Five apps sold to Australian tradies have a free plan that never expires: OneBookPlus, ServiceM8, Jobbit, Square Invoices and QuoteMate. OneBookPlus is the only one of the five that runs unlimited jobs and keeps the books, with Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and BAS-ready GST reports, at $0; its real limits are 10 invoices and 5 quotes a month, one login and no Android app. ServiceM8 is the better pick for a tradie who wants a native app on both iPhone and Android and runs under 30 jobs a month, and Square Invoices or QuoteMate suit someone who only needs invoices and quotes with no monthly cap.
Tradify, Fergus, Jobber and Ascora offer a 14-day trial and no free plan, so they are covered separately. The second half works through four tradie months with real numbers, what a $500 card payment costs on each plan, and what the books add once you are registered for GST.
How we compared
Every competitor figure here was read from the vendor's own Australian pricing page, or its own feature page where the pricing page was silent, on 10 and 11 October 2026. Each page is linked in the Sources section. Where a page did not state something, this guide says "not listed" rather than guessing.
"Free plan" here means a $0 tier with no expiry date; a 14-day trial is not one, because the bill starts on day 15.
OneBookPlus is our product. Its figures come from our own pricing page, and where it is the weaker choice for a given tradie, the section says so.
Free plans compared
| App | What the free plan includes | The cap that bites first | iPhone / Android | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OneBookPlus | Unlimited jobs and one-off bookings, 1 booking page, 10 invoices and 5 quotes a month, 250 contacts, full accounting with BAS-ready reports, bank statement import, card payments via Stripe | 10 invoices a month, then 1 login | iPhone and iPad app; web app in an Android browser, no native Android app | OneBookPlus pricing |
| ServiceM8 | 1 user, 30 jobs a month, all essential features, recurring jobs, deposits, self-serve support | 30 jobs a month | iOS and Android apps | ServiceM8 pricing |
| Jobbit | Up to 5 clients, 5 jobs a month, 5 invoices and 5 quotes a month, 10 AI chat messages a month, web and mobile app | 5 clients and 5 jobs a month | iOS and Android apps, plus web | Jobbit pricing |
| Square Invoices | Unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts, no monthly fee, 2.2% on online card payments | No count cap; invoicing only, no jobs or ledger | iOS and Android app | Square Invoices pricing |
| QuoteMate | Unlimited quotes and invoices, one PDF template, live supplier pricing, cloud sync, card payments via Square with a 1.7% QuoteMate fee | No count cap; your logo and the lower fee are on Pro | iOS, Android and web | QuoteMate pricing |
OneBookPlus runs quoting, invoicing, bookings, jobs and GST-ready accounting in one Australian app. See what that looks like for tradies.
Feature by feature on the free plans
"Not listed" means the vendor's own page did not state it for the free plan; it does not mean the feature is absent.
| Feature on the free plan | OneBookPlus | ServiceM8 | Jobbit | Square Invoices | QuoteMate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quotes a month | 5 | Yes (count not listed) | 5 | Unlimited estimates | Unlimited |
| Jobs a month | Unlimited | 30 | 5 | Not listed | Not listed |
| Scheduling or calendar | Bookings: unlimited one-off, 1 repeating series | Yes | Not listed (a next-job view is listed) | Not listed | Not listed |
| Invoices a month | 10 | Yes (count not listed) | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Online card payments | Yes, Stripe, up to 2.5% platform fee on Free | Yes, 1.89% + 30c | Not listed on Free (listed on Starter, rate not stated) | Yes, 2.2% online | Yes, Square plus 1.7% QuoteMate fee |
| Online booking page for customers | 1 | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Accounting with P&L and BAS-ready reports | Yes | Not listed (syncs to your accounting package) | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| GST on invoices | Yes, with ABN validation | Not listed | Listed on Starter, not on Free | Not listed | Not listed |
| iPhone app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | No (web app in a browser) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Users on Free | 1 login | 1 | Owner only (per Jobbit's own guide) | Not listed | Not listed |
OneBookPlus: unlimited jobs, the books included, 10 invoices a month
The OneBookPlus Free plan is $0 AUD with no time limit and no credit card. It is not a trial. It includes:
- Unlimited jobs. There is no monthly job count on any plan.
- Unlimited one-off bookings, one booking page with 24/7 self-booking and automated reminders, and one active repeating booking series. A second repeating series needs Starter.
- 10 invoices and 5 quotes a month, with GST calculated and the customer's ABN validated.
- 250 contacts and one login. Rostered staff who never sign in are free and unlimited.
- The books: a double-entry ledger, Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, cash flow, GST and BAS-ready reports, and bank statement import (CSV, OFX, QFX or QBO files) with reconciliation. There are no live bank feeds, and the BAS is prepared in the app, not lodged with the ATO by us.
