Fergus vs ServiceM8: which job management app for UK trades?

Fergus and ServiceM8 do a similar job in very different ways. Both cover quoting, scheduling and invoicing, both have AI that drafts quotes, and both sync with Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB. The big split is how they charge: Fergus charges for each person who logs in, ServiceM8 charges for how many jobs you run.

The quick answer. If you do lots of short jobs with a team on iPhones, ServiceM8's per-job pricing is hard to beat, and a sole trader under 30 jobs a month can run it free. If your jobs run over several visits, with variations and staged invoices, Fergus documents more for that. If you're a builder who needs CIS, contracts and the accounts as well, neither showed those in our research, so read the last section.

Per user vs per job

Fergus's UK plans are Essentials from £39 and Pro from £45 per full user a month, with timesheet users from £12 and contractor users at £2 per active day (Fergus UK pricing).

ServiceM8 sells job allowances. Free is £0 for 30 jobs a month and one user. Starter is £25 for 50 jobs, Growing £59 for 150, Premium £119 for 500 and Premium Plus £269 for 1,500 or more, all with unlimited users. Extra jobs cost 15p each, and a quote that becomes a work order doesn't use a second job credit (ServiceM8 UK pricing). Its help centre says there are no contracts, setup fees or per-user fees (ServiceM8 billing).

Here's how that plays out. The figures are illustrative, per month, from the list prices.

Prices checked October 2026 on Fergus's pricing page and ServiceM8's pricing page. ServiceM8's prices exclude VAT. We couldn't confirm whether Fergus's do.

The sums: Starter's 50 jobs plus 10 extra at 15p is £25 + £1.50 = £26.50. Plus 70 extra it's £25 + £10.50 = £35.50, and plus 550 extra it's £25 + £82.50 = £107.50. On job count alone, topping up Starter at 15p a job works out cheaper than moving up a plan at these list prices. The bigger plans include more texts, and we couldn't confirm what else differs, so if you'd rather sit on a bigger plan, it's £59 on Growing for 120 jobs and £134 on Premium plus 100 extra jobs for 600. On Fergus Pro the same four rows would be £45, £90, £180 and £450.

So on price alone, ServiceM8 wins for most team shapes, and by a lot for bigger teams. Fergus claws some back if most of your people only log hours, because timesheet users are cheaper than full users. Two catches on the ServiceM8 side: we couldn't find prices for add-ons such as Proposals and Forms, and the free plan pays 5p per text message.

Quoting and AI

Both have real AI, and both keep you in charge of what gets sent.

Fergus Assistant can build and review quotes, even turning a supplier's PDF into one, and it won't change records until you approve. Fergus AI, launched on 13 September 2026, prepares quotes, invoices and follow-ups and flags un-invoiced work (Fergus AI). Fergus also has price books and quote versions (Fergus quoting).

ServiceM8's Auto-Quote drafts the work description and a materials and labour list from the job card and your past invoices, but it needs at least 100 completed jobs to give reasonable results (ServiceM8 Auto-Quote). Office Agent, added in 2026, drafts quotes, invoices, emails and texts for your approval (ServiceM8 15). AI is limited to 10 uses a day on the free plan.

On the client side, ServiceM8 can ask for a signature when the client accepts (ServiceM8 signatures), and its Proposals add-on lets the client pick optional sections (ServiceM8 Proposals). Fergus's acceptance page takes the client's name and agreement to your terms (Fergus deposits). Fergus added Quote Options in April 2026 (Fergus release notes); we couldn't confirm whether the client ticks those add-ons themselves.

Edge on what the client sees: ServiceM8. If you're a newer business, bear in mind Auto-Quote wants 100 finished jobs before it's much use.

Longer jobs: variations and staged billing

This is Fergus's strongest ground. A variation is a linked child job with its own number, quoted and invoiced on its own or with the parent (Fergus variations), and progress invoices go by percentage, remainder or quote section (Fergus invoicing). We couldn't find variations in ServiceM8 (October 2026).

ServiceM8 has one neat trick for refurb work: Room Scan uses a LiDAR iPhone or iPad to capture a 3D room model with floor area, wall lengths and wall areas, plus a 2D floor plan (Room Scan). It measures real rooms, not drawings.

iPhone, Android and support

ServiceM8 started on iPhone and iPad. Its own pages are mixed on Android: one says the Android app has almost all the same functionality, while another calls it "ServiceM8 Lite" and recommends iPhones or iPads for full management (ServiceM8 Android). A recurring complaint in Capterra reviews is that the Android app does less than the iPhone one (Capterra). If your lads are on Android, trial it on their phones first.

Fergus's app is Fergus Go (App Store). Some reviewers mention gaps in the mobile app, such as photos not resizing and patchy GPS (Software Advice).

Accounts and UK tax

Both lean on your accounts package. Fergus syncs invoices, contacts and payments with Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks (Fergus integrations). ServiceM8 syncs with Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB (ServiceM8 integrations), and it can't create credit notes, so those are done in the accounts package (ServiceM8 credit notes).

We couldn't find CIS deductions in either. For the reverse charge, ServiceM8 uses tax rates synced from Xero or QuickBooks or set up by hand, and you add the wording through a separate invoice template (ServiceM8 DRC). We couldn't find a reverse-charge feature in Fergus.

Capterra scores from Fergus on Capterra and ServiceM8 on Capterra, October 2026.

Who should pick which

• ServiceM8: service firms doing lots of short jobs, teams on iPhones, and anyone who hates paying per head. Our ServiceM8 pricing guide works through more team shapes.
• Fergus: trades doing multi-visit jobs such as rewires and bathroom refits, where variations, progress invoices and merchant price books matter. See our Fergus pricing breakdown.

If you're a builder, there's a third option

Neither showed CIS deductions or a build contract in our research. EstiMate is built for UK construction: the accepted quote becomes a contract the client signs online, variations become signed addenda, CIS goes on the CIS register, and reverse-charge invoices carry the required wording. The Accounts tab gives you P&L and VAT return figures. It's £15.99 or £39.99 a month per business (pricing).

To be fair the other way: ServiceM8's free plan covers 30 jobs a month, and EstiMate's covers 3, with watermarked PDFs. ServiceM8's paid plans include unlimited users, while EstiMate's £15.99 and £39.99 plans are one office login (separate team seats with roles are on Corp, from £249). EstiMate exports to Xero and QuickBooks as files rather than syncing live, and it isn't a dispatch tool.

What to do next

1. Count your jobs per month and the people who need to log in.
2. Price both from the table above.
3. Trial both on real jobs, on the phones your team actually uses.

Start free if you want to see the builder's version too.