Compare

Redline vs ServiceM8: jobs a month, or seats.

Redline's Free plan has no end date and no job cap: the chat, contacts, pipeline and calendar for one person. ServiceM8 has a free plan too, capped by jobs a month, and its paid plans include unlimited users. The right pick depends on how many jobs and how many people you have.

Get started free App Store

The short version

Redline counts people, not jobs. Free is 1 seat with 4,000 AI credits for the life of the account. Solo at $29 a month adds invoicing and card pay links for one person. Team is $129 for 3 seats and Team+ is $299 for 10, with extra seats at $29 each.

ServiceM8 is a job management app for trade contractors covering job cards, scheduling, quotes, invoices, client messaging and payments. It started iPhone-first and now runs on Android too, and it's used by electricians, plumbers, HVAC techs, locksmiths, pool and lawn businesses. It shows tech locations and status for dispatch, takes Tap to Pay on iPhone, syncs with QuickBooks Online and Xero, and has a wide set of AI tools, from AI quoting and a voice assistant to an AI phone receptionist.

ServiceM8's US pricing page lists a Free plan for 1 user and 30 jobs a month, then Starter at $29 a month for 50 jobs, Growing at $79 for 150, Premium at $149 for 500 and Premium Plus at $349 for 1,500 or more, all priced per month with unlimited users. Extra jobs are 20 cents each.

Two service calls before lunch

Log a call with Wei Chen, half the kitchen outlets are dead, probably a tripped GFCI downstream. And find me a time this week.

Logged the call on Wei Chen's file. Best slots:

Wednesday 1pm, right after the Kapoor job in Newton, same town

Thursday 8am, open morning

Friday 3pm

Which one?

Wednesday. Also remind me Monday to order the 200A breakers for Silva.

Booked Wei Chen Wednesday at 1pm. Reminder set for Monday: order 200A breakers for the Silva job.

Slots are scored on open time and same-town visits. Redline doesn't use maps or drive time.

Redline and ServiceM8, side by side

	Redline	ServiceM8
How you use it	Chat first. You message it ("invoice Sullivan for the roof job") and it updates contacts, jobs, the calendar and invoices, asking you to confirm before it changes customer records. Web and iPhone.	A job management app built around job cards, with AI tools for quoting, invoices, writing and reports.
Free plan	Yes. $0 with no end date: AI chat, contacts, pipeline, calendar, scheduling assistant, Quick-Sort and a Pro Page. 1 seat and 4,000 AI credits that don't refill.	Yes. 1 user and 30 jobs a month.
Starting price	Solo at $29 a month, or $23 a month billed yearly. 7-day free trial on the web.	Starter at $29 a month for 50 jobs a month, unlimited users, per its US pricing page.
Seats	Free and Solo: 1. Team ($129 a month): 3. Team+ ($299 a month): 10, plus extra seats at $29 each.	Unlimited users on paid plans. You pay by jobs a month instead.
Quotes	Itemized quotes by chat, including from a site photo, with an optional deposit %. Good, better and best options and tax are in the Quote composer (Solo and up). Saved as drafts; you email the customer from your own Gmail. No quote link, online approval or e-sign today.	On-site estimates, plus AI quoting.
Invoicing and payments	Solo and up. Branded card pay links on your own Stripe account, no Redline fee on top. Card only, US dollars. Overdue flags at day 3, 7 and 14.	On-site invoices, Tap to Pay on iPhone, QuickBooks Online and Xero sync.
Scheduling	Every plan. Suggests up to 3 open slots, groups visits in the same town, sets up repeating visits with one save. No calendar sync, no online booking.	Scheduling, including Urgent Dispatch.
Dispatch	Team and up. Dispatch board, tech app, assign jobs by chat, crew chat. Techs tap their status; there's no GPS.	Tech locations and status for dispatch.
What ServiceM8 has that Redline doesn't	Not in Redline today.	Unlimited users on paid plans, tech locations, Tap to Pay on iPhone, QuickBooks Online and Xero sync, an AI phone receptionist, an Android app.
What Redline has that ServiceM8 doesn't	A Free plan with no monthly job cap.	ServiceM8's Free plan is capped at 30 jobs a month.

ServiceM8 details come from ServiceM8's own website, checked October 2026. Plans and prices change, so confirm on their site before you decide.

Who should pick which

Pick ServiceM8 if

You have a lot of techs but a modest number of jobs each month
You want to see where techs are, not just a status they tap
You take card payments on your iPhone at the door
Your accountant works in Xero or QuickBooks Online
You want an AI receptionist answering calls

Pick Redline if

You run lots of small service calls and don't want a job counter
You want leads and quotes tracked in a pipeline before they're jobs
You'd rather message one assistant than learn a set of AI tools
You're a small crew and like a flat monthly price for a set number of seats
You want a public Pro Page for new customers to find you

Questions contractors ask

Which free plan gives me more?

They're capped differently. ServiceM8's Free plan is 1 user and 30 jobs a month. Redline's Free plan is 1 seat with no job cap, but its 4,000 AI credits are a lifetime allowance, and invoicing needs Solo. Check ServiceM8's site for what its free plan includes.

When does a seat-based price beat a job-based one?

Roughly: a small crew doing many short calls pays less per job on seats, and a big crew doing fewer, longer jobs pays less on job counts. Put your own numbers against both pricing pages before you decide.

Can Redline show me where my techs are?

No. There's no GPS or location tracking, by design. On Team and up, techs tap Idle, En route or On job in their app and the board updates live. See crew dispatch.

What else should a service shop compare?

See ServiceM8 alternatives and how Redline works for electricians.

No job counter on Free.

Start Redline today and log every call, big or small, by message.