Pool service software compared: 16 tools priced at 60, 200 and 450 pools (2026)

Published November 10, 2026 · Every price and feature checked on the vendor's own pages November 10, 2026

• Deepsel makes this page. We sell free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors, and pool companies are one of the trades we sell to, so we compete with every tool below. Deepsel isn't in the list, the tables or the picks. It gets a section of its own near the end, with what it's missing for a pool route.
• Every price, fee and feature comes from the vendor's own pricing page, feature page, fee schedule or help center, read on November 10, 2026, and links to it in the sources. I didn't sign up for these tools or run a route through them, so this compares published plans. The hands-on opinions are from pool owners on Reddit, and they're labeled as theirs.
• No vendor paid to be on this page, and none of the links are affiliate links.

Short version: pool service software is priced four ways, and the right tool depends on which one your route is cheapest under. Per pool: Skimmer ($2 a pool on the plan with route optimization), PoolDial ($2), PoolTrac ($1), Pool Service Software (free to 10 pools, then $49.99, $99 and 95¢ a pool) and AquaSuite (50¢ a pool for sign-ups through December 31). Per tech: Pool Brain ($50 plus $65 a tech), Paythepoolman ($50 plus $15) and Pool Founder ($45). Per user or per route: Pool Office Manager, Jobber, Housecall Pro and GorillaDesk. Free, paid for some other way: BlueRoute, The Dip App and ProBase. For 3 techs and 200 pools the software runs $0 to $400 a month. Card fees on that route's monthly billing come to about $840 to $1,240 at the rates vendors print in full, which is more than any subscription here.

Most of the comparisons on Google's first page for these searches were written by pool software vendors (Skimmer, BlueRoute, Pool Office Manager and Pool Founder among them), and most pick themselves. This one is written by a vendor too, a general one, and it doesn't pick a winner. It prices every tool at three route sizes from the vendor's own pages, shows what each covers for a weekly route, and adds up the card fees most of those comparisons leave out.

What a pool route needs from software

A pool route isn't a stream of one-off jobs. It's the same 60 or 200 or 450 stops every week, billed once a month. That changes what matters. Here's the list I checked every tool against:

• Weekly routes and route sheets. Each tech's day in driving order, and a way to move a whole day when it rains. Route optimization is the paid step on several tools.
• Chemical readings and dosing logs. Free chlorine, pH, alkalinity, CYA, calcium and salt at every stop, ideally with LSI and a dose suggestion, and a history per pool so you can see a CYA creep before the pool goes green.
• Photos for the homeowner. A report after each stop with the readings and a photo of clean water is what stops the "did you even come this week?" calls.
• Recurring monthly billing and autopay. One charge a month to a card or bank account on file, retried when it fails, not 4 or 5 invoices per pool.
• Equipment on each pool. Pump, filter, heater, salt cell and automation, so the tech brings the right cartridge.
• Repairs and green-pool cleanups. Quotes with photos, an approval from the homeowner, and a one-time job that sits next to the route.
• Tech pay per pool. If you pay techs per pool or per stop instead of by the hour, the software should do that math. Few tools do.

What each tool costs at three route sizes

Three sizes, priced from each vendor's published plans on November 10, 2026. Solo: 1 tech (the owner) with 60 pools and one login. Small crew: 3 techs with 200 pools, plus one office login. Growing: 6 techs with 450 pools, plus two office logins. Each tool is priced on the plan that includes route optimization where that's a paid step (Housecall Pro is the exception, explained under the table), at month-to-month rates, with the annual rate in brackets where the vendor sells one. Software only; card fees are in their own table further down. Alphabetical within each group, not ranked.

Notes on the arithmetic. Skimmer's Getting Started plan would be $60 at 60 pools, but Skimmer sells it for routes of 0 to 49 pools, and route optimization, the dosing calculator and recurring work orders are on Scaling Up, so that's the plan priced here.¹ Jobber at 8 logins is the 5-user band plus three users at $29 month to month ($286), or the 10-user band on annual billing ($229), whichever is lower.²⁴ Housecall Pro's route optimization and recurring service plans are on Max at every size; Essentials has routes, checklists and commissions, and Basic ($79 for one user) has none of those.²⁶ PSS bills every body of water as a property, so a pool with a spa can count twice.¹¹

The pattern is plain once it's in one table. Per-pool tools are cheap on a small route and expensive on a big one: Skimmer and PoolDial go from $120 to $900 as the route grows from 60 to 450 pools. Per-tech tools barely move, because a tech carries 60 to 75 pools: Paythepoolman goes from $65 to $140. If your techs run full routes, per-tech pricing beats every per-pool price here except AquaSuite's 50¢ offer.

What each tool does for a weekly route

The seven needs from the top of the page, checked against each vendor's pricing and feature pages. "Not listed" means I didn't find it on the pages I read, not that the tool can't do it; ask before you buy.

Two columns separate the pool tools from the general ones. Dosing: every pool-specific tool lists an LSI calculator or dose suggestions except AquaSuite, which lists dosing logs, and ProBase, and none of the four general tools lists either. Tech pay: only Pool Brain prints pay rules that follow the pool (by property or body of water). AquaSuite, Housecall Pro and GorillaDesk track commissions; the rest track hours, list payroll without saying how it's figured, or list nothing.

Pool service software, one by one

Alphabetical, pool-specific tools first. Each one gets its real strengths and the route it fits.

