The closest rival here — built for contractors, metered by the document.
Joist is contractor estimating and invoicing software with a well-regarded mobile app, contracts with in-app signatures and homeowner financing, priced from $12/mo — but its Basics plan caps you at 5 documents per month, unlimited invoicing starts at $17/mo (Pro), its free plan has been retired, and card payments carry standard processing fees. ServiceInvoicing never caps how many invoices you send on any plan, including a free tier that does not expire, and adds custom trade-specific job fields, a client sign-in portal, billable time entries and included employee access. Choose Joist if you estimate on site from a phone and want to offer clients financing; choose ServiceInvoicing if you invoice at volume.
Last reviewed against Joist’s published pricing page.
Joist is genuinely good at what it does: estimates that become invoices, a well-liked mobile app, contracts with in-app signatures, and homeowner financing you can offer on the spot. The friction is the shape of the plans. The free tier was retired, the $12/mo Basics plan caps you at 5 documents a month, unlimited invoicing starts at $17/mo, and card payments carry standard processing fees.
ServiceInvoicing never caps how many invoices you send, on any plan including the free one. It adds trade-specific job fields you define yourself, a client sign-in portal, billable time entries and employee access included in the plan price.
Choose Joist if you estimate on site from your phone and want to offer clients financing.
Joist pricing and features checked against their public pricing page in September 2026.
| Feature | ServiceInvoicing This site | Joist Contractor invoicing app |
|---|---|---|
| Price & limits | ||
| Free planA usable plan that costs nothing, not just a trial. | YesYes — 2 clients, unlimited invoices | No14-day trial only; the free plan was retired |
| Entry paid plan | $9/mo | $12/mo (from $8.34 billed annually) |
| Top plan | $39/mo — unlimited everything | $32/mo (Elite), $100/mo (Run) |
| Invoices per monthThe number of invoices you can actually send. | YesUnlimited on every plan, including free | Partial5 documents/mo on Basics; unlimited from $17/mo |
| What the plan caps | Active clients (2 / 10 / 25 / unlimited) | Documents per month on the entry plan |
| Team members includedExtra people who can work in the account at no extra charge. | Yes2 / 10 / unlimited, included in the plan price | NoNot included in the published plans |
| Contract or commitment | YesMonth-to-month, cancel any time | YesMonth-to-month, or 2 months free billed annually |
| Invoicing | ||
| Itemized line items, tax, discounts, deposits | Yes | Yes |
| PDF download and print | Yes | Yes |
| Trade-specific job fieldsReusable custom fields — permit number, VIN, serial number, claim reference — that attach to every invoice. | YesCustom schemas you define per trade | NoNo custom field system published |
| Payment status trackingDraft, Pending, Paid, Overdue — filterable by client or status. | Yes | YesClient activity tracking from $17/mo |
| Multi-currency invoicing | Yes18 currencies, set per invoice | NoNot published |
| Free invoice templates without an account | Yes30 printable trade templates | Yes |
| Clients & contracts | ||
| Client address book | Yes | YesUnlimited clients on every plan |
| Contracts with e-signature | YesIncluded from $19/mo | YesContracts with in-app signatures |
| Client portalYour clients sign in to view invoices and sign contracts. | YesIncluded from $19/mo | PartialClients receive and pay documents; no sign-in portal |
| Time entries billed to invoices | Yes | NoWork orders, not billable time |
| Revenue reports with CSV export | YesBilled, collected and outstanding by date range | PartialBusiness reports on Elite; CSV export not published |
| What we deliberately do not do | ||
| Processes card paymentsWe produce invoices and track their status. We never touch your money — you get paid however you already do. | NoNo — and no processing fees either | YesStandard processing fees apply |
| Scheduling, dispatch and GPS routing | No | PartialVisit scheduling on the $100/mo Run plan |
| Full bookkeeping, expenses and tax reports | No | No |
| Native mobile app | NoWeb app; works in a phone browser | YesCore strength |
Joist is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with ServiceInvoicing. Prices shown are Joist’s published list prices in September 2026 and exclude promotional discounts, add-ons and taxes. Source: www.joist.com/pricing/
No. Joist's free plan has been retired; all plans now start with a 14-day free trial and begin at $12/mo for Basics. ServiceInvoicing still has a free plan that does not expire, covering 2 active clients and unlimited invoices with no credit card required.
Joist's $12/mo Basics plan caps you at 5 documents per month; unlimited documents start on the $17/mo Pro plan. ServiceInvoicing places no cap on invoices on any plan, including the free one — it limits active clients instead, so a busy month never costs more than a quiet one.
Not a native one. ServiceInvoicing is a web application that works in a phone browser. Joist's native mobile app is one of its genuine strengths, particularly for building estimates while standing on the job site.
Yes. Joist includes contracts with in-app digital signatures, and ServiceInvoicing includes contracts with e-signature on its Professional plan and above, signed by clients through the client portal. ServiceInvoicing additionally gives clients a sign-in portal to view their invoice history; Joist sends documents to clients without a portal login.
Start on the free plan, add a client, and send a real invoice today. No credit card, no trial clock, nothing to cancel.