You did not get into contracting to compare software. You got into it because you are good at the work. But somewhere between the first “can you send me an invoice?” and the tenth time you chased a check, you realized you need a better system.
This is a straight comparison of the invoicing apps solo residential contractors actually use. Real prices, real features, no affiliate links, no paid rankings. We built BillRig, so we are in the list too — and we will be honest about what we do and do not do.
En español: Las mejores apps de facturación para contratistas (Comparación 2026).
What Solo Contractors Actually Need
Before looking at apps, it helps to know what matters. If you are a plumber running service calls or an electrician doing panel upgrades, your invoicing needs are different from a construction company running 40-person crews. Here is what solo residential contractors typically care about:
- Mobile invoicing. You are in the truck or on the job site, not behind a desk. The app needs to work on your phone.
- Offline capability. Basements, crawl spaces, rural areas — cell service is not a given. Can you still create an invoice when you have no signal?
- Payment processing. Accepting cards and digital payments speeds up collections. The faster money moves, the less you chase.
- Estimates and quotes. Most jobs start with an estimate. Converting that to an invoice without retyping everything saves real time.
- Deposit compliance. Some states cap how much you can collect upfront. If the app does not know your state’s rules, you are on your own. Check our state-by-state deposit guide for the details.
- Price. You are not going to pay $69 a month for scheduling and dispatching features you will never use as a one-person operation.
The Comparison (as of April 2026)
Here is how the main options stack up on the features that matter most to solo contractors. Prices shown are starting tiers and may vary by plan.
| App | Price | Offline | Payments | Estimates | Compliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BillRig | Free (beta) | Yes | Square | Yes | State rules built in |
| Jobber | From $39/mo | No | Stripe, Square | Yes | No |
| Housecall Pro | From $49/mo | No | Stripe | Yes | No |
| Invoice2go | From $5.99/mo | No | Multiple | Yes | No |
| Joist | Free / $15+/mo | No | Stripe | Yes | No |
| Invoice Simple | Free / $10+/mo | Partial | PayPal | Basic | No |
| Square Invoices | Free | No | Square | No | No |
Now let us break down each one.
Jobber
Jobber is excellent if you are running a crew and need scheduling, dispatching, and route optimization. It is a full field service management platform, and it earns its price for businesses that use all of those features.
For a solo contractor, though, Jobber can feel like buying a pickup truck to haul groceries. The scheduling tools are powerful, but if it is just you, you probably already know where you are going tomorrow. The CRM is deep, but you might have 30 active customers, not 300.
Jobber starts at $39 per month for the basic plan, but most of the features contractors talk about — like quoting and automated follow-ups — require the $119 Connect plan or higher. There is no offline mode, so if you lose signal at a job site, you are waiting until you have a connection again.
Best for: Contractors with 2-10 employees who need scheduling and dispatching alongside invoicing.
Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro sits in a similar space as Jobber — it is a field service management tool first and an invoicing tool second. The interface is clean and the mobile app is solid. Starting at $49 per month, it targets service businesses that need online booking, dispatching, and customer communications.
The invoicing features are competent. You can create estimates, convert them to invoices, and process payments through Stripe. But like Jobber, you are paying for a full suite of tools. If you just need to send invoices and collect money, a lot of that suite goes unused.
No offline mode. If you are in a basement with no signal, you are out of luck until you surface.
Best for: Service businesses that want online booking and dispatching bundled with invoicing.
Invoice2go
Invoice2go is one of the more affordable options at $5.99 per month for the starter plan. It is focused squarely on invoicing — no scheduling, no dispatching, no CRM. That simplicity is a feature if all you want is to send professional invoices and get paid.
It supports multiple payment processors, which gives you flexibility. The mobile app is straightforward. You can create invoices, track expenses, and send payment reminders.
The downsides: no offline capability, no contractor-specific features like deposit compliance or state-rule awareness, and the cheaper plans limit how many invoices you can send per month. It is a general-purpose invoicing tool, not one built for the trades.
Best for: Contractors who want simple, affordable invoicing without trade-specific features.
Joist
Joist was built for contractors, and it shows. The estimate builder is solid, the interface is intuitive, and there is a free tier that covers basic invoicing. If you are just getting started and want something that speaks your language, Joist is worth a look.
The free plan is genuinely useful, though it has limits on features like payment processing and reporting. Paid plans start around $15 per month and go up from there. Payments run through Stripe.
No offline mode. No built-in compliance tools for deposit limits. But the core invoicing and estimating workflow is clean, and the terminology is contractor-friendly rather than generic business-speak.
Best for: Solo contractors who want a contractor-focused tool and do not need offline capability.
Invoice Simple
Invoice Simple lives up to its name. It is about as bare-bones as invoicing gets, with a free tier for basic use and paid plans starting around $10 per month. The app has a partial offline mode — you can view existing invoices without a connection, but creating new ones requires being online.
Payment options are limited primarily to PayPal on the lower tiers. Estimate features are basic. There is no compliance tooling, no contractor-specific workflows, and the reporting is minimal.
That said, if you do occasional side jobs and just need to send a clean invoice once in a while, Invoice Simple does that without a learning curve.
Best for: Part-time contractors or handymen who invoice occasionally and want something dead simple.
Square Invoices
If you are already using Square for point-of-sale transactions, Square Invoices is free and it integrates seamlessly with your existing Square account. You can send invoices, accept card payments, and track payment status — all at no monthly cost.
The catch is what it does not do. There is no estimate or quote feature built into the invoicing flow. No offline mode. No contractor-specific features. It is a general-purpose invoicing add-on to the Square ecosystem, not a purpose-built tool for the trades.
But the price is right — free — and if you are already swiping cards through Square at the job site, adding Square Invoices for the jobs that need a formal bill is an easy step.
Best for: Contractors already in the Square ecosystem who want free invoicing without switching platforms.
Where BillRig Fits
BillRig was built for one specific contractor: the solo residential pro who works from a phone, wants to get paid through Square, and does not need a $69-per-month platform full of features designed for 15-person crews.
Here is what that means in practice:
- Offline-first. Create estimates and invoices with no cell signal. Everything syncs when you are back online. This matters when your office is a crawl space or a rural job site.
- Voice dictation. Use your phone’s voice keyboard to describe the job — BillRig captures the dictation as line items. Useful when your hands are dirty.
- State deposit compliance. BillRig knows your state’s deposit rules and warns you before you cross a line. No other app in this list does that.
- Square payments. Customers can pay directly from the invoice. No extra hardware, no second payment processor.
What BillRig does not do: scheduling, dispatching, crew management, route optimization, CRM, or online booking. If you need those things, Jobber or Housecall Pro are better fits. BillRig is not trying to be everything — it is trying to be the best invoicing tool for solo contractors who work from their phones.
BillRig is currently in free beta. You can join the waitlist to get early access.
Bottom Line
Pick the tool that matches how you actually work.
If you run a crew and need scheduling plus dispatching, Jobber or Housecall Pro earn their monthly price. If you want bare-bones invoicing on a budget, Invoice2go or Joist are solid. If you are already all-in on Square, their free invoicing tool is the path of least resistance.
If you are a solo contractor who wants to invoice from your phone, get paid through Square, and not pay a monthly fee for features you will never use, that is what BillRig was built for. Check out our complete invoicing guide if you want to make sure your invoices have everything they need.
The right tool is the one you will actually use. Try a couple, see what sticks, and stop writing invoices on notepads.