your own throat" unless "it is cut and dry. Like, they want a tv hung up."³⁸ A third, in May: "I screw myself every time I give a quote on the spot. I don't do it anymore. They can wait."³⁹

Either way, the estimate goes out in writing, and the fast way to write it is from a saved list of your own jobs and prices. An owner on r/HandymanBusiness described exactly that in January: "an app that has an ala cart style of billing set up so i can charge every one of my clients the same for each task completed. $200 for a g/d install, $350 for a new bathroom vanity, etc."⁴⁰ Among the free plans, Swivl, Opsler, Zoho FSM, Clevra, Cloud Job Manager and PunchProfit all describe a saved price list or catalog on their pages.^{4, 9, 6, 8, 11, 13} Build the list first. The handyman price list template works out job prices from your own hourly number, and owners on Reddit put their minimum charge at a median of $150. To write the quote itself, the handyman estimate template adds a trip fee and your minimum to a list of tasks and shows the arithmetic.

What else matters on the quote: the customer approving it from a link (Clevra, Cloud Job Manager and Opsler describe this), a deposit for bigger work (Wave takes one on the estimate; Square takes one on the invoice),^{17, 15} and turning the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping. That last one is a paid feature on Square (Plus) and built into the job apps.

Scheduling: Google Calendar is free, so what does an app add?

The invoice apps don't schedule. One owner in the free-software thread "used square to invoice and asked for cash or cheques... scheduling not so much tho. I used google calendar. Ended up moving to Jobber eventually. It helped a lot when I was busy." Another asked of Joist: "Does joist have scheduling? I don't remember it being anything more than invoicing."³³

A free calendar holds a time and an address. A job app's schedule holds the job: the quote it came from, the notes and photos, and the invoice it turns into. That's worth having once you're juggling enough work to forget which kitchen had the leaking shutoff. Reminder texts to customers cost money almost everywhere: 10¢ a text on ServiceM8 Free, one of Swivl's 250 monthly credits per text, and a paid plan on Clevra.^{1, 4, 7} Recurring visits (the landlord who wants gutters every fall) are on Opsler's paid plan, while ServiceM8 lists recurring jobs on Free.^{9, 2}

Invoicing and getting paid: what card fees cost on small jobs

Handyman work is small tickets, and owners want the money before the truck leaves the driveway. "If I'm just changing a door knob I'd rather be paid immediately after doing the job," a new owner wrote in March 2025.³⁴ Another, in a thread about paperwork: "I finish the work, I get paid on the spot. I'm not running an ar dept."⁴¹ A common answer for taking a card: "Easiest way to accept credit cards is to open up a square account. Didn't cost me nothing."³⁴ On r/HandymanBusiness: "I use square. Its free and works great for me."⁴³

The app is free; the card isn't. "Processing a card transaction usually adds a 3ish% fee. Are you absorbing that? If so price your work accordingly," one owner told a newer one.⁴² Here's what the free plans that print a rate take from a $150 job, which is about the median minimum charge owners report.

Rates are from Square's, Wave's and ServiceM8's own pages.^{15, 16, 17, 3} Swivl, Clevra, Zoho and Contractor+ take cards too, but their pricing pages don't print a rate, and Cloud Job Manager quotes one per business. Opsler and PunchProfit don't process payments at all; you put a Square or PayPal link on the invoice, or record the check. Some owners price the fee into the job and some add it to the bill; a surcharge on cards is restricted in some states.

Customer and job history: where does it live?

Six months later the customer calls back about "the same thing you fixed last time." Plenty of owners keep that in their heads or their phones: "Notes app on iPhone for job notes," says one; another uses "QuickBooks (accounting), Apple Notes (Job notes and preliminary walkthroughs), and ContractorTools (Estimates)."⁴⁴ That works, but the notes, the photos and the invoice end up in three places.

The job apps keep them together. ServiceM8's free plan lists "a full history of work done for every client, including notes, photos, emails & messages," and Zoho FSM lists service histories.^{2, 5} The invoice apps keep the invoices and the customer list, not the job. Two cautions before you put two years of customers into any free app. Find the export first, because leaving a free app is when you'll need it. And read the inactivity rules: Zoho Invoice deletes an account's data if nobody logs in for 180 days, 20 days after warning you.¹⁸

Free job apps: quotes, schedule and invoices in one place

These eight hold the whole job. Alphabetical order.

