Housecall Pro Basic is one user only. Want a second login? Move to Essentials — $90 more a month. Want the Sales Proposal Tool? That's MAX, another $150. CurbBid is $399 flat. Unlimited crew. Every feature.
Housecall Pro is built for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical shops that want a polished mobile app, vehicle tracking, dispatching, and a paid sales proposal tool — and are okay paying per user as the team grows. CurbBid is built for the solo or micro-crew that doesn't want to learn another piece of software and just wants the three things that actually move money: quote follow-ups, invoice reminders, review requests.
Housecall Pro Basic is one user. The day your kid clocks in, you have to jump to Essentials at $149/mo billed annually (source). That's $90 more for software, not for him. Add a third hand on MAX? Each extra user is around $35/mo. On CurbBid, your son and his buddy and your future foreman all log in at the same flat price. That's not a feature — that's just how it works.
Housecall Pro's estimate builder isn't on Basic. To send a real quote, contractors land on Essentials at $149/mo. Then if you want a Sales Proposal Tool with side-by-side options, that's MAX at around $299/mo (source). CurbBid's quote builder works on every plan and the follow-up texts go out automatically when the quote sends — no extra cart, no upsell.
Trustpilot and BBB reviews say the same thing again and again: Housecall Pro routes you through chatbots and tries to keep you from canceling, even after you've asked twice (source). CurbBid support is a real person, by text or call, 7am–9pm, 7 days a week. We answer in 15 minutes. That's the SLA. Not a bot. Not a wait queue.
| CurbBid | Housecall Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $399 (Pro) or $999 (Max) | $59/mo Basic (annual) or $79/mo monthly |
| Per-user charges | None | $35/user/mo on MAX; Basic = 1 user only |
| Setup time | Same day; estimates work on any plan | Hours to days; estimate builder requires Essentials |
| All features on every plan | Yes — no feature gating | No — estimates, proposals, financing locked behind tiers |
| Quote follow-ups (auto) | Included by default | Limited; full automations on higher tiers |
| Review requests (auto) | Included by default | Yes (Essentials+) |
| Text-first communication | Core | Notifications, not text-first |
| Card processing fee | 1% (Pro) or 0% (Max), plus standard Stripe fees | Cards from 2.59%; ACH 1% |
| Free trial / guarantee | 14-day free trial, 30-day money-back | 14-day free trial |
| Support | Real human, 7am–9pm, 7 days, 15-min SLA | Chat-first; AI triage; phone on MAX |
| Inventory management | Not included (be honest) | Available on higher tiers |
| Best for | Solo + 2–5 person residential trades | 3–15 person HVAC, plumbing, electric shops |
| Crew size | Housecall Pro | CurbBid |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | MAX $299/mo (to get all three automations + proposals) | $399/mo |
| 3 users | MAX $299/mo (5 users included on most tiers) | $399/mo |
| 5 users | MAX $299/mo + add-ons commonly stacked | $399/mo |
| 8 users | MAX $299 + ($35 × 3) = $404/mo | $399/mo |
| 12 users | MAX $299 + ($35 × 7) = $544/mo | $399/mo |
For a 1-tech HVAC shop willing to live without auto follow-ups and proposal tools, Housecall Pro Basic at $59/mo absolutely beats CurbBid on price. CurbBid wins as soon as you want all three automations, unlimited crew, and a flat price that doesn't move when your team does.
Housecall Pro is genuinely better than CurbBid if you run an HVAC, plumbing, or electric shop with multiple trucks, you live or die by a dispatch board, you sell big-ticket installs that need consumer financing built in (Wisetack on MAX), or you want a polished customer-facing booking widget. They've earned 4.5+ stars on the App Store for a reason. The product is strong. CurbBid is for the contractor who'd rather spend the day on the truck than in the app — and who doesn't want to learn what the difference is between Basic, Essentials, and MAX.
Start free. Setup is fast and the price is flat. If CurbBid doesn't pay for itself in 30 days, get every penny back.