Stay on Powered Now if Making Tax Digital has to live in the same app as the quotes and invoices. That is built in on every plan, including the £28 sole-trader plan, and the free website is included. Look elsewhere when a second login would put you on a per-user plan, or when the website also has to take the enquiry. Mortar is one price for the whole crew and does not file the return. ServiceM8 is the flat team price inside a job cap.
We make Mortar. Here's how we compared these tools, and where others may suit you better.
Powered Now is not in the six. The strength that should keep people on it is real: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is in the product, on the plan a sole trader already pays for. The usual reason to look past it is also on the pricing page. Business is one user. The next plan is priced per user.
The wider UK shortlist is in best job management software for UK trades. The dates and thresholds for the tax change are in Making Tax Digital for tradespeople. A US contractor leaving Jobber can read Jobber alternatives.
What Powered Now does well
Business is £28 a month for one user, excluding VAT. It includes quotes, invoices, payment links, a diary, job sheets, expenses, supplier invoices and purchase orders. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is built in on every plan, including Business. Powered Now says it is recognised by HMRC, and that you do not need a separate accounting package to comply. Every plan includes a free Here Is My Work website. The apps run on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android, including offline. The trial is 14 days, no card. There is no minimum term.
Professional is £32 a month per user and adds certificates, Xero, QuickBooks, the team, staff location and team chat. Premium is £40 per user and adds AI writing, an AI receipt scanner, and Here Is My Work Premium. A receptionist add-on starts at £29 a month on any plan. Your own domain is otherwise £100 a year.
You only pay for people who need an account. One person on the tools, with nobody else logging in, stays on Business at £28. The moment a second person needs a login, the pricing page moves you to Professional, and the price is per user. VAT returns to HMRC are on Professional and Premium, not on Business. The income-tax side of Making Tax Digital is the part Powered Now puts on every plan.
Stay if that tax filing is why you bought it, especially if you work alone. The six below do not replace that sentence. They are for a crew, a different website, or a bill that should not multiply.
How we compared
Five things, and nothing else. No star ratings, and no review sites. Every price was taken from that company's own site on 21 October 2026, except Jobber, which was checked again on 2 November 2026.
- Price for the whole team. Business is one login. Professional and Premium multiply.
- Getting work in. A website in the plan, and whether enquiries land in the same app.
- Quotes and invoices. Can you send a quote, turn it into a job, and get paid from the same record.
- A mobile app. Can the person on site see the job.
- Tax and AI. Who files Making Tax Digital, and who describes an AI feature. Named only where the page says it.
The six
Prices as listed on each company's website on 21 October 2026, except Jobber, checked again on 2 November 2026. Monthly list prices, not annual discounts. Jobber's $49 is the monthly price with no commitment. Jobber is in US dollars.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Per-user fees | Website | MTD for Income Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortar | Website and jobs, one price | £49 a month plus VAT | No | Yes | Syncs to Xero or QuickBooks. Does not file. |
| ServiceM8 | A whole team inside a job cap | £25 a month Starter, ex VAT | No on paid plans | Add-on | Not described on the pricing page |
| Tradify | Job costing and accounting sync | £34 per user a month | Yes | Add-on, £10 a month | Not described on the pricing page |
| YourTradebase | Quoting and invoicing, kept simple | £29 a month, plus VAT | £15 a month per extra user | Not listed | Not listed |
| Fergus | Supplier price books and job cards | From £39 a month per user | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Jobber | A website plus field service, in USD | $49 a month for one user | Yes, $29 a month each extra | Yes, on Core | Not listed |
Mortar
Best for: a small trade that wants the website, the enquiries, the quotes and the invoices on one price, and will keep the tax return with an accountant or with Xero or QuickBooks.
What it does well. Core is £49 a month plus VAT for the business, not each login: a website built by Morris, an enquiries inbox, quotes, jobs, scheduling, forms signed on site, the mobile app, and invoices with card payments. Morris drafts replies and writes quotes from your notes. You approve what a customer sees. Pro is £79 a month plus VAT when Morris should answer chat, texts and the phone, and book jobs. Invoices, payments and expenses sync to Xero or QuickBooks. Build the site free. The first 14 days after it goes live are free.