AquaSuite: 50¢ a pool until December 31

AquaSuite charges per active pool, never per tech or seat, with one plan and every feature on it. For its 10th anniversary, companies that sign up by December 31, 2026 get their first 10 pools free and pay 50¢ a pool after that, locked for life while the subscription stays active, with a $20 minimum that covers 50 pools. Companies that sign up later pay $1 a pool.¹⁸ At the offer price that's $25 at 60 pools and $220 at 450, the cheapest per-pool software here.

The plan includes a route optimizer, tech apps for iPhone and Android, chemical readings and dosing logs, billable chemicals, repairs with customer approvals, automatic invoicing with card autopay, two-way texting, service reports with photos, and tech commissions, with unlimited techs and office users.¹⁸ The catch is the card rate. Payments through AquaBiller cost 3.5% + 30¢, the highest published rate on this page, so a route that bills mostly by card pays more in fees than in software.¹⁸ Fits: a route that can move customers to bank payments or checks, or one under 50 pools that wants to pay $20 or less.

BlueRoute: $0 software, 3% on every card payment

BlueRoute charges nothing for the software and earns on payments: 3% flat on cards and 1% on bank (ACH) payments through BlueRoute Payments, rates locked for life for its first 100 companies. You can't bring your own processor; it's how the software stays free.¹⁹ Its feature list covers route optimization, invoicing and AutoPay, work orders and mobile quoting, unlimited customer texts, an LSI calculator, chemical tracking, offline mode, a customer portal, equipment tracking and service reports, with no tiers.^{19, 20}

BlueRoute also wrote the comparison at #7 on Google for "pool service software," which names BlueRoute the best free option. On a $140 monthly bill its 3% is $4.20, the lowest card fee printed in full on this page, under Jobber's 2.9% + 30¢ ($4.36) and Skimmer's 3.4% + 25¢ on autopay ($5.01). Fits: a solo or small route that collects by card and wants no subscription at all.

Paythepoolman: $50 plus $15 a tech

Paythepoolman (PTPM) is $50 a month plus $15 per technician, with no per-pool charge: $65 for one tech, $95 for three, $140 for six.⁷ It says it has been running for more than 10 years, privately owned, and that a pool contractor in Riverside, California built it. Billing is the center of it: one billing run for every customer on the cycle with late fees and statements, cards on file and autopay, plus one-click route optimization with each tech's GPS trail, trackers for filter cleans and salt cells, Orenda dosing and LSI, LaMotte SpinTouch import, an equipment log with five photos per item, and profit per pool.^{7, 8}

Several things cost extra. The Pool Junction customer app, which shows the homeowner their service photos and lets them pay by ACH, Apple Pay or Google Pay, is $25 a month for the company. Payroll is $12 per employee a month plus a sign-up fee, and texts are bought as credits. You can switch on a $1.50 convenience fee that the customer pays on each card payment. The card rate itself isn't printed.⁷ Fits: a crew that's adding techs, since the next one costs $15.

Pool Brain: $50 plus $65 a tech, with pay rules per pool

Pool Brain charges $50 a month for unlimited office users plus $65 for each active field technician, with every feature and free setup: $115 for one tech, $245 for three, $440 for six.⁴ The trial is 30 days.³⁷

Its feature page reads like it was written by someone who ran routes. The tech enters readings and the dose fills itself in. Chemical cost is tracked by customer, property, body of water and technician. Equipment drives the checklist (no salt cell, no salt reading; a cartridge filter drops the backwash option). Service emails go out with labeled photos when a stop is done. Invoices are created and charged by card or ACH every month and retried once a day if a card declines, and a route profit report flags customers you're losing money on. Tech pay rates can differ by employee, property, body of water, service level and type, which is the closest thing to pay-per-pool on this page.⁵ Pool Brain Payments costs 3.2% + 25¢ per card payment and 1% + 25¢ per bank payment (capped at $15), plus $20 a month while it's on; keyed cards are 3.5% + 25¢.⁶ Fits: a company with three or more techs that wants pay rules and profit per pool more than a low bill.

Pool Founder: $45 a tech while the founder rate lasts

Pool Founder is $45 per tech a month, with unlimited pools and office users and every feature. That's a founder rate for its first 100 companies (27 had signed up on November 10); after that it's $55, and the companies already in keep $45. The trial is 30 days with no card.¹⁶ One tech is $45, three are $135, six are $270.

Features: "Best Fit" route building by drive time, readings for FC, pH, TA, CYA and salt with the dose calculated and a history kept per pool, photos, readings and tasks emailed after every visit, invoices written from completed work with saved cards charged, Stripe, ACH and QuickBooks, work orders from the pool deck, and clock-in with drive time, minutes on site, mileage and overtime.¹⁷ The card rate isn't on its pricing page. Pool Founder also publishes one of the comparisons ranking for these searches. Fits: a solo or small crew that wants per-tech pricing below Pool Brain's.

Pool Office Manager: $125 for the first user

Pool Office Manager (POM) is priced by active user: $125 a month for the first and $25 for each one after, so one login is $125, four are $200 and eight are $300. QuickBooks Online sync is $25 more, texting starts at $10, and the trial is 30 days with a card entered at sign-up.⁹ You can deactivate users in the off-season and stop paying for them the next month, which is the feature northern companies will care about most.

