Getting paid quickly is the point of contractor invoicing software, and the right tool depends mostly on how you work. A solo remodeler sending ten estimates a week needs something different from an HVAC company with five trucks. This comparison covers four common options for contractors, with prices and fees taken from each vendor's own pricing page on October 1, 2026.
Contractor invoicing software: quick comparison
| Tool | Listed price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Joist | From $10/mo (Basics: 5 documents a month) | Solo contractors who live in estimates and invoices |
| Invoice2go | See pricing page; plans by invoice volume | Simple invoicing from a phone, with card payments |
| QuickBooks Online | $38–$340/mo (50% off 3 months) | Invoicing tied directly to your books |
| Housecall Pro | $59–$299/mo billed annually | Crews that need scheduling and dispatch too |
Joist: built around estimates and invoices
Joist is made for contractors who quote and invoice from the job site. Its plans:
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually (per month) | Aimed at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basics | $10 (listed down from $12) | $8.34 | Occasional jobs: up to 5 documents a month |
| Pro | $17 | $14.17 | Full-time solo contractors |
| Elite | $32 | $26.67 | Busy contractors needing more advanced tools |
| Run | $100 | $58.33 (includes a 30% introductory discount) | Owner-operators managing multiple jobs |
Annual billing gives two months free, and there's a 14-day free trial without a credit card. Basics caps you at 5 documents (estimates and invoices) a month, so most working contractors will need Pro or higher. Joist lists online payments, estimates-to-invoices, AI tools and homeowner financing, with features like line items with photos, client activity tracking and work orders on higher plans; Run adds job scheduling. An AI receptionist add-on is listed from $49 a month. Joist says standard payment processing fees apply.
Choose Joist if you're a solo or very small contractor and most of your admin is writing estimates and turning them into invoices.
Invoice2go: invoicing by invoice volume
Invoice2go's plans are tiered by how many invoices you send a year and by card fees:
| Plan | Invoices | Card payment fee |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 30 a year | 3.5% |
| Professional | 100 a year | 3.0% |
| Premium | Unlimited | 2.9% |
All plans include unlimited estimates, projects, clients and team members, invoice reminders, a no-fee business bank account with debit card, and free bank transfer (ACH) payments. Professional adds QuickBooks and Xero integration and advanced reports; Premium adds recurring invoices and phone support and is described as for businesses with more than $100,000 a year in revenue. Prices vary by currency and billing period on the pricing page, so check the current USD price there. The free trial requires a credit card, and Invoice2go offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Choose Invoice2go if you want straightforward phone-based invoicing and your invoice count fits a tier. Watch the card fee: on Starter, 3.5% of every card payment adds up fast.
QuickBooks Online: invoicing inside your accounting
QuickBooks Online includes invoicing with payments from Simple Start ($38 a month), with Essentials at $85, Plus at $140 and Advanced at $340. On the day we checked, Intuit listed 50% off for the first three months and a 30-day free trial (check which applies when you sign up). The free plan allows only two invoices a month.
The advantage is that invoices land directly in your books, and Plus adds project profitability so you can see margins by job. Our guide to QuickBooks for contractors covers which plan fits.
Choose QuickBooks if you or your bookkeeper already work in it and you don't need scheduling or dispatch.
Housecall Pro: invoicing as part of field service software
Housecall Pro bundles invoicing with online booking, scheduling and dispatch, estimates, payments and review requests. Plans are $59 (Basic, 1 user), $149 (Essentials, 5 users) and $299 (MAX, 8 users) a month billed annually, or $79, $189 and $329 billed monthly. Card processing starts at 2.59% and bank payments carry a 1% fee. See our Housecall Pro pricing guide for details.
Choose Housecall Pro if you have techs in the field and want quotes, jobs, invoices and payments in one system instead of an invoicing app plus a calendar.
How to choose the best invoicing app for contractors
- Count your invoices. Low volume favors per-invoice tiers or entry plans; high volume favors unlimited plans.
- Do the processing math. Multiply your monthly card volume by each tool's rate. A one-point difference on $30,000 a month is $300.
- Decide whether you need scheduling. If you dispatch more than one tech, field service software usually replaces a standalone invoicing app.
- Check the QuickBooks connection. If your accountant lives in QuickBooks, make sure the tool syncs with it and on which plan.
Every tool here offers a free trial or free plan. Run last week's jobs through two of them before you commit. If you also need to build detailed estimates, see our contractor estimating software comparison.
