2026 ROUNDUP
Best trade quoting
software in Australia.
Last updated 29 September 2026
An honest look at the quoting and job-management tools Australian and New Zealand tradies actually use in 2026. No tool here is best at everything — the right one depends on whether you need fast quoting, full job management, or detailed plan-based estimating. See the head-to-head comparisons for more detail on specific matchups.
NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED
What job quoting software does
Job quoting software turns a job description, photo or voice note into an itemised quote, ready to send, in under 30 seconds. Insta Quotes reads what you give it and returns priced line items for labour, materials and markup, with GST added at the correct rate for the job: 10% in Australia or 15% in New Zealand.
Every line is editable before it goes out. Adjust a rate, add a task the client asked for on site, or remove something that isn't needed, then send a branded PDF the client can view and accept online, instead of printing or emailing a document back and forth.
Once a quote is accepted, the rest follows from it. A deposit can be collected on acceptance, and invoicing draws on the same line items, so the numbers a client agreed to are the numbers they're billed. That's what separates online quoting software built around one job at a time from a static price list.
Quoting software
Quoting software is any tool that turns a job into a priced, itemised document a customer can read and accept — replacing a spreadsheet, a Word template, or a handwritten pad. At its core it does three things: price the labour and materials, apply the right tax (10% GST here, 15% GST across the Tasman), and format the result into something a client will actually sign off on.
Not every trade business needs the same amount of it. A sole trader sending a handful of quotes a week just needs the pricing and the document. A crew juggling scheduling, dispatch and timesheets on top of quoting needs a fuller job-management suite, where quoting is one module among several. That split is what separates a focused quoting tool like Insta Quotes from an all-in-one platform like ServiceM8 or Tradify — both quote, but only one of them is built to be nothing else.
Job quoting software
Job quoting software is quoting tied to a specific, real job rather than a generic price list — the version field trades actually use. A site visit turns up measurements, access issues and materials a template can't predict, and the quote needs to reflect exactly that job, not an average of past ones.
That means pricing labour and materials for what's actually in front of you, adding GST at the correct rate, and being ready for variations once the job is underway — a wall turns out to be brick, not stud, or the client adds a task on site. Insta Quotes builds a quote from a photo, voice note or plain description of the job, so the itemised breakdown reflects the actual site, not a guess made from the office.
Quoting tools
Comparing quoting tools comes down to a handful of things that actually change your bill and your workflow: whether pricing is flat or per user, how long the free trial runs and whether it needs a credit card, whether there's a job or quote cap that forces an upgrade, and whether the tool can build a quote from a plain job description or needs every line entered by hand.
Here's how Insta Quotes, Tradify, ServiceM8 and AroFlo compare on those points:
| Compare | Insta Quotes | Tradify | ServiceM8 | AroFlo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price for a sole trader | Tier 1 $29 AUD/month, flat | $48 AUD/user/month ex GST (Lite) | $0/month (Free plan, 1 user) | From $80 per user/month, minimum 3 users (currency and GST basis not stated) |
| Pricing model | Flat, no per-user fee | Per user | Flat, not per user | Per user (minimum 3), rate falls as users are added; setup is mentioned but not priced |
| Free trial | 7 days, no credit card | 14 days | 14 days | Not stated on the pricing page |
| AI quote from a plain job description | Yes: text on every plan, photo and voice on Tier 2 and Tier 3; under 30 seconds | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Job/usage cap | 30 quotes/month on Tier 1, unlimited on Tier 3 | Not stated | Free: 30 jobs/month. Starter ($29/mo): 50 jobs/month | Not stated |
| Best for | Solo operators and small crews wanting fast AI quoting | Small teams wanting quote-to-invoice with timesheets and scheduling | Solo trades wanting full job management, not just quoting | Field teams needing compliance tracking and inventory management |
Competitor pricing checked 29 September 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page.
How we assess each tool
Every tool on this page is looked at against the same five criteria.
| Criterion | What we check |
|---|---|
| Speed to a first quote | Time from job details to a sendable, itemised quote |
| Cost for a sole trader or small crew | Published AUD price, and flat versus per-user pricing |
| Australian and NZ fit | GST handling, and an ABN or NZ GST number on quotes |
| Quote quality | Separate labour and materials lines, editable lines, a branded PDF and client acceptance |
| Scope beyond quoting | Scheduling, dispatch, timesheets, invoicing and inventory |
We do not give numeric scores: we make one of these tools, so a score we gave ourselves would not be credible. Each pick below names the criterion it wins on.
Best quoting software by what you need
Insta Quotes: best for fast AI quoting on flat pricing, for solo operators and small crews
AI quoting software built for Australian and New Zealand tradies. Describe a job in text (or by photo or voice note on Tier 2 and Tier 3) and get an itemised, GST-aware quote back in under 30 seconds.
Wins on: Speed to a first quote
Flat plans from A$29/month, AU + NZ GST handled.
ServiceM8: best for a free start for a solo trade wanting full job management
A full job-management platform covering scheduling, dispatch, quoting and invoicing for field service businesses.
Wins on: Cost for a sole trader or small crew
Free plan: $0 a month for 1 user and 30 jobs a month. Starter: $29 a month for unlimited users and 50 jobs a month. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Source: ServiceM8 pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026
Tradify: best for small teams wanting quote-to-invoice with timesheets and scheduling
Job-management software covering quote-to-invoice workflows with timesheets and scheduling built in.
