ServiceTitan Alternatives for Small Businesses (2026)

Why Small Field Service Teams Are Looking Beyond ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan dominates the field service management conversation — and for good reason. It's the most comprehensive platform on the market, with ML-powered dispatch optimization, deep reporting, and the kind of enterprise-grade features that large operations need. But if you run a team of 2-15 technicians, ServiceTitan's pricing and complexity can feel like buying a semi-truck to make grocery runs.

This guide breaks down the real costs of ServiceTitan for small businesses and compares five alternatives that might be a better fit — including their honest trade-offs.

Why Small Teams Leave ServiceTitan

The complaints from small business owners tend to cluster around the same issues:

The Price Tag Is Brutal for Small Crews

ServiceTitan doesn't publish pricing, but reports from actual customers paint a clear picture. Expect $250-500 per technician per month, plus a one-time implementation fee of $5,000 to $50,000+ depending on your setup. For a 10-tech operation, that's $50,000-70,000+ in Year 1 alone. Most plans lock you into 1-3 year contracts with early termination penalties of $20,000-40,000.

Onboarding Takes Months, Not Days

ServiceTitan's implementation timeline runs 3-12+ months. Better Business Bureau complaints include reports of businesses waiting over a year to get fully onboarded. For a small team that needs to dispatch jobs next week, that timeline is a non-starter.

The Mobile Experience Has Regressed

ServiceTitan split its technician app into two separate apps, and the reviews have been rough. Users describe it as a "terrible downgrade" from the previous version. The iOS app in Canada sits at 2.5 out of 5 stars. For teams that live on their phones in the field, this matters more than any dashboard feature.

Support Doesn't Scale Down

Customer support is consistently cited as poor across G2, BBB complaints, and Reddit threads. Enterprise clients may get dedicated account managers, but small businesses often report feeling like an afterthought.

None of this means ServiceTitan is bad software. It's genuinely powerful. But power you can't afford or fully use isn't an advantage — it's overhead.

ServiceTitan Alternatives Compared

1. Dispatch Core — Best for Small Field Crews

Dispatch Core takes a different approach than most field service platforms: $79 per month, flat, unlimited users. No per-technician fees, no GPS add-ons, no tiered feature gating. For a 5-tech team, that's roughly $16 per user per month — a fraction of what you'd pay anywhere else at full feature parity.

The standout feature is full offline support. Technicians can view jobs, update statuses, add notes, and capture photos with no cell signal. Changes sync automatically when connectivity returns. Most competitors only offer view-only access offline, which means your techs are stuck if they're working in a basement or a rural area.

Dispatch Core also includes a drag-and-drop dispatch board, job photo documentation, real-time status tracking, and a clean mobile experience — the core tools a small crew actually uses every day.

The honest gaps: Dispatch Core is in beta. There's no QuickBooks integration yet, no AI-powered features, no customer-facing portal, and limited public reviews since it just launched. If you need accounting integrations or a mature ecosystem of add-ons today, this isn't ready for you yet. But the 30-day free trial lets you test it with zero risk.

Best for: Teams of 2-15 techs who want reliable dispatching and field tools without paying enterprise prices.

2. Housecall Pro — Best for Established Teams

Housecall Pro is one of the most polished platforms in this space, with a Capterra rating of 4.7 out of 5. Plans run from $59 to $299 per month on a per-user basis, with GPS tracking available as a $20/vehicle add-on. The interface is clean, onboarding is straightforward, and the feature set covers scheduling, invoicing, estimates, and customer communication well.

The main drawback for field teams is view-only offline access. If your techs regularly work in areas with poor signal, they can see their schedule but can't update anything until they reconnect. The per-user pricing also adds up quickly — a 10-tech team on the Essentials plan runs $490+ per month before add-ons.

Best for: Teams of 5-20 who have reliable cell coverage and want a proven, full-featured platform.

3. Jobber — Best for Solo to Mid-Size Operations

Jobber has built a strong reputation with small service businesses, earning a 4.8 out of 5 on the iOS App Store and 4.5 out of 5 on Capterra. Plans range from $39 to $599 per month, with additional users at $29 each. The platform covers quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and client management with a user-friendly interface that doesn't require weeks of training.

Like Housecall Pro, offline support is view-only — techs can see their schedules but can't make updates without a connection. The pricing tiers also gate features aggressively; you'll need the mid-tier plan ($119/month) to access features like automated quoting and job forms, and the top tier ($599/month) for advanced reporting.

Best for: Solo operators or small teams who value a great mobile experience and don't mind per-user fees.

4. Workiz — Best Free Starting Point

Workiz offers a free Lite plan for up to 2 users, which makes it a no-risk way to move beyond spreadsheets. The paid Standard plan starts at $225 per month and includes more advanced scheduling, communication tools, and reporting. The platform is particularly popular with locksmith and appliance repair businesses.

The trade-off shows up in the mobile experience — the Android app sits at 3.0 out of 5 stars, with users reporting bugs and sync issues. If your team is Android-heavy, test the app thoroughly before committing. The jump from free to $225/month is also steep, with limited middle ground.

Best for: Very small teams (1-2 people) who want a free plan to start and can tolerate mobile app rough edges.

5. Google Calendar + Spreadsheets — Best for Pre-Software Stage

Plenty of successful contractors run their operations on Google Calendar for scheduling and Google Sheets for job tracking. It's free, everyone already knows how to use it, and there's no onboarding period. For a one-truck operation, this honestly works fine.

The wheels come off when you add a second or third technician. There's no dispatch view, no job status tracking, no photo documentation, and no way to see what's happening in the field in real time. You'll also spend increasing hours on manual data entry that purpose-built software handles automatically.

Best for: Solo operators or brand-new businesses not yet ready to invest in dedicated software.

Which Alternative Is Right for You?

The right choice depends on where your business is today:

• Just starting out or running solo? Start with Google Calendar and Sheets, or Workiz's free Lite plan. Upgrade when the manual work becomes the bottleneck.
• Running 2-10 techs and watching costs? Dispatch Core's flat $79/month is hard to beat on value, especially if your team works in areas with spotty cell coverage. The 30-day trial gives you a real test drive.
• Established team wanting a proven platform? Housecall Pro or Jobber are both battle-tested with strong reviews. Compare their mobile apps with your team's actual phones before deciding.
• Need enterprise features at enterprise scale? ServiceTitan is still the answer — just go in with realistic expectations about timeline and cost.

The best field service software is the one your team will actually use. A simpler tool your techs adopt beats a powerful tool they work around.

If you're exploring options, Dispatch Core offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Set up your dispatch board in minutes and see if it fits how your team actually works.