CRM Showdown: ServiceTitan vs Housecall Pro vs Jobber
Key Takeaways
- ServiceTitan costs $245-398 per technician monthly - overkill for solo operators but powerful for 10+ truck operations
- Housecall Pro hits the sweet spot at $59-109/month for growing teams of 2-10
- Jobber starts at $39/month and handles scheduling and invoicing without the complexity
- Switching CRMs costs 2-4 months of productivity - choose carefully the first time
Home service contractors have three serious CRM options. ServiceTitan dominates the enterprise end. Housecall Pro owns the mid-market. Jobber handles small teams and solo operators. Everything else is either niche, outdated, or trying to become one of these three.
The choice matters because switching later costs real money. Data migration takes weeks. Retraining takes months. The productivity hit during transition can cost more than a year of software fees.
Here’s what you need to know before you commit.
The pricing reality
Published pricing tells part of the story. Actual costs include implementation, add-on modules, integrations, and the overhead of learning a new system.
| Platform | Starting Price | Mid-Tier | Enterprise | Per Tech Add-On |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceTitan | $245/month | $398/month | Custom | Included (min 2) |
| Housecall Pro | $59/month | $109/month | $189/month | Varies by plan |
| Jobber | $39/month | $99/month | $249/month | $15-29/tech |
ServiceTitan requires a 2-technician minimum and charges by technician on most plans. A 10-tech operation pays $2,450-3,980 monthly just for the core platform. Add Marketing Pro, Phones Pro, and other modules and you’re approaching $5,000/month.
Housecall Pro scales more gently. Their $109/month Essentials plan covers most small team needs. The $189/month Max plan adds advanced reporting and capacity management.
Jobber’s per-tech pricing adds up for larger teams but starts accessible. A 3-person operation on their Grow plan pays about $130/month total.
ServiceTitan: The enterprise standard
PE-backed home service platforms use ServiceTitan almost universally. There’s a reason - the platform handles complexity that others can’t.
Where ServiceTitan excels:
Multi-location operations get real visibility. Roll-up reporting across branches, technician performance comparisons, marketing attribution by location - it’s all there.
The pricebook functionality transforms how technicians sell. Instead of calculating estimates on-site, techs show customers good-better-best options on a tablet. Average ticket increases 15-30% for companies that implement this well.
Phone integration tracks every call, records conversations, and ties calls to marketing campaigns. You know which ads produce which calls and which calls become jobs.
Dispatch optimization handles complex scheduling with drive time, technician skills, and equipment requirements. For a company running 20 trucks across a metro area, this alone justifies the price.
Where ServiceTitan falls short:
Setup takes 3-6 months for full implementation. You need a dedicated internal champion or the platform never gets configured correctly. Companies that buy ServiceTitan without implementation resources waste money.
The mobile app frustrates technicians. It’s powerful but not intuitive. Training requirements are higher than competitors, and techs comfortable with paper or simpler apps resist the change.
Overkill for small operations. A 3-truck company doesn’t need enterprise dispatching, multi-location reporting, or call recording. You’re paying for capabilities you won’t use.
Lock-in is real. ServiceTitan makes data export difficult. Once you’re in, switching requires recreating years of customer history and job records manually.
Best for: 10+ technician operations, multi-location companies, PE-backed platforms building enterprise infrastructure, companies with dedicated operations staff to manage the system.
Read more about ServiceTitan integrations.
Housecall Pro: The growing company sweet spot
Housecall Pro threads the needle between enterprise capability and small-business simplicity. Most contractors with 3-15 technicians find what they need here.
Where Housecall Pro excels:
Onboarding takes days, not months. The interface is intuitive enough that most techs figure it out without formal training. This matters when you’re hiring and need new employees productive quickly.
Online booking works out of the box. Customers can book appointments directly from your website or Google Business Profile. The calendar syncs automatically.
Integrated payments mean customers pay through the app after service. Techs don’t carry card readers or manually enter payment info. The 2.9% processing fee is competitive with standalone processors.
Marketing automation is genuinely useful. Automated review requests, follow-up emails, and maintenance reminders run without manual intervention. Many contractors generate dozens of reviews monthly once this is set up.
The price point makes sense for companies still finding their footing. At $109/month, you’re spending less than two billable hours to manage the entire operation.
Where Housecall Pro falls short:
Reporting lacks depth compared to ServiceTitan. You get the basics - revenue, job counts, technician performance - but complex analysis requires exporting to spreadsheets.
Estimates and invoicing work but aren’t sophisticated. No good-better-best presentation mode. No built-in flat rate pricing. Companies with complex service offerings work around limitations.
Phone tracking requires third-party integration. You don’t get the native call recording and attribution that ServiceTitan includes.
Multi-location support exists but feels tacked on. Companies with 3+ locations often outgrow the platform’s reporting and need ServiceTitan’s infrastructure.
Best for: 2-10 technician operations, companies prioritizing ease of use over feature depth, contractors who want automation without complexity, businesses transitioning from paper or spreadsheets.
Read more about Housecall Pro integrations.
Jobber: The accessible starting point
Jobber handles scheduling, invoicing, and customer management without pretending to be an enterprise platform. For solo operators and small teams, the simplicity is the feature.
Where Jobber excels:
The $39/month Core plan covers what most small operations actually need. Scheduling, invoicing, customer database, basic reporting - it’s all there without paying for advanced features you won’t touch.
Client communication is clean. Automated texts for appointment reminders, on-the-way notifications, and invoice delivery. Customers appreciate the professionalism.
Quoting and invoicing work well for service businesses with straightforward pricing. Create a quote, convert to a job, convert to an invoice, get paid - the workflow is obvious.
