Honest guide
ServiceM8 alternative for sole traders: when free is not the cheapest option
ServiceM8 gives one person a free plan, and for a lot of solo operators that is the right answer. This guide is for the ones it does not fit: project trades, Android phones, and anyone who wants to know the margin on a job before the job is finished.
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In short
ServiceM8's Free plan is one login and 30 jobs a month, built around a dispatch board for call-out work, with a field-only app on Android. If you are a solo sparky or plumber on an iPhone doing short jobs, take the free plan. If your jobs run for days or weeks, you carry an Android phone, or you want to see what a job is actually making while you are still on it, TrackYaTradie's Sole Trader plan is $35 a month, flat, with no job cap.
Want the head-to-head instead? Read TrackYaTradie vs ServiceM8. On Android? ServiceM8 alternative for Android.
Why a sole trader outgrows the ServiceM8 free plan
Start with the fair bit: ServiceM8 says its Free plan is completely free for solo operators, and it means it. One user, 30 jobs a month, quoting, invoicing, card payments and Xero, no card on file, no lock-in. The three reasons people look past it are about fit, not price.
1. It is a dispatch tool, and you are the only person to dispatch
ServiceM8's own help centre calls the dispatch board the central hub of the product, where you will spend most of your time. That board earns its keep when a queue of short jobs has to be scheduled to a crew. A solo chippy building a deck over two weeks, or a landscaper on a three-week backyard, has one job on the go and no one to allocate it to. What that tradie needs is the running total: hours in, materials bought, what is left of the quote. That is the number TrackYaTradie is built around and the one a field-service tool treats as a report you run afterwards.
"The dispatch board is the central hub of ServiceM8, where you will spend 90% of your time." ServiceM8 help centre
2. On Android, the free plan is the field app
ServiceM8 says plainly that it optimises for Apple devices. On an Android phone you get ServiceM8 Lite, which it builds for technicians, subcontractors and temporary workers without a management role. Lite handles your own jobs, checklists, photos, time on site and, since late 2025, quotes and invoices. What it leaves out is the management side. A sole trader is the owner, the office and the field in one pair of boots, so the half ServiceM8 holds back from Android is the half you run the business with. You end up on the laptop at night or buying an iPad to get at it.
"Android users will not have access to features critical for management roles, and they will not have access to the advanced features exclusive to the ServiceM8 iOS app for iPhone & iPad." ServiceM8 help centre
3. The day you put someone on, the free plan ends
Free is one login. A labourer for a week, an apprentice, your partner doing the invoices on a Sunday: any second person moves you to Starter at $29 a month, which also lifts the cap to 50 jobs. That is still good value and it is honest to say so. The difference is what each tool does with the second person. ServiceM8 gives them a login to the same dispatch board. TrackYaTradie gives them their own hours and costs against the job from their own phone, and you see the margin move the same day. The Starter plan covers up to 3 tradies at $79 a month, and it stays there no matter how many jobs the month brings.
Checked 1 October 2026 against servicem8.com/au/pricing, servicem8.com/au and the help centre articles on ServiceM8 Lite and the dispatch board.
ServiceM8 vs TrackYaTradie for one person
Nine rows. The free plan wins the first one.
| ServiceM8 | TrackYaTradie | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one person | Free plan, $0 (30 jobs a month) | Sole Trader, $35/mo flat |
| Jobs per month | 30 on Free, 50 on Starter ($29) | Unlimited on every plan |
| When you put someone on | Starter, $29/mo, unlimited users | Starter, $79/mo, up to 3 tradies |
| Native Android app | ServiceM8 Lite only - field tasks, no management features | Yes, full app on Google Play |
| Native iPhone app | Yes | Yes |
| Live per-job profit | Field service focused | Yes, costs vs quote, live |
| Quoting and invoicing | Yes | Yes |
| Xero sync | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes, 14 days | 14-day free trial, no card |
ServiceM8 prices in AUD including GST from its own pricing page, checked 1 October 2026. Always confirm current features and pricing with them before you decide.
What a solo chippy actually pays
Take a carpenter working alone: four or five jobs a month, each a week or two long, a labourer now and then, an Android phone in the ute.