Grow is £29 a month plus VAT, on Core or Pro. Morris asks ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity the questions your customers ask, prepares directory details for you to submit, keeps your Google Business Profile in sync, and sends a review request after a job. You approve the fixes. It does not promise a mention.
Watch-outs. Mortar does not file Making Tax Digital. That is the gap if you are leaving Powered Now for the tax feature. It is newer, and it lists fewer supplier connections than Tradify or Fergus. Pro and Grow are separate prices.
Price. Core £49 a month plus VAT for the whole team. Pro £79. As listed on 21 October 2026.
Official page: mortar.site/pricing.
ServiceM8
Best for: a team that wants every person logged in without a per-user fee, inside a monthly job cap.
What it does well. Paid plans do not charge per user. Starter is £25 a month, 50 new job cards, unlimited users. Growing is £59 and 150 new jobs. AI Smart Helpers draft emails, texts, and quote and invoice lines, on every plan. iOS and Android apps are included. Prices exclude VAT. The trial is 14 days, no card.
Watch-outs. Past the cap you have seven days, then an upgrade prompt. The website add-on is free for 24 months, then £24 a year, and it registers a new domain. The pricing page does not say ServiceM8 files Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Price. Free, Starter £25, Growing £59, Premium £119, Premium Plus £269. As listed on 21 October 2026.
Official page: servicem8.com/uk/pricing.
Tradify
Best for: job costing, timesheets and accounting sync, if you will pay per user.
What it does well. Lite covers jobs, quotes, invoices, and sync with Xero, Sage and QuickBooks Online. Pro adds timesheets, the enquiry form and certificates. Plus adds AI for bills and descriptions. The app is on iPhone, iPad and Android. Month to month, with a 14-day trial of every feature.
Watch-outs. Every plan is per user. Instant Website is £10 a month extra. The UK page does not say whether prices include VAT, and it does not describe Making Tax Digital filing.
Price. Lite £34 per user a month. Pro £37. Plus £44. Instant Website £10. As listed on 21 October 2026.
Official page: tradifyhq.com/uk/pricing.
YourTradebase
Best for: quoting and invoicing kept simple.
What it does well. Quotes, estimates, invoices, job sheets, schedules, lead tracking and card payments. Thirty-day trial, no card. Prices are subject to VAT.
Watch-outs. £15 a month for each additional user. No website, no AI feature, and no Making Tax Digital claim on the home page or the pricing page.
Price. £29 a month, plus £15 a month for each additional user. As listed on 21 October 2026.
Official page: yourtradebase.com/pricing.
Fergus
Best for: supplier price books and job cards, once the live per-user price is confirmed.
What it does well. Job cards, certificates, Xero and QuickBooks, and suppliers including CEF, City Plumbing, Wolseley and Screwfix. Pay per user, month to month. Plans start from £39 a month on the job-card page. The trial is 14 days, no card.
Watch-outs. The pricing page shows two figures for the same plan and does not say which you pay, so Fergus is not in the worked example. No website was listed. Making Tax Digital filing was not listed.
Price. From £39 a month per user, as stated on 21 October 2026. Confirm it before you multiply it.
Official page: fergus.com/uk/pricing.
Jobber
Best for: a website plus field service, in US dollars.
What it does well. Core includes unlimited quotes, jobs and invoices, a professional website for one user, online booking and online payment. Jobber Payments is available in the UK. Extra users are $29 a month. The trial is 14 days, no card.
Watch-outs. Dollars, and sales tax is extra where it applies. On 2 November 2026 Core was $49 a month with no commitment, $39 a month on a one-year commitment, and $29 a month billed annually. The sums use the $49 monthly price. Making Tax Digital is not listed.
Price. $49 a month for one user on Core with no commitment, or $29 a month billed annually, plus $29 for each extra user. As listed on 2 November 2026.
