ServiceTrade alternatives for commercial HVAC service shops
ServiceTrade is built only for commercial service contractors, and it is good at turning what techs find into quoted repairs. An HVAC shop that wants a published price, specific features in its entry suite, or a field app it can test without signal can compare BuildOps, ServiceBox, ServiceTitan, FieldBoss, Jobber, Housecall Pro and BoltWright, then run the same trial in each.
We make BoltWright, one of the alternatives below, so weigh our take accordingly. What we say about every other vendor comes from their own public pages, checked October 16, 2026, and the sources are listed at the end.
ServiceTrade is a sound choice for a commercial service contractor whose main goal is turning maintenance findings into approved repairs, and its office users are free. It quotes after a conversation, puts the customer portal and its AI features in its middle suite, and its public pages don’t describe how the app behaves without signal. If those matter to you, compare BuildOps, for shops that also run projects; ServiceBox, which is Canadian and publishes its prices; ServiceTitan and FieldBoss, for larger or ERP-centred shops; Jobber and Housecall Pro, lighter systems with published prices; and BoltWright, where the crew’s notes become reports the office reviews. Run the same maintenance visit and service call through two or three of them before deciding.
What ServiceTrade does well
ServiceTrade says it is “built for commercial service teams, not residential contractors.” It has served commercial service contractors for 13 years and says 1,300+ use it, across mechanical and HVAC work and, through a separate suite, fire protection inspections.
- Findings become work. Its HVAC page talks about turning “service recommendations into approved work with professional proposals, repair options, approvals, and electronic signatures.” Deficiency capture and online quotes are in its entry suite.
- Office users are free. “Office users are always free,” and the price is set mainly by the number of technicians.
- Equipment history. Techs see asset details and job history in the app, and equipment history is in the entry suite.
- Accounting. Its HVAC page lists Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Viewpoint Vista, Acumatica, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Foundation, ComputerEase and Spectrum.
If ServiceTrade already runs your shop well, the cost of switching is real, and staying may be the right call.
When an HVAC shop looks elsewhere
- You want to see the price first. ServiceTrade’s pricing page lists three suites, Select, Premium and Enterprise, each with a Request pricing button. BuildOps and ServiceTitan quote too. ServiceBox, Jobber, Housecall Pro and BoltWright publish their prices, and FieldBoss publishes starting prices.
- Check which suite you’d need. The customer service portal, the AI features and technician timecards are listed in Premium. Recurring contract pricing and parts and inventory management are listed in Enterprise. Ask for the price of the suite that covers how your shop works, not the entry suite.
- Your techs work where there’s no signal. ServiceTrade’s public product pages don’t say how its app behaves offline, and its help centre isn’t open to the public. Test it in the demo: airplane mode on, record a reading, a photo and a note, then reconnect and check the office sees each one.
- Your shop is HVAC only. ServiceTrade also serves fire protection, and many of the customer stories on its homepage are fire protection companies. Ask the demo to stay on rooftop maintenance, findings and repair quotes.
The alternatives, from each vendor’s own pages
Each row says what the vendor says about itself, what it publishes about price, and the kind of shop that might put it on a shortlist.
Scroll sideways to see pricing and who each one might suit.