Clevra Free: one seat, no cap on estimates or invoices

Clevra's free plan is for one person: one seat, unlimited clients, estimates, jobs, scheduling, invoicing, online payments and a customer portal where clients approve quotes and pay.⁷ The pricing page lists no monthly cap on estimates or invoices, which beats most of this list for a solo handyman. Two catches. Your documents and portal carry Clevra's branding until you pay, and the technician app reads "Coming soon" on every plan, so for now it runs in the phone's browser.⁷ Payments go through Stripe Connect, at a rate the pricing page doesn't give.⁸ Clevra launched in 2026 and pitches itself hardest at inspection trades (backflow testing, concrete scanning, roof inspection), so expect little handyman feedback yet.⁸ Next step: Pro, $49 a month or $39 billed annually, for 5 seats, your own logo and two-way texting.

Cloud Job Manager: free with no paid tier, paid for by card processing

Cloud Job Manager says it's "100% free, every feature included, for every account," with no seat count, no usage cap, no trial clock, and iOS and Android apps.¹¹ Estimates carry photos and optional line items and get approved and e-signed online, and jobs go on a team calendar.¹² The catch is printed on the same page, which is fair of them. It's built by Host Merchant Services, a card processor that "earns its revenue from processing those payments." Its pricing is interchange-plus, quoted per business, so there's no single published rate to set against the table above.¹¹ Get that quote in writing before you move your customers in. The iPhone app came out in February 2026 and had no ratings when I looked.³²

Contractor+ Freedom: five estimates or invoices a month

Freedom is free with no end date: up to 250 leads and clients and up to 5 estimates or invoices a month, on web, phone and tablet.¹⁴ Its FAQ says the free plan collects card and eCheck payments, and that "for a one man small operation, the free version will work just fine." Five documents is about one job a week if each job takes an estimate and an invoice, so it fits a handyman who does a few bigger jobs, not a stack of small ones. The job schedule isn't free; the FAQ lists it among the premium features you get a 14-day trial of. The next step is Pro Team, $98 a month or $58 a month billed annually, with 2 users included, and the FAQ says paid plans aren't refunded "for any reason, under any circumstances."¹⁴

Opsler Budding: owner plus one tech, 50 jobs a month

Opsler's free plan gives two seats, fixed as one admin and one technician, 50 jobs a month that reset each month, and unlimited customer records.⁹ Estimates come from your price book, good/better/best options included, and the customer approves with a one-time code and a signature. Opsler doesn't process payments: the invoice goes out by email with your payment details or your own payment link, so the fee is whatever your Square or Stripe account charges. It's in neither the App Store nor Google Play. You install it from the phone's browser to the home screen, and it works offline in a crawlspace.¹⁰ Opsler names its own upgrade triggers: more than 50 jobs, a third person, recurring visits or route planning. Pro is $25 per seat a month with no job cap.⁹

PunchProfit: free with no paid plans, and no online payments yet

PunchProfit says it's free with "no paid plans or tiers, and no trial": unlimited jobs, estimates and change orders, fixed-price, time-and-materials and cost-plus jobs, saved cost items, crew scheduling with reminders, invoicing, time and expense tracking and a client portal.¹³ It runs in the phone's browser ("No app to install"). Customers can't pay online. Its handyman page answers that question with "Not yet," and you record cash, check or transfer payments by hand. It's built around job costing (budget against actual on every job), which suits a two-week bathroom more than a $150 faucet swap. Its pages don't say how the company plans to make money, so weigh that before you move your records in.

ServiceM8 Free: 30 jobs a month for one person

ServiceM8 has been in the App Store since 2010, longer than any other app here. Its free plan covers one user, 30 new jobs a month, scheduling, quotes and invoices, full client history, online booking, card payments on site or by link, and automatic follow-ups on quotes and unpaid invoices.^{1, 2, 32} A quote that turns into a work order uses one job, not two. Every card payment taken through ServiceM8 earns a bonus job, with no limit, so a handyman who gets paid by card in the app rarely hits 30. Go over without them and you get 7 more days before it asks you to upgrade.¹ Texts cost 10¢ each on Free (free on paid plans), the AI helper stops at 10 uses a day, and Free gets self-serve support. Cards through ServiceM8 Pay are 3.05% + 30¢ in the US, a rate its help page dates to September 2024.³ Next step: Starter, $29 a month for 50 jobs and unlimited users. The whole ladder is in the ServiceM8 pricing breakdown, and ServiceM8 vs Jobber compares it with the app most handymen name first.

