How much does field service software cost?

What drives the price of field service software

Two tools can both advertise "$29/mo" and bill you wildly differently, because the sticker price is usually just the entry point. The main levers are:

• Users / seats. Most vendors charge per user or cap users per tier. A plan that's cheap for a solo operator can triple once you add a crew.
• SMS volume. Appointment reminders and two-way texting are often metered or bundled in limited amounts, then charged per message above the cap.
• Add-ons. A built-in phone system, AI tools, marketing/automation modules, GPS tracking, and online booking are frequently sold separately or gated to higher tiers.
• Payment processing. Card payments carry a per-transaction fee (commonly around 2.9% + a flat cents charge) on top of your subscription, regardless of vendor.
• Tier jumps. The feature you need (say, advanced reporting or a second team) often lives one tier up, so your effective price is the tier that includes it, not the headline entry plan.

Free vs paid: what you get

"Free" means two very different things in this market. Most vendors (Jobber, Housecall Pro, Workiz, BookingKoala) offer a free trial (typically 14 days) that converts to a paid plan. A genuinely free-forever plan is uncommon.

Claver keeps it simple here: its Starter plan is $19/mo flat (no per-seat fees) and covers unlimited jobs and customers, quotes, invoices, Stripe card payments, a customer portal, and online booking, enough to run a solo operation end to end. You'd step up to Crew ($39/mo) or Business ($79/mo) for dispatch across a team, SMS, GPS, or the built-in phone and AI receptionist. If you're comparing trials, factor in that the bill starts the day the trial ends. For a deeper look, see our guide to free field service software.

Hidden costs to watch for

These are the line items that turn a "$29/mo" decision into a $150/mo reality:

• Per-seat multiplication. Confirm whether the price is per user. Three techs on a $29/seat plan is $87/mo, not $29.
• Add-ons you assumed were included. Read the tier matrix for booking, GPS, SMS, and phone before you commit.
• Annual contracts. Discounts are real, but so is being locked in for 12 months if the tool doesn't fit. Prefer month-to-month while evaluating.
• SMS and phone-line charges. A dedicated number and texting can be a separate metered cost.
• Onboarding / implementation fees. Enterprise platforms like ServiceTitan often carry setup and training costs on top of the subscription.
• Payment processing. Per-transaction card fees apply across all vendors; budget for them separately from the subscription.

What should you budget?

Budget by crew size, not by feature list. A solo operator can run a whole business on a low entry tier; the number climbs as you add users, dispatch, and texting, because that is what almost every vendor charges for. The bands below are what published pricing pages actually show for each stage.

• Solo operator: $19–$29/mo. A low entry tier (Claver Starter is $19/mo) covers quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and payments.
• Small crew (2–10): $19–$99/mo. Expect to be on a mid tier once you add users, dispatch, and SMS.
• Larger / multi-crew: $99–$299+/mo, or custom enterprise pricing once you need call-center features and deep reporting.

The cheapest sticker price isn't automatically the lowest total cost. Add up seats, the add-ons you actually need, and processing fees, then compare. To see how specific tools stack up by capability, browse the full comparison or the best-for-small-business roundup.