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

If you run a small trade business doing lots of short jobs, Tradify is a well-reviewed job management app and it may be all you need. If you're a builder pricing extensions, loft conversions and refits, signing contracts, handling variations and dealing with CIS, you'll end up bolting other software on to it. EstiMate was built for that second group.

The short version. Tradify is priced per user, from £34 to £44 a person a month. EstiMate is priced per business: free for 3 jobs a month, or £15.99 or £39.99 a month with unlimited jobs. Tradify relies on Xero or Sage for CIS and reverse-charge VAT. EstiMate does both itself, and puts a P&L, VAT figures and a CIS register in the same app as your quotes.

Here's the detail, including where Tradify is the better pick.

Tradify charges per user. EstiMate charges per business.

Tradify's UK plans are Lite at £34, Pro at £37 and Plus at £44, each per user per month (Tradify UK pricing). Tradify's own blog, in a post dated 24 September 2026, gives the same £34 and £37 (Tradify blog). Quote options and online acceptance are listed on Pro and Plus only, so if you want clients to accept online, you start at £37 a head.

A three-person firm on Tradify Pro pays 3 × £37 = £111 a month, or £1,332 a year. EstiMate Pro is £39.99 a month for the business, which is £479.88 a year. That's a difference of £852.12 a year, before you add the accounting subscription Tradify needs for CIS invoices.

To keep it like for like: EstiMate's Free, EstiMate and Pro plans are one business account. On Pro, site workers get a job by QR code or link through the Site Crew app and log time, expenses, photos and diary entries without a full account. If several office staff need their own logins with roles, that's EstiMate Corp, from £249 a month. The sums for 1, 3, 5 and 10 people are in our Tradify pricing breakdown.

Side by side

Prices checked October 2026 on Tradify's UK pricing page and EstiMate's pricing page. We couldn't confirm whether Tradify's prices include VAT; EstiMate's pricing page says the price shown is what you pay. EstiMate features marked Yes or Built in are on the £15.99 plan and above; (Pro) means the £39.99 plan. "Not found" means we searched Tradify's website and help centre in October 2026 and couldn't find the feature, so check with them if it matters to you.

Where Tradify is the better pick

Tradify does the reactive side of trade work well. It has a scheduler with horizontal, vertical and month views (scheduler help), timesheets with a live timer (timesheets help) and digital forms and certificates that lock once approved (forms). It connects to Xero, QuickBooks and Sage (how it works). EstiMate exports costs in Xero and QuickBooks formats as a file but doesn't sync live, so if your bookkeeper wants every invoice to land in Xero automatically, that's a point to Tradify.

It also has the track record. Tradify was founded in 2013, has about 20,000 customers across the UK, New Zealand and Australia, and The Access Group agreed to buy it in October 2024 (Access Group). It scores 4.7 out of 5 from 152 reviews on Capterra and 4.8 from about 612 on Trustpilot.

If you're an electrician, plumber or maintenance firm with a few vans, lots of one-day jobs and Xero already handling your tax, Tradify suits you.

Where a builder runs out of road

Take an illustrative £48,000 loft conversion and follow it through.

Pricing it from the drawings

We couldn't find a tool on Tradify's site for measuring quantities off drawings. One South African marketing page mentions "digital takeoffs" without describing a tool (Tradify ZA). Tradify's AI tools are SmartWrite, which writes quote descriptions from line items you've already added, and SmartRead, which pulls job details from documents and captures bills (SmartTools). EstiMate Pro reads the architect's PDFs, shows which sheet each quantity came from, and drafts the priced quote using your day rates. You check every line before anything goes out.

EstiMate isn't the only software with AI take-off. Kreo and Togal.AI do it too, but they're built for take-off and estimating, not for sending the client a quote, a contract and invoices. In EstiMate the quantities flow straight into all three. More on AI estimating for builders.

Getting it signed

Tradify's help centre says a customer can sign a quote on your phone in the mobile app, and that accepting a quote online has no signature step (Tradify help). We couldn't find a contract builder. EstiMate turns the accepted quote into a contract covering payment terms, delays, responsibilities, insurance, guarantee and disputes, and the client signs it online.

The client wants another roof window

We couldn't find a variations feature on Tradify's website. In EstiMate you price the extra from site, send a one-tap approval link, and the contract total, invoices and reports update with an audit trail. The signed variation becomes an addendum to the contract.

CIS and the reverse charge

If you work for main contractors or pay subbies, this is the one that matters. Tradify's help centre says it "does not have any native Reverse VAT / CIS tax options", and that you can't create a CIS invoice unless you're connected to Xero or Sage Business Cloud (Tradify help). With QuickBooks there's no integration for it; the suggested workaround is editing the invoice in QuickBooks Online (Tradify help).

EstiMate does CIS deductions and reverse-charge invoices with the required wording itself, and keeps a CIS register. It prepares the figures but doesn't file returns to HMRC, so your accountant or bookkeeper still does that part. Our CIS guide covers the rules.

The accounts

Tradify positions itself alongside accounting software rather than instead of it (Tradify blog). EstiMate's Accounts tab gives you a P&L for any period, VAT return figures, aged debtors and year-end exports for your accountant.

How to switch

Start your next job on EstiMate's free plan while live Tradify jobs finish where they are. Export your customer list from Tradify (check their help centre for the current steps). On Pro, the AI imports your old quotes so your prices come with you. When the last Tradify job is invoiced and paid, cancel. Our switch guide has the steps in order.

Price your next loft, extension or refit and see the difference: start free.