Swivl Starter: unlimited users, estimates and invoices

Swivl's free Starter plan puts no cap on users, customers, the estimates you write yourself, invoices or scheduling, and the iPhone and Android app comes with it.⁴ On paper it and Cloud Job Manager are the two most generous free plans here. What it meters is anything that costs Swivl money each time: texts, AI estimates, the AI receptionist, GPS and storage. Starter includes 250 credits a month for those (a text is 1 credit, a gigabyte of photos 10, an AI estimate about 60), and you can't buy more on Starter; past 250 you upgrade. When the credits run out, "jobs, customers, estimates, invoices, scheduling and the mobile app keep running," and only the metered features pause.⁴ New accounts start on Scale Pro ($149) free for 14 days and then drop to Starter. Cards and Tap to Pay go through Stripe, at a rate the pricing page doesn't give. Next step: Growth, $49 a month for 1,500 credits. The iPhone app had 3 ratings when I looked, so it's young.³²

Zoho FSM Free Edition: 30 appointments and 30 invoices a month, up to 20 users

Zoho's field service app has a free edition with up to 20 users, 30 appointments and 30 invoices a month, and the mobile app included.⁵ It covers requests, estimates, work orders, a services and parts list, customer records with service histories, a dispatch console, service reports with signatures, invoices and payments. Unused appointments don't roll over.⁶ It's built for an office dispatching techs, so it has more screens than a solo handyman needs, and the 20 users are the draw if you have a helper or two. Next step: Standard, $30 a month or $300 a year, for 60 appointments and 60 invoices.⁶

Free estimate and invoice apps (bring your own calendar)

These three don't schedule. Pair them with Google Calendar and a notes app, as plenty of owners do.

Square Invoices (Square Free): unlimited invoices and Tap to Pay

Square's free plan sends unlimited invoices, sends estimates, takes deposits, sends automatic payment reminders, and sends contracts for e-signature.¹⁵ In person you take the card on your own phone with Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android, at 2.6% + 15¢, the lowest card rate any free plan here publishes. A card paid from the invoice link is 3.3% + 30¢, a card keyed in or charged on file 3.5% + 15¢, and a bank payment 1% with a $1 minimum and no cap on Free. Plus, at $49 a month per location, adds multi-option estimates, accepted estimates that turn into invoices by themselves, payment schedules, custom templates and a $10 cap on bank payments.¹⁵ No job schedule in Invoices. One owner who used it "asked for cash or cheques because you can mark it as paid and track it that way."³³

Wave Starter: free invoices plus the books

Wave's Starter plan is $0 for unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, with a mobile app for invoicing on the go.¹⁶ Online payments need Wave's approval first. Then cards are 2.9% + 60¢ (Amex 3.4% + 60¢) and bank payments 1% with a $1 minimum, and an estimate can collect a deposit.¹⁷ The pull for a handyman is tax time, because income and expenses land in one set of books (the guide to setting money aside for taxes covers the other half). Pro, $19 a month or $190 a year, adds bank imports and receipt capture and drops the 60¢ on your first 10 card payments a month.¹⁶ Owners like it: "Wave, their free plan can make estimates, invoices, track expenses and I can put my logo and color scheme on everything for free!"³⁶

Zoho Invoice: free up to 500 invoices a year

Zoho Invoice is free for quotes and invoices, with up to two users, three projects and 500 invoices a year, about 41 a month.¹⁸ It has iPhone and Android apps, and documents carry "Powered by Zoho Invoice." Card payments go through a payment gateway you connect, at that gateway's rate. Mind the inactivity rule above: 180 days without a login and the data goes. An owner who started on a spreadsheet: "I started with excel but quickly moved to the free version of Zoho. It does most everything that quickbooks does including emailing invoices with a payment portal."³⁵

When a free handyman app stops being enough

Do the volume math first. Three small jobs a day, five days a week, is about 65 invoices a month, plus the estimates. That's past every capped plan on this list: ServiceM8's 30 jobs (before card bonuses), Zoho FSM's 30 invoices, Opsler's 50 jobs, Zoho Invoice's 41 a month on average, and Contractor+'s 5 documents. The plans with no cap on paperwork are Swivl, Clevra, Cloud Job Manager, PunchProfit, Square and Wave.

