Is Tradify worth it for Australian electricians in 2026?

Tradify is worth it for solo electricians or very small teams (1–3 staff) who want simple job management at a low cost. It handles quoting, scheduling, and invoicing cleanly. However, it lacks a pre-built CCEW compliance form — a significant limitation for NSW electrical businesses with regular compliance documentation requirements. For any electrical business where CCEW compliance is a daily workflow, ServiceM8 is the better choice despite the potentially higher cost for small teams.

How much does Tradify cost in 2026?

Tradify pricing in 2026 is approximately $35 per user per month (AUD), billed monthly. For a solo operator that's $35/month, for a 3-person team $105/month, for a 5-person team $175/month. A 14-day free trial is available. Unlike ServiceM8, Tradify charges per user — this makes it cost-competitive for 1–3 users but less so as the team grows.

Does Tradify integrate with Xero?

Yes. Tradify integrates with Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks. The Xero integration syncs invoices and contacts. It's functional but less seamless than ServiceM8's Xero integration, which syncs in real-time including payments and is generally considered the more polished integration by users who have used both.

What are the main limitations of Tradify?

The main limitations: no pre-built CCEW or state electrical compliance forms (document attachment only); per-user pricing that becomes expensive for larger teams; less sophisticated scheduling than ServiceM8 (no GPS 'On My Way' notifications, no client portal in the base product); and fewer compliance-specific workflow tools. It's a capable general-purpose trade platform that trades depth for simplicity.

Who is Tradify best suited for?

Tradify is best suited for: solo trade operators who want simple job management; small teams (1–3 staff) in trades where compliance documentation is less critical (plumbing, painting, landscaping, general maintenance); businesses that find ServiceM8 complex and want a simpler learning curve; and operators who are starting out and want to get running with minimum setup. For electricians specifically, the CCEW limitation makes ServiceM8 the better long-term choice.

Is Tradify worth it for Australian electricians in 2026?

Tradify is worth it for solo operators or 1-3 staff teams wanting simple job management at low cost. However, it lacks a pre-built CCEW compliance form — a significant limitation for NSW electricians. For electrical businesses with regular CCEW compliance requirements, ServiceM8 is the better choice.

How much does Tradify cost in 2026?

Tradify costs approximately $35/user/month in Australia. Solo: $35/month. 3 staff: $105/month. 5 staff: $175/month. Unlike ServiceM8 (job-volume based, no per-user fee), Tradify's cost scales directly with team size.

Does Tradify integrate with Xero?

Yes, Tradify integrates with Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks. The integration is functional but generally considered less seamless than ServiceM8's real-time Xero sync.

What are the main limitations of Tradify?

Main limitations: no pre-built CCEW or state electrical compliance forms; per-user pricing that becomes expensive at 4+ staff; no client portal in the base product; limited GPS customer notification features; and fewer compliance-specific workflow tools than ServiceM8.

Who is Tradify best suited for?

Solo operators and very small teams (1-3 staff) in trades where compliance documentation is less critical. For NSW electricians with regular CCEW requirements or any electrical team of 3+ staff, ServiceM8 is the better long-term choice on both features and cost.

Jul 20, 2026

Last updated on Jul 20, 2026

Tradify Review 2026: Is It Worth It for Australian Trades?

Tradify is a New Zealand-founded job management platform widely used by Australian trades businesses. It’s simpler than ServiceM8 and significantly cheaper than simPRO — which makes it an attractive option for small operators who are overwhelmed by the complexity of the market-leaders.

But for Australian electricians, simplicity comes with a compliance trade-off. Under the Home Building Act 1989 administered by NSW Fair Trading, electrical contractors must lodge a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) within 7 days of completing prescribed work — or face penalties of up to $22,000 per offence. Nationally, the Clean Energy Regulator requires solar installers to retain documentation demonstrating adherence to AS/NZS 5033 and AS/NZS 5139 for up to five years. Your job management platform either enforces this documentation workflow — or leaves it to technician discipline.

But simpler comes with trade-offs. This review gives you an honest picture of what Tradify does well, where it falls short, and who it actually suits in 2026.

What Tradify Does Well

Clean, simple interface

Tradify’s core strength is usability. The app is clean, intuitive, and fast to learn. Most trade business owners can set it up and be quoting within a few hours. There’s no complex onboarding, no configuration consultant required, and the mobile app works without a steep learning curve.