It covers the route well: four schedule views, recurring appointments and route optimization; chemistry at every visit with each reading next to last week's, and LSI and dosing worked out from each pool's gallons; bodies of water with gallons and equipment; invoices built from the completed visit, chemicals included, with Stripe card and ACH payments; truck inventory that deducts what the tech used; and time tracking you export for payroll. It also works with QuickBooks Desktop.⁹ Autopay runs through a customer portal from its partner Biller Genie.¹⁰ Fits: a seasonal company with chemical inventory on trucks.

Pool Service Software (PSS): free to 10 pools

PSS prices by the properties you service. Free covers up to 10 with no card and no time limit. Dive In is $49.99 a month for 11 to 50, Ripple Effect is $99 for 51 to 100, and past 100 Wave Maker is 95¢ a property, bought in blocks. Annual billing takes 15% off. A property is any body of water, so a pool and a spa are two.¹¹ Watch the band jumps: 50 pools is $49.99 and 51 is $99.

Its pages list Quick Routes and a Geo-Scheduler for planning, readings and dosages with Orenda and Bob Lowry LSI calculators, LaMotte integration, photo proof at every visit, invoices raised when a visit closes with Stripe auto-pay and automatic late fees, equipment and parts per pool, an offline field app, and payroll per team member.^{11, 12} PSS passes Stripe's standard rate through with no markup (typically 2.9% + 30¢). The client portal, where homeowners see readings, photos and invoices, is an add-on: free for 10 active clients, then $19, $49 or $99 a month by count.¹¹ Fits: a new route under 10 pools, and solo operators who want a cheap pool-specific tool.

PoolDial: $2 a pool, with AI phone answering

PoolDial charges $2 for each pool with a completed visit in the month, with a $40 minimum (20 pools), unlimited users and every feature, after a 14-day trial. There's no seasonal pause rate.¹⁵ It prints its processing rates in full: cards 3.2% + 30¢, bank payments 1.1% (Stripe's 0.8%, capped at $5, plus PoolDial's uncapped 0.3%).¹⁵

Included: route planning and optimization, readings with dosing suggestions and an LSI calculator, checklists with photo proof, invoicing and autopay, work orders, service agreements, a customer portal, a website builder, and an AI receptionist and chat assistant.¹⁵ At $400 for 200 pools it costs the same as Skimmer's Scaling Up. Fits: an owner who misses calls while on the route and wants phone answering in the same bill.

PoolTrac: $1 a pool for records, no billing

PoolTrac is $1 per visited pool a month with a $30 minimum, unlimited users and customers, 10 photos per record, and a 30-day trial with no card.¹³ Its feature list is about the service record: an advanced chemical calculator, chemical usage and inventory, adjustable thresholds, dual water body management, GPS tracking, a pool equipment overview, QR code check-in at the pool, offline mode, route optimization, recurring service scheduling, and a client app and web portal.¹³

Neither its pricing page nor its products page lists customer invoices or online payments; billing goes through its QuickBooks Online integration.^{13, 14} Fits: a company that already bills from QuickBooks and wants proof of service and chemistry records.

ProBase: free, paid for by lawn marketplace jobs

ProBase is $0 a month with no trial, no card and one plan: scheduling and route management, invoicing and online payments, tips, quotes, service reports, team access, and chemical logging and water testing for pool routes. It earns a percentage of the optional LawnStarter, Lawn Love and Home Gnome jobs its users pick up, which are lawn jobs.²³ So a pool company gets the software free and the marketplace doesn't apply to it. The card rate isn't printed. Fits: a new pool route that wants to bill online at $0.

Skimmer: $1 or $2 a pool

Skimmer prices per serviced location. Getting Started is $1 a month per location with a $49 minimum, sold for routes of 0 to 49 pools. Scaling Up is $2 with a $98 minimum, for 50 to 1,000 pools. A location you don't service that month isn't billed, and a pool and spa at one address count once. Both plans include unlimited technicians and admins, the route builder, readings and dosages, invoicing, AutoPay, QuickBooks Online sync, a customer portal and service emails. Scaling Up adds route optimization, the Orenda LSI and dosing calculator, LaMotte integration, quotes, recurring work orders, unlimited service texts (2.9¢ each on Getting Started) and 20 photos a visit instead of 5.¹ New companies get the first month of Scaling Up free.

The service email, Skimmer's "digital door hanger," can carry the readings, dosages, finished checklist items and the visit's photos, and photos have to be taken in the app, not picked from the camera roll, so they show the tech was there.³ Card payments through Skimmer cost 2.9% + 25¢ with another 0.5% on recurring or keyed payments, so autopay works out to 3.4% + 25¢; bank payments are 1% + 25¢, capped at $10.² AI phone answering is $99 a month and the marketing suite $150.¹ I found no tech pay feature on its pricing or product pages. Fits: a route of 50 to 1,000 pools that wants the tool owners mentioned most in the r/PoolPros threads I read.

The Dip App: free, with Smart Routes for $24.99

The Dip App is free to use, and $24.99 a month for the whole company adds Smart Routes, its route optimization, with no per-user or per-pool fee. (One older line on its pricing page still says $14.99.)²¹ On the free plan a tech logs readings and LSI, and finishing a job sends the customer a report through the Dip app and by email with readings, notes, photos and the next service date; the customer can pay unpaid invoices in the app.²²

The fees are where it earns. Card payments through Dip cost 3% + $2 each, and bank payments a flat $3.50.²¹ On a $140 monthly bill that's $6.20 per card payment, the highest per-payment cost here. Autopay isn't listed. Fits: a solo residential route that's happy with a simple app and collects mostly by check.