- Online card payments through Stripe, with a platform fee of up to 2.5% on the Free plan on top of Stripe's own fee.
- Client forms, photos and files on a quote, job photos carried onto the invoice, a review request after a completed booking, and a basic POS.
- A web app and an iPhone and iPad app. There is no native Android app; the web app runs in an Android browser.
Where it is weaker: ten invoices a month is the number to test against your own month, and the worked months below show where it breaks. One login means a second person in the office or the ute needs Starter. On Android you get a browser, not an app. And card payments on Free carry the platform fee.
Starter is $29 a month. It makes invoices and quotes unlimited, lifts contacts to 1,000, gives you 3 booking pages and 3 logins, and adds the drag-and-drop job pipeline, the CRM deals pipeline, recurring invoices and payment reminders, custom invoice branding, two-way Google Calendar sync and email campaigns. Plus is $49 and Growth $69. Every paid plan has a 14-day trial with no card. The full matrix is on the OneBookPlus pricing page.
Some roundups describe the Free plan by its invoice and quote caps alone. Jobs are not capped, and neither are one-off bookings. That matters when you set it beside ServiceM8's 30.
ServiceM8: 30 jobs a month, one user, native apps on both phones
ServiceM8's pricing page lists the free tier at $0 a month for 1 user and 30 jobs per month, with all essential features, AI Smart Helpers, recurring jobs, deposits and purchased forms, and self-serve support. The essential features it lists for every plan include scheduling, quoting and invoicing, credit card payments in the app or by a pay-online link, online bookings ("Clients can get a price, select a time, then book a service"), accounting integrations ("Sync clients, items, invoices, and payments with your accounting package") and productivity and revenue reporting. SMS is 10c each and card payments are 1.89% plus 30c. Partial and progress invoices, supplier invoice importing, asset management, forms and certificates, proposals, bundles, job costing and markup billing are not on the free tier. The page states that prices are in AUD and include GST, and its mobile access section lists iOS and Android apps.
The cap that bites first is the 30 jobs. One job each weekday is about 22 a month; a second on a few days puts you over. Starter is then $29 a month for 50 jobs, Growing $79 for 150, Premium $149 for 500 and Premium Plus $349 for 1,500 or more, every paid tier with unlimited users.
ServiceM8 is the better fit when you want a native app on an Android phone, when you want scheduling and online bookings at $0 without the books, and when your job count sits comfortably under 30. Its page lists accounting as an integration, not a ledger, so the books live in Xero, MYOB or similar. We go deeper in OneBookPlus vs ServiceM8 and in our guide to ServiceM8 alternatives for Australian trades.
Jobbit: 5 clients, 5 jobs, 5 quotes and 5 invoices a month
Jobbit's pricing page lists a $0 plan with up to 5 clients, 5 jobs per month, 5 invoices and 5 quotes per month, and 10 AI chat messages a month, on the web and mobile app. The Free column lists quoting ("Build a quote in minutes with saved line items") and a next-job view ("See your next job, the drive, and your tasks the moment you open"). Jobbit's own guide describes the free plan as owner only. Starter is $29.99 a month with 50 jobs, unlimited invoices and quotes, up to 10 staff members, card payments via Stripe or bank transfer (no rate printed) and GST-correct tax invoices with your ABN synced to Xero or QuickBooks; the pricing page lists card payments and GST invoices under Starter, not Free. Pro is $79.99 and Enterprise $149.99, all AUD including GST. It is on the App Store and Google Play, with a full web app.
The cap that bites first is five, which suits someone trying the app or doing a handful of paid jobs alongside other work. A full-time tradie will be on Starter in the first week.
Square Invoices: unlimited invoices and estimates, no jobs
Square's Australian invoices pricing page lists the free plan at $0 with no monthly fee, unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts, 2.2% on online card payments and 1.6% on in-person transactions. Plus is $30 a month and adds milestone-based payment schedules, batch invoices and custom invoice layouts. Square's app page offers the download for iOS or Android.
There is no volume cap. The limit is scope: the page describes invoices, estimates and contracts, not job tracking, scheduling, a booking page, GST wording or a ledger. For a tradie who only needs to send invoices and get paid, it is a fair pick; the cost is the processing fee on each card payment.
QuoteMate: unlimited quotes and invoices, your logo on Pro
QuoteMate's pricing page lists Free at $0 forever with unlimited quotes and invoices, a professional PDF template, live supplier pricing, cloud sync and online card payments via Square, where QuoteMate's 1.7% fee comes out of your payout on top of Square's own processing fee. Pro is $49 a month or $328 a year with a 14-day trial, and adds AI material and title generation, all PDF templates, your business logo on documents, invoice and payment tracking, a lower QuoteMate fee (1% online and 1.5% in person) and bank transfer, PayID, BPAY and PayPal. It runs on iOS, Android and the web. The page lists no jobs, scheduling, booking page, GST wording or accounting on either plan.