| Product | What its own pages say | Published pricing | Worth a demo if |
|---|---|---|---|
| BuildOps | Says it is “trusted by 1,500+ commercial contractors across North America,” from mid-market shops to enterprise, and built for contractors “who run projects, service, and everything in between.” Equipment history on each unit, an app it calls offline-first, Smart Recap for turning voice notes into customer records, and project tools such as submittals, RFIs and change orders. Says most HVAC shops are live in 8 to 12 weeks. | Not published. A custom proposal after a demo, based on the number of field and office users, modules and integrations. | You also run construction projects and want them in the same system as service. |
| ServiceBox | Canadian-built software for commercial HVAC service, maintenance and project teams. Keeps model, serial, prior repairs, readings and open recommendations on each unit, and creates recurring work orders from the maintenance agreement. Lists QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop and Sage 50 Canada, and an offline mode that keeps saved work accessible through weak connectivity. | Standard $210 and Premium $330 a month, each with the first six users included, billed in local currency for Canadian and U.S. customers. A $75 two-user Starter for qualifying shops. | You’re in Canada, or your books are in Sage 50 or QuickBooks Desktop. |
| ServiceTitan | Sells to residential and commercial contractors. Its commercial platform supports “large field teams, multiple trades, and multi-location operations,” with model and serial scanning, a Findings feature, a customer portal with equipment data and Field Assistant, an AI assistant for techs. | Not published. Three packages, each marked Request Pricing. | You run residential and commercial work, or several trades across locations. |
| FieldBoss | Built for HVAC and elevator contractors and delivered on Microsoft Dynamics 365. Lists full ERP financials (general ledger, receivables, payables and banking), recurring PM agreements and equipment service history. | Starting prices: mobile users from $90 and back-office users from $185 per user a month, plus implementation from $50,000 one time. The page doesn’t state a currency. | You want accounting and field service in one Microsoft-based system and can fund the implementation. |
| Jobber | Says “400,000+ home service pros trust Jobber.” Its HVAC page describes recurring maintenance jobs that are scheduled and invoiced automatically, and job costing for commercial projects. It doesn’t describe a record for each piece of equipment, so ask where unit history would live. | Published in U.S. dollars by plan and team size, with a 14-day free trial. | Commercial work is a small share of your jobs and you want a quick, low-cost start. |
| Housecall Pro | Says it is built for both residential and commercial HVAC contractors and scales “from a single truck to a team of 50 or more.” Its Essentials plan keeps service and equipment history on each property and sells recurring service agreements. Its Mobile FAQ says editing without a connection is not supported. | Published by plan, with a 14-day free trial. | You do a mix of residential and light commercial work. |
| BoltWright | Our own commercial HVAC service software, built in Calgary. Service requests, dispatch, sites and equipment history, maintenance agreements, quotes, invoices and job costing, with a Field app for techs. Notes, voice recordings and photos save on the phone without signal; live conversations with Bolt, the AI assistant, need a connection. The crew’s notes become a report organized by unit that the office reviews before sending. Built for service and maintenance; it has no construction project tools such as submittals or progress billing. | C$129 per working truck a month for the first ten, then C$99. No seat charge for office users, helpers or apprentices. Month to month, with migration and setup included. | Your work is maintenance and service on customer buildings, and the paperwork after the visit is what you most want off your plate. |
BoltWright is newer and much smaller than the other companies on this list. Ask every vendor, us included, who answers when something goes wrong and how quickly. Other systems often named alongside these include FieldEdge, Simpro, FieldPulse and Service Fusion. They aren’t covered here, and the same trial works for them.
One trial for every vendor
Bring the same two jobs to every demo: a maintenance visit across several rooftop units, and a service call that ends with a repair the customer still has to approve. Ask each vendor to walk through them on screen.
- Get the price for your actual shop in writing: technicians, office users, modules, implementation, data migration and what changes at renewal.
- From the phone, open a site with several units and find the right RTU’s last visit. Then switch on airplane mode, record a reading, a photo and a voice note, close and reopen the app, reconnect, and check the office sees each item on the right unit.
- Follow the repair from the finding to the quote, the customer’s approval and the return visit on the schedule.
- Read the report the property manager would get. Who reviews it, and what stops a wrong reading from going out?
- Open the maintenance agreement. Which visits are due next, and how is included maintenance kept apart from billable extras on the invoice?
- Name your accounting system and edition, and ask which way records sync.
- Ask how long it takes before your first real job runs in the new system, and what your office does in those weeks.
- Get a sample export of customers, sites, equipment and job history before you sign.
The BuildOps alternatives guide and the ServiceTitan alternatives guide use the same trial. If you’re in Canada, the Canadian software guide covers currency, sales tax and QuickBooks Canada.
If you’re already on ServiceTrade
Check your contract’s end date and notice terms first. Ask ServiceTrade for a sample export of the records you’d need to keep, especially equipment, deficiency and job history, and ask the receiving vendor to import that sample while you watch. The switching checklist covers the rest of the move. If you come to BoltWright with time left on another system’s contract, we credit up to six months of the remaining term; the details are on the pricing page.
Sources
Each vendor page was opened and checked on October 16, 2026. Prices, plans and features change, so confirm them with the vendor before you decide.
- ServiceTrade: home, commercial HVAC, pricing
- BuildOps: pricing, commercial HVAC, technician app
- ServiceBox: HVAC software, pricing
- ServiceTitan: commercial service and replacement, pricing
- FieldBoss: HVAC, pricing
- Jobber: HVAC software, pricing
- Housecall Pro: HVAC software, pricing, Mobile FAQ
- BoltWright: how it works, pricing, working with no signal
Bring a maintenance visit and a service call.
We’ll run both through BoltWright in a walkthrough. Or open the demo first: it has a made-up shop’s data and needs no signup.
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