Honest comparison for a 1–5 person crew. The big field-service platforms are great at dispatch for big teams — and priced like it. Obra is the AI office that gets you paid.
| What matters | Obra | Jobber | Housecall Pro | Joist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $0–14.99 | $49–449 | $59–369 | $8–32 |
| Per-seat fees | ✓ none | +$35/user | +$35/user | ✓ none |
| AI writes quotes, invoices & contracts | ✓ | partial | partial | — |
| Film a walkthrough → AI job plan + crew instructions | ✓ Video Brain | — | — | — |
| Crew instructions in Spanish, native | ✓ | — | — | — |
| AI business chat grounded in your trade | ✓ Tony | Copilot (analytics) | Q&A bots | — |
| AI phone receptionist | — | +$99/mo | higher tiers | — |
| Team dispatch, GPS & scheduling | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Holds your money in processing | never | payments platform | payments platform | payments platform |
| Annual cost, solo contractor | $0–180 | $588+ | $708+ | $96+ |
Prices from vendors' public pages and independent 2026 comparisons (sources below). If something's outdated, tell us — we'll fix it same day.
Running 6+ techs with routes, GPS tracking and dispatch boards? Jobber or Housecall Pro earn their price — that's their game. Only need dead-simple invoices and nothing else? Joist at $8 is fine.
But if you're a 1–5 person crew drowning in quotes, invoices, follow-ups and change-orders — you don't need a $449 dispatch platform. You need the paperwork done. That's Obra.
Sources: Jobber vs Housecall Pro pricing 2026 · Jobber AI vs Housecall Pro AI · Joist pricing · HCP vs Jobber vs ServiceTitan 2026