Every card has the same four parts: who it suits, the published price, what it does for you, and one watch-out.
1
FieldHive
Suits: Owner-run building, renovation and extension firms of up to about 3 people, where you do the quoting, booking and invoicing.
Published price
Free plan · Business £14.99 a month or £144 a year, one price for the whole business.
- Quote fixed-price, by the hour, or time and materials, with quote history and revisions when the client changes the spec.
- Deposit invoices and progress claims on Business, so a kitchen or an extension is billed in stages.
- CIS support, Xero and QuickBooks sync with CIS, Stripe card payments and a customer portal, all on the free plan.
- Stop paying any time and you keep the free plan. Your quotes and invoices stay yours to export.
Watch-out: One login, for the person who runs the admin: staff and subbies don’t log in, get job lists or fill in timesheets. And it isn’t a project-management platform: no Gantt charts, site diaries or takeoff from drawings in the app (the site diary and construction phase plan are free web tools on fieldhive.com). For a crew with logins, Tradify; for pricing from drawings, Buildxact.
Start freeFree plan, no card needed. £14.99 a month flat for the whole business when you need more.
2
Xero
Suits: Builders who only need invoices and CIS in their accounts, or whose accountant already works in Xero.
Published price
Ignite £18, Grow £39, Comprehensive £55 or Ultimate £70 a month.
- Subcontractor CIS calculations and reports on every plan; submitting contractor CIS returns is an optional add-on.
- Quotes, invoices and online invoice payments on every plan.
Watch-out: It’s accounting software, not a job app, so bookings and site work live somewhere else. Ignite sends quotes and 20 invoices; unlimited invoices start on Grow at £39 a month.
3
Powered Now
Suits: Sole-trader builders who want quotes, invoices and payments on site in one app.
Published price
Business £28 a month for one user · Professional £32 and Premium £40 per user a month · 14-day trial, no card.
- Pay-now links on invoices and a mobile card reader, so a customer can pay before you leave the drive.
- Forms and certificates, Xero and QuickBooks sync and team logins from the Professional plan (£32 per user).
Watch-out: The £28 Business plan is for one user. Teams, Xero and QuickBooks sync, and forms start on Professional (£32 per user); the customer portal is on Premium (£40 per user) only.
4
Tradify
Suits: Building teams of 2 to 10 who schedule several people across the week and bill in stages.
Published price
Lite £34, Pro £37 or Plus £44 per user a month · 14-day trial.
- Progress invoicing on Pro: deposits, progress payments and retentions.
- Xero, Sage and QuickBooks on every plan, and every person on the team gets their own login.
Watch-out: The bill grows with every user, and staged billing needs Pro (£37 per user). No customer portal found on its site; customers get emailed links and online quote acceptance.
5
Fergus
Suits: Building firms that want to see the profit on every job and bring subbies in by the day.
Published price
Essentials from £39 a month, Professional from £45 · timesheet users from £12 a month · contractor users £2 a day · 14-day trial.
- Job costing around labour and materials, with job phases and supplier price books.
- Contractor users at £2 per user per day, so a subbie on a two-week job doesn’t need a monthly seat.
Watch-out: No customer portal; customers get a payment page. Card payments cost 1.6% + 20p each.
6
Buildxact
Suits: Builders and renovators who price extensions and new builds from drawings and want estimating in depth.
Published price
Foundation £119, Pro £209 or Master £349 a month, or £1,060, £1,917 or £3,141 a year billed annually · unlimited users · 14-day trial.
- Digital takeoffs, customisable quote letters, digital signatures, supplier integration and purchase orders on Foundation.
- Unlimited users on every plan, with Xero and QuickBooks connections.
Watch-out: Job management, schedules and the Onsite mobile app start on Pro at £209 a month. Annual plans need a 12-month commitment. A lot to pay for if you rarely price from plans. Invoicing and accounting sync aren’t on Foundation; they start on Pro (£209 a month).
7
Procore
Suits: Main contractors and owners running construction projects with many subcontractors, clients and suppliers.
Published price
Price on request: an upfront annual fee per product, based on your annual construction turnover.
- Unlimited users, including clients, subcontractors and suppliers.
- Unlimited data storage and support included for the length of the contract.
Watch-out: No published price; you book a demo for a custom quote. Built for project collaboration at scale, so a small domestic builder pays for far more than quotes and invoices.
