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The Joist app vs Workeey: deep estimates or a free day planner
Joist is an estimate-and-invoice app built for contractors. It has work orders, change orders and financing, and plans start at $10 a month (checked November 2026). Workeey is free to keep. It covers unlimited invoicing, quick estimates and your schedule. Here's where each one is the better pick.
The short version
The Joist app is built around the contractor's paperwork. Estimates turn into invoices, and you get work orders, change orders and client approval on the estimate. You can offer homeowner financing and collect deposits and milestone payments. If big quoted jobs that change halfway through are your bread and butter, Joist is made for that. It no longer has a free plan.
Workeey is lighter on documents and wider on the day. The free plan gives you unlimited invoicing with a pay link, 23 quick estimates a month and 10 payment reminder texts a month. It also gives you a schedule in time slots with routes to the next client. On Joist, scheduling only comes with its top, most expensive plan.
- Pick Joist if your work runs on detailed estimates, change orders and client financing.
- Pick Workeey if you want invoicing, quick quotes and your schedule free, from your phone.
- Both turn an estimate into an invoice, and both take card and US bank payments online.
Workeey vs the Joist app at a glance
The two side by side for one person running a trade from a phone.
| Workeey | Joist | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one person | Free $0 · Pro $5 a month · Premium $19 a month | $10, $17 or $32 a month by plan (5 documents a month on the lowest); scheduling from $70 a month, an introductory price |
| Free plan | Yes — free forever, no card: unlimited invoicing, 10 payment reminder texts (switched on per invoice) and 23 quick estimates a month | No — a 14-day free trial, then a paid plan |
| Invoicing | Unlimited on every plan; a finished job becomes an invoice in one tap and is emailed from the app | Yes — capped at 5 documents a month on Basics, unlimited from Pro |
| Online payments | Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and US bank transfer through your own Stripe, on the free plan too; a small processing fee applies | Yes — clients pay online; deposits and milestone payments from its Pro plan |
| Estimates | 23 quick estimates a month on Free, unlimited on Pro; shared as a quote PDF that can show your deposit percent, and one tap turns it into the invoice | Yes — contractor estimates that become invoices; client signatures from Pro, change orders on Elite and Run |
| Scheduling | Yes — the day in time slots, repeating jobs, and a route to the next client | Only on its Run plan |
| Google Calendar sync | On Pro: jobs go into their own Workeey calendar in Google, and a time you move in Google writes back | Calendar sync only on its Run plan |
| QuickBooks sync | On Pro and Premium: customers, invoices, payments and expenses go into QuickBooks Online | Only on its Run plan |
| Built for | One- or two-person trades running the business from a phone | Contractors whose day runs on estimates and invoices |
| Phone app | Android app on Google Play; runs in any phone's browser too | Yes — iPhone and Android apps, and the web |
Competitor details are from their own pricing pages, checked in November 2026 — prices change, so check theirs before you buy.
What the Joist app costs
Joist's pricing page says its free plan is no longer available. You get a 14-day trial of its top plan, with no credit card. These prices are from that page, checked November 2026. Each one is cheaper billed annually, which Joist advertises as two months free.
- Basics: $10 a month, shown struck down from $12, or $8.34 a month billed annually. Up to 5 documents a month.
- Pro: $17 a month, or $14.17 a month billed annually. Unlimited documents and clients, photos, client activity and work orders.
- Elite: $32 a month, or $26.67 a month billed annually. Adds license and insurance details, change orders, business reports and Joist Reviews.
- Run: $70 a month at an introductory price, from a list price of $100. Adds job organizing, visit scheduling and calendar sync.
Where Joist goes deeper
Joist was made for contractors, and its estimates show it. You can write a work order from an estimate, and its higher plans add a change order when the job grows. Your client can approve the estimate on the document itself. Joist also offers homeowner financing and handles deposits and milestone payments. You can pass the processing fee to the client if you choose.
For getting paid, Joist takes cards, PayPal and Venmo, US bank transfers, Tap to Pay, buy now pay later and mobile check deposit. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web. Workeey has none of change orders, financing, deposit collection, payment plans, Tap to Pay or an iPhone app. If those decide your jobs, Joist is the stronger tool.
What Workeey does instead
Workeey's estimates are built for the driveway. A quick estimate is priced from your own rates and shared from your phone as a quote PDF, with the deposit percent printed on it. The Email button opens your own mail app. There's no online accept step. The client tells you yes, and one tap turns the estimate into the invoice, which goes out by email with a pay link. Your client pays by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or US bank transfer through your own Stripe, and a small processing fee applies.
Around that, Workeey holds the rest of the day on the free plan. Jobs sit in time slots, repeating jobs fill themselves in, and the app routes you to the next client. Reminder texts chase unpaid invoices, and you switch them on per invoice. The assistant takes typing or talking and prepares jobs, invoices and quotes for you to check and apply. Connect your bank and matching invoices are marked paid.
Price, side by side
Joist starts at $10 a month for up to 5 documents, and unlimited documents start at $17 a month. Workeey's free plan has unlimited invoicing and no end date. Workeey Pro is $5 a month and adds Google Calendar and QuickBooks sync. Premium is $19 a month. Workeey bills monthly only, with no yearly plan and no trial. You start on the free plan instead. Details are on pricing.
Who should pick which
Choose Joist if you're a remodeler or general contractor whose jobs are quoted in detail, change along the way and sometimes need financing. Choose Workeey if you're a solo trade doing many smaller jobs, quoting on the spot and wanting the schedule and the invoice together for free. Workeey runs as an Android app and in any phone's browser. There's no iPhone app and no desktop app.
Want another view? Read Invoice Simple vs Joist, Workeey vs Invoice Simple, Workeey vs Invoice2go or the best apps for tradespeople.
Is the Joist app free?
No. Joist's pricing page says its free plan is no longer available. It offers a 14-day trial with no card, and paid plans start at $10 a month (checked November 2026). Workeey's free plan stays free, with unlimited invoicing.
What are some free apps like Joist?
Workeey is free to start and to keep. It turns quick estimates into invoices, sends them with a pay link, sends reminder texts and holds your schedule. It doesn't do change orders, financing or client approval inside the app, which Joist does.
Is there online quote approval in Workeey?
No. You share the quote PDF from your phone, the client says yes to you, and one tap turns the estimate into the invoice. The deposit percent prints on the quote, and you collect the deposit your own way.
Does Workeey have change orders like Joist?
No. Workeey keeps estimates simple: priced from your own rates, shared as a quote PDF and turned into the invoice in one tap. Joist's higher plans add change orders.
Which is better for scheduling?
Workeey includes a schedule on the free plan, with time slots, repeating jobs and routes to the next client. Joist puts scheduling and calendar sync on its top plan.