Software comparison
ServiceM8 vs Fergus for an Australian plumbing business
For a single plumber, ServiceM8's Starter plan is $29 a month for 50 jobs; Fergus's Essentials plan starts from $53 a month. Fergus does not publish what a second or third user costs beyond that starting price, while ServiceM8's paid plans include unlimited users at one flat fee tied to job volume. Prices are from each vendor's own current page, checked 25 September 2026.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
ServiceM8
Pick ServiceM8 if your plumbing work is mostly single-visit or asset based recurring servicing, you want unlimited users on one flat plan, and you want the price to track job volume rather than headcount.
Fergus
Pick Fergus Professional if your plumbing jobs are commonly staged across several visits with progress invoicing, and you are willing to confirm the per-seat cost with Fergus directly once you are past 1 user.
What it costs
AUD per month, billed monthly. ServiceM8 publishes GST inclusive prices. Fergus's page does not state whether its own subscription price is GST inclusive, only that GST is applied to the invoices you raise through it.. Prices captured 25 Sep 2026 from ServiceM8 and Fergus.
| Plan | 1 user | 3 users | 8 users | How we worked it out | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | Starter, Growing, Premium (by job volume) | $29 | $79 | $149 | A solo plumber doing about 40 jobs a month fits Starter (50 jobs) at $29. A 3 person crew at about 120 jobs a month fits Growing (150 jobs) at $79. An 8 person crew at about 400 jobs a month fits Premium (500 jobs) at $149. Unlimited users on each. |
| Fergus | Essentials | From $53 | Not published | Not published | $53 is Fergus's own 'from' figure for the plan. The per-seat cost for a 3 or 8 person crew is not published; Fergus's FAQ directs buyers to its sales team for that number. |
| Fergus | Professional | From $77 | Not published | Not published | $77 is Fergus's own 'from' figure; same gap in published per-seat pricing beyond the first user. |
Feature by feature
| ServiceM8 | Fergus | |
|---|---|---|
| Progress or staged invoicing | Partial invoicing against a single job, plus recurring jobs for repeat work. | Job Phases and Tiered Pricing, on Professional only. |
| Checklists and forms | Via the Forms add-on. | Professional only; excluded on Essentials. |
| Health and safety (SWMS, hazards) | Via the Forms add-on, built to the business's own templates. | Professional only; excluded on Essentials. |
| Asset tracking | Yes, client owned assets with site location. | Not listed as a named feature in Fergus's own plan comparison table. |
| Offline field access | Yes, stated explicitly on ServiceM8's feature page. | Not described on Fergus's pricing page. |
| Accounting sync | Xero (deep) and several MYOB products, no desktop connector. | Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB, per the plan comparison table. |
| Support | Free email and live chat on every plan. | Email and chat on Essentials; phone, email and chat on Professional. |
Declared bias: we build on ServiceM8
FFP Digital is a ServiceM8 developer and has no commercial relationship with Fergus. Fergus is a genuine competitor for plumbing and job-card-heavy trades, so this page prices it from its own AU page and says plainly where that page does not give a full answer.
Job cards vs progress invoicing: two different workflows
Fergus is built around the job card as the centre of the workflow, with Job Phases and Tiered Pricing available on its Professional plan for staged, progress invoicing as work moves through a project, a pattern common in plumbing and gas work where a job is quoted, roughed in and then finished on separate visits. Essentials leaves out Job Phases, Tiered Pricing, Checklists, Forms and the health and safety module (Hazards, SWMS), and its support is email and chat only; Professional adds phone support and all of the above.
ServiceM8 does not have a named "job phases" feature, but supports partial invoicing against a single job and recurring jobs for repeat maintenance work, plus client owned assets with site location for tracking hot water systems, backflow devices or other plumbing assets that need periodic servicing. Which model suits a plumbing business depends on whether work is typically staged across several site visits (Fergus's strength) or whether it is asset-based recurring servicing (closer to ServiceM8's asset and recurring job tools).
What a 1, 3 and 8 person plumbing crew actually pays
A sole trader plumber doing around 40 jobs a month sits comfortably on ServiceM8 Starter at $29, or on Fergus Essentials from $53; Fergus is the more expensive starting point for one person. Fergus's own pricing page does not state what a second or third full user adds to that $53 or $77 base price, so a 3 or 8 person plumbing crew cannot get an exact Fergus monthly figure from the public page; ServiceM8's cost at those crew sizes still depends only on job volume, not headcount, so a 3 person crew doing around 120 jobs a month sits on Growing at $79 regardless of whether it is 3 or 8 people logged in. Anyone comparing the two at more than 1 user should get Fergus's actual per-seat quote before deciding, since the published "from" price will understate the real cost once a business grows past a single login.
Common complaints and catches
ServiceM8
- Android app described by reviewers as needing more work than the Apple version
- Complaints about back charges and unexpected billing on account changes
- Feature requests reported by some users as routinely declined
- Occasional job scheduling and technician assignment mix ups reported
Fergus
- Xero integration reported as breaking, including blank invoice emails, by at least one reviewer
- Price increases roughly every 6 to 12 months reported without matching new features
- Asset management described by a reviewer as incomplete for their operation
- Positive: interface, all in one workflow and mobile app rated well by most reviewers
Switching between them
Both vendors sync to Xero or MYOB, so customer and invoice history generally has a path across. Fergus bills removed seats in arrears to the end of the billing period; ServiceM8 exports clients and jobs by CSV but private add-ons and custom forms need rebuilding on either platform.
FFP Digital is a ServiceM8 developer and builds for Cliniko clinics. We have tried to be fair; prices are the vendors' own published figures on the date shown.
Sources
- ServiceM8 AU plans: Free $0 (30 jobs, 1 user), Starter $29 (50 jobs), Growing $79 (150 jobs), Premium $149 (500 jobs), Premium Plus $349 (1,500 jobs, then 20c per extra job); paid plans include unlimited users; AUD, GST inclusive; 14 day free trial. ServiceM8, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Fergus AU pricing: Essentials from $53 a month, Professional from $77 a month; the page does not state how many full users that price covers or the cost of an additional full user, only publishing Timesheet users from $26 a month and Contractor users at $4 a day. Fergus, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Essentials excludes Checklists, Forms, Job Phases, Purchase Orders, Tiered Pricing and Health & Safety (Hazards, SWMS); Professional includes all of these plus phone support, versus email and chat only on Essentials. Fergus, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 supports client owned assets with site location, recurring jobs, and field access to job information without internet connectivity, syncing once connectivity returns. ServiceM8, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Fergus's plan comparison table lists Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB as accounting integrations on both Essentials and Professional. Fergus, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Fergus holds a 3.8 out of 5 rating from 14 reviews on Trustpilot, with reported broken Xero integrations and price increases roughly every 6 to 12 months among the recurring themes. Trustpilot, checked 25 Sep 2026.