The cap that bites first is not a count. On Free your quotes go out on the standard template without your logo, and 1.7% comes off each card payment. If quoting with material lists is most of your paperwork and the standard template is fine, there is no volume limit to hit.
Trial only: Tradify, Fergus, Jobber and Ascora
None of these four has a free plan. Each offers a 14-day trial, and after it the bill starts.
- Tradify: Lite $48, Pro $52 and Plus $62 per user a month, ex GST; "Free for 14 Days" with all features; iPhone, iPad and Android apps. Whether a card is needed for the trial is not stated.
- Fergus: Essentials $53 and Professional $77 a month, timesheet users from $26 each, Enterprise 10+ on quote, with a $5.30 and $7.70 promotional rate also showing; 14 days, no credit card; Android and iOS. GST basis not stated.
- Jobber: US dollars, Core US$49 a month month-to-month or US$29 billed annually, up to Plus at US$499; 14 days on the Grow plan, no credit card; iOS and Android.
- Ascora: Essentials $45 and Elite $59 per user a month, Enterprise on quote; 14 days, no credit card; App Store and Google Play. GST basis not stated.
Our best job management software in Australia comparison covers these paid tools in more depth.
Which free plan fits your month
Four tradie months, with the plan that holds and the cap that breaks first.
A solo sparky: about 40 small jobs, 40 invoices and 10 quotes a month
- ServiceM8 Free breaks on jobs at 30. Starter at $29 gives 50, 10 of headroom here.
- Jobbit Free breaks on all three counts at 5; Starter at $29.99 gives 50 jobs and unlimited paperwork.
- OneBookPlus Free holds on jobs and breaks on invoices at 10 and quotes at 5. Starter at $29 makes both unlimited and keeps the books.
- Square Invoices and QuoteMate hold on invoices and quotes with no cap, and list no jobs or scheduling.
No free plan runs this month end to end as a job app. The paid step is $29 to $29.99 on ServiceM8, Jobbit or OneBookPlus; only one of those includes the books.
A handyman: 15 jobs, 12 invoices and 8 quotes a month
- ServiceM8 Free holds: 15 jobs is under 30, and the quote and invoice counts are not capped on its page. One user.
- OneBookPlus Free holds on jobs and breaks on invoices by two (12 against 10) and on quotes by three (8 against 5). Starter at $29 clears both.
- Jobbit Free breaks on jobs at 5. Square Invoices and QuoteMate hold on the paperwork and list no jobs.
ServiceM8 Free is the only free plan that holds this month as a job app. If the books in the same app are worth $29 a month, OneBookPlus Starter.
A lawn or cleaning round: 10 regular customers, fortnightly visits, invoiced monthly
That is about 20 visits a month, 10 invoices and perhaps 2 new quotes.
- OneBookPlus Free holds on jobs and one-off bookings and sits exactly at the invoice cap of 10. The caveat is repeat work: Free allows one active repeating booking series, so one customer's slot repeats automatically and the other nine run as unlimited jobs or one-off bookings. Ten repeating series need Starter.
- ServiceM8 Free lists recurring jobs and caps jobs at 30. Whether each visit in a recurring job counts toward the 30 is not stated on its pricing page; at 20 visits it holds if each does.
- Jobbit Free breaks on clients at 5. Square Invoices and QuoteMate hold on 10 invoices and list no scheduling.
Both hold at this size. The ServiceM8 caveat is one user and the books elsewhere; the OneBookPlus caveat is one repeating series and an invoice count with no room to grow.
A painter who only quotes and invoices: 8 quotes a month, half won, 4 invoices
- Square Invoices and QuoteMate hold with no cap, QuoteMate on the standard template without your logo.
- ServiceM8 Free holds: 4 jobs.
- OneBookPlus Free breaks on quotes at 5, three short; invoices are fine at 4. Jobbit Free breaks on quotes at 5.
Square Invoices or QuoteMate are the picks here. OneBookPlus Free is not, unless the books matter more than three quotes a month; Starter at $29 lifts the cap.
What card payments cost on each free plan
A $500 invoice paid by card online. Only rates printed on the vendor's own page are computed.
- OneBookPlus Free: Stripe's standard Australian rate on its pricing page is 1.65% + A$0.30 for domestic cards, which the page says includes GST, so $8.55. The OneBookPlus platform fee on the Free plan is up to 2.5%, so up to $12.50. Together, up to $21.05.
- ServiceM8 Free: 1.89% + 30c, so $9.75.
- Square Invoices: 2.2% online, so $11.00.
- QuoteMate Free: QuoteMate's 1.7% is $8.50, plus Square's own processing fee, which QuoteMate's page does not state as a number. Not computed.