Then the other triggers:

• A second person. ServiceM8 Free and Clevra Free are one user. Opsler is exactly one admin and one tech. Zoho FSM allows 20, Zoho Invoice 2, and Swivl and Cloud Job Manager have no seat count.
• Your own logo. Clevra Free puts its branding on your estimates, invoices and portal, and Zoho Invoice adds "Powered by Zoho Invoice."
• Texting customers. Reminders and "on my way" texts cost 10¢ each on ServiceM8 Free, a credit each on Swivl, and a paid plan on Clevra.
• Repeat work. Opsler keeps recurring visits on its paid plan. ServiceM8 lists recurring jobs on Free.
• Card fees adding up. At a few dozen card payments a month, a lower rate can be worth more than the software. On Wave, Pro's $19 a month saves the 60¢ on your first 10 card payments, $6 at most. Pay for Pro if you want its bank imports and receipt capture.

The first paid step on each is in the comparison table. For most of them it's $19 to $49 a month; Contractor+'s is $58 a month billed annually. Jobber Core, for scale, is $29 billed annually for one user and $29 more per extra user, which is why handymen with a helper look at plans that don't charge per user.

Deepsel, our own software, and why it isn't on the list

We build Deepsel, so it sits here instead of in the list or the tables. A review that ranks the writer's own product isn't worth much. Deepsel is free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for home-service contractors: scheduling, quotes and estimates, invoicing, card and bank payments, customer records, a price book, and checklists with photos on each visit.

Its free plan has unlimited users and unlimited customers, with 30 estimates and 30 invoices sent a month, every core feature and no card. The month is your calendar month, and an estimate or invoice counts once, the first time it reaches the customer; deposit invoices don't count. Pro, $29 a month, has no cap on estimates or invoices and adds online booking, Google review requests, estimate templates, state contract templates, signed change orders and progress billing. Max, $59, adds texting with customers. Everything is on the pricing page.

Plainly, since you searched for an app: Deepsel isn't in the App Store or Google Play yet. iPhone and Android apps are coming on Max. Today it runs in your phone's browser, so there's nothing to install and nothing to find in a store. If "free app" means a download, it isn't one yet.

Against the list above: Swivl and Cloud Job Manager have no cap on estimates or invoices and have store apps, Clevra has no cap for one person, and ServiceM8 takes a card on your phone today. Zoho FSM's free edition caps at the same 30 and 30. On fees, Deepsel's card rate is 3.3% + 30¢ whether the customer pays from the invoice link or you key the card: $5.25 on a $150 job, against $4.05 on Square's Tap to Pay and $4.95 on Wave. Bank payments are 1%, capped at $15, so a $3,000 job paid by bank costs $15, where Square Free and Wave would take $30. You can add a surcharge of up to 3% to credit cards where your state allows it.

What it's missing for a handyman:

• No store app, and no Tap to Pay yet (both coming on Max, Tap to Pay at 3.1% + 15¢). In person, the customer pays from the invoice link on their own phone, or you key the card.
• No texting below Max. Free and Pro email the estimate or invoice; you can also copy its link and text it from your own phone, which counts as sent.
• It isn't accounting software, and QuickBooks sync is still coming (to Max).
• It was built for HVAC first. The price book holds a name, a description, a unit, a price and a cost the customer never sees, but it won't import your price list spreadsheet, and new accounts start with a few sample HVAC items, though Add a trade loads a 21-item handyman starter list with example prices. Estimate templates are on Pro.
• It's new, so you won't find years of forum threads about it, good or bad.

It fits a handyman with a helper or someone doing the books (every login is free), who quotes from a saved price book, takes the occasional bigger job by bank transfer, and expects to pass 30 invoices a month at some point, when Pro is $29 with no cap. Your customer list exports as a spreadsheet whenever you want to leave. Sending your first invoice walks through it with screenshots. If something you need is missing, ask for it.

How we compared

The rule for the list: a plan that costs $0 with no end date, on which one person can send a customer an estimate or an invoice from a phone. I set the bar at paperwork because a handyman can schedule in Google Calendar for nothing; what a free app has to add is the part that gets you paid. That rule kept out free trials, one-time allowances (AllBetter's first 3 invoices), and free plans with no estimates or invoices (Connecteam, Dusk FSM, IndusTrack's office plan). Candidates came from Google's top results for "free app for self employed handyman," "free handyman software" and similar searches, the free plans other roundups name, and the apps handymen name on Reddit.

