ServiceM8 alternatives in Australia

What ServiceM8 does well

Before switching, be clear about what you would give up. ServiceM8 is an Australian company with a long-standing iPhone app. Its Australian prices include GST. Paid plans have no user limit, include an SMS allowance, and offer card payments with fees that fall on higher plans, plus Tap to Pay on iPhone. It connects to Xero, MYOB Business and QuickBooks Online, and solo operators can use a free plan for up to 30 jobs a month.

Why people look for a ServiceM8 alternative

• The bill follows your job count. Plans step up from 50 jobs (A$29) to 150 (A$79), 500 (A$149) and 1,500 or more (A$349) a month. A business that grows its volume pays more, even with the same team.
• Android. ServiceM8 announced its rebuilt Android app as a beta in August 2026, describing it as “much closer to the ServiceM8 iOS experience”. Teams with mixed phones may want a tool that treats both the same.
• Add-ons. The Email Inbox that turns forwarded emails into jobs, the Services add-on for online booking pages, Office Agent Pro (A$39 a month) and ServiceM8 Phone (from A$19 a month) are separate.
• Where data is kept. ServiceM8 stores data in several regions, including the US, Australia, Ireland, Singapore and Tokyo. Some businesses prefer data kept only in Australia.

The alternatives at a glance

1. Karya Falak

Karya Falak prices per business, so your bill does not change with the number of jobs. Starter is A$49 a month for up to 10 people in the office, Growth is A$99 with no limit on people in the office, and each field member is A$9 a month, all GST included. Email and web form enquiries land in one shared inbox as cards on a board, along with WhatsApp and SMS. Online booking is included rather than an add-on, and data stays in Sydney.

• Good for: growing teams whose job count keeps rising, offices where several people answer customers, and businesses outside the trades.
• Watch out for: it is a newer Australian product. There is no free plan, no tap to pay and no MYOB, and SMS is a paid add-on rather than included.

2. Tradify

Tradify charges per user (Lite A$48, Pro A$52, Plus A$62 a user a month, ex GST). It has iPhone and Android apps, Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks on every plan, Google Calendar sync, and free one-on-one training and phone support.

• Good for: small crews with lots of jobs each, who want training and Android support.
• Watch out for: costs rise with every user, and texts are 20c each on top. Compare the two in Tradify vs ServiceM8.

3. Fergus

Fergus links with more than 100 Australian suppliers, including Reece and Tradelink, offers Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android, takes deposits when a quote is accepted, and has local support in Australia and New Zealand. It works on Android and iOS.

• Good for: trade crews of up to about 20 who buy a lot of materials.
• Watch out for: the pricing page leaves the per-user basis and GST unclear, and a 90% off offer runs until December.

4. Jobber

Jobber is a large Canadian product with polished quotes, online booking from its Core plan, a client hub and iPhone and Android apps.

• Good for: home service businesses that want a widely used tool and do not need texting in Australia.
• Watch out for: prices are in US dollars per user, two-way texting and Jobber Payments are not offered in Australia, and its Xero sync runs one way. See Jobber alternatives.

5. AroFlo and 6. Simpro

Both belong to the Simpro Group. AroFlo, based in Melbourne, starts at A$80 a user a month with a minimum of three users and covers quoting, jobs, staff time, scheduling and accounting, with GPS fleet tracking. Simpro, founded in Brisbane in 2002, is built for service, maintenance and project contractors and covers quotes, scheduling, invoicing and stock.

• Good for: larger trade businesses that have outgrown a simple job app.
• Watch out for: AroFlo starts with a demo and a three-user minimum, which costs more than most ServiceM8 plans for a small team. Simpro does not publish its prices.

How to choose

• If your job count keeps climbing but your team does not, look at a tool that prices by business or by user, such as Karya Falak or Tradify.
• If your crew carries Android phones, shortlist tools with a full Android app today, such as Tradify, Fergus, Jobber or AroFlo.
• If you rely on included texts, price the SMS on each alternative before you switch. ServiceM8’s paid plans include an allowance, and Karya Falak’s SMS is a paid add-on.
• If you use MYOB, Tradify, Fergus and AroFlo connect to it. Karya Falak does not, and we found no MYOB link on Jobber’s pages.
• If your office answers lots of customer emails and form enquiries, try Karya Falak’s shared inbox.
• If you work alone with under 30 jobs a month, staying on ServiceM8’s free plan may be the right call.

Moving away from ServiceM8

ServiceM8 lets you export clients, materials and jobs as CSV files, with no API key. Karya Falak has a ServiceM8 preset that reads those files, shows every row before anything changes, and can undo an import for seven days. Because the preset was built from sample exports, start with a small file. Keep ServiceM8 running until you are happy, and switch off its Xero link before a new tool connects to the same Xero file. See import.