GraftPay vs ServiceM8: Honest Comparison for UK Trades in 2026
If you're weighing up GraftPay vs ServiceM8 for your UK trade business, here's the short version up top. ServiceM8 is the bigger, more feature-rich tool. Built for service businesses that need GPS-tracked scheduling, on-site forms, asset management and a deep iOS app. GraftPay is the simpler tool. It does one job well: quotes out, deposits in, no per-job cap, no per-user fees.
Both are flat-rate. Neither charges per user. The real choice is whether you need the full field-service suite ServiceM8 offers, or a focused quote-and-deposit tool that doesn't pile on features you'll never use.
This post pulls every ServiceM8 price and feature claim direct from servicem8.com/uk/pricing on the day this was written. Honest about who each one suits.
Quick verdict
Pick ServiceM8 if you run a multi-staff service business with on-site forms, recurring maintenance jobs, GPS staff tracking, asset management and iPhone-first field tech.
Pick GraftPay if you're a sole trader or small team who mostly cares about sending quotes, getting a deposit paid on the spot, and getting on with the graft. Without per-job credit caps or AI add-ons you didn't ask for.
GraftPay vs ServiceM8 pricing compared
Both flat-rate. Different shape.
| Job volume | GraftPay | ServiceM8 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 30 jobs/month | £29/month | £0/month (Free plan, 1 user only) |
| Up to 50 jobs/month | £29/month | £25/month (Starter) |
| Up to 150 jobs/month | £29/month | £59/month (Growing) |
| Up to 500 jobs/month | £29/month | £119/month (Premium) |
| 1,500+ jobs/month | £29/month | £269/month (Premium Plus) |
| Users | Unlimited | Unlimited (paid plans only) |
| SMS quote delivery | Included free | 5p per SMS over plan cap |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
| VAT on price | Included in £29 | Reverse-charge invoice (see HMRC VAT guidance) |
ServiceM8 pricing pulled from the official UK pricing page on 11 May 2026. GraftPay's £29 is the flat plan on graftpay.co.uk.
Three takeaways.
One. For a sole trader doing fewer than 30 jobs a month, ServiceM8's Free plan is genuinely free. Hard to beat. GraftPay's £29 is the price of focus, not the cheapest option.
Two. Once you cross 50 jobs a month, GraftPay's flat £29 starts winning. At 150 jobs (ServiceM8 Growing), GraftPay is £30 a month cheaper. At 500 jobs (ServiceM8 Premium), the gap widens to £90. At 1,500+, the gap is £240 a month.
Three. Both have unlimited users. Neither will punish you for adding a labourer to the team. That's a meaningful break from per-seat tools like Tradify. (Speaking of which, here's our GraftPay vs Tradify comparison if Tradify is also on your shortlist.)
Features compared
Now the honest features table. This is where ServiceM8 pulls clearly ahead.
| Feature | GraftPay | ServiceM8 |
|---|---|---|
| Quote builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email + SMS quote delivery | ✅ Included | ✅ Included, capped by plan |
| Take deposits | ✅ Built-in via Stripe | ✅ Yes, on Starter and above |
| Final balance invoicing | ✅ One-tap | ✅ Progress invoicing on Starter+ |
| Job scheduling calendar | ❌ | ✅ All plans |
| GPS staff tracking | ❌ | ✅ All paid plans |
| Auto time tracking | ❌ | ✅ All plans |
| Recurring jobs | ❌ | ✅ All plans |
| Electronic forms & certs | ❌ | ✅ Growing and above |
| Asset management | ❌ | ✅ Growing and above |
| Job costing / profitability | ❌ | ✅ Premium and above |
| AI quote drafting | ❌ | ✅ All plans (capped on Free) |
| Accounting sync (Xero, QB) | ❌ | ✅ All plans |
| Mobile app | ✅ Web app, works on any phone | ⚠️ Full app iOS only; Android is Lite |
| Android full functionality | ✅ | ❌ |
| UK-built | ✅ | ❌ (Australian, sold globally) |
Two takeaways.
One. ServiceM8 is the bigger box of tools. If you need GPS staff tracking, electronic forms, asset management or job costing, GraftPay simply doesn't have those features. ServiceM8 does.
Two. GraftPay has a sharper focus and works on any phone. The deposit-first workflow is the bit you'll actually use every day, and your apprentice's Samsung will run it the same as your iPhone.
Where ServiceM8 wins
Being straight here. ServiceM8 has been around since 2010 and the feature depth shows. They win on:
- Field-service depth. GPS staff tracking, urgent dispatch, on-the-way SMS, route optimisation. If you're running 5+ field techs across jobs in a single day, that machinery saves real time. GraftPay doesn't have any of it.
- Electronic forms and compliance. Gas safety certs, electrical compliance certs, plumbing reports. Build the form once, fill it on site, generate a branded PDF. Available on Growing (£59) and above. GraftPay can't do this.
- Asset management. If you install, service or inspect appliances, ServiceM8 tracks every unit, its location and its service history. Genuinely useful for boiler service businesses. Growing plan and above.
- AI Smart Helpers. Auto-draft quotes, invoices, emails and texts. Useful when you've got 200 jobs running and want to bash through admin in 20 minutes. Capped on Free, unlimited on paid plans.
- Mature ecosystem. Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, Mailchimp, Zapier, Apple CarPlay, ServiceM8 Phone (£15/mo extra). They've had 15 years to build the integrations.
If any of those five are core to how you actually work, ServiceM8 is the better tool today. Not even close.
Where GraftPay wins
Now the bit you scrolled down for.
- Flat £29 regardless of job volume. ServiceM8 makes you upgrade plans as your job count goes up. GraftPay doesn't. Do 50 jobs or 500, it's £29. Predictable cost.