General field service software pool companies use

These four aren't built for pools. They show up because many pool companies also do repairs, remodels, lawn or pest work, and want one system for all of it.

GorillaDesk: $99 for the first route on Pro

GorillaDesk prices per route (a tech who runs their own schedule) with unlimited users. Basic is $49 for the first route with routing up to 25 stops. Pro, at $99 for the first route and $50 for each added one, adds Drive Matrix routing, automated subscription billing through Stripe or Square, a customer portal, and production and sales commission tracking. The trial is 14 days with no card.²⁸ Material tracking keeps chemical use records on every plan.^{28, 29} Payments run through your own Stripe or Square account, at their rates. Fits: a pool route with pest or lawn work too. The per-route math is in our GorillaDesk pricing breakdown.

Housecall Pro: routes on Essentials, optimization on Max

Housecall Pro's Basic plan is $79 a month, or $59 billed annually, for one user. Essentials, $189 or $149 annually for 5 users, adds routes, checklist automations, photo reports, employee GPS, QuickBooks Online sync and commissions by item, service or job type. Max, $329 or $299 annually for 8 users plus $35 per added user, adds recurring service plans and route optimization. Card rates are listed "as low as 2.59%," and the trial is 14 days with no card.²⁶ Its pool page says techs can update chemical readings, and that service history, chemical data and equipment notes stay on each customer.²⁷ No dosing calculator is listed. Fits: a multi-trade company that pays commission. Every tier is in the Housecall Pro pricing breakdown.

Jobber: Connect for a pool route

Jobber prices by plan and team size, and a pool route needs Connect: that's where route optimization, automatic payments on a card on file and job checklists start. Core, $49 a month or $29 annually for one user, has none of the three.²⁴ Connect is $139 a month for one user ($99 annually), $199 for up to 5 ($149), and $299 for up to 10 ($229), with extra users at $29. Cards cost 2.9% + 30¢ and bank payments 1%. The 14-day trial runs on Grow with no card.²⁴ Jobber's pool page suggests checklists for recording chemical readings and treatments, with before-and-after photos and the finished checklist sent to the client before you leave.²⁵ There's no LSI, dosing or per-pool chemistry history listed. Fits: a property-services company where pools are one line among several. All plans, bands and fees are in our Jobber pricing breakdown.

ServiceTitan: per tech, by quote

ServiceTitan has a pool service page: memberships with recurring visits, volume scheduling and route optimization for busy-season booking, a customer portal where homeowners check their chemical readings and pay for recurring service, photos and video from the tech app, and equipment service histories.³⁰ Pricing is per technician and quote-only.³¹ Fits: a large multi-trade company with office staff and many techs. What contractors report paying is in our ServiceTitan pricing guide.

Card fees: the bill that's bigger than the software

The monthly charge to each customer goes through someone's payment processor, and on a real route that fee is larger than any subscription above. Take the small crew: 200 pools at $140 a month (the middle of what Florida owners charge, from our pool service pricing guide), so $28,000 billed a month and 200 payments. Here's what each tool's printed rate comes to.

Paythepoolman, Pool Founder, ProBase and Pool Office Manager (which uses Stripe's standard rates) don't print a number of their own, GorillaDesk uses your own Stripe or Square account, and PoolTrac doesn't take payments.^{7, 9, 16, 23, 28}

Two things follow from this table. The gap between processors on the same route ($840 to $1,240 by card, among rates printed in full) is as big as the gap between software bills. And moving customers from card to bank payments saves more than any software switch: on Skimmer it's $1,002 against $330, $672 a month. If your agreement lets you, offer a lower monthly price for paying by bank, or pass a card surcharge on where your state allows it. The pool service agreement template has a card-on-file billing clause you can adapt.

Which one fits your route

No ranking, because the answer changes with route size. From the cost table and the feature checks above:

• Under 10 pools, just starting. Pool Service Software Free (10 pools) and AquaSuite (first 10 free) cost nothing and grow with you. ProBase and The Dip App's free plan stay free at any size, and so does BlueRoute if you'll take cards through it at 3%.
• One tech, 30 to 100 pools. The per-tech tools are cheapest once the route fills: Pool Founder at $45 and Paythepoolman at $65, both with dosing and autopay. AquaSuite's offer is lower still, $25 at 60 pools, if you sign up by December 31. PSS is $49.99 to 50 pools and $99 to 100. Skimmer is $120 at 60 pools on Scaling Up, and owners on Reddit call it expensive and worth it.
• Three techs, about 200 pools. Paythepoolman $95, AquaSuite $95 at the offer price, Pool Founder $135, PSS $190, Pool Office Manager $200, Pool Brain $245, Skimmer and PoolDial $400. At this size, check the card fees in the table above before the subscription.
• Six techs and up. Per-tech pricing stays low ($140 Paythepoolman, $270 Pool Founder, $440 Pool Brain) while per-pool pricing climbs ($900 on Skimmer or PoolDial). Tech pay starts to matter more than the bill: Pool Brain's pay rates by property and body of water, AquaSuite's tech commissions.
• Seasonal routes up north. Pool Office Manager lets you switch users off for the winter, and PSS offers seasonal discounts.
• Pools plus other trades. Jobber Connect, Housecall Pro or GorillaDesk Pro, accepting that none of them lists a dosing tool. Our field service software for small business comparison covers the general tools in more depth.

