Joist App Alternatives: 5 Estimating & Invoicing Options for Contractors (Updated October 2026)

Short answer (opinion): If you only need clean, itemized estimates and invoices you can send as a PDF, our free Contractor Estimate Generator does that with no account. If you want a cheap paid app that takes card payments, look at Invoice Simple or Invoice2go. If you run a crew and need scheduling, Jobber and Housecall Pro do far more than Joist or us. Stay with Joist if you want e-signatures, change orders and homeowner financing in one contractor-focused app.

At a glance (prices as of Oct 13, 2026; links in the table below):

• Contractor Estimate Generator (ours): free PDF estimates and invoices : Free
• Invoice Simple: low-cost invoicing with online payments : from $6.99/mo
• Invoice2go: invoicing with yearly invoice allowances : see vendor (per-plan prices not shown in its page text)
• Jobber: small crews that need scheduling and quoting : from $29/mo billed annually
• Housecall Pro: home-service teams that want dispatch and financing : from $59/mo billed annually

Joist app alternatives compared

Option	Best for	Starting price (as of Oct 13, 2026)	Free plan / trial	Key limit	Platform
Contractor Estimate Generator (ours)	Occasional estimates, no account	Free (site)	Free	No payments, e-signature or email sending	Web browser
Invoice Simple	Cheap invoicing with payments	$6.99/mo (pricing)	14-day Premium trial on mobile	Essentials allows 3 invoices a month	iOS, Android, web
Invoice2go	Invoicing with yearly allowances	Not shown in page text; check pricing	30-day trial; card required	Starter allows 30 invoices a year	iOS, Android, web
Jobber	Crews, scheduling, quotes	$29/mo billed annually; $49/mo no commitment (pricing)	14-day trial of Grow; no card	Core includes 1 user; extra users $29/mo	iOS, Android, web
Housecall Pro	Home-service teams	$59/mo billed annually (pricing)	14-day trial of MAX; no card	Highest entry price here	iOS, Android, web
Joist (for reference)	Solo contractors wanting payments and financing	$10/mo billed monthly (pricing)	No free plan; 14-day trial, no card	Basics allows 5 documents a month	Mobile and web

Why contractors look for a Joist alternative

Joist is a capable, contractor-focused app. The reasons people shop around are mostly about plan gating, and they come from Joist's own pricing page (checked Oct 13, 2026):

• There's no free plan anymore. Joist's FAQ says the free plan "is no longer available," and the 14-day trial ends with a prompt to buy a plan.
• The cheapest plan is capped. Basics ($10/mo billed monthly, $8.34/mo billed annually) allows 5 documents a month. Unlimited documents start at Pro ($17/mo).
• Contractor branding sits in higher tiers. Your logo appears from Pro. License and insurance details on documents come with Elite ($32/mo).
• The newest tier is a big step up. Run, which adds jobs and scheduling, lists at $100/mo, with an introductory price of $70/mo.

If those limits don't bother you, Joist may still be the right tool (see "When Joist is still the right choice" below).

Do you need a replacement, or just a free companion?

Many contractors don't need to switch at all. If you like Joist for payments but only send a few quotes a month, a free generator can handle one-off estimates while you stay on a cheaper Joist tier. If you're leaving Joist entirely, decide first whether you need payments and signatures (pick a paid app) or just documents (a free generator is enough).

1. Invoice Simple

Best for: solo pros who want the cheapest paid app that still takes online payments. Invoice Simple is a mobile-first invoicing and estimating app. Price (as of Oct 13, 2026): Essentials $6.99/mo or $69.99/yr (3 invoices a month); Plus $14.99/mo or $149.99/yr (10 a month); Premium $21.99/mo or $219.99/yr (unlimited) (Invoice Simple pricing). Trial: 14 days of Premium on mobile.

• Pros: online payments and real-time read receipts on every plan; photos, due-date reminders and owner signature from Plus; client signatures and deposits on Premium.
• Cons: invoice caps on the two cheaper plans; client signatures and deposits only on the top plan.
• Choose it if you want Joist-style payments for less and send fewer than 10 invoices a month.

2. Invoice2go

Best for: contractors who invoice in bursts and prefer a yearly allowance to a monthly cap. Invoice2go pairs invoicing with a small-business bank account. Price (as of Oct 13, 2026): per-plan dollar prices didn't appear in the page text we checked, so confirm them on Invoice2go pricing. Starter allows 30 invoices a year, Professional 100, Premium unlimited; estimates are unlimited on every plan. Trial: 30 days; a card is required.

• Pros: unlimited estimates on all plans; card fees fall from 3.5% (Starter) to 2.9% (Premium); QuickBooks/Xero sync from Professional.
• Cons: yearly invoice caps on the two cheaper plans; recurring invoices and phone support only on Premium.
• Choose it if you send lots of estimates but relatively few invoices.

3. Contractor Estimate Generator (ours)

Best for: contractors who want a professional, itemized estimate or invoice right now, with no account or subscription. It's a free web tool: enter your business details and logo, add line items, labor and tax, and download a PDF. Price: free; no signup (contractorestimategenerator.com, checked Oct 13, 2026).

