What’s the difference between Joist Run and Jobber Connect and which should you pick? The right choice depends on whether you want jobs and scheduling added to your estimating and invoicing workflow, or need a deeper toolset built around it.
- Joist Run: Everything in Joist Elite, plus job management, scheduling, visit tracking, and calendar conflict detection, for solo contractors managing more than one job at a time
- Jobber Connect: Scheduling plus automated client reminders, QuickBooks Online sync, and time and expense tracking, with online booking, routing and gps aimed at solo operators who want a more built-out toolset
- Price: Joist Run costs $70/month as an introductory offer (30% off the standard $100/month rate). Jobber Connect costs $139/month for one user, billed monthly with no commitment.
- Not Sure Yet: If you’re already using Joist and just need scheduling, Joist Run is the lower-friction option. If you want online booking, lead management, and a client-facing hub, Jobber Connect goes further.
What Changed: Joist Now Has Jobs and Scheduling
Until recently, the simplest way to compare Joist and Jobber was to say that Joist focused on estimating, invoicing, and payments. At the same time, Jobber went deeper into scheduling and field service management.
Joist Run adds basic job and visit scheduling for one person to the Joist workflow, keeping visits organized on a calendar and flagging conflicts automatically, without solo contractors leaving the estimate-to-invoice system they already use. As of now, it doesn’t compete directly with full field service scheduling software.
The change doesn’t make Joist and Jobber identical. Jobber Connect still goes further into CRM, online booking, routing, GPS tracking, and automation. The comparison has shifted from whether Joist has scheduling at all to how much scheduling and customer-management depth you need.
Joist Run vs Jobber Connect at a Glance
Both plans add scheduling to an estimate-to-invoice-to-payment workflow, but they start from different places. Joist Run builds scheduling into the Joist workflow you may already use. Jobber Connect builds it into a wider CRM and automation platform.
| Category | Joist Run | Jobber Connect (1 user) |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Solo contractors already using Joist who want scheduling added to their existing workflow | Solo operators who want a deeper CRM and automation toolset, even without a team. |
| Monthly price | $70/mo introductory (30% off), $100/mo standard rate | $139/mo, billed monthly, no commitment. |
| Core included | Everything in Joist Elite: unlimited estimates and invoices, contracts and eSignatures, business reports, change orders, license and insurance display, homeowner financing | Unlimited quotes and invoices, automated client reminders, QuickBooks Online sync, time and expense tracking. |
| Jobs and scheduling | Basic, single-user scheduling: visits scheduled inside each job, connect to documents, calendar view, automatic conflict detection | Full scheduling, online booking, routing, GPS tracking. |
| Contracts / eSignatures | Included | Quote approvals are less contract-focused than Joist’s custom contracts/eSignature workflow. |
| Homeowner financing | Included | Not offered (Jobber Capital is financing for the contractor’s business, not the customer). |
| Card processing fee | 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction | 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. |
| Online booking | Not positioned as a core Run feature | Included. |
| Lead/customer management | Client and job details connected to estimates, invoices, and scheduling | Deeper CRM, lead management, client hub, and automated follow-ups. |
What Is Joist Run?
Joist Run is the newest plan in Joist’s lineup, launched on 18 August 2026, priced at $70/month as an introductory offer (30% off the standard $100/month rate). It’s built for busy owner-operators managing multiple jobs and growing workloads, and for contractors who’ve outgrown occasional invoicing and are managing so much at once that keeping track of everything by memory, text, and notes starts to break down.
As Joist’s own pricing page puts it: “Joist Run builds on the Elite plan with jobs and scheduling, giving contractors a more connected way to organize work as they take on more jobs and prepare for the next stage of their business.”
Joist Run includes everything in Joist Elite, plus two new tools built around jobs and scheduling. Every job in Joist now connects customer details, the estimate, the invoice, and any notes in one place, and you can schedule visits inside that job and see them on a shared calendar. Joist flags conflicts automatically if you try to book two visits at once.
Joist announced the launch on 18 August. As Beatriz Yanez, Product Manager at Joist, put it: “As contractors take on more jobs, staying organized becomes just as important as doing great work. Jobs & Scheduling brings everything about a job into one place, so nothing gets missed and nothing falls through the cracks.”
The feature is designed to sit atop the estimating and invoicing work contractors already do in Joist, rather than replace it.
Existing Joist users can upgrade to Run directly from the app or web account. New users can sign up for Run from the start. It’s available on iOS, Android, and the web.
What Is Jobber Connect?
Jobber Connect is the second tier in Jobber’s plan lineup, sitting above Core and below Grow. For one user, it costs $139 a month on a no-commitment monthly plan (lower with an annual or 12-month commitment).