What pool owners say on r/PoolPros

I didn't run routes on these tools, so here's what owners who do said in 2026 threads on Reddit's r/PoolPros. They're opinions, from one person each.

• On Skimmer: "It's expensive at $2/acct/mo, but I get to see what my techs are doing and make training improvements" (September 2026).³⁶
• On The Dip App: "It's only 25 bucks a month and I've got 96 accounts" (May 2026).³⁴
• On Pool Service Software: "Simple enough, cheap and does everything I need" (May 2026).³⁴
• On Pool Brain: one solo owner's "biggest frustration is not having a mass text feature" (May 2026), and another owner wrote in July that Pool Brain "is great at control, but they have the worst billing system." Pool Brain's current payments fee schedule is dated October 3, 2026, after that comment.^{34, 35, 6}
• On Paythepoolman: a company that runs its accounts on it said the 2.0 version made things that took "one or two clicks" take several, and that it would switch rather than move to 2.0 (July 2026).³⁵
• A setup more than one solo owner described: Skimmer for routes only, with QuickBooks Online recurring sales receipts charging each customer's card every month (May 2026).³⁴

Looked at and left off the list

iGEO ERP holds #2 on Google for "pool service software," but its pool page is a Spanish-language page for a Spanish ERP that also covers pest control, gardens, HVAC and cleaning, with no prices on it.³³ Arrivy (#6) is general scheduling and dispatch software at $50 per user a month with a 3-user minimum; its pricing page lists route planning, digital forms and reporting, and nothing pool-specific.³² I didn't check Pool360's service software, Pooli Pro, PoolCarePRO or Evosus LOU (a retail point-of-sale system), so they're not here.

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

We build Deepsel, so it sits here and not in the tables. A list that picks its writer's product isn't worth much. Deepsel is free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for home-service contractors, and it isn't pool route software. A route at any of the three sizes above would use Pro: $29 a month, or $290 a year, for the whole shop with any number of techs.

What it has for a pool route. Weekly stops run as a recurring job series, on every plan: set the repeat rule once on the job, and its visits are made 12 months ahead; change one visit, or that visit and every one after it. A visit checklist rides with the series, and a number item takes a unit and a range you set, so a free chlorine reading below your range shows as Low. Readings stay on the job with the visit's photos. Each pool's pump, filter, heater, heat pump, salt chlorinator, automation, cleaner, spa and lights go on the customer as equipment, with pump horsepower and speed, filter type and area, and heater capacity and fuel. The Pool & spa starter price book adds 17 items with example prices to replace: weekly and every-other-week service, openings and closings, green pool cleanup, acid wash, filter and salt cell work, pump motors, heaters, lights and leak detection. Repair quotes go out with options, and the customer approves and signs online. On Pro, the service plans module charges a monthly rate to the card on file, retries a failed card, and emails the customer and your office if it still fails.

What it's missing, and for a full-time route it's a lot:

• No route optimization. A tech's My day lists the day's visits by start time, with a map link for each stop, not in driving order, and there's no printable route sheet.
• No LSI, no dose suggestions, no readings history per pool, and no chemical usage or cost per pool.
• No service report with readings and photos for the homeowner. The visit-complete email tells the customer the visit is done, with the work performed and the tech's notes, and that's all.
• A recurring series bills one invoice per visit, or none. There's no monthly invoice that adds up a month's stops; a monthly rate on autopay goes through the service plans module on Pro. Free's 30 invoices a month cover about 6 weekly pools billed per visit.
• No tech pay: no payroll, no commissions, no pay per pool.
• No iPhone or Android app yet (they're coming to Max), so techs use the phone's browser. Texting with customers is on Max only, at $59 a month.
• No dedicated importer for Skimmer or Pool Brain. The customer import reads any CSV or Excel file and brings over customers only, not equipment, readings or routes.
• Cards are 3.3% + 30¢ online on every plan, which is $984 on the 200-pool example, more than Jobber's or BlueRoute's rate. Bank payments are 1%, capped at $15: $280.

Where it fits is a pool company that does as much repair and equipment work as route work, or a shop that runs pools next to HVAC, plumbing or landscaping and wants every user on one $29 plan. A full-time weekly route will find more of what it needs in the pool tools above. If one of these gaps is the reason you'd pass, tell us which one. Plans are on the pricing page, and other free plans, including ProBase's, are in our free field service software comparison.

How I checked

On November 10, 2026, I pulled Google's live US results for "pool service software," "pool route software," "pool service app" and "skimmer pool service software," and read every comparison ranking there. The tool list is every pool-specific platform those pages name that publishes a price, plus the four general tools pool owners ask about. The same day I read each vendor's pricing page, and its feature page, fee schedule or help center where the pricing page left something out, and saved what each said. Every price, fee and feature above links to the page it came from. Route-size costs use month-to-month prices on the plan that includes route optimization where that's a paid step (Skimmer Scaling Up, Jobber Connect, GorillaDesk Pro), Housecall Pro's Essentials up to 5 users, and the card-fee example uses each vendor's printed rate with every customer on autopay. I didn't sign up for these tools or run a route through them; where a page was vague, I say so. Owner opinions come from 2026 threads on r/PoolPros. I build Deepsel, a competitor, which is why it has a section and no row. Prices change. If one here is wrong, email me and I'll fix it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best pool service software?

