Written by a software vendor. VortechPro is on this list, so read it with that in mind. We use public pricing pages, say where other tools are better for handyman work, and tell you when VortechPro is the wrong pick.
Quick answer (November 2026)
Handyman businesses run a lot of small jobs with a team of mixed skills. That makes two things matter more than in most trades: how pricing scales when you add techs or job volume, and whether the right job lands on a tech who’s allowed and able to do it.
- Handyman companies with 3–30 techs running same-day and next-day work: VortechPro: $99/mo for 5 techs, +$20 each, with specialist tags to route electrical, plumbing, and other skill-limited jobs.
- Quote-first, project-style handyman work: Jobber.
- Booking and marketing-driven shops: Housecall Pro.
- Solo or very small on a budget: Markate, ServiceM8, or Kickserv.
On this page
A plumber might run three or four calls a day. A handyman tech can run six: hang a door, patch drywall, swap a faucet, mount a TV, fix a fence gate, caulk a tub. Every one of those is a separate job with its own address, photos, and invoice. Multiply that by a crew of five and you’re pushing a few hundred jobs a month, most of them under a few hundred dollars.
That volume is why handyman owners feel software pricing faster than almost any other trade, and why a dispatcher juggling a group text breaks down around the third tech. This guide ranks the six tools worth looking at in 2026, with what each costs at your team size.
Why handyman dispatch is different
- High job count, low ticket. Lots of small jobs means per-job pricing models and per-job admin time both add up fast.
- Mixed skills on one crew. One tech does carpentry and drywall, another does light plumbing, a third has an electrical license. The job has to go to someone who can actually do it.
- License limits. Many states cap what an unlicensed handyman can do by job value or by type of work, especially electrical, plumbing, and gas. See what a handyman can do without a license and handyman license requirements by state.
- Property manager and realtor accounts. Punch lists, make-ready turns, and before-and-after photos are part of the deliverable, not a nice-to-have.
- Same-day requests mixed with booked work. “Can someone come today?” calls land on top of a full schedule.
Quick comparison table (2026)
Public list prices checked in November 2026. Confirm live before you buy.
| Software | Best for | ~5-tech price | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| VortechPro | Multi-tech crews, same-day and mixed-skill jobs | $99/mo; +$20/tech; no contract | Dispatch-first; lighter on marketing, online booking, and quoting tools |
| Jobber | Quote-first project work | Connect $149 annual / $199 monthly (5 users) | Team-size bands reprice the plan; $29 per extra user |
| Housecall Pro | Booking and marketing-driven shops | Essentials $149 annual / $189 monthly (5 users) | 6th user pushes you to MAX ($299–$329 for 8 users) |
| Markate | Budget estimate-to-invoice | $49.95/mo + $5 per employee | Online booking, portal, Zapier, phone numbers are paid add-ons |
| ServiceM8 | Solo and low-volume shops | Priced by jobs/month: $79 (150 jobs), $149 (500 jobs) | Cost rises with job count, which handyman work has a lot of |
| Kickserv | Tight budgets | Start $60/mo (5 users) | Dispatch map and GPS check-ins start at Run ($119, 10 users) |
Sources checked November 2026: getjobber.com/pricing; housecallpro.com/pricing; markate.com/pricing; servicem8.com/us/pricing; kickserv.com/pricing.
#1 VortechPro: best for handyman companies with a crew
VortechPro
VortechPro is built around getting the right tech on a job fast. Specialist tags are the big one for handyman shops: tag your licensed electrician, your plumbing-capable tech, your tile guy, and jobs that need those skills only go to people who have them. Uber-style Platinum / Gold / Silver tiers offer each job to your best techs first with a short exclusive window (about 30 seconds), then cascade. Within a tier, the closest tech wins, which matters when your guys are bouncing between six addresses a day.
Live GPS map, before-and-after job photos, job-tied chat, CSV export, automated commission splits, and native iOS and Android apps. Same-day jobs and jobs scheduled ahead for any day and time live on one board.
Best fit: handyman companies past the one-truck stage, where the owner is spending the morning figuring out who goes where. Not the best fit: solo handymen, or shops whose work is mostly multi-day remodels that start with a detailed written quote. Jobber is better at quoting.
Handyman crew outgrowing the group text?
$99/mo for 5 techs, +$20 each. Specialist tags keep electrical and plumbing jobs on the techs who can do them. 30-day free trial, no contract.
#2 Jobber: best for quote-first work
Jobber
Jobber is the most popular tool in handyman circles for a reason: quotes, client approvals, a client hub, follow-ups, invoicing, and online booking all flow together. If most of your jobs start with “send me a quote,” Jobber is excellent.
Published plans by team size: Core $29–$49 (1 user); Connect 5 users $149 annual / $199 monthly; Connect 10 users $229 / $299; Grow 5 users $229 / $299; Plus 5 users $399 / $499. Extra users are $29/mo.
Better than VortechPro at: quoting and client communication. Worse at: cost per tech as you grow, and routing jobs by skill. More: Jobber alternatives.
