GraftPay vs simPRO: Which Is Better for UK Tradesmen in 2026?
If you're weighing up GraftPay vs simPRO for your UK trade business, here's the honest answer first. These two tools are built for completely different businesses. simPRO is enterprise field-service software for established trade companies with offices, multiple teams and complex commercial jobs. GraftPay is a simple £29-a-month tool for sole traders and small teams who want quotes out and deposits in, fast.
This isn't a close fight. It's a question of which end of the market you're at. Every simPRO claim in this post comes direct from simprogroup.com/pricing on the day it was written.
Quick verdict
Pick simPRO if you run an established commercial trade business with multiple teams, an office, complex projects, inventory to manage, and the budget for enterprise software with a setup fee.
Pick GraftPay if you're a sole trader or small team, you want to see the price before you buy, you don't want a setup fee or a sales call, and your bottleneck is sending quotes and taking deposits.
GraftPay vs simPRO pricing compared
Here's the biggest practical difference, and it isn't a number. It's whether you can see a number at all.
| GraftPay | simPRO | |
|---|---|---|
| Public pricing | Yes, £29/month listed on the site | No, quote-only "request pricing" |
| Setup / implementation fee | None | Yes, covers onboarding, training, data migration |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card, instant | No self-serve trial, guided demo only |
| Billing | £29/month flat | Monthly or annual, tailored to team size + add-ons |
| Add-ons | All features included | Priced separately (GPS, SMS, Digital Forms, etc.) |
| Getting started | Sign up, send a quote in 5 minutes | Request pricing, sales call, guided implementation |
simPRO pricing model pulled from the official simprogroup.com/pricing page on 11 May 2026. simPRO confirms on that page that there is an initial setup fee and that it offers a guided demo rather than a self-serve trial. GraftPay's £29/month is the flat plan listed on graftpay.co.uk. Both prices are quoted before VAT, which you can check against current HMRC VAT rates.
What this means in practice. With GraftPay, you go to the site, see £29, start a free trial, and you're sending quotes in five minutes. With simPRO, you request pricing, take a sales call, get a personalised quote, pay a setup fee and go through a guided implementation. Both are valid models. They suit very different buyers.
Features compared
This is where simPRO's two decades show. It is a deep, comprehensive platform.
| Feature | GraftPay | simPRO |
|---|---|---|
| Quote builder | ✅ | ✅ Estimating + quoting |
| Email + SMS quote delivery | ✅ Included | ✅ SMS is a paid add-on |
| Take deposits | ✅ Built-in via Stripe | ✅ Payment processing (Stripe/Square) |
| Final balance invoicing | ✅ One-tap | ✅ Including retainages + recurring |
| Job scheduling + dispatching | ❌ | ✅ Field + contractor scheduling |
| Project management | ❌ | ✅ |
| Inventory + purchasing | ❌ | ✅ Real-time |
| Job costing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Asset maintenance | ❌ | ✅ |
| Timesheets | ❌ | ✅ |
| CRM + lead management | ❌ | ✅ |
| Business intelligence reporting | ❌ | ✅ |
| Accounting sync (QuickBooks, Xero, Sage) | ❌ | ✅ |
| GPS fleet tracking | ❌ | ✅ Paid add-on (Simtrac) |
| Multi-company support | ❌ | ✅ |
| Mobile app | ✅ Web app, works on any phone | ⚠️ Native app, user reviews flag stability issues |
| Transparent public pricing | ✅ | ❌ |
| Instant self-serve free trial | ✅ | ❌ |
| UK-built | ✅ | ❌ (Australian, sold globally) |
Two takeaways.
One. simPRO does vastly more than GraftPay. If you need project management, real-time inventory, job costing, business intelligence and multi-company support, GraftPay does not have those features and is not trying to.
Two. GraftPay does one thing well: quote to deposit to balance. You can see exactly what it costs and try it in five minutes. simPRO is a bigger machine that takes a bigger commitment to switch on.
Where simPRO wins
Being straight. simPRO has been building field-service software for over 20 years and supports 9,000+ businesses and 250,000+ users globally, per its own figures. It wins on:
- Depth. Project management, real-time inventory, purchasing, job costing, asset maintenance, business intelligence reporting. If you run a commercial trade business, simPRO has tools for parts of your operation GraftPay does not touch.
- Scale. simPRO is multi-company compatible and built for businesses with offices, multiple teams and contractor management. GraftPay tops out at small teams.
- Implementation support. That setup fee buys you something real: onboarding, training, data migration, and the option of a consultant who will customise your workflows. For a complex business, hand-holding has value.
- Accounting integration. QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and MYOB sync built in. GraftPay does not sync to accounting tools yet.
