ServiceM8 pricing explained: job-based plans for UK trades

ServiceM8 doesn't charge per user. It charges for how many jobs you run each month. In the UK that's Free for 30 jobs, Starter at £25 for 50, Growing at £59 for 150, Premium at £119 for 500 and Premium Plus at £269 for 1,500 or more. Prices exclude VAT, paid plans include unlimited users, and extra jobs cost 15p each.

So a sole trader doing 25 jobs a month can run it for nothing, and a ten-person team doing 140 jobs pays £59 on Growing, or £38.50 by topping up Starter at 15p a job. That's unusual in trade software, and for busy service firms it's a very good deal. Here's how it works, what to watch, and where it sits next to EstiMate.

The ServiceM8 UK plans

Prices checked October 2026 on ServiceM8's UK pricing page, which says "Prices do not include VAT". Billing is monthly in advance with no lock-in, and there's a 14-day trial. We couldn't find an annual plan or discount.

How the job count works

• Extra jobs over your allowance cost 15p each.
• A quote that turns into a work order "won't consume another job credit", so you're not charged twice for winning the work.
• ServiceM8's help centre says there are "no contracts, setup fees or 'per-user' fees" (ServiceM8 billing).
• Texts: paid plans include a monthly allowance, from 100-plus on the lowest tier to 3,000-plus on the highest. The free plan pays 5p per text.

The free plan is a proper free plan, not a trial. It gives one user 30 jobs a month for creating jobs, quotes, invoices, clients and schedules. Each card payment you take through ServiceM8 and Stripe earns a bonus job credit, and AI is limited to 10 uses a day, against unlimited on paid plans (ServiceM8 free plan).

What a job really costs

If you use your whole allowance, the cost per job falls as you move up:

• Starter: £25 ÷ 50 = 50p a job.
• Growing: £59 ÷ 150 = about 39p a job.
• Premium: £119 ÷ 500 = about 24p a job.
• Premium Plus: £269 ÷ 1,500 = about 18p a job.

Worth noticing: an extra job at 15p is cheaper than the included rate on every plan. On job count alone, topping up a smaller plan at 15p a job works out cheaper than moving up a tier at these list prices: Starter plus 100 extra jobs is £40, against £59 for Growing. Higher plans include more texts, though, and we couldn't confirm which other features differ by plan, so check before you rely on overage.

Worked examples

These are illustrative, from the list prices, ex VAT.

Sole trader handyman, 25 jobs a month

Free, £0. If you creep over 30, card payments may have earned you bonus credits; otherwise it's time for Starter at £25. We couldn't confirm whether the free plan can buy extra jobs at 15p.

Two-van electrical firm, three people, 120 jobs a month

Growing, £59 a month, or £708 a year. All three get a login. On job count alone, Starter plus 70 extra jobs would be £25 + £10.50 = £35.50, if Starter's text allowance is enough. For contrast, the same team on Fergus Essentials, a per-user app at £39 per full user (Fergus pricing), would be 3 × £39 = £117 a month. More on that in per-user pricing explained.

Eight-engineer heating firm, 450 jobs a month

Premium, £119 a month, or £1,428 a year. On job count alone, Starter plus 400 extra jobs would be £25 + £60 = £85, though Premium includes more texts. On Fergus Essentials it would be 8 × £39 = £312 a month as full users, before any office staff, though Fergus also sells cheaper timesheet-only users from £12.

Small builder, three people, 16 jobs a month

Six long projects plus ten small jobs is 16 jobs, assuming each project counts as one job (check how ServiceM8 counts a job that runs for weeks). That fits Starter at £25 a month for all three, or the free plan if only one of you needs to log in. This is where ServiceM8's model is kindest to builders: few jobs, so a low bill. The question becomes what the app does with a twelve-week job, not what it costs.

What the headline price doesn't include

• VAT. If you're not VAT-registered, add 20%: Starter is £30 a month, Growing £70.80 and Premium £142.80.
• Add-ons. Proposals (which lets clients pick optional sections) and Forms may cost extra. We couldn't find their prices.
• Office Agent Pro. ServiceM8's Office Agent AI drafts quotes and invoices for approval; the Pro version is needed for scheduled tasks and higher limits (Office Agent). We couldn't find what it costs.
• Accounts software. ServiceM8 syncs with Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB (ServiceM8 integrations), and can't create credit notes on its own, so budget for one of those as well.
• New-business discount. A ServiceM8 US page offers 50% off the first year for businesses under two years old (new business special). We couldn't confirm it applies in the UK, so ask.

Billing disputes and unexpected charges come up in some Trustpilot reviews (Trustpilot), so it's worth checking your first few invoices against the plan you chose.

How it compares with EstiMate

EstiMate charges per business, with unlimited jobs on paid plans. Free is £0 with no time limit (3 jobs a month, watermarked PDFs), EstiMate is £15.99 a month and Pro is £39.99. The price shown is what you pay, with a VAT receipt for every payment. See EstiMate pricing.

The ServiceM8 ranges run from Starter topped up at 15p a job to the plan that covers the volume (see the worked examples).

Three honest points. ServiceM8's free plan is far more generous on jobs than ours. ServiceM8's paid plans give everyone a login, while EstiMate's £15.99 and £39.99 plans are one office login: on Pro the crew use Site Crew links, and separate office seats with roles are on Corp, from £249. And for an eight-engineer firm doing 450 jobs a month, you want dispatch and scheduling, which is ServiceM8's home ground and isn't what EstiMate is for.

For builders the comparison flips on content rather than price. EstiMate's £15.99 plan includes contracts with e-signatures, variations, the CIS register, reverse-charge wording, RAMS and COSHH, and the Accounts tab with P&L and VAT return figures. We couldn't find CIS deductions, variations or a contract builder in ServiceM8, and it handles the reverse charge through tax rates you set up, with the wording added by hand (ServiceM8 DRC). Our ServiceM8 vs EstiMate comparison goes through it properly.

Is ServiceM8 good value?

For high-volume service work, yes, and the no-per-user model is a big part of why. If you're weighing it against a per-user app, our Fergus vs ServiceM8 breakdown runs the numbers both ways. For builders, the price is low and the question is the paperwork.

What to do next

1. Count last month's jobs, including small ones, and how many people need to log in.
2. Find your plan in the table above, add VAT if you're not registered, and allow for any add-ons you'd need.
3. If you build rather than service, try EstiMate's free plan on your next project as well.

Start free and see which fits your work.