- Jobbit Free: card payments are listed under Starter, not Free, and no rate is printed on the pricing page. Not computed.
Of the three computable rates, OneBookPlus Free is the dearest for a card payment, by about $11 on a $500 invoice against ServiceM8, before the job count or the books come into it. The percentages apply to card payments only.
The real cost of free: the books
A GST-registered tradie lodges a BAS each quarter. On ServiceM8, Jobbit, Square Invoices and QuoteMate the ledger and the BAS live in a separate subscription, or with a bookkeeper: their pages list an accounting integration or sync at most, never a ledger. Read on 11 October 2026 from the vendors' own Australian pricing pages:
- Xero: the cheapest plan on the page is Grow at $78 a month after an 80% off for 3 months offer, listing "Track GST and lodge BAS" and "Reconcile bank transactions". Prices are in AUD and include GST. That is $936 a year.
- MYOB: with the page's yearly toggle selected, Lite is $315 a year after a 70% off offer and lists "Track GST and lodge BAS". Solo is $99 a year and lists GST tracking and unlimited quotes and invoices, but not BAS. The page does not state a GST basis, and the monthly rates sat behind a toggle that did not render.
So a free job app plus the cheapest BAS-capable plan on those pages is $315 to $936 a year, before the job app's own paid tier if you outgrow its free plan. OneBookPlus Free carries the ledger, Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, cash flow, GST and BAS-ready reports and bank statement import at $0 within its 10 invoices a month; Starter is $29 a month, $348 a year, with invoices unlimited and the same books.
Two honest notes. Xero and MYOB both list lodging the BAS from inside the product; OneBookPlus prepares the BAS and does not lodge it, so lodgement is a step you or your agent take. And plenty of tradies keep a bookkeeper whatever the software, in which case the saving is the subscription, not the bookkeeper. Our guide to lodging a BAS in Australia walks through what the quarter needs.
When the free plan stops being enough
Each free plan ends on a different number, and the first paid step is $29 to $49: ServiceM8 Starter, Jobbit Starter and OneBookPlus Starter past their counts, Square Plus and QuoteMate Pro for features rather than any count. In short:
- Unlimited jobs plus the books in one app at $0, on iPhone or in a browser: OneBookPlus.
- A native Android app, scheduling and online bookings, and under 30 jobs a month: ServiceM8.
- Invoices only, no cap, pay by processing fee: Square Invoices.
- Quotes with material lists, no cap, standard template: QuoteMate.
- A handful of jobs a month: Jobbit.
Before you pick: a short checklist
- Android or iPhone. Four of the five have a native Android app. OneBookPlus does not; on Android it is the web app in a browser.
- How many invoices and jobs you really send. Pull last quarter's numbers, divide by three, and set them against 30 jobs (ServiceM8), 5 of everything (Jobbit) and 10 invoices and 5 quotes (OneBookPlus). Square Invoices and QuoteMate have no count to check.
- Card fees. On a $500 card payment: ServiceM8 $9.75, Square $11.00, OneBookPlus Free up to $21.05 including Stripe; QuoteMate and Jobbit do not print enough to compute.
- GST and BAS. OneBookPlus Free calculates GST on the invoice and carries BAS-ready reports; on the other four, check the vendor's page for the words "tax invoice" and plan for a separate accounting subscription or a bookkeeper.
- How many people need to log in. ServiceM8 Free and OneBookPlus Free are one user; Jobbit's guide says owner only; Square and QuoteMate do not say. Rostered staff who never sign in are free on OneBookPlus.
- Repeat work. ServiceM8 Free lists recurring jobs. OneBookPlus Free allows one active repeating booking series, with jobs and one-off bookings unlimited. The other three list no scheduling on their free plans.
Start with OneBookPlus for tradies if the first line of the summary is you, or read our guide to job management software before you choose.
Sources
Read on 10 October 2026 unless marked 11 October.
- OneBookPlus: onebookplus.com.au/pricing
- ServiceM8: servicem8.com/au/pricing (feature list re-read 11 October)
- Jobbit: jobbit.com.au/pricing (re-read 11 October), jobbit.com.au (11 October) and Jobbit's free job management apps guide
- Square Invoices: squareup.com/au/en/invoices/pricing (re-read 11 October), squareup.com/au/en/invoices/invoice-app and squareup.com/au/en/press/invoices-app-aus
- QuoteMate: quotemateapp.au/pricing (re-read 11 October) and quotemateapp.au
- Tradify: tradifyhq.com/au/pricing
- Fergus: fergus.com/au/pricing and fergus.com/au
- Jobber: getjobber.com/pricing
- Ascora: ascora.com.au/price
- Stripe: stripe.com/au/pricing (11 October)
- Xero: xero.com/au/pricing (11 October)
- MYOB: myob.com/au/pricing (11 October)