• Pros: no watermark; one-click estimate-to-invoice; license number and logo on the document; starter templates for 8 trades; drafts are stored on your device, not on our servers.
• Cons (what it does not do): it doesn't take payments, collect e-signatures, send email or texts, schedule jobs, or sync to QuickBooks. There's no native app.
• Choose it if you send a handful of estimates a month and collect payment the way you already do (check, cash, Zelle or your own card reader).

4. Jobber

Best for: small crews that have outgrown a quoting app and need scheduling, a client hub and automated follow-ups. Jobber is full field-service software, not just estimates. Price (as of Oct 13, 2026): Core $29/mo billed annually, $39/mo with a 1-year commitment, or $49/mo with no commitment, for 1 user; extra users $29/mo each (Jobber pricing). Card processing 2.9% + 30¢; ACH 1%. Trial: 14 days of the Grow plan, no credit card.

• Pros: scheduling, quotes, invoices and online payments in one place; QuickBooks Online sync from Connect; client hub for approvals.
• Cons: costs several times more than an invoicing app; price climbs with users and tier.
• Choose it if you dispatch people and want quotes, jobs and payments connected.

5. Housecall Pro

Best for: home-service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) that want booking, dispatch and consumer financing. Price (as of Oct 13, 2026): Basic from $59/mo billed annually (Housecall Pro pricing). Card processing from 2.59%; bank payments 1%. Trial: 14 days of MAX, no credit card; no long-term contract.

• Pros: online booking, scheduling and dispatch, quotes, and invoices with automated reminders on the entry plan; consumer financing access and English/Spanish mobile apps on every plan.
• Cons: the highest starting price here; it's more software than a solo contractor sending a few quotes needs.
• Choose it if you run a home-service team and want booking, dispatch and financing in one system.

How we evaluated

• Who it's for: a solo or small-crew contractor sending roughly 5–20 estimates a month.
• Criteria: starting price, free plan or trial, document caps, estimate-to-invoice, license and logo on documents, payments, e-signature, platforms.
• What we did: on Oct 13, 2026 we read each vendor's own public pricing page and saved a copy (logged in our facts file). We didn't sign up for competitor trials, so competitor features are described as each vendor states them, not as tested by us. On Oct 13, 2026 (about 10 p.m. ET) we built a two-line estimate (6 hours of labor at $75 plus a $640 vanity, 8% tax) with a license number, downloaded the PDF, switched to invoice mode and downloaded again. In a scripted browser run the page loaded in 1.3 s, each PDF generated in 0.6–1.2 s, and the whole run took 4.1 s; by hand, typing is what takes the time. Both PDFs carried our test business name, license number, line items and totals with no watermark. One limit we found: the invoice kept the estimate's "EST-" number.
• Prices change. Check each vendor's page before you buy.

When Joist is still the right choice

Joist is a good fit, and probably better than any free tool, if you:

• want customers to pay online, pay deposits or milestone payments, or use Tap to Pay in person;
• need clients to sign estimates or change orders in the app (change orders are on Elite);
• offer homeowner financing to close bigger jobs;
• want QuickBooks sync, reports, or job scheduling (Run) without moving to full field-service software. All of these are listed on Joist's pricing page as of Oct 13, 2026.

FAQ

Is there a free version of the Joist app? No. As of Oct 13, 2026, Joist's pricing FAQ says its free plan is no longer available. You can try Joist free for 14 days without a credit card, then pick Basics, Pro, Elite or Run. If you need a free option, a no-signup generator like ours covers estimates and invoices as PDFs.

How much does Joist cost per month? Billed monthly as of Oct 13, 2026: Basics $10, Pro $17, Elite $32, and Run $70 at an introductory 30% off its $100 list price. Annual billing includes two months free, which works out to $8.34, $14.17, $26.67 and $58.33 a month. Payment processing fees are extra.

What's a good free alternative to Joist for estimates? For PDF estimates and invoices, our Contractor Estimate Generator is free with no account, no watermark and no document cap. It doesn't take payments or collect signatures. If you prefer a template, Invoice Simple also offers free invoice templates, according to its pricing page.

Can I put my contractor license number on an estimate for free? Yes. Our generator has a license-number field and a logo upload at no cost. On Joist, logos start with Pro and license and insurance details with Elite ($32/mo billed monthly), per its pricing page as of Oct 13, 2026.

Is Jobber or Joist better for a small crew? It depends on what you need. Joist is centered on estimates, invoices and payments, from $10/mo. Jobber adds scheduling, a client hub and automations, from $29/mo billed annually for one user. If you dispatch several people, Jobber's scheduling is the main difference.

Do any Joist alternatives take card payments? Yes. Invoice Simple (all plans), Invoice2go (card fees 2.9%–3.5% by plan), Jobber (2.9% + 30¢) and Housecall Pro (from 2.59%) all take card payments, per their pricing pages as of Oct 13, 2026. Our free generator doesn't process payments.

Sources (checked Oct 13, 2026)

Joist pricing · Invoice Simple pricing · Invoice2go pricing · Jobber pricing · Housecall Pro pricing · Contractor Estimate Generator

Disclosure: We make Contractor Estimate Generator. We're not affiliated with Joist, Invoice Simple, Invoice2go, Jobber or Housecall Pro. All trademarks belong to their owners. Prices change; verify on each vendor's site.