On ServiceM8 the subscription is $0 while it is just you, and $29 a month the month you add the labourer. Jobs are well under the cap either way. The costs that do not show on the invoice are the ones to watch: the management side of the app is on the laptop or an iPad, not the Android phone, and the margin on each job is something you work out afterwards from the invoice and the receipts.
On TrackYaTradie the Sole Trader plan is $35 a month, flat. You set the quoted value when you open the job, log hours and supply costs from the phone as they happen, and the dashboard shows the margin while the job is still running, so a blowout is a Tuesday problem, not a handover surprise. The labourer gets their own login the week you need them. Run your own numbers with the job profit calculator, check what your hourly rate needs to be with the charge-out rate calculator, and see every plan on the pricing page.
ServiceM8 prices quoted from servicem8.com/au/pricing, checked 1 October 2026.
Where the ServiceM8 free plan is still the better pick
Be fair to it. For a sole trader, ServiceM8 wins in four cases.
- Call-out work on an iPhone. A solo plumber or sparky doing twenty short jobs a month, each booked, driven to and invoiced the same day, is exactly who the free plan was built for, and the iOS app is quick.
- Price, full stop. $0 for one person under 30 jobs a month beats any paid plan, ours included. If the dispatch workflow suits you, there is no cheaper way to quote, invoice and take card payments.
- Bookings and reminders. Online booking, SMS reminders and a phone-system add-on are built for a trade that lives on the phone. TrackYaTradie does not try to match them.
- Track record. ServiceM8 has been around a long time and has a detailed help centre. TrackYaTradie is younger and founder-run: a real person replies fast, but there are fewer years on the clock.
TrackYaTradie is the better pick in the mirror image: project work where you want the margin before the job ends, an Android phone, and a flat bill that does not change the month you put someone on. Chippy weighing it up? See how TrackYaTradie fits carpenters.
Moving over in an afternoon
Switching is smaller than it looks, and on the free plan there is no subscription to cancel.
- Keep ServiceM8 open until the last job closes. Nothing forces you to move finished or half-done jobs. Invoice them where they are and let the free plan sit there with your history in it.
- Start the trial and add the clients you still work for. TrackYaTradie does not import a ServiceM8 file. If you sync to Xero, your customers are already there as contacts; otherwise add the handful you quote for this month and the rest as they come back.
- Open the job you are on right now. Name, quoted value, done. Log today's hours and the last supply run against it and the margin bar is live from the first afternoon.
- Reconnect Xero. Connect Xero from Settings and invoices, costs and timesheets sync from then on. The Xero integration page lists what each sync does.
- Add the second person when they turn up. A labourer or apprentice gets their own login on the Starter plan and logs hours from their own phone, Android or iPhone, from day one.
Common questions about ServiceM8 for sole traders
Is ServiceM8 free for sole traders?+
Yes. ServiceM8 has a Free plan it describes as completely free for solo operators: one user, 30 jobs a month, card payments at its highest processing rate, and the option to earn bonus jobs by taking card payments. It is a real plan, not a trial. On price alone it beats every paid tool for one person under 30 jobs a month, including TrackYaTradie.
What does the ServiceM8 free plan not do?+
Three things matter for a sole trader. It is one login, so the day you put someone on you move to Starter at $29 a month. It caps you at 30 jobs a month. And on an Android phone you get ServiceM8 Lite, the field-staff app, which ServiceM8 says does not carry the management features - and as a sole trader, you are the management.
What does TrackYaTradie cost for one person?+
The Sole Trader plan is $35 a month, flat, with no cap on jobs, hours or costs, the full app on iPhone, Android and web, and Xero sync. The 14-day trial needs no card. When you take on a second person you move to Starter at $79 a month for up to 3 tradies, and the price never moves with how busy you are.
Can I keep Xero if I switch?+
Yes. TrackYaTradie connects to Xero from Settings and syncs invoices, supply costs and timesheets. Your Xero file stays exactly where it is, so switching does not touch your bookkeeping history, and anything ServiceM8 already sent to Xero stays there.
One person, any phone, one flat price
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