Connect includes everything in Jobber’s Core plan (quoting, scheduling, invoicing, online payments, and a basic website) plus automated client reminders, automatic payment collection, standardized job checklists, automated quote and invoice follow-ups, QuickBooks Online sync, and time and expense tracking.
Jobber is built as a broader field service management platform than Joist. Even at the Connect tier, it includes online booking, lead management, a self-serve client hub, and routing and GPS tracking, tools aimed at businesses managing a steadier flow of repeat work and customer relationships, not just one-off jobs.
Where Joist Run Has the Edge
Joist Run’s biggest advantages come from what it inherits by building on Elite, plus the price gap that comes from staying inside a leaner, estimate-first tool rather than a full field service platform.
- Price: At $70/month introductory (rising to $100/month standard), Joist Run sits well below Jobber Connect’s $139/month, a meaningful gap for a solo contractor watching software costs even after the introductory rate ends.
- Contracts and eSignatures Already Built In: Because Run includes everything in Elite, custom contracts and eSignatures come as standard. Jobber supports quote approvals, but Joist is stronger if you want custom contracts and eSignatures built into the estimated workflow.
- No New System to Learn: If you’re already running estimates and invoices through Joist, scheduling is built into the same jobs and app, rather than requiring you to adopt a separate platform.
- Reporting and License/Insurance Display Carry Over: Business reports and sales dashboards, plus the ability to show your license and insurance on documents, are already included, not extras you’d need to pay more for.
- QuickBooks Sync is Already Built In: Run carries over QuickBooks sync from Pro and Elite, so this isn’t a reason on its own to choose Jobber Connect over Joist Run.
Where Jobber Connect Has the Edge
Jobber Connect’s advantages mostly come from years of building specifically around scheduling and customer management, rather than adding it on top of an existing estimate-and-invoice tool.
- A More Built-Out Scheduling and CRM Toolset: Online booking, lead management, a self-serve client hub, and routing and GPS tracking are all included at the Connect tier, tools built for managing a steady stream of customer relationships, not just individual jobs.
- More Automation: Automated client reminders, automatic payment collection, and automated quote and invoice follow-ups reduce manual chasing.
- A Fuller Scheduling System (Not Just a Longer Track Record): Jobber has offered scheduling and dispatch tools for years, with online booking, routing, and GPS tracking built in. Joist Run’s scheduling is basic and built for one person; as of now, it doesn’t compete directly with full field service scheduling software like Jobber’s.
- Lower Payment Processing Fee: At 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction, Jobber’s card processing rate is lower than Joist’s 3.49% + $0.49, which adds up over a high volume of transactions.
Pricing and Payment Processing Fees Compared
Joist Run costs $70/month as an introductory offer, 30% off the standard $100/month rate. Jobber Connect costs $139/month for one user on a no-commitment monthly plan, or less with an annual 12-month commitment. Even after Joist Run’s introductory pricing ends, it still costs $39 less per month than Jobber Connect.
Joist’s standard card processing fee across its plans is 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction, with ACH bank transfers at 1% (capped at $15). Jobber’s card processing fee is 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction, lower than Joist’s, but does not offer the ACH fee cap. For a fuller breakdown of what these fees mean for your margin, see our guide to contractor payment processing fees.
Given the processing fee gap, a contractor handling a high volume of card payments should weigh that difference against the monthly subscription cost, not just compare sticker prices.
Both platforms also offer an AI receptionist as a separate add-on, worth factoring in if missed calls are part of the problem you’re solving. Joist AI Receptionist starts at $49 for 50 calls/month on any plan. Jobber’s Receptionist add-on is $29 for 30 conversations per month, so compare not just the monthly price but also what usage is included. Read more about how Joist AI Receptionist works if that’s a factor in your decision.
Which One Should You Choose?
Joist Run is worth considering if you’re already using Joist, want scheduling without switching platforms, and value having contracts, reporting, and homeowner financing bundled in from the start.
Jobber Connect is worth considering if you want a more mature scheduling and CRM system, plan to add online booking or lead management, or expect to grow into a team soon and want a plan with a clear upgrade path already built for that.
A landscaping contractor juggling several jobs a week, or a general contractor who wants to schedule without adopting a full field service platform, is a typical example of a contractor reaching for Joist Run. A business already leaning on online booking and lead management to fill its pipeline is a better match for Jobber Connect.
If cost is the deciding factor and you don’t need Jobber’s broader CRM tools, Joist Run is the plan that fills that gap. If you want a more established platform and don’t mind paying more, Jobber Connect has a longer track record. For the wider picture beyond just these two plans, see our full Joist vs Jobber comparison.
Joist Run vs Jobber Connect
Here are the questions contractors ask most often when weighing these two plans against each other, mostly about cost and what happens as the business grows.