On November 10, 2026 I read each vendor's pricing page, its free-plan page where it has one, and its help pages on card fees, and checked the iPhone apps against Apple's App Store listings. I didn't create accounts, so where a vendor doesn't publish something (a card rate, a cap), the table says "not on the pricing page" instead of guessing. Card fees on $150 and $1,500 are the vendors' published rates multiplied out. The handyman quotes come from r/handyman and r/HandymanBusiness threads from January 2025 to November 2026; each one was still live when I checked it. I build Deepsel, which is why it has no row in any table and gets its own section instead. If a fact here is wrong or stale, email me and I'll fix it.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best free app for a self-employed handyman?

It depends on what you need for free. For one phone app with no cap on estimates, invoices or users, Swivl's Starter plan; texts, AI and photo storage come out of 250 free credits a month. For an established app with a cap of 30 jobs a month that grows with every card payment you take in it, ServiceM8 Free. To get paid before you leave and keep the schedule in Google Calendar, Square's free plan. For invoices plus the books for tax time, Wave. Jobber, Housecall Pro and Joist only have free trials. We make Deepsel, which has a free plan too, so it isn't one of these picks.

Is there a free version of Jobber or Housecall Pro?

No. Both have a 14-day free trial with no card: Jobber's runs on its Grow plan, Housecall Pro's on Max. After that, Jobber Core is $29 a month billed annually, $39 with a one-year commitment or $49 month to month, for one user. Housecall Pro Basic is $59 a month billed annually or $79 monthly.

Is Joist still free?

No. Joist's pricing page says its free plan is no longer available. There's a 14-day free trial, then Basics at $10 a month for 5 documents a month, or Pro at $17 for unlimited documents. Scheduling is on its Run plan. Handymen on Reddit noticed in 2025: 'You only get 3 (or 4) free invoices a month now.'

What's a good free handyman estimate app?

Every app on this list sends a written estimate from your phone. Swivl, Clevra, Cloud Job Manager, PunchProfit, Square and Wave list no monthly cap on estimates. If you quote the same jobs over and over, pick one with a saved list of jobs and prices, so a TV mount or a faucet swap is one line you pick instead of one you type: Swivl, Opsler, Zoho FSM, Clevra, Cloud Job Manager and PunchProfit all list one. Wave can take a deposit on the estimate.

How much do card payments cost on a free handyman app?

On a $150 job: $4.05 with Square's Tap to Pay in person, $5.25 when the customer pays Square's invoice link, $4.95 on Wave and $4.88 on ServiceM8 Pay. A bank payment on Square or Wave is 1%, so $1.50. Cash and checks cost nothing. Swivl, Clevra, Zoho and Contractor+ don't print their card rate on their pricing pages, so ask before you send the first invoice.

Do I need an app at all as a solo handyman?

Not on day one. When someone asked r/handyman what free software they use, the top reply was 'Google - Sheets, Docs, Calendar and an old fashioned paper notebook.' An app starts paying for the time it takes when you're typing the same job into a quote, a calendar and an invoice every evening, or when customers want to pay by card before you leave.