It depends on your route size and on how the software is priced, which is why this page doesn't rank them. A solo route of 50 to 100 pools pays $20 to $65 a month on AquaSuite (at its offer price through December 31, 2026), Pool Founder ($45) or Paythepoolman ($65), and all three log readings and dosing and take autopay. A company with several techs that wants pay rules and profit per pool looks at Pool Brain ($50 plus $65 a tech). Skimmer is the tool owners mentioned most in the r/PoolPros threads I read, and it costs $2 a pool on the plan with route optimization. Under 10 pools, Pool Service Software and AquaSuite are free. A shop that does pool work next to other trades fits Jobber, Housecall Pro or GorillaDesk.

How much does pool service software cost?

From $0 to about $400 a month for 3 techs and 200 pools, on each vendor's published prices in November 2026. Per-pool tools: Skimmer $2 a pool on Scaling Up, PoolDial $2, PoolTrac $1, Pool Service Software 95 cents past 100 pools, AquaSuite 50 cents through December 31, 2026. Per-tech tools: Pool Brain $50 plus $65 a tech, Paythepoolman $50 plus $15, Pool Founder $45. BlueRoute, ProBase and The Dip App's free plan charge no subscription. Card fees on the monthly billing usually cost more than the software.

How much does Skimmer cost?

Skimmer charges per serviced location a month: $1 on Getting Started (sold for 0 to 49 pools, $49 minimum) and $2 on Scaling Up ($98 minimum), where route optimization, the Orenda LSI and dosing calculator, quotes and recurring work orders live. A location you don't service that month isn't billed. At 200 pools Scaling Up is $400 a month. Card payments through Skimmer cost 2.9% + 25 cents, plus 0.5% on recurring or keyed payments; bank payments are 1% + 25 cents, capped at $10.

Is there free pool service software?

Yes, five ways. Pool Service Software is free up to 10 pools and AquaSuite's first 10 pools are free. BlueRoute charges no subscription and earns 3% on card payments. The Dip App has a free plan and charges $24.99 a month for Smart Routes, with 3% + $2 on each card payment. ProBase is free and earns from optional lawn marketplace jobs.

Is per-pool or per-tech pricing cheaper?

Per-tech pricing gets cheaper the more pools each tech runs. At 1 tech and 60 pools, Pool Founder is $45 and Paythepoolman $65, against $120 on Skimmer Scaling Up. At 6 techs and 450 pools, Paythepoolman is $140, Pool Founder $270 and Pool Brain $440, against $900 on Skimmer or PoolDial. Per-pool pricing wins only on a small route, or with AquaSuite's 50-cent offer.

Can Jobber or Housecall Pro run a pool route?

Yes, with gaps. Jobber's Connect plan has route optimization, automatic card payments and checklists that Jobber suggests for chemical readings; Core has none of the three. Housecall Pro's Essentials plan has routes, checklists, photo reports and commissions, and route optimization and recurring service plans are on Max. Neither lists an LSI calculator, dosing suggestions or a readings history per pool.

Which pool service software handles tech pay?

Pool Brain sets pay rates by employee, property, body of water, service level and type. AquaSuite has tech commissions on its one plan. Paythepoolman sells payroll from the time clock as a $12-per-employee add-on. Housecall Pro tracks commissions by item, service or job type on Essentials, and GorillaDesk tracks production commissions on Pro. Pool Office Manager and Pool Founder track hours for payroll.