Quoting and invoicing

The quoting workflow is solid. Create a quote with line items, send it to a client for approval, convert to a job, and invoice on completion. The process is clean and works well for standard trade jobs. Xero and MYOB integration handles the accounting side.

Job tracking

Jobs are easy to create, assign to staff, and track through completion. The dashboard gives a clear view of what’s on, who’s doing it, and what’s overdue. For a small team doing straightforward work, it covers the basics well.

Pricing

At $35/user/month, Tradify is cheaper than ServiceM8 for solo operators ($35 vs $99 on ServiceM8’s Grow plan). For 1–2 users, the cost case is clear. The gap narrows at 3 users ($105 vs $99 on ServiceM8 Grow) and Tradify becomes more expensive at 4+ users.

Where Tradify Falls Short

CCEW compliance documentation

This is the most significant limitation for Australian electricians. NSW requires a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) for every prescribed electrical installation. ServiceM8 has a pre-built CCEW form built into the job workflow — the electrician completes it digitally on their phone, the customer signs on-screen, and it’s automatically emailed.

Tradify has no pre-built CCEW form. You can attach a PDF to a job, but there’s no structured digital form completion. For electrical businesses doing 5–20 jobs per week with regular CCEW requirements, this means maintaining a separate paper or PDF-based compliance process alongside your digital job system. That’s friction that defeats some of the purpose.

No client portal (base plan)

ServiceM8 includes a client portal at all plan levels — customers can log in to view job history, download certificates, and access invoices. Tradify doesn’t include this in the base product. For solar businesses wanting to give customers access to their installation documents, this is a gap.

Limited compliance form builder

Beyond CCEW, electrical businesses in other states need state-specific compliance forms (CES in VIC, CEC in SA, etc.). ServiceM8’s custom form builder lets you create structured digital forms for any compliance requirement. Tradify’s document attachment approach is less structured.

GPS and customer notification features

ServiceM8 includes real-time GPS tracking for field staff and the “On My Way” notification — customers get an automated SMS with a link to track the technician’s ETA. Tradify has basic GPS features but less developed customer notification tooling.

Pricing Comparison

Team size	Tradify	ServiceM8
1 user	$35/month	$99/month (Grow)
2 users	$70/month	$99/month
3 users	$105/month	$99/month
5 users	$175/month	$199/month (Manage)
8 users	$280/month	$199/month
12 users	$420/month	$349/month (Unlimited)

At 1 user: Tradify is $64/month cheaper. At 3 users: ServiceM8 is $6/month cheaper — essentially the same cost. At 5+ users: ServiceM8 is meaningfully cheaper and includes more features.

Tradify vs ServiceM8 — Direct Comparison

Feature	Tradify	ServiceM8
CCEW compliance form	❌ Not built-in	✅ Pre-built, digital
Custom compliance forms	Limited	✅ Full form builder
Client portal	❌ Not standard	✅ Included
”On My Way” customer SMS	❌ Limited	✅ Full
Per-user pricing	✅ Yes	❌ No (job volume)
Cost for 3 staff	~$105/month	~$99/month
Cost for 8 staff	~$280/month	~$199/month
Mobile app quality	Good	Excellent
Setup time	Very fast (hours)	Fast (1–2 days)
Learning curve	Very low	Low
Xero integration	Good	Excellent (real-time)

The Verdict

Tradify is a solid, simple job management platform. For trades businesses where compliance documentation isn’t a daily critical workflow — painters, landscapers, general maintenance, plumbers with standard work — it does the job at a fair price.

For electricians specifically, the CCEW gap is a real problem. If you’re doing regular electrical installation work in NSW (or structured compliance documentation in any state), Tradify forces you to maintain a separate compliance workflow alongside your digital system. That friction costs you more time than the $64/month saving on a solo plan.

The honest recommendation:

Solo electrician, CCEW not a regular requirement → Tradify is fine
Solo electrician, NSW residential electrical installation work → ServiceM8 (the CCEW form alone is worth the difference)
2+ staff electrical business → ServiceM8 (better features at comparable or lower cost)
Starting out, not sure yet → try both free trials; Tradify’s is easier to get started with but ServiceM8’s compliance depth shows its value after a few jobs

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