Sources

1. ServiceM8 pricing page: Free $0, "1 User," "30 Jobs per month," "10c per SMS," AI Helper "10/day," support "Self Serve"; Starter $29/mo, "Unlimited Users," "50 Jobs per month"; "You'll still be able to create new jobs and work as normal for another 7 days." servicem8.com/us/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
2. ServiceM8, "Free Field Service Management Software": "Create up to 30 new Quotes & Work Orders each month, or earn unlimited jobs"; Scheduling, Quoting & Invoicing, "Full Client History," Online Bookings, Card Payments ("Take payment on site in the app, or send clients a link to pay online"), CRM Automation, Recurring Job Management; "every time you take a card payment via ServiceM8 & Stripe (in the app, or online), you earn a Bonus Job credit." servicem8.com/us/free-plan, retrieved November 10, 2026.
3. ServiceM8 Help Center, "ServiceM8 Pay card processing fees & payout speed": United States, Standard Domestic "3.05% + 30c"; "The fees listed for Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States are current as of September 2024." support.servicem8.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
4. Swivl pricing page: Starter $0; "Unlimited users, estimates and invoices at no charge, forever"; "Mobile app: iOS and Android, for the whole crew"; "the free plan includes 250 credits a month"; SMS 1 credit, media and storage 10 per GB, AI Estimator about 60 per estimate; "Starter can't buy them, so over 250 credits it means upgrading"; "jobs, customers, estimates, invoices, scheduling and the mobile app keep running exactly as before"; Growth $49/mo for 1,500 credits; the pricebook listed among free features; Tap to Pay and Stripe Payments listed. swivl.tech/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
5. Zoho FSM, "Free end-to-end FSM platform": "This edition supports up to 20 users and includes 30 appointments and 30 invoices every month"; "The Zoho FSM mobile app is fully included"; "Access service histories to offer ideal solutions." zoho.com/fsm/free-fsm-software.html, retrieved November 10, 2026.
6. Zoho FSM, "Editions and Pricing" help article: Standard 30.00 USD billed monthly or 300.00 USD billed annually for 60 appointments; "The number of invoices available will be equal to the number of appointments." Zoho FSM pricing page: free edition features (requests, estimates, work orders, services and parts, dispatch console, service report, invoicing and payments, mobile app); "You cannot carry appointments over to the next month." help.zoho.com; zoho.com/fsm/pricing.html, both retrieved November 10, 2026.
7. Clevra pricing page: Free $0, "1 seat," "Unlimited clients," "Estimates, invoicing, and payments," "Customer portal," "Clevra branding on estimates, invoices, and portal"; "Every plan, Free included, covers the core workflow: clients, requests, estimates, jobs, scheduling, invoicing, online payments and the customer portal"; Technician mobile app "Coming soon"; Pro $49/mo billed monthly or $39/mo billed annually, 5 seats, SMS, your own logo. clevra.ai/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
8. Clevra, "Information for AI Assistants": "Launch year: 2026"; "Clients pay online through Stripe Connect"; quoting with "service item autocomplete"; positioned as "the best option for inspection-focused trades." clevra.ai/llm, retrieved November 10, 2026.
9. Opsler pricing page: Budding free forever, "2 seats — 1 admin and 1 technician," "50 jobs per month," "Unlimited customers"; "Single-price estimates from your price book," "Good, Better and Best estimates," "Estimate approval with a one-time code and signature"; "Field service payments in Opsler are recorded, not processed"; upgrade "when you pass 50 jobs a month, hire a third person ... or want warranties, recurring visits or route optimization"; Pro $25/seat/month. opsler.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
10. Opsler, "Install Opsler on Desktop, Android or iPhone": "There is no app store download"; "Opsler is in neither, and doesn't need to be." opsler.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
11. Cloud Job Manager pricing page: "Cloud Job Manager is 100% free, every feature included, for every account"; "There is no seat count, no usage cap"; "iOS and Android apps for the full workflow"; "Cloud Job Manager is built by Host Merchant Services, a payments company. HMS earns its revenue when businesses process card payments"; "transparent interchange-plus pricing." cloudjobmanager.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
12. Cloud Job Manager features page: "Create branded estimates with photos, optional line items, terms, open tracking, online approval, and e-signatures"; "See the full team calendar, assign work without double-booking." cloudjobmanager.com/features, retrieved November 10, 2026.
13. PunchProfit pricing page: "Completely free: there are no paid plans or tiers, and no trial"; features include saved cost items, crew scheduling with in-app reminders, invoicing and payment tracking, time and expense tracking, client portal. PunchProfit handyman page: "Works on Your Phone ... No app to install"; FAQ "Can clients pay online?" "Not yet. You record payments by hand when a client pays by check, cash or transfer." punchprofit.com/pricing; punchprofit.com/trades/handyman, both retrieved November 10, 2026.