Sources

1. Skimmer pricing: Getting Started "$1.00/month per serviced location," "Starts at $49/month," for "businesses servicing between 0 and 49 pools/month," with unlimited technicians and admins, route builder, invoicing and online payments, 5 photos per visit, service reports and emails, customer portal; service texts $0.029 a message; Scaling Up "$2.00/month per serviced location," "Starts at $98/month," for 50 to 1,000 pools, adding quotes and estimates, LSI and dosing calculator powered by Orenda, LaMotte integration, recurring work orders, unlimited service texts, 20 photos per visit, route optimization; the feature table marks readings and dosages, AutoPay and QuickBooks Online sync on every plan and the route optimizer and dosage recommendation on Scaling Up and Enterprise; AI Phone $99 a month, Marketing Suite $150 a month; first month of Scaling Up free for new users; "If you do not service a location in a given month, you will not be billed"; a serviced location "can also include multiple bodies of water." getskimmer.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
2. Skimmer help center, Billing FAQ: "For credit and debit cards: 2.9% + $0.25 per transaction (additional 0.5% for keyed or recurring transactions)"; "For bank draft (ACH) payments: 1% + $0.25 per transaction (capped at $10 per transaction)"; customers can opt into AutoPay. help.getskimmer.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
3. Skimmer technician features: the Service Email "can be customized to include chemical readings, chemical dosages, completed checklist items, and names of techs. If photos are required, the email report includes the photos taken onsite"; "Photos can only be taken through Skimmer and not uploaded from the camera roll library"; techs see "gate codes, pet names, equipment, and photos." getskimmer.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
4. Pool Brain pricing: "All features + free setup"; the price calculator in the page's script sets "providesAccess" (unlimited office users) at $50 and "eachActiveFieldTechnician" at $65 a month. poolbrain.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
5. Pool Brain features: "techs enter the required readings and a chemical dosage recommendation is auto-displayed"; chemical costs tracked "by customer, job, property, body of water, technician"; route optimization; service emails with "clearly labeled pictures"; "Every month, your invoices get created automatically, paid via credit card or ACH automatically... We'll even retry the charge attempt once per day"; equipment-driven workflows ("No salt cell? A salt reading won't be required"); route profit report; tech payroll with "different pay levels for different employees, properties, bodies of water, service levels and types." poolbrain.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
6. Pool Brain Payment Services Fee Schedule (last updated October 3, 2026): card payments 3.2% + $0.25; ACH 1% + $0.25 ($15 maximum); Pool Brain Payments monthly fee $20; manually entered cards 3.5% + $0.25; next-day card funding an additional 0.50%. poolbrain.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
7. Paythepoolman pricing: "$50 a month, plus $15 per technician"; "no per-pool charge"; 30-day free trial; "10+ years"; built by a pool contractor in Riverside, California; cards on file, autopay, one-click route optimization, GPS tracking, Orenda, LaMotte SpinTouch, equipment log; Pool Junction app $25 a month, "ACH, Apple Pay and Google Pay require the Pool Junction customer app add-on"; payroll $12 per employee per month plus a one-time sign-up fee; text credit packs; optional $1.50 convenience fee per card transaction paid by the customer. paythepoolman.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
8. Paythepoolman features: Orenda integration with "Dosage recommendations and automatic LSI"; LaMotte SpinTouch import; equipment log with "Up to five photos per piece of equipment"; payroll from approved clock-in hours; profit per pool and chemical cost per dose; multi-day projects. paythepoolman.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
9. Pool Office Manager pricing: "$125/month for the first user and $25/month for each additional active user, as of October 2026"; QuickBooks Online +$25, texting from $10, video storage +$25; seasonal deactivation; 30-day trial with a card entered at signup; four schedule views, recurring appointments, route optimization; chemistry per visit "shown beside the previous visit's value," LSI and dosing "computed from the actual gallons of each body of water"; bodies of water with gallons and equipment; invoices built from completed visits; Stripe card and ACH "at Stripe's standard processing rates"; truck inventory with auto-deduction; time tracking exportable for payroll; works with QuickBooks Desktop. poolofficemanager.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
10. Pool Office Manager invoice software: "POM has partnered with Biller Genie to enable a customer portal for all your clients. View historic invoices, update cards on file and enroll in autopay"; service reports sent automatically by email. poolofficemanager.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
11. Pool Service Software pricing: Free up to 10 properties, "No card. No time limit"; Dive In $49.99 a month (11 to 50); Ripple Effect $99 (51 to 100); Wave Maker $0.95 per property a month above 100, in blocks; annual billing 15% off; "A property is any body of water that has been or is set to be serviced"; Client Portal free for the first 10 active clients, $19 (11 to 100), $49 (101 to 500), $99 (501+); seasonal discounts; "PSS doesn't charge a markup on Stripe... typically 2.9% + 30¢"; integrations QuickBooks, Stripe, LaMotte, Orenda. poolservice.software, retrieved November 10, 2026.
12. Pool Service Software home page: Quick Routes and Geo-Scheduler; readings, dosages and photos attached when the tech closes a visit; Orenda and Bob Lowry LSI calculators; "Auto-invoice on visit close, Stripe auto-pay on file, late fees apply themselves"; "Track parts, chemicals and equipment per pool"; "Roles, work hours, capacity and payroll per member"; offline mobile app; route maintenance, repairs and equipment service. poolservice.software, retrieved November 10, 2026.
13. PoolTrac pricing: "$1 per visited location per month," "Minimum monthly charge: $30," 30-day trial, no credit card; unlimited customers and users, 10 photos per record, QuickBooks Online integration, route optimization, client app and web portal, QR code check-in; feature list including advanced chemical calculator, chemical usage and inventory monitoring, pool equipment overview, offline mode and recurring service scheduling. pooltrac.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
14. PoolTrac products page: record management, chemical tracking and route tools; no customer invoicing or payment collection listed. pooltrac.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
15. PoolDial pricing: "$2 for each unique pool with a completed or partially completed service visit," "$40 monthly minimum, equal to 20 pools"; unlimited users; 14-day trial; no seasonal pause rate; cards "3.2% plus $0.30 per transaction," ACH "1.1%... Stripe's 0.8% is capped at $5 per payment, plus PoolDial's uncapped 0.3%"; routes, readings and dosing recommendations, LSI calculator, checklists with photo proof, invoicing and autopay, work orders, agreements, customer portal, website builder, AI receptionist. pooldial.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
