Tradify vs Fergus vs Automate The Trades — Which NZ Trade Software Is Right for You?

Tradify is built in New Zealand and is one of the most widely used trade management platforms in the country. It covers quoting, job management, scheduling, invoicing (via Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks), and has a strong native mobile app. It's designed as a generalist tool for all trades — plumbers, electricians, builders, painters — and does a good job covering the common workflows across these trades. Pricing is per user, starting around $48/mo per person.

Fergus is also NZ-built and positions itself as the more feature-rich option, particularly for job costing and profitability reporting. It's popular with builders and contractors managing larger, more complex jobs where tracking actual costs against budget matters. It integrates well with Xero and has a strong mobile app. Pricing is per user, slightly more expensive than Tradify at $53–$75/user/mo depending on the plan.

ServiceM8 is an Australian-built platform primarily designed for service trades — businesses that do lots of smaller jobs (callouts, repairs, maintenance). It prices by job volume rather than users, which suits high-frequency businesses. It has a strong mobile app with on-site features like customer signatures, photo capture, and automated follow-ups. It's less suitable for project-based trades like painting or building where jobs span multiple days or weeks.

Automate The Trades (ATT) is NZ-built and focused specifically on painters and decorators first, with plans to expand to other trades. Its differentiator is Mate AI — a conversational AI assistant that helps with quoting, NZ painting knowledge, and business advice. Pricing is a flat monthly fee ($99 for quoting, $199 for the full platform) regardless of team size. It integrates with Xero (two-way) and Google Calendar.

Every platform has clear strengths. Here's an honest breakdown of where each one is genuinely better than the others:

Tradify wins on:

• Breadth — it handles the widest range of trades well, without being perfect for any specific one
• Mobile app quality — consistently rated the best mobile experience among NZ trade tools
• Ease of setup — lower learning curve than Fergus, faster to get value from
• Accounting flexibility — supports Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks (important if you ever switch or if your accountant prefers MYOB)

Fergus wins on:

• Job costing — detailed tracking of actual costs vs quoted costs, with profitability reporting per job
• Progress invoicing — more granular control over staged billing for larger projects
• Enterprise features — H&S forms, timesheets, and detailed reporting on higher plans
• Builders and contractors — workflows better suited to multi-week projects with multiple cost centres

ServiceM8 wins on:

• High-volume service work — pricing by job count rather than users suits businesses doing 50+ small jobs per month
• Customer communication — automated SMS reminders, on-the-way notifications, and customer signatures
• On-site field features — photo capture, form completion, and job notes designed for mobile-first workflows

ATT wins on:

• AI-powered quoting — Mate AI can help estimate painting jobs, suggest materials, and answer NZ-specific pricing questions. No other NZ trade tool has this capability.
• Flat-fee pricing — $199/mo whether you have 1 person or 15. This becomes significantly cheaper than per-user tools for teams of 4+
• Painting-specific workflows — quote templates, material databases, and AI knowledge built around how painters actually work in NZ
• Google Calendar sync — team members see work jobs in their existing Google Calendar without opening a separate app

As of 2026, Automate The Trades is the only NZ trade platform with an integrated AI assistant. This is worth understanding because AI in trade software is still new and the capabilities are specific.

What Mate AI does:

• Helps estimate painting jobs — you describe the scope and it suggests labour hours, material quantities, and pricing based on NZ rates
• Answers NZ painting-specific questions — coverage rates for Resene and Dulux products, typical surface prep requirements, regional labour rate ranges
• Drafts customer communications — quote cover letters, follow-up messages, job completion summaries
• Provides business advice — pricing strategy, common margin mistakes, how to handle variations

What AI doesn't do (yet):

• It doesn't replace the site visit. You still need to measure, assess prep work, and identify issues that require professional judgment.
• It doesn't auto-generate perfect quotes — it assists you. The business owner still reviews and adjusts before sending.
• It's most useful for painting. For plumbing, electrical, or building, the painting-specific knowledge isn't relevant — though general quoting and business advice is still helpful.

Tradify, Fergus, and ServiceM8 have not announced AI features as of 2026. This is likely to change over the next 1–2 years as AI capabilities become standard in SaaS software. For now, if AI-assisted quoting appeals to you (and you're a painter), ATT is the only option.

See our guide to quoting a painting job for detail on what goes into a good painting quote, with or without AI assistance.

Per-user pricing vs flat-fee pricing creates very different cost profiles as your team grows. Here's a real-numbers comparison:

Sole trader (1 user):

• Tradify: ~$48–$73/mo
• Fergus: ~$53–$75/mo
• ServiceM8: $29–$49/mo (lower tier)
• ATT Quoting: $99/mo | ATT Professional: $199/mo

At 1 user, per-user tools are cheaper. ATT's flat fee makes less sense for a sole trader who only needs basic features — unless the AI quoting capability is worth the premium.

3-person team:

• Tradify: ~$144–$219/mo
• Fergus: ~$159–$225/mo
• ServiceM8: $49–$149/mo (mid tier)
• ATT Professional: $199/mo

At 3 users, ATT is price-competitive with Tradify and cheaper than Fergus, while including AI quoting that neither offers.

6-person team:

• Tradify: ~$288–$438/mo
• Fergus: ~$318–$450/mo
• ServiceM8: $99–$149/mo
• ATT Professional: $199/mo

At 6 users, ATT saves $90–$250/mo vs Tradify/Fergus. Over a year, that's $1,080–$3,000. ServiceM8 is competitively priced at this scale but lacks painting-specific features and NZ support.

10-person team:

• Tradify: ~$480–$730/mo
• Fergus: ~$530–$750/mo
• ATT Professional: $199/mo

At 10 users, the gap is dramatic — $280–$550/mo savings with ATT. Whether those savings outweigh Tradify's broader feature set or Fergus's job costing depends on your specific needs.

ATT is the right choice when these things are true about your business:

• You're a painter or decorator. The platform is built around painting workflows — the AI knows painting, the templates are painting-specific, and the feature development is driven by what painters need.
• Your team is 3+ people. The flat-fee pricing starts saving money at 3 users and the gap widens from there. If you use subcontractors who need access, the saving is even greater since they don't add to your subscription cost.
• You use Xero. ATT's two-way Xero sync is strong. If you're on MYOB or QuickBooks, Tradify is a better option because ATT doesn't integrate with those accounting platforms yet.
• You want AI assistance. If faster, more consistent quoting appeals to you and you're willing to work with a conversational AI assistant, ATT is the only NZ trade tool that offers this.
• You don't need native offline mode. For urban NZ painting work, the responsive web app works well on mobile. If you do rural or remote work with unreliable internet, a native app (Tradify, Fergus) may be better.

When Tradify or Fergus might be better:

• You're a plumber, electrician, or builder — their workflows are better suited to generalist platforms
• Detailed job costing is critical (Fergus)
• You need MYOB or QuickBooks integration (Tradify)
• Native app with offline mode is essential (Tradify, Fergus)
• H&S form management is a must-have (Tradify, Fergus)

The honest recommendation: try the free trials of the 2–3 platforms that seem like the best fit. Run real jobs through each for a week. The right choice will be obvious from the experience.