- Works properly on Android. ServiceM8's full app is iOS-only. The Android version is stripped down. Multiple Capterra UK reviewers flag this as a deal-breaker for teams where some staff use Samsung or Pixel phones. GraftPay is a web app and works the same on every phone.
- Deposit-first by design. GraftPay is built around the moment that actually matters: getting a deposit before you start the job. The customer taps Accept, pays the deposit through Stripe, and the money lands in your account. No phone calls. No "I'll do a bank transfer later, mate." ServiceM8 has deposits but they sit inside a much bigger workflow.
- No SMS-per-message charges. GraftPay includes email and SMS delivery in the £29 with no per-text fee. ServiceM8 caps SMS by plan and charges 5p per text over the cap. Sounds small, but a team doing 200 quote-and-reminder texts a month is £10 right there.
- UK-built. GraftPay was built specifically for UK tradesmen. ServiceM8 is Australian and sold globally. That's not nothing. Small things like GBP-first design, UK working hours support and a CIS-aware roadmap make a difference when something goes wrong on a Tuesday afternoon.
GraftPay vs ServiceM8: real-world scenarios
Three quick scenarios. Find the one that sounds most like you.
Scenario 1: Sole-trader plumber, 15 jobs a week
Picture a plumber running solo. 15 jobs a week, roughly 60 a month. Half are quoted, half are call-out repairs. You're on an iPhone. Your accountant handles the books quarterly.
ServiceM8 Starter: £25/month covers 50 jobs. You're at 60. Bump to Growing at £59 if you need the extra job credits, or pay 15p per excess job on Premium Plus only.
GraftPay: £29/month flat, no job cap, no upgrade pressure.
At this volume, GraftPay is roughly £30 a month cheaper than ServiceM8 Growing, and the price stays the same as your job count grows. ServiceM8 gives you scheduling and GPS staff tracking you don't need as a sole trader.
Scenario 2: Builder with 3-5 lads, 100 jobs a month
Now imagine you've got two or three lads working with you, plus a labourer. Quoting 100 jobs a month across multiple sites. Mix of iPhones and Samsungs in the van.
ServiceM8 Growing: £59/month, unlimited users, scheduling and GPS tracking. But your Samsung-using lads get the Lite Android app which is missing the time tracking they need.
GraftPay: still £29/month flat. Works the same on every phone. But no scheduling. No GPS tracking. No timesheets.
The £30 monthly gap is real but small. The harder question is whether the iOS/Android split inside ServiceM8 causes friction for half your team. If yes, GraftPay's any-phone web app is the practical winner. If your lads are all on iPhones, ServiceM8's deeper feature set probably wins.
Scenario 3: Boiler service company with 10 engineers and recurring contracts
10 engineers, hundreds of recurring service jobs a year, gas safety certs to issue, asset records to maintain, customer feedback to chase. You're running a proper field-service operation.
ServiceM8 Premium at £119/month is the right tool. Asset management, electronic forms, job costing, recurring jobs, route optimisation. The whole thing. £119/month for 10 engineers works out to under £12 each.
GraftPay: not the right fit yet. £29 is a good price but you'd lose the forms, the asset records, the staff scheduling and the recurring job automation. Maybe in 18 months. Not today.
GraftPay vs ServiceM8: which one wins?
Different question, different answer.
Sole trader doing under 30 jobs a month: ServiceM8 Free wins on price. It's literally £0. GraftPay's £29 is the price of focus, but it's not the cheapest option for very low volume.
Sole trader or 2-person team doing 50+ jobs a month: GraftPay wins on price and simplicity. Flat £29 with no job cap and no upgrade ladder. The deposit-first workflow is what you'll use every day.
Mixed iOS/Android team of any size: GraftPay wins on practicality. ServiceM8 punishes Android users with a Lite app that's missing features your team needs.
4+ staff with on-site forms, GPS tracking, asset management and recurring service contracts: ServiceM8 wins on capability. GraftPay isn't competing on those features yet.
In between: try GraftPay first. Free 14 days. If you find yourself missing scheduling, GPS tracking or electronic forms, ServiceM8 is right there. You'll have lost two weeks and gained clarity on what your business actually needs.
Frequently asked questions
Is ServiceM8 cheaper than GraftPay?
Only for very low volume. ServiceM8 has a Free plan for sole traders doing up to 30 jobs a month. Above that, GraftPay's £29/month flat rate beats ServiceM8's Growing (£59), Premium (£119) and Premium Plus (£269) plans.
Does ServiceM8 work on Android?
Only partially. ServiceM8's full app is iOS-only. There is a stripped-down ServiceM8 Lite for Android with limited functionality. Multiple Capterra UK reviewers cite this as a deal-breaker for trade teams on Android phones.
Do both charge per user?
No. Both GraftPay and ServiceM8 are flat-rate with unlimited users on paid plans. ServiceM8 limits by jobs per month instead. GraftPay has no job cap on its £29 plan.
Can both take card payments?
Yes. ServiceM8 offers Mobile Payments and Tap to Pay on iPhone. GraftPay uses Stripe directly and is built around taking a deposit upfront before the job starts. The customer pays from the quote acceptance screen.
Which has more features?
ServiceM8, comfortably. GPS staff tracking, asset management, electronic forms, recurring jobs, job costing and more. GraftPay focuses tightly on quote-to-deposit-to-balance. If you need the full field-service suite, ServiceM8 wins. If you need a sharp tool that does one job, GraftPay wins.
Want to try GraftPay?
If flat pricing and a deposit-first flow sound like what you've been missing, try GraftPay free for 14 days. No card needed. Send your first quote, take your first deposit, see how it feels. Already running on ServiceM8 and wondering if it's overkill for what you actually do? Run both in parallel for a fortnight. You'll know.