- Maturity. 20+ years means the edge cases are handled. For a multi-million-pound commercial electrical firm, that matters.
If you're an established commercial trade business, simPRO is a serious tool built for you. GraftPay is not competing for that customer.
Where GraftPay wins
Now the bit you scrolled down for.
- You can see the price. £29/month, on the website, before you talk to anyone. simPRO's pricing is quote-only, so you request pricing and take a sales call. For a sole trader who just wants to get started, transparent pricing is a real advantage.
- No setup fee. simPRO confirms on its own pricing page that there is an initial setup fee for onboarding, training and data migration. GraftPay has no setup fee. You sign up and you are going.
- Instant free trial. simPRO does not offer a self-serve trial, it offers a guided demo. GraftPay gives you 14 days, no card, no sales call. You can test it on a real customer quote tonight.
- Built for the size of business you actually are. If you're a sole trader or running with one or two lads, simPRO is a lot of machine for your needs. GraftPay is built for exactly your size.
- Flat £29, everything included. simPRO prices by team size and add-ons cost extra: GPS tracking, SMS and digital forms are all separate. GraftPay's £29 includes email and SMS quote delivery, deposits and balance invoicing with nothing else to buy.
GraftPay vs simPRO: real-world scenarios
Scenario 1: Sole-trader electrician working solo
You're a sparky working on your own. 12 jobs a week. You quote, you do the work, you invoice. No office, no staff, no inventory to manage.
simPRO is not built for you. It's enterprise field-service software. You'd be paying for project management, inventory and business intelligence you will never open, plus a setup fee, after a sales call.
GraftPay is built for exactly this. £29/month, sign up tonight, send your first quote in the morning. This one is not close.
Scenario 2: Growing firm with 8 staff and an office
You've got 8 people, an office, you're taking on bigger commercial jobs and your spreadsheets are creaking. You need scheduling, job costing and inventory management.
This is where simPRO starts to make sense. The setup fee and guided implementation buy you a system that can actually run a commercial operation. GraftPay can't do this, with no scheduling, no inventory and no job costing.
If you're at this stage and growing into commercial work, simPRO is worth the sales call. GraftPay would be holding you back.
Scenario 3: Two-person team deciding whether to 'upgrade' to simPRO
You're a two-person operation. Someone's told you simPRO is 'the proper software'. Before you book that demo, be honest about whether you need project management, real-time inventory and business intelligence reporting.
If you don't, and most two-person teams don't, you would be paying enterprise prices and a setup fee for a fraction of the tool. GraftPay at £29 does the part you actually use. You can always move to simPRO when you genuinely outgrow it.
GraftPay vs simPRO: which one wins?
This one depends entirely on the size and complexity of your business, more than any other comparison.
Sole trader or small team who wants quotes out and deposits in: GraftPay wins, comfortably. Transparent £29 pricing, no setup fee, instant trial. simPRO is the wrong tool for this buyer.
Established commercial trade business with multiple teams, an office and complex projects: simPRO wins. It's a serious enterprise platform and GraftPay doesn't have the depth.
The honest summary: these two barely compete. They sit at opposite ends of the market. If you're not sure which end you're at, you're almost certainly the GraftPay end, because established commercial operations know exactly why they need simPRO.
Weighing up other tools too? It's worth reading GraftPay vs Tradify for the per-user pricing angle and GraftPay vs ServiceM8 for another flat-rate option.
Frequently asked questions
Does simPRO publish its pricing?
No. simPRO's pricing is quote-only. According to the official simprogroup.com/pricing page, you request a personalised quote tailored to your team size and chosen add-ons. GraftPay publishes its price openly: £29/month flat.
Does simPRO have a free trial?
No self-serve free trial. simPRO states on its pricing page that instead of a self-serve trial, it offers a guided, personalised demo with a consultant. GraftPay offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card and no sales call.
Is there a setup fee with simPRO?
Yes. simPRO confirms on its pricing page that there is an initial setup fee covering onboarding, training and data migration, with the price depending on business complexity. GraftPay has no setup fee.
Is simPRO better than GraftPay?
They are built for different businesses. simPRO is enterprise field-service software for established commercial trade companies with multiple teams. GraftPay is a simple tool for sole traders and small teams. Neither is better, they suit different ends of the market.
Which should a sole trader choose?
For most sole traders, GraftPay. simPRO's depth (project management, inventory, business intelligence) is built for larger commercial operations, and you would be paying enterprise prices plus a setup fee for tools you would not use.
Want to try GraftPay?
If transparent pricing, no setup fee and an instant free trial sound like what you actually want, try GraftPay free for 14 days. No card needed, no sales call. Send your first quote, take your first deposit, and see how it feels to know exactly what you're paying.