There are good tools out there. Here’s where TradieO is different.
Tradify and ServiceM8 are solid software — plenty of tradies run happily on them, and we won’t pretend otherwise. But they’re built on a model TradieO deliberately walked away from: rent by the head, your data on their servers, compliance still your problem. Here’s the honest side-by-side.
It comes down to who owns your business.
Most trade software is a subscription. You rent access, per person, forever. It lives on their servers, so your customer list and your job history are on someone else’s computer — and if you ever leave, a lot of that walks out the door with them.
TradieO is built the opposite way. You pay once (or finance it), and the system is yours — on your own server, your data, one flat price no matter how many staff you put on. It’s the difference between renting a shop and owning one.
TradieO next to the usual choices.
The rows below describe each tool’s general pricing model and category positioning, not a line-by-line audit of every feature. Vendors change their offerings — check current details before relying on any single point.
| Tradify | ServiceM8 | TradieO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user, monthly | Per job / tiered monthly | One flat price, own it |
| Cost as you grow | Climbs with staff | Climbs with volume | Doesn’t move |
| Where your data lives | Their servers | Their servers | Your own server |
| Website included | No | No | Yes, and it ranks |
| Compliance certificates | You fill & lodge | You fill & lodge | Generated & lodged automatically |
| Voice invoicing | No | No | Yes |
| If you leave | Data stays with them | Data stays with them | You keep everything |
| Good at | Clean, simple job management | Field-service scheduling & photos | Owning the whole business, paperwork off your plate |
The one thing no other tool does.
Every trade tool helps you quote and invoice — that’s table stakes now. Not one of the big names generates your Certificates of Compliance and lodges them to the authority for you; you still fill those out by hand, or pay someone to.
TradieO does it automatically the moment a job’s marked done. For a lot of tradies, that single feature saves more time than everything else combined. It’s the reason to look past a tool you already half-like.
Who each one suits.
Tradify or ServiceM8 might suit you if…
You want a simple monthly tool, you’re happy for your data to sit on their servers, you already have a website you like, and compliance paperwork isn’t a big part of your week.
TradieO suits you if…
You’re tired of the bill climbing every time you hire, you want your data on your own server, you’d rather own than rent, and the compliance certificates and after-hours admin are eating your evenings.
We’d genuinely rather you pick the right tool than the wrong one and churn. A demo is the fastest way to tell which is which.
Common questions when switching.
Can I move my data across from Tradify or ServiceM8?
Yes. We’ll help you bring your customer list and job history over as part of setup. Most tradies are fully switched inside a week.
Isn’t a subscription cheaper than paying upfront?
Cheaper this month, yes. Over a few years, a per-user subscription usually costs more — and you own nothing at the end. TradieO’s paid off and yours. See the three-year comparison on the pricing page.
Do I lose anything by being on my own server instead of theirs?
No — you gain control. We handle updates, security, and backups through the flat care plan, so you get the “it just works” of hosted software with the ownership of running it yourself.
What if I’ve already paid for a year of another tool?
Bring it up on the demo. We’ll look at the timing and work out whether it’s worth switching now or when your term’s up. No pressure to jump early.