The interface is the most intuitive of the three. New users are productive within hours. Training burden is minimal.
Batch invoicing helps with recurring work. Lawn care, pest control, and pool service companies often choose Jobber for this specific capability.
Where Jobber falls short:
No pricebook functionality. Technicians can’t present good-better-best options or pull from standardized pricing. Every estimate is custom.
Dispatching is basic. Manual assignment works fine for 3 techs. At 10+ techs, you’re fighting the interface rather than optimizing routes.
Marketing features are limited compared to Housecall Pro. Review requests exist but lack the automation depth. Email marketing requires third-party tools.
Growth ceiling is real. Companies scaling past 10-15 techs typically find limitations that push them toward Housecall Pro or ServiceTitan.
Best for: Solo operators, 1-5 technician teams, companies with simple service offerings, contractors who want scheduling and invoicing without CRM complexity, service businesses with recurring maintenance work.
Read more about Jobber integrations.
Feature comparison by category
Scheduling and Dispatch
| Feature | ServiceTitan | Housecall Pro | Jobber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop scheduling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Route optimization | Advanced | Basic | None |
| Skill-based assignment | ✓ | Limited | None |
| Multi-day jobs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recurring scheduling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
ServiceTitan’s dispatch board handles complexity the others can’t. For large operations, this alone drives the platform choice.
Sales and Estimates
| Feature | ServiceTitan | Housecall Pro | Jobber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital estimates | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Good-better-best options | ✓ | None | None |
| Flat rate pricing | ✓ | Third-party | None |
| Membership sales | ✓ | ✓ | Limited |
| Financing integration | ✓ | Limited | None |
The pricebook and presentation mode in ServiceTitan changes how technicians sell. Companies that implement it well report 20-35% increases in average ticket value.
Marketing and Communication
| Feature | ServiceTitan | Housecall Pro | Jobber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automated review requests | ✓ | ✓ | Basic |
| Email campaigns | ✓ | ✓ | Limited |
| Call tracking | Native | Third-party | Third-party |
| Marketing attribution | Advanced | Basic | None |
| Two-way texting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Housecall Pro’s marketing automation matches ServiceTitan for most use cases at a fraction of the price. Companies with sophisticated attribution needs require ServiceTitan or third-party tools.
Payments and Invoicing
| Feature | ServiceTitan | Housecall Pro | Jobber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile payments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Financing options | Multiple | Limited | None |
| Batch invoicing | ✓ | Limited | ✓ |
| QuickBooks sync | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Commission tracking | ✓ | Limited | None |
All three handle basic payment collection competently. ServiceTitan’s financing integrations help close larger jobs.
The switching cost reality
Contractors underestimate how painful CRM transitions are. The actual costs:
Data migration takes 2-8 weeks depending on history volume and data quality. Customer records, job history, equipment installed - it all needs to move. Incomplete migrations create problems for years.
Training requires 20-40 hours for office staff and 5-10 hours per technician. Multiply by hourly rates and add the productivity loss during learning curves.
Workflow disruption means slower dispatch, more errors, and frustrated customers during the 2-4 month adjustment period. Some jobs fall through cracks.
Integration rebuilding affects every connected system. Payment processing, accounting sync, marketing tools, website booking - all require reconfiguration.
Conservative estimate: switching CRMs costs $5,000-15,000 in direct costs and lost productivity for a 5-technician operation. Larger operations pay more.
The lesson is simple: choose carefully the first time. Outgrowing Jobber and moving to Housecall Pro is easier than implementing ServiceTitan and realizing you don’t need it.
Decision framework by business stage
Just starting (1-2 techs, under $300K revenue): Start with Jobber. The $39/month Core plan handles scheduling and invoicing. Don’t pay for features you won’t use. Upgrade tiers or platforms as you grow.
Growing operation (3-10 techs, $300K-2M revenue): Housecall Pro Essentials or Max fits this stage. The automation reduces administrative burden as you scale. Good balance of capability and simplicity.
Established company (10-25 techs, $2M-10M revenue): Evaluate ServiceTitan seriously. The pricebook alone can pay for the platform through increased ticket values. Multi-location reporting matters at this scale.
Enterprise operation (25+ techs, $10M+ revenue): ServiceTitan or bust. The alternatives don’t handle the complexity of large operations. Implementation investment pays off over years of use.
Multi-trade operations: ServiceTitan handles HVAC, plumbing, and electrical in one platform better than competitors. If you run multiple trades, this simplifies reporting and resource sharing.
What your CRM doesn’t do
No CRM captures demand from your website before visitors bounce. 96% of your website traffic leaves without filling out a form or calling.
The platforms track what happens after leads enter the system. They don’t help you capture the leads that never make it into the system.
This is where visitor identification tools plug the gap. When someone visits your water heater page, you can know who they are and reach out before they call your competitor.
The best results come from connecting visitor identification to your existing CRM. Identified visitors become leads in Housecall Pro or ServiceTitan automatically. Your team works them through normal follow-up processes.
Read more about adding visitor identification to ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, and Jobber.
The bottom line
Pick ServiceTitan if you have 10+ technicians, dedicated operations staff, and budget for a 3-6 month implementation. The platform capability pays off at scale.
Pick Housecall Pro if you’re running 3-10 technicians and want automation without enterprise complexity. The mid-market positioning serves most growing contractors well.
Pick Jobber if you’re solo or running a small team and need scheduling, invoicing, and customer management without the overhead. Start simple and upgrade when you outgrow it.
The wrong choice costs time and money. The right choice gives you years of operational leverage. Take demos seriously, run trials with real data, and talk to contractors in your trade running similar operations.
Your CRM is infrastructure. Build it thoughtfully, and everything else gets easier.
Written by
Pipeline Research Team