#3 Housecall Pro: best for booking and marketing
Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is a polished home-services CRM: online booking, review requests, postcards and email campaigns, financing, and a big integration ecosystem. Good for handyman shops that live on homeowners finding them online.
Published plans: Basic $59 annual / $79 monthly (1 user); Essentials $149 / $189 (5 users); MAX $299 / $329 (8 users), then $35 per extra user. GPS and job photos start at Essentials.
Better than VortechPro at: marketing and booking. Worse at: the jump from 5 to 6 users and skill-based routing. More: how much Housecall Pro really costs and Housecall Pro alternatives.
#4 Markate: the budget all-in-one
Markate
Markate is one of the cheapest full-featured options on paper: $49.95/mo ($45.95 billed annually), plus $5 per employee for app access. It covers leads, estimates, work orders, invoices, scheduling, time tracking, and job costing. Online booking, customer portal, Zapier, and phone numbers are $10/mo add-ons each; API access is $50/mo.
Better than VortechPro at: price for small teams, and estimate-to-invoice flow. Worse at: dispatch. There’s no tiered offer-and-accept or skill-based routing, so someone still decides who goes where.
#5 ServiceM8: priced by job, not by user
ServiceM8
ServiceM8 flips the pricing model: unlimited users on paid plans, priced by how many jobs you run. Free (30 jobs, 1 user), Starter $29 (50 jobs), Growing $79 (150 jobs), Premium $149 (500 jobs), Premium Plus $349 (1,500+ jobs, 20¢ per extra job).
Better than VortechPro at: cost for a solo handyman or a slow month. Worse at: cost for a busy crew. Handyman work is high-volume by nature: 5 techs doing 4 jobs a day is around 440 jobs a month, which is the $149 tier. Push to 8 techs and you’re past 500 and into the $349 tier.
#6 Kickserv: the low-cost option
Kickserv
Kickserv’s published plans: Start $60/mo for 5 users, Run $119/mo for 10 users, Scale $199/mo for 20 users, with 20% off for annual billing. Dispatch mapping, GPS check-ins, and custom fields start at Run.
Better than VortechPro at: entry price. Worse at: dispatch depth and mobile polish. If you need a dispatch map, budget for Run, not Start.
Per tech vs per job vs per band
Handyman software uses three pricing models, and which one is cheapest depends on how your business runs:
| Model | Who uses it | Gets expensive when |
|---|---|---|
| Per tech | VortechPro ($20/tech past 5), Markate ($5/employee) | Rarely. Cost tracks headcount, not how busy you are |
| Per job | ServiceM8 | You’re busy. Every small job counts against your tier |
| Per band or plan | Jobber, Housecall Pro, Kickserv | You cross a band. One hire can reprice the whole plan |
For a handyman company with a crew and a full board, per-tech pricing is usually the most predictable. You know what your next hire costs before you make it, and a record month doesn’t raise your software bill.
Cost at 2, 5, 8, 12, and 20 techs
Monthly billing, published list prices, software only, before add-ons. ServiceM8 assumes about 4 jobs per tech per day. Planning numbers, not quotes.
| Techs | VortechPro | Jobber Connect | Housecall Pro | ServiceM8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $99 | 5-user band $199 | Essentials $189 | $149 (~175 jobs) |
| 5 | $99 | $199 | Essentials $189 | $149 (~440 jobs) |
| 8 | $159 | 10-user band $299 | MAX $329 | $349 (~700 jobs) |
| 12 | $239 | 15-user band $399 | MAX + 4 × $35 = $469 | $349 (~1,050 jobs) |
| 20 | $399 | Contact sales | MAX + 12 × $35 = $749 | $349 + overage (~1,760 jobs) |
Markate and Kickserv come in lower on list price at most of these sizes. If budget is the only thing that matters and you don’t need skill-based dispatch, they’re worth a look.
Keeping licensed work on licensed techs
This is the part most handyman software ignores. In many states, an unlicensed handyman can’t legally do certain electrical, plumbing, or gas work, or any job over a dollar threshold. If a dispatcher sends the wrong tech to swap a breaker panel, that’s a licensing problem, an insurance problem, and a callback.
- Tag your techs by what they can legally and actually do. Electrical license, plumbing, gas, tile, roofing repairs, appliance installs.
- Tag jobs at intake. “Replace outlet,” “install ceiling fan,” and “new circuit” aren’t the same job.
- Let the software enforce it. In VortechPro, a job with a specialist tag only goes to techs who have that tag. Nobody has to remember who’s licensed for what.
Know your state’s rules before you tag: handyman license requirements by state.
What to test in a trial
Verdict
Pick VortechPro if you run a handyman company with 3–30 techs, take same-day and next-day requests, and need jobs to land on the right tech by skill and license. $99/mo for 5 techs, +$20 each additional. 30-day free trial.
Pick Jobber if your work starts with quotes and approvals. Housecall Pro if online booking and marketing drive your business. Markate or Kickserv on a tight budget. ServiceM8 if you’re solo or run low volume.
Run your handyman crew on VortechPro for 30 days
$99/mo for 5 techs, +$20 each. Specialist routing, GPS, photos, and CSV included. No contract.