16. Pool Founder pricing: "$45/mo, per tech," "Every feature, unlimited pools and office users"; "27 of 100 claimed"; "At spot 100, the price goes to $55 per tech. Subscribe before then and you keep $45"; 1 tech $45, 3 techs $135, 6 techs $270; "30-day free trial. No credit card required." poolfounder.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
17. Pool Founder features: "Best Fit by drive time"; "Log FC, pH, TA, CYA, and salt from the deck. Dose amounts calculated. History stays with the pool"; "Photos, readings, and tasks emailed after every visit"; "Completed work writes the invoice. Saved cards charge. Stripe, ACH, and QuickBooks stay in sync"; work orders; "Clock-in, drive time, and minutes on site. Mileage and overtime"; equipment on the customer. poolfounder.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
18. AquaSuite pricing: 50¢ per active pool per month, first 10 pools free, $20 monthly minimum covering 50 pools, locked for life for sign-ups by December 31; "After the offer ends, new companies pay $1 per active pool"; included on every account: route optimizer, tech app for iPhone and Android, chemical readings and dosing logs, billable chemicals, repairs and approvals, automatic invoicing, card payments and autopay, 2-way texting, service reports with photos, reports and tech commissions, unlimited techs and office users; estimates and e-sign; "Card payments through AquaBiller cost 3.5% + $0.30 per successful payment." useaquasuite.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
19. BlueRoute pricing: "$0/Month. Every Feature Included"; "3% flat on cards, 1% on ACH"; rates locked for life for Founding Members, the first 100 companies; "BlueRoute is built around BlueRoute Payments"; features: route optimization, invoicing and AutoPay, work orders and quoting, unlimited customer texts, LSI calculator, chemical tracking, offline mode, customer portal, equipment tracking, service reports. getblueroute.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
20. BlueRoute features: "Route optimization, invoicing & AutoPay, work orders, unlimited customer texts, LSI calculator, chemical tracking, offline mode, customer portal." getblueroute.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
21. The Dip App pricing: "$24.99/Month Per Company," "won't ever be charged per technician or per pool"; Smart Routes on the paid plan; one line still reads "$14.99/month premium plan"; "there is a 3% + $2 processing fee for credit card payments or a flat fee of $3.50 for ACH payments." thedip.app, retrieved November 10, 2026.
22. The Dip App home page: chemical readings and LSI; marking a job done "will automatically send a customer report to your client through The Dip App as well as over email. The app report will include chemical readings, notes, photos, and their next service date"; customers pay unpaid invoices in the app; automatic payment reminders. thedip.app, retrieved November 10, 2026.
23. ProBase pricing: "$0/month," "No trial. No credit card"; one plan with scheduling and route management, invoicing and online payments, tips, quotes and estimates, service reports, team access, "Chemical logging & water testing (pool)"; "ProBase is free because of optional Marketplace partnerships, starting with LawnStarter, Lawn Love, and Home Gnome... We take a percentage of those jobs." probaseapp.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
24. Jobber pricing: Core $49 a month with no commitment or $29 billed annually, 1 user; Connect $139 (1 user), $199 (up to 5), $299 (up to 10), $399 (up to 15) with no commitment, or $99, $149, $229, $299 billed annually; "Add users for $29/mo each"; Connect adds "Collect payments automatically" and "Standardize job documentation with checklists"; the plan comparison marks Routing, Automatic payments and Checklists on Connect, Grow and Plus, not Core; Grow adds optional line items; credit card processing 2.9% + 30¢, bank payments 1%; "For 14 days you get full access to all of Jobber's features on the Grow plan, no credit card required." getjobber.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
25. Jobber pool service software page: "Use Checklists in the Jobber mobile app to record chemical readings and treatments, capture before-and-after photos, and send the completed checklist to the client"; "Save a card on file for automatic billing of recurring service"; recurring visits and route optimization. getjobber.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
26. Housecall Pro pricing: Basic $59 billed annually or $79 monthly, 1 user; Essentials $149 or $189, 5 users, adding Routes, checklist automations, photo reports, employee GPS tracking, commissions ("Pay different rates by item, service, or job type") and QuickBooks Online sync; Max $299 or $329, 8 users, "$35/mo per additional user," adding Recurring Service Plans and route optimization; "Card processing rates as low as 2.59%"; "Try 14 days free. No credit card required." housecallpro.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
27. Housecall Pro pool service software page: "Techs can update chemical readings, document service visits"; "The system also logs service history, chemical data, and equipment notes for every customer"; recurring weekly or biweekly visits. housecallpro.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
28. GorillaDesk pricing: "priced per route, not per user. Unlimited users on every plan"; 14-day trial, no card; Basic $49 with "Basic Routing (limited to 25 stops)" and "Material Tracking & Reporting: Easily keep accurate chemical use records"; Pro $99 with Drive Matrix routing, "Stripe & Square Subscriptions," customer portal, production and sales commission tracking; "Pro is $99 (+$50/mo per added route)"; payments through Stripe and Square integrations. gorilladesk.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
29. GorillaDesk pool service software page: route optimization, chemical use records, subscription billing. gorilladesk.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
30. ServiceTitan pool service software page: customer portal where customers "check their chemical readings, and pay for recurring services online"; recurring memberships; volume scheduling with route optimization; photos and video from the mobile app; equipment service histories. servicetitan.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
31. ServiceTitan pricing: "Our per-technician pricing is designed to fit your business"; "Request Pricing." servicetitan.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
32. Arrivy pricing: Premium Plan "$50/user," "Starts with a minimum of 3 users," with digital forms, route planning and advanced reporting; 14-day trial. arrivy.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
33. iGEO ERP pool care page: "Software para empresas de mantenimiento de piscinas"; sectors include pest control, water quality, gardens, pools, HVAC, cleaning and solar panels; no prices on the page. igeoerp.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
34. r/PoolPros, "Fellow solo operators, what software are you running for scheduling and invoicing? What's your biggest frustration with it?", comments of May 25 and 26, 2026. reddit.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
35. r/PoolPros, "Starting my business soon, need help deciding my FSM / Pool Service options," comments of July 25 and 26, 2026. reddit.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
36. r/PoolPros, "how do you currently document chemical readings for liability purposes," comment of September 24, 2026. reddit.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.
37. Pool Brain home page: "30 Day Free Trial." poolbrain.com, retrieved November 10, 2026.