14. Contractor+ pricing page: FREEDOM "Free forever," "Manage up to 250 leads & clients," "Up to 5 estimates or invoices per month," "Available on web, mobile & tablet"; Pro Team $98/month or $58/month on the annual plan, "First 2 users included"; FAQ: the free plan lets you "collect payments via credit card and eCheck," "For a one man small operation, the free version will work just fine," "14 day trials of most premium features (such as the job schedule and the team chat)," and "We will not honor any refunds for any reason, under any circumstances." contractorplus.app/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
15. Square Invoices pricing page, Square Free column: $0/mo per location; "Send unlimited invoices"; estimates, deposits, automatic payment reminders, contracts with e-signature, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, and ACH bank transfers included on Free; multi-package estimates, auto-convert estimates to invoices, payment schedules and custom invoice templates on Plus and Premium; fees on Free: tap, dip or swipe 2.6% + 15¢, online or invoice 3.3% + 30¢, manual entry or card on file 3.5% + 15¢, ACH via invoice "1%, $1 min" (with a "$10 fee cap" on Plus and Premium); Square Plus $49/mo per location. Plan columns read in the rendered page. squareup.com/us/en/invoices/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
16. Wave pricing page: Starter $0, "Create unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records," "2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction," "3.4% + $0.60 per Amex transaction," "Invoice on-the-go with the mobile app"; Pro $19/month or $190/year, "2.9% + $0** per credit card transaction." waveapps.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
17. Wave payments page: bank payments (ACH/EFT) "1% per transaction ($1.00 minimum fee)" on Starter and Pro; Pro's $0 fixed fee applies "For the first 10 transactions each month, followed by Starter Plan rates"; "Request deposits through your Wave estimates"; invoices with online payments are sent "after you have been approved for online payments." waveapps.com/payments, retrieved November 10, 2026.
18. Zoho Invoice pricing page: "forever-free invoicing solution"; "Add up to two users. Create a maximum of three projects. Send up to 500 invoices per year"; "Zoho Invoice includes 'Powered by Zoho Invoice' branding"; "if a user is inactive for over 180 days, their associated data will be deleted in the subsequent 20 days"; iOS and Android download links; quotes listed as a feature. zoho.com/us/invoice/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
19. Jobber pricing page: "For 14 days you get full access to all of Jobber's features on the Grow plan—no credit card required"; Core 1 user, $49/mo no commitment, $39/mo with a 1 year commitment, $29/mo billed annually; "Add users for $29/mo each." getjobber.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
20. Housecall Pro pricing page: "Enjoy full access to all Housecall Pro features on our MAX plan for 14 days, absolutely free—no credit card needed"; Basic $59 billed annually, $79 monthly. housecallpro.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
21. Joist pricing page: "Joist's free plan is no longer available, but all users can try Joist with the 14-day free trial"; Basics $10/mo ($8.34 billed annually), "Up to 5 documents per month"; Pro $17/mo, "Unlimited documents & clients"; Run $70/mo at its introductory price ($100 regular), with "Schedule visits." joist.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
22. Invoice Simple pricing page: Essentials $6.99/mo, "Up to 3 invoices per month"; Plus $14.99/mo, "Up to 10 invoices per month"; Premium $21.99/mo, "Unlimited invoices per month"; "The free trial on mobile gives you 14-day full access to the Invoice Simple Premium plan." invoicesimple.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
23. Markate pricing page: "If you choose monthly payments, the cost is $49.95 per month. If you opt for annual billing ... paying $45.95 per month"; "No credit card required for 14-day risk free trial." markate.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
24. CONSTRUKTR pricing page: "Start free for 30 days with no card"; Starter $49/mo, 2 users, "On sale when the apps are in the stores"; "Until then, a trial continues on Pro or Business"; Pro $199/mo. construktr.ai/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
25. AllBetter, "Handyman Software + Business App": "First 3 invoices on us · starting at $29/mo after your free allowance"; "first 3 quotes, jobs, invoices and customers are free." allbetterapp.com/handyman-software, retrieved November 10, 2026.
26. Fieldorbit, "Handyman App": "start your 30-day free trial"; "The per-job option costs $0.99 per job ... monthly subscriptions start from $20/month." fieldorbit.com/handyman-app, retrieved November 10, 2026.
27. HandyQuoter home page title: "AI-Powered Quoting Software for Contractors | 7-Day Free Trial." handyquoter.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
28. Werx pricing page: "Try Werx free for 14 days. No credit card required"; plans from $49/mo. werxapp.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
29. Connecteam pricing page: Small Business Plan, "all hubs and all features, entirely free for up to 10 users," "$0 Free for life"; Operations Hub: Time Clock, Job Scheduling, Forms, Quick Tasks; no estimate or invoice feature listed. connecteam.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
30. IndusTrack pricing page: "$0 Unlimited office users. No credit card. No time limit"; "Office users ... use IndusTrack through a browser at no cost"; "$125 per field tech per month." industrack.com/pricing, retrieved November 10, 2026.
31. Dusk FSM plans page: Launch free, "Includes 25 completed Work items per month," "Unlimited Staff and Contractors," "Schedule & Dispatch Work," "Field Service Mobile Apps"; "Send Quotes and Invoices" listed on Growth, $699/month. duskmobile.com/plans, retrieved November 10, 2026.
