Joist made its name as a simple estimate-and-invoice app, and simple is worth a lot. Here is what you get when simple grows up without getting bloated.
Full disclosure before the table: this page lives on the SayEstimate website, so you know which side we are on. We have kept it factual anyway, and we tell you below where Joist is genuinely the better pick. Joist is a trademark of its owner; we are not affiliated. Their features and pricing change, so always check their site for current details.
Joist is genuinely easy to start with, has been around a long time, and its basic estimate and invoice tools have a free tier that is hard to argue with if all you need is a handful of documents a month and nothing else around them.
SayEstimate covers the same estimate and invoice ground, then keeps going: AI that drafts the estimate when you talk the job, e-signatures with deposits, scheduling with appointment reminders, recurring invoices that charge a card on file automatically, QuickBooks sync, client statements, late fees, offline mode for dead-zone attics, and every customer page in English or Spanish. All of it from $9.99 a month, built and used daily by a working contractor.
Need a couple of simple invoices a month: the Joist free tier may be all you need, and that is fine. Running a real book of jobs and tired of doing the office work by hand at night: that is exactly what SayEstimate was built for.
See everything SayEstimate does → · See pricing → · Meet the contractor who built it →
14 days free. No credit card to start. From $9.99/mo after. Cancel anytime.
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