Pinion vs Jobber
Pinion CRM vs Jobber for trades businesses
Jobber is the best-known field service app for trades. Where it beats Pinion, where it doesn't, and what each really costs a South African team.
· 4 min read · prices checked 12 September 2026
Jobber is not a general CRM. It is field service management software built for trades, which makes it the closest competitor to Pinion for plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, and similar businesses. This is the fairest fight on our blog.
The short version
Choose Jobber if you dispatch a team of technicians, need scheduling with a drag-and-drop calendar and route planning, want online booking on your website, and want a client portal where customers approve quotes and pay online.
Choose Pinion if you are a one-van or small-crew business, you want to track jobs, send invoices, and manage stock without paying per technician, and you want a free plan that does not run out after two weeks.
Pricing side by side
Jobber prices in US dollars, includes one user per plan, and charges for every additional user.
| Jobber | Pinion CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No. 14-day trial on the Grow plan. | Yes. 2 seats, 100 clients, 5 invoices a month, no expiry. |
| Entry plan | Core, $49 a month billed monthly, $29 a month billed annually. 1 user. | Professional, R299 a month, 25 seats. |
| Extra users | $29 per user per month on every plan | Included up to the seat limit |
| Mid tiers | Connect $139 monthly ($99 annual), Grow $199 monthly ($149 annual). 1 user each. | Same R299 |
| Top tier | Plus, $499 monthly ($399 annual), with multi-user bundles up to 15 users | Max, R799 a month, 100 seats |
| Currency | USD | Rand |
Worked example: an owner plus three technicians is four users. On Jobber Core billed monthly that is $49 plus three times $29, so $136 a month. On Jobber Grow, which is what most dispatching teams actually want, it is $199 plus $87, so $286 a month. On Pinion Professional the same four people are R299, and there is room for twenty-one more.
The per-user charge is what to watch. Jobber’s headline price is for one person. Most trades businesses are not one person.
Where Jobber wins
Jobber has been building for trades for over a decade and it shows.
- Scheduling and dispatch. A proper calendar with drag-and-drop assignment, team availability, GPS waypoints, and route optimisation on higher tiers. Pinion has job scheduling with dates, times, locations, and technician assignment, but no dispatch board or routing.
- Client hub. Customers get a portal where they approve quotes, see appointments, and pay invoices. Pinion has no client-facing portal, by design.
- Online booking. A booking form for your website that drops straight into the schedule.
- Automated messaging. Appointment reminders, “on my way” texts, quote follow-ups, and review requests. Pinion has gentle reminders for the business owner, not automated customer messaging.
- Payments. Jobber Payments takes cards inside the app in the countries where it is offered. Check whether that includes yours before counting on it. Pinion does not process payments and links out instead.
- Accounting sync. QuickBooks Online integration is mature. Pinion’s accounting sync is a roadmap item.
Where Pinion wins
- A real free plan. Two seats, a hundred clients, five invoices a month, and it never expires. A solo tradesperson can run on it indefinitely. Jobber offers a trial, then a bill.
- Flat pricing. Ten people on Pinion Professional cost R299. Ten people on Jobber cost the plan price plus nine times $29, which is over $300 a month on any plan.
- Inventory. Stock items, suppliers, purchase invoices, stock movements, and low-stock warnings are standard on Pinion’s paid plans. Jobber does not manage stock.
- Rand pricing, South African company. No exchange-rate surprises on the card statement, and terms written for South African law.
- Not only for trades. If your business also does retainers, sessions, or consulting alongside site work, Pinion’s three “skins” cover it in one app. Jobber is trades-only.
- Simplicity. Jobber is a big product. Pinion is deliberately small.
Things Pinion does not do
This list is longer against Jobber than against the general CRMs, because Jobber has built a lot of trades-specific features Pinion has chosen not to.
- No dispatch board, GPS tracking, or route optimisation.
- No client portal, online booking, or customer-facing quote approval.
- No automated SMS or email to customers.
- No in-app card payments.
- No accounting sync yet.
Who should pick which
A business with five or more technicians on the road, an office dispatcher, and a need for customers to book and pay online is squarely in Jobber’s target market. Pay for it. It will earn its keep.
A one-van plumber, a two-person electrical business, or a small crew where the owner does the quoting, the work, and the invoicing from a phone, is who Pinion was built for. The free plan will carry a solo operator a long way.
The bottom line
Jobber is the more complete field service product. Pinion is the simpler, cheaper one with inventory and a free tier. If you are choosing between them, count your users, multiply by $29, and add the plan price. Then look at whether you actually need dispatch and a client portal today, or whether you need to send the invoice before you drive off.
Try Pinion free. Two seats, no card, no clock.
The Free plan doesn't expire. If it turns out Jobber is the better fit, nothing is lost but ten minutes.