Wins on: Scope beyond quoting
Lite $48, Pro $52 and Plus $62 AUD per user per month, ex GST. Per-user pricing, not flat. Source: Tradify pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026
Fergus: best for NZ-built full job management
Job-management software built in New Zealand, covering quoting, scheduling, timesheets and invoicing.
Wins on: Australian and NZ fit
Essentials from $53 a month and Professional from $77 a month. The page does not state the currency, whether GST is included, or whether the price is per user. Source: Fergus pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026
Buildxact: best for builders pricing from plans with takeoff
Estimating software aimed at builders, with plan-based takeoff and detailed material and labour estimating.
Wins on: Quote quality
Foundation $199 a month paid monthly ($169 a month on an annual plan), unlimited users, before GST. The page does not state the currency. Source: Buildxact pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026
AroFlo: best for field teams needing compliance and inventory
Field-service management software with compliance tracking and inventory management for larger field teams.
Wins on: Scope beyond quoting
From $80 per user per month, with a minimum of 3 users and a rate that falls as users are added. The page does not state the currency or whether GST is included. Source: AroFlo pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026
simPRO: best for larger contractors and enterprise field service
Enterprise-grade field-service management software covering large-scale job scheduling, inventory and reporting.
Wins on: Scope beyond quoting
Price not published: the pricing page asks you to request pricing. Source: simPRO pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026
Xero: best for businesses already on Xero wanting basic quotes
Accounting software with a basic quoting feature built in, so quotes stay attached to the same ledger as invoices.
Wins on: Scope beyond quoting
Grow plan $78 a month, which includes sending invoices and quotes. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Source: Xero pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026
Job quote software vs quoting by hand
Job quote software takes a job description — typed, spoken or photographed — and turns it into an itemised quote with labour, materials and GST already priced, in the time it takes to describe the job. That's the whole point of job quote software: replace the parts of quoting that are just data entry with something that does it in seconds.
Quoting by hand means re-typing the same line items every time a similar job comes in, looking up current material prices, calculating GST by hand and formatting it into something a client will actually read before you can send it. None of that changes the price you land on — it just costs you the evening. Multiply that across a week of quotes and it's easily hours you could have spent on the tools instead of at the desk.
That's who this suits best: solo operators and small crews who need a quote out before the next job starts, more than a back office running spreadsheets and a full costing team. Whether you're an electrician pricing a switchboard upgrade or a handyman writing handyman quotes for five different tasks in one visit, see current plans on the pricing page to find the right fit.
How to choose
Start with what's actually slowing you down. If quoting itself is the bottleneck — turning a job into a professional, priced quote quickly — a focused AI quoting tool like Insta Quotes gets you there in under 30 seconds without a learning curve. If you're managing a team's calendar, dispatching jobs and tracking timesheets across a crew, a full job-management platform like ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus or simPRO earns its setup time. And if you're a builder pricing off plans and drawings rather than on-site jobs, plan-based estimating tools like Buildxact are built for that specific workflow.
Most trade businesses only need one of these three jobs solved well, not all three at once. Once a quote is accepted, tools like Insta Quotes also handle online quote acceptance and deposit payment, so the handoff from quote to job doesn't need a separate system.
Common questions
What is the best trade quoting software in Australia?
It depends what you need. For fast AI quoting on flat pricing, Insta Quotes is purpose-built for Australian and New Zealand tradies. For full job management — scheduling, dispatch, timesheets — ServiceM8, Tradify and Fergus are strong options. For plan-based estimating on larger builds, Buildxact is the specialist. There is no single tool that is best for every trade business; it comes down to whether you need fast quoting or a full operations platform.
What is the best AI quoting software for tradies?
Insta Quotes is built specifically around AI quoting: a job description in (or a photo or voice note on Tier 2 and Tier 3), an itemised GST-aware quote out, in under 30 seconds. ServiceM8 has an AI Auto-Quote feature layered onto its broader job-management platform. If AI-first quoting is the main requirement rather than a secondary feature, Insta Quotes is the more focused tool.
What is the cheapest quoting software for a small trade business?
ServiceM8 has a free plan for 1 user and up to 30 jobs a month, then flat pricing from $29/month (AUD, GST included). Insta Quotes uses flat plans from $29 AUD/month with no per-user fees. Tradify and AroFlo both charge per user — Tradify from $48 AUD/user/month ex GST, AroFlo from $80/user/month with a minimum of 3 users — so their cost scales up with team size rather than staying flat. Prices checked 29 September 2026 on the pricing pages of the vendors named.
Which quoting tool is best for New Zealand tradies?
Fergus was built in New Zealand and is a strong full job-management option there. Insta Quotes runs a dedicated NZ site (instaquotes.co.nz) with 15% GST handling for fast AI quoting. Tradify also has a solid NZ user base. For full job management, Fergus or Tradify; for fast AI quoting on flat pricing, Insta Quotes.
What is job quoting software?
Quoting software that prices a specific, real job rather than a generic price list: the measurements, access and materials from the site visit go in, and an itemised quote with labour, materials and GST comes out, ready for variations once the work is under way. Insta Quotes is job quoting software in that sense — describe or photograph the job and it returns the priced line items in under 30 seconds. Full job-management suites like ServiceM8 and Tradify quote per job too, but wrap it in scheduling, dispatch and timesheets.
Do I need full job-management software or just a quoting tool?
If quoting is the bottleneck — turning a job into a priced, professional quote quickly — a focused tool like Insta Quotes does that without requiring you to learn scheduling, dispatch and inventory modules you may not need. If you're also managing a team's calendar, dispatching jobs and tracking timesheets, a full platform like ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus or simPRO is worth the extra setup.