32. Apple App Store listings, read November 10, 2026: ServiceM8 (first released July 2010); Swivl (3 ratings); Cloud Job Manager (released February 2026, no ratings); Zoho FSM; Contractor+; Square Invoices; Wave; Zoho Invoice. No App Store listing found for Clevra, Opsler or PunchProfit.
33. r/handyman, "Handymen of Reddit: What free software do you use to keep track of jobs and clients?" (July 31, 2025): the post, "Most of the apps I've found are either paid or have very limited free versions"; the top reply, "Google - Sheets, Docs, Calendar and an old fashioned paper notebook" (reddit.com); "I used square to invoice and asked for cash or cheques because you can mark it as paid and track it that way, scheduling not so much tho. I used google calendar. Ended up moving to Jobber eventually. It helped a lot when I was busy." (reddit.com); "Does joist have scheduling? I don't remember it being anything more than invoicing when I was looking at apps." (reddit.com). Read November 10, 2026.
34. r/handyman, "What software do I need?" (March 13, 2025): the post, "if I'm just changing a door knob I'd rather be paid immediately after doing the job" (reddit.com); "Easiest way to accept credit cards is to open up a square account. Didn't cost me nothing" (reddit.com); "Joist basic is free" and the reply "You only get 3 (or 4) free invoices a month now. It changed about a year ago." (reddit.com). Read November 10, 2026.
35. r/handyman, "How do you invoice in the beginning?" (January 19, 2025): "I started with excel but quickly moved to the free version of Zoho. It does most everything that quickbooks does including emailing invoices with a payment portal." reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
36. r/handyman, "Hey handymen! how are you managing money" (February 28, 2025): "Wave, their free plan can make estimates, invoices, track expenses and I can put my logo and color scheme on everything for free!" reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
37. r/handyman, "For those with websites, how do you handle leads?" (comment, April 4, 2025): "Right now I'm trying the free version. It forces me to use a logo that says 'your logo' and will not let me change it until I pay." reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
38. r/handyman, "What's better? Verbal estimate on-site VS. Itemized estimate a day later" (January 3, 2026): top reply, "Never give a verbal quote - when you can't remember what you told them, it becomes your word versus theirs. I always wait a day or two to send the estimate." (reddit.com); "you're probably cutting your own throat by giving an estimate on the spot. Unless it is cut and dry. Like, they want a tv hung up." (reddit.com). Read November 10, 2026.
39. r/handyman, "Anyone else lose jobs because you couldn't quote on the spot?" (May 31, 2026; the post was later deleted by its author, the comment remains): "I screw myself every time I give a quote on the spot. I don't do it anymore. They can wait." reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
40. r/HandymanBusiness, "This is legit! Need your feedback" (comment, January 9, 2026): "What I'm really looking for is an app that has an ala cart style of billing set up so i can charge every one of my clients the same for each task completed. $200 for a g/d install, $350 for a new bathroom vanity, etc." reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
41. r/handyman, "Solo tradespeople question" (February 1, 2026): "I finish the work, I get paid on the spot. I'm not running an ar dept" reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
42. r/handyman, "What are some tips/tricks/advice you would give to a newer handyman?" (comment, August 2, 2025): "processing a card transaction usually adds a 3ish% fee. Are you absorbing that? If so price your work accordingly." reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
43. r/HandymanBusiness, "Is Jobber worth it for a solo handyman or is it just built for bigger operations?" (comment, March 8, 2026): "I use square. Its free and works great for me." reddit.com, read November 10, 2026.
44. r/handyman, "Hey Handyman - What tools or systems do you use to manage your jobs?" (July 2025): "Notes app on iPhone for job notes" (reddit.com); r/handyman, "Professional handypeople, what software or online tools do you use in your business?" (October 24, 2025): "I use QuickBooks (accounting), Apple Notes (Job notes and preliminary walkthroughs), and ContractorTools (Estimates)" (reddit.com). Read November 10, 2026.
45. r/handyman, "What do you actually use for invoices right now?" (September 4, 2026), a post by an app builder; reply: "Lady, we get at least 20 of these posts a week." (reddit.com). r/handyman moderators on "What software is actually worth paying for as a solo handyman?" (posted April 15, 2026, removed November 3, 2026): "No advertising, this includes market research for your app or product." (reddit.com). Read November 10, 2026.
46. Deepsel count of r/handyman and r/HandymanBusiness posts and comments from January 1, 2025 to November 2, 2026 that mention invoices, estimates, quotes, scheduling, software, apps or a CRM: 17,011. Of those, Jobber appears in 382, a spreadsheet, Excel or Google Sheets in 283, QuickBooks in 247, Housecall Pro in 156, Square (payment and invoice contexts only) in 80, Wave in 63, Joist in 50, Markate in 48, Google Calendar in 48 and Zoho in 31. Counted November 10, 2026 from an archive of both subreddits current to November 2, 2026. A mention is not a user, and the count includes posts by app makers.