Fergus alternative for UK builders: EstiMate vs Fergus (2026)

Fergus is a good job management app. It builds quotes with AI, handles variations properly and syncs with Xero. If you run a plumbing or electrical firm with a full diary of jobs that last a day or two, it may be all you need, and this post won't try to talk you out of it.

If you're a builder doing extensions, loft conversions and kitchen fits, the question is different. You need a contract the client signs, variations that land on that contract, CIS taken off your subbies and VAT figures ready for your return. EstiMate does all of that in one app, and it charges per business, not per person.

Short version: service trades with a busy schedule should look hard at Fergus. Builders and contractors who quote, contract, run and account for projects, read on.

Fergus is good. That's not the question.

Credit where it's due. Fergus is job management software for trades, built around enquiry, quote, schedule, job card and invoice, with supplier price-book integrations (Fergus for builders). It comes from New Zealand, has offices in NZ, Australia and the UK, and launch coverage in September 2026 put it at more than 26,000 tradespeople (Yahoo Finance).

On 13 September 2026 it launched Fergus AI. Fergus Assistant can build and review quotes, including turning a supplier's PDF into a quote, and it waits for your approval before changing anything (Fergus AI, Fergus help centre). A variation is a linked child job with its own number, invoiced on its own or with the parent job (Fergus variations). Progress invoices can go by percentage, by remainder or by quote section (Fergus invoicing).

So anyone telling you Fergus has no AI or no variations hasn't looked. The differences are elsewhere.

Fergus charges per user. EstiMate charges per business.

Prices checked October 2026, per month: Fergus UK pricing and EstiMate pricing. Some Fergus pages (this comparison page) and Capterra UK still show Essentials at £35, and some show the timesheet user at £11 rather than £12, so check the live page. We couldn't confirm whether Fergus's prices include VAT. EstiMate's prices are what you pay, with a VAT receipt for every payment.

Here's a worked example with illustrative numbers. You run the office side yourself and have three lads on the tools logging hours. On Fergus Pro that's one full user at £45 plus three timesheet users at £12: £45 + £36 = £81 a month, or £972 a year (on Essentials it's £39 + £36 = £75 a month, or £900 a year). On EstiMate Pro it's £39.99 a month, or £479.88 a year, and the lads log time, photos and diary entries through a Site Crew link without a full account. Take on a fourth labourer who logs hours and Fergus goes up £12. EstiMate doesn't move.

To be straight with you: if three people in your office each need their own login with roles, that's EstiMate Corp, from £249 a month. In plenty of small building firms, one person does the pricing and the rest are on site. There's more on the sums in our Fergus pricing breakdown.

Where the job card stops and the project starts

The contract

EstiMate turns an accepted quote into a contract with payment terms, delays, responsibilities, insurance, guarantee and dispute wording. The client signs online, and each variation becomes a signed addendum. See construction contract software.

We couldn't find a build-contract feature in Fergus (October 2026). Its quote acceptance page takes the customer's name and agreement to your terms, and the Fergus Go app captures signatures on sign-off certificates and forms (quote deposits, signing off work). For a boiler swap that's plenty. For a £60,000 extension, you want a contract.

CIS and reverse charge, on the job

EstiMate handles CIS deductions and keeps a CIS register, and reverse-charge invoices carry the required wording. Whether you're a subbie invoicing a main contractor or a contractor paying subbies, it's done where the job lives. Our CIS guide covers the rules.

Fergus has a blog explainer on CIS (Fergus Tradehub), but we couldn't find a CIS deduction or reverse-charge feature in its help centre, and its invoicing settings article points you to your accounting package for tax adjustments (invoicing settings). If this matters to you, test it on a Fergus trial.

The accounts

EstiMate's Accounts tab gives you a P&L for any period, VAT return figures, the CIS register, aged debtors and year-end exports for your accountant. It doesn't file to HMRC. It prepares the figures.

Fergus syncs invoices, contacts and payments with Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks (Fergus integrations), and we couldn't find built-in P&L or VAT figures. That's a real Fergus strength if you love Xero: a live sync beats EstiMate's file export in Xero and QuickBooks formats. If you'd rather not pay for a second app to see your P&L and VAT figures, EstiMate is one subscription.

Drawings

EstiMate Pro's AI take-off reads architect PDFs and shows which sheet each quantity came from. Check it, don't trust it blindly. Plenty of other tools do AI take-off too; the difference is that ours feeds straight into the quote, contract and invoices. Fergus's PDF-to-quote works from supplier PDFs rather than architect drawings, and a June 2026 update added a manual m² and m³ quantity calculator (Fergus release notes).

Leads

EstiMate includes TenderPilot, free to search on any plan, which brings in live tenders and turns councils' planning registers into local leads (planning-application leads). An approved rear extension two streets away is a warm lead.

Fergus vs EstiMate at a glance

"Not found" means we searched Fergus's site and help centre in October 2026 and found nothing. It doesn't prove the feature is missing, so ask Fergus.

Who Fergus suits better

• Service trades with lots of short jobs, where scheduling and timesheets matter most. Scheduling is on every paid plan (Fergus scheduling).
• Firms that want a live sync with Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks.
• Teams that buy through merchant price books and want them in the quote.
• Firms that want GPS tracking and purchase orders, which Capterra lists on Fergus Pro (Capterra pricing).

It also has a track record: 4.6 out of 5 from 155 reviews on Capterra (Capterra reviews).

Who EstiMate suits better

• Builders and contractors whose jobs run for weeks, with stage payments, variations and a contract.
• Firms with CIS subbies, or who work as subbies for main contractors.
• Anyone who'd rather see the P&L, VAT figures and CIS register without a second subscription.
• Growing firms that don't want the bill to rise each time they take on another pair of hands on site.

EstiMate was built by Dave Groom, a tradesman turned contracts manager and founder of Tatton Projects, a design-and-build firm in Altrincham. It started as the spreadsheet his own firm quoted from.

What to do next

1. Start on the free plan. No card, no time limit, three jobs a month.
2. Price your next enquiry in EstiMate alongside Fergus and compare the quotes. The client quote link, contract and invoicing come with the £15.99 plan, so move up when you want to compare the paperwork too.
3. Keep live jobs in Fergus until they're invoiced. Fergus is month to month with no lock-in, so you can drop users as jobs close.
4. Follow our Fergus to EstiMate switch guide for the steps.

Start free and price your next job tonight.