Joist works well for many contractors, but Basics stops at 5 documents a month and your logo only appears from the $17 Pro plan. These are the alternatives, cheapest first.
The main alternatives to Joist are QuoteToPaid, Square Invoices, Wave, Invoice Simple, Jobber and Housecall Pro. QuoteToPaid is free with no account and has contractor estimate templates and calculators, downloaded as PDF, Word or Excel, but no built-in payments or financing. Square Invoices and Wave are free and take card payments for a fee. Invoice Simple costs $6.99 to $21.99 a month depending on how many invoices you send. Jobber (from $29 a month billed yearly) and Housecall Pro (from $59 a month) add scheduling and team features. For comparison, Joist costs $10, $17 or $32 a month after a 14-day trial.
At a glance
Comparison of joist alternatives
Tool
Free option
Paid from
Account
Best for
QuoteToPaid
Free, unlimited, no watermark
None (an optional Pro plan is planned)
No account needed
Making a professional invoice, quote or estimate fast, without signing up
Square Invoices
Square Free plan: $0/month
Paid Square plans lower some fees
Square account needed
Businesses that already take payments with Square
Wave
Starter plan: $0
Pro $19/month or $190/year
Account needed
Small businesses that also want free bookkeeping
Invoice Simple
14-day free trial
Essentials $6.99/month (up to 3 invoices a month)
Account needed
Phone-first businesses that want payments and read receipts
Jobber
Free trial
Core from $29/month billed yearly ($49 month to month)
Account needed
Growing service businesses that need scheduling, quotes and invoicing together
Housecall Pro
14-day free trial
From $59/month
Account needed
Home service companies with a crew to schedule and dispatch
The options in detail
1. QuoteToPaid: Best free alternative
Covers the estimate-to-invoice part of Joist for free: trade starting lines, calculators, your logo on every document, and a one-step switch from estimate to invoice. You won't get financing offers or online payments.
Free option
Free, unlimited, no watermark
Paid
None (an optional Pro plan is planned)
Account
No account needed
Payments
No built-in card payments (add your own payment details)
Good
No account, no trial and no watermark: open it and start typing
Download as PDF, Word or Excel (with working formulas), or copy into Google Docs or Sheets
Ready-made starting lines for 20 trades, plus job calculators
Turn an approved estimate or quote into an invoice in one step
Your documents stay in your own browser
Watch out for
Customers can't pay by card through it; you add your own payment details
No read receipts, payment reminders or e-signatures
Documents are saved in one browser only, with no sync across devices yet
No native mobile app (it works in your phone's browser)
If your customers use homeowner financing, or you rely on change orders and showing your licence and insurance (Elite), Joist does those well and most alternatives don't. It also helps that the trial needs no credit card.
How we compared
Prices are from each vendor's own pricing page on October 22, 2026. We make QuoteToPaid, so we have included it where it genuinely fits and listed its limits as plainly as everyone else's.
Questions people ask
Is Joist free?+
Joist has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. After that, plans are $10, $17 and $32 a month, with two months free if you pay yearly.
What is a free alternative to Joist?+
QuoteToPaid is free with no account and has contractor estimate templates. Square Invoices and Wave are free with an account and include card payments.
Does Joist put my logo on estimates?+
On Joist's pricing page, displaying your logo is listed as a Pro feature ($17 a month). QuoteToPaid adds your logo on every template for free.
Sources
Prices and limits from each vendor's own pricing page, checked October 22, 2026: