Best quoting software for Australian tradies (2026)
An honest comparison of the tools AU tradies use to quote: Karven, Tradify, ServiceM8, AroFlo, simPRO, Jobber, and the Excel sheet a lot of you are still on. Where each one wins, and who should pick what.
Updated 2026
First, the honest framing. Most of the tools on this list are job management platforms with a quoting screen bolted on. Karven is the opposite: it's built around the quote and doesn't do scheduling or invoicing. That's why the most common real-world setup isn't one-tool-to-rule-them-all. it's running Karven for quoting and a job-management tool for everything that happens after the customer says yes.
So the right question isn't "which is best", it's "best at what". Below is a short verdict for each tool, sourced from the head-to-head comparisons, then a table, then a plain "who should pick what".
Karven
Best for the quote itself$59 / mo (Starter) · per workspace
The only tool here built around the quote. The AI fills the inputs from a voice note, photo or paste, then a deterministic per-trade engine prices it from your rates and live AU supplier prices, so every line is auditable. AU-made and GST-correct across 13 trades. It doesn't do job scheduling or invoicing, so most tradies run it for quoting alongside a job-management tool.
How Karven's AI quoting worksTradify
Best for end-to-end job management$39 / user / mo (Lite), $79 / user / mo (Pro) · per user
Run Karven for the quote step. Run Tradify for the back-office. The common stack: Karven → Tradify.
Karven vs Tradify, full breakdownServiceM8
Best for mobile-first field service$29 / user / mo (Starter), $99 / user / mo (Premium) · per user
If your work is mostly reactive call-outs (electrical, plumbing, HVAC), use ServiceM8 for the day-of and Karven for the quote-up-front step.
Karven vs ServiceM8, full breakdownAroFlo
Best for large commercial crewsFrom $135 / user / mo · per user
If you run a 10+ user commercial field-service operation, AroFlo. If you're solo or a small crew quoting residential, Karven.
Karven vs AroFlo, full breakdownsimPRO
Best for enterprise commercial projectsFrom ~$70 / user / mo + setup fees · per user
simPRO is the right call for enterprise commercial. Karven is the right call for the chippy on the tools, the sparky in the ute, the brickie quoting at the kitchen table.
Karven vs simPRO, full breakdownJobber
Best for polished generic home-service opsFrom ~$69 / mo (Lite) to ~$249 / mo (Grow) · per workspace
If you don't need AU compliance done well, Jobber's a polished generic option. If you do, Karven is the AU-native answer.
Karven vs Jobber, full breakdownExcel / pen-and-paper
Best for day-one cost and full controlFree · n/a
Free and infinitely flexible, and what a lot of small tradies still use. It looks unprofessional on a customer's phone, breaks when a row reference is mistyped, and the quote-to-PDF dance eats 8 to 15 minutes per job. Fine to start. The first thing most tradies outgrow.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Price | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karven | the quote itself | $59 / mo (Starter) | per workspace |
| Tradify | end-to-end job management | $39 / user / mo (Lite), $79 / user / mo (Pro) | per user |
| ServiceM8 | mobile-first field service | $29 / user / mo (Starter), $99 / user / mo (Premium) | per user |
| AroFlo | large commercial crews | From $135 / user / mo | per user |
| simPRO | enterprise commercial projects | From ~$70 / user / mo + setup fees | per user |
| Jobber | polished generic home-service ops | From ~$69 / mo (Lite) to ~$249 / mo (Grow) | per workspace |
| Excel / pen-and-paper | day-one cost and full control | Free | n/a |
Who should pick what
- You quote a lot and want it accurate and fast: Karven. Quote on an auditable engine, then plug it into whatever you use for job management.
- You're solo or a small crew wanting one tool for jobs and invoicing: Tradify or ServiceM8, and add Karven if quoting is the slow part of your week.
- You're mobile-heavy, reactive call-outs: ServiceM8 for the day-of, Karven for the price at the door.
- You run a 10+ person commercial operation: AroFlo or simPRO for the back-office, with Karven for sharp front-end quoting.
- You want polished generic home-service software: Jobber, though it's not AU-native, so check it does the AU compliance you need.
- You're on Excel and it's working for now: stay there until the time it costs per quote starts to hurt, then move the quote step first.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the best quoting software for tradies?
- There's no single winner. it depends on what you need. If your problem is the quote itself (getting an accurate, itemised price out fast), Karven is purpose-built for that and prices on an auditable engine. If you need scheduling, dispatching and invoicing too, Tradify or ServiceM8 are strong all-rounders, and many tradies run Karven for quoting alongside one of them. For large commercial crews, AroFlo or simPRO. Match the tool to the job you actually do.
- Is Karven better than Tradify or ServiceM8?
- For the quote step, yes. Karven prices each trade on a deterministic engine with AU supplier prices, where Tradify and ServiceM8 give you a blank line-item builder. But Tradify and ServiceM8 do job scheduling, dispatching and invoicing, which Karven doesn't. They're not really the same tool. The common setup is Karven for quoting and one of them for job management.
- What's the cheapest quoting software?
- Excel and pen-and-paper are free, but cost you time on every quote. Among the paid tools, ServiceM8 starts at $29 per user per month and Tradify at $39 per user per month, but per-user pricing adds up as you add staff. Karven is $59 a month per workspace, not per user, so adding your apprentice is free. There's also a free week with no card.
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