Official page: getjobber.com/pricing.
What a team of one, three and five costs
Monthly list prices. The figures other than Jobber are as listed on 21 October 2026. Jobber was checked again on 2 November 2026, and this column uses $49 a month with no commitment, not the $29 a month billed annually. Fergus is left out. Powered Now is in the last column: Business for one person, then Professional, because that is the plan that can add a login. A crew where only the owner logs in stays at £28 on every row that is really one account. The rows below assume each person needs a login.
| People | Mortar Core | ServiceM8 Starter | Tradify Pro + website | YourTradebase | Jobber Core | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £49 | £25 | £37 + £10 = £47 | £29 | $49 | £28 |
| 3 | £49 | £25 | £37 × 3 + £10 = £121 | £29 + £15 × 2 = £59 | $49 + $29 × 2 = $107 | £32 × 3 = £96 |
| 5 | £49 | £25 | £37 × 5 + £10 = £195 | £29 + £15 × 4 = £89 | $49 + $29 × 4 = $165 | £32 × 5 = £160 |
Add VAT where the supplier says the price excludes it. Powered Now, Mortar, ServiceM8 and YourTradebase exclude VAT. Tradify's UK page does not say. Jobber is in dollars.
At one person, Powered Now is the lowest figure on this table, and it is the only one that includes both the free website and Making Tax Digital filing. At five people, Professional is £160 before VAT. Mortar Core stays at £49 and does not file the return. ServiceM8 Starter stays at £25 inside 50 new jobs, without the website and without that tax filing.
Where Mortar isn't the best fit
Stay on Powered Now if Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has to be filed from the job app, especially on your own at £28. Mortar will not do that job. It hands invoices and expenses to Xero or QuickBooks. ServiceM8 is the clearer pick when you want several logins and would rather pay for job volume than for seats, and you do not need the return filed in the same app. If you are a sole trader and the £28 plan already covers the website, the tax and the invoices, a move to Mortar Core is a higher monthly figure for a different website, not a cheaper copy of Powered Now.
How to choose
- Who files the return? If the answer has to be the job app, stay with Powered Now. If the answer is your accountant, in Xero or QuickBooks, Mortar, Tradify and ServiceM8 can sit in front of that.
- How many people log in? One person can stay on Powered Now Business. Two or more means Professional at £32 each, or a tool with no per-user fee.
- Where do enquiries come from? Powered Now's free website shows finished work. If the gap is an enquiry inbox in the same subscription as the jobs, read what a trade website has to do, then compare the tools that include one.
- Do you need AI on the £28 plan? Powered Now puts AI writing on Premium. Mortar puts drafting on Core. Those are different prices.
Questions
Who should stay on Powered Now?
Stay if you want Making Tax Digital for Income Tax inside the same app as the jobs. Powered Now says it is built in on every plan, including Business, and recognised by HMRC. Business is £28 a month excluding VAT for one user, with a free website.
What changes when a second person needs a login?
Business cannot add a second user. Professional is £32 a month per user, excluding VAT, and Premium is £40. You pay for people who need an account. AI writing and the receipt scanner are on Premium.
Which alternatives file Making Tax Digital?
Of the pages checked on 21 October 2026, Powered Now is the one that says Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is built in. Mortar syncs invoices and expenses to Xero or QuickBooks and does not file the return. The other tools on this page describe accounting sync, not filing that return.
What does a team of three cost?
On the monthly list prices checked on 21 October 2026, three people cost £49 on Mortar Core, £25 on ServiceM8 Starter, £121 on Tradify Pro plus its website add-on, and £59 on YourTradebase. Jobber Core is 107 US dollars at the no-commitment monthly price, checked on 2 November 2026. Powered Now Professional is £96.
Can I try them before paying?
Yes. Mortar lets you build the website free, then gives 14 days free once the site goes live, and does not ask for a card to start. Powered Now, ServiceM8, Fergus and Jobber each offer 14 days with no card. Tradify's trial is 14 days and includes every feature. YourTradebase offers 30 days with no card.