Field Service Software Free Plan Limits: Jobs, Users, Texts
Last updated: 2026-10-20
Free plans in field service software cap three things: new jobs a month, people who can log in, and texts to customers. FixyFlow's free plan is 5 jobs and 20 texts each month. ServiceM8 says its Free plan is "1 User 30 Jobs per month", and its table prices text messaging at "10c per SMS". Zoho says its free version lets you "create up to 30 appointments per month" and "add up to 20 users". Housecall Pro says "Try 14 days free", then "$59 /mo (Billed annually)".
That's the whole answer in one paragraph. The harder question is which of the three caps you'll hit first, and what each tool does on the day you hit it.
Three caps, counted three different ways
The job cap counts what you open
A job cap counts new jobs created in the month, not jobs finished. Open a dryer repair on the 28th, close it on the 3rd, and it counts once (in the month you opened it). Zoho's free version is measured in appointments ("up to 30 appointments per month"). That's close, but not the same thing when one job needs two visits.
Recurring work is where I'd ask the most questions. Ask any vendor how it counts a recurring plan before a recurring customer eats your month in the first week.
The user cap counts who logs in
ServiceM8 says "1 User" for its Free plan. FixyFlow's pricing page sends anyone with 2+ techs to Pro. Zoho says "In the Free plan, you can add up to 20 users", so a small crew could share that one. Count the person who answers the phone, too, if that isn't you.
The text cap is the one people forget
There are two models, and they feel the same until the first bill. FixyFlow doesn't charge per text. Every plan has a monthly SMS allowance instead, and a text costs nothing extra until you reach it. ServiceM8 works the other way: its pricing table says "Text Messaging 10c per SMS" on the Free plan.
Neither model is a trick.
| Free plan | Jobs a month | Who can log in | Texts |
|---|---|---|---|
| FixyFlow Free | 5 | 2+ techs go to Pro | 20 included |
| ServiceM8 Free | 30 | 1 user | 10c each |
| Zoho FSM Free | 30 appointments | Up to 20 | Ask Zoho |
I get it: 5 jobs looks stingy next to 30, and I won't pretend otherwise. Our own pricing page says it straight: "Not sure? Start free. Growing past 5 jobs/month? Go Starter." The free plan is a place to watch real customers react to a tracking link, not a way to run a busy shop for nothing. For the paid feature sets side by side, the field service software comparison lays them out.
Which cap runs out first for you?
Get last month's calendar and a pen. You need three counts:
- New jobs you booked. Not visits and not invoices.
- Texts per job. A booking confirmation, an on-the-way text and a done text make three. A review ask makes four.
- People who log in. Everyone who'd touch the job list.
Then do the division. On FixyFlow Free, 20 texts over 5 jobs is 4 texts a job. Send the full four-text sequence and both caps run out on the same job. At ServiceM8's "30 Jobs per month" and "10c per SMS", 30 jobs × 4 texts = 120 texts, each one billed, every month. (That's still cheap. It just isn't zero.)
Here's a worked case. Say you fix appliances on your own, book 8 jobs a month and send 3 texts a job. That's 24 texts. FixyFlow's free plan stops at job 5, and the 20-text allowance would have run out on job 7 anyway (6 jobs × 3 = 18 texts, and job 7 needs 3 more). At ServiceM8's "30 Jobs per month" and "10c per SMS", all 8 jobs fit and all 24 texts are billed.
The user count often settles it before the arithmetic does. If two of you need to log in, check each plan's user count first.
What happens on the day you hit it
This is the question I'd put to any vendor before I started. The answers differ a lot.
- ServiceM8's pricing FAQ describes a grace period: once you go over, "You'll still be able to create new jobs and work as normal for another 7 days." If the monthly plan resets inside that window, its FAQ says the job credits reset; otherwise you're prompted to upgrade.
- Zoho FSM's FAQ says unused appointments don't carry over: "They have to be used up within that month."
- FixyFlow's pricing page says each plan includes a monthly SMS allowance that resets on the 1st.
Whatever the tool does, a customer who stops hearing from you starts calling. If you run close to the cap, that's the risk to plan around, and it's the honest reason to move up a tier rather than squeeze the last text out of the free one.
A free plan and a free trial do different jobs
They're easy to mix up. A trial gives you more for a short time, then asks you to pay or leave. A free plan is smaller and has no end date.
Some tools do both. FixyFlow starts every signup on a 14-day trial with no credit card, and when it ends the account drops to the Free plan with all its data kept. Zoho's FAQ says once the trial period expires, your account "will be moved to a free plan with limited features." Housecall Pro's pricing page headline reads "From $59/mo" with a 14-day free trial.
Which one should you judge the tool on? In my view the trial, for a solo operator. A 14-day trial at normal volume tells you whether customers read the texts and whether the "is it ready?" calls drop. The free plan is what you fall back to when the timing is wrong (a slow month, a holiday, the end of a season).
That fallback matters more than it sounds for seasonal trades. A dock or boat business on Georgian Bay can sit on a free plan through the winter and keep its customer list intact. Seasonal service business software is the longer read on that pattern.
When the free plan stops making sense
There's no single right number, but the arithmetic above gives you a rough line. If most months you open more than 5 jobs, or a second person needs to log in, you've outgrown FixyFlow Free. Starter is $19 USD a month ($25 CAD) and lifts the caps to 50 jobs and 200 texts, still for one tech (the pricing page sends anyone with 2+ techs to Pro). Pro is $29 USD a month ($39 CAD) for 200 jobs and 1,000 texts, and it's the tier for a crew. The full grid, with annual prices, is listed on our field service software pricing page.
What FixyFlow won't do at any tier is worth saying too. It doesn't schedule your visits, and it doesn't replace a dispatch board. It's the texts and the tracking page on top of whatever you already book jobs with. If you need the calendar, start with best handyman software for solo operators, ranked. To price a year rather than a month, read the ranked look at what a service business CRM costs. Electricians get their own version of the paid-tier comparison in the post on electrical field service software.
If you want to see where your own month lands, try field service software on a free trial with last month's jobs. The trial lasts 14 days and needs no card. If you do nothing at the end, you land on the Free plan with your jobs still there.
— Lasse
Built FixyFlow in Collingwood