Sera Core Essentials is $399/mo for up to 4 techs — then $149 every month for tech #5. CurbBid Pro is $399/mo with unlimited techs forever. Plus, Sera is built for HVAC. CurbBid is built for any residential trade.
Sera Systems is purpose-built for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors who want margin pricing, service agreements, and membership management. They're explicit about it on their own site. CurbBid is trade-agnostic — built for plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, painters, handymen, landscapers, fence guys, pressure washers, anyone who quotes and invoices residential homeowners.
Sera's standout feature is margin-based pricing tied to job costing — it's amazing if you're an HVAC shop where every install needs to clear a target gross margin (source). If you're a painter quoting a 3-bedroom, you don't need that. You need the quote out the door and a follow-up text two days later. CurbBid is built around exactly that.
Sera's Core Essentials plan is $399/mo for up to 4 techs. Tech #5 is +$149/mo. Tech #6 is +$149/mo. On CurbBid Pro, tech #5 is +$0. Tech #15 is +$0. Same price.
Sera doesn't list pricing publicly on most pages and routes you to a sales demo. CurbBid's price is right on the homepage. Sign up at lunch, send a quote before dinner.
| CurbBid | Sera Systems | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $399 (Pro) or $999 (Max) | $399/mo, includes 4 techs |
| Per-user charges | None | $149 per tech beyond 4 |
| Setup time | Minutes, not weeks. No setup fee. | Multi-week onboarding; undisclosed onboarding fee |
| All features on every plan | Yes — no feature gating | Tiered (Core Essentials → higher) |
| Quote follow-ups (auto) | Included by default | Yes (HVAC-focused workflow) |
| Trade focus | All residential trades | HVAC, plumbing, electrical |
| Free trial / guarantee | 14-day free trial, 30-day money-back | Free trial offered |
| Contract required | No | Annual onboarding commitment typical |
| Best for | Solo + 2–5 person residential trades, any specialty | 5–20 tech HVAC/plumbing/electric shops |
| Crew size | Sera Systems | CurbBid |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tech | $399/mo | $399/mo |
| 3 techs | $399/mo | $399/mo |
| 5 techs | $399 + $149 = $548/mo | $399/mo |
| 8 techs | $399 + ($149 × 4) = $995/mo | $399/mo |
At 5+ techs, CurbBid Pro saves $149/mo per extra tech. At 8 techs, that's $596/mo — over $7,100 a year just on the per-tech difference.
Sera is genuinely better than CurbBid if you're an HVAC, plumbing, or electric shop with 4+ techs, you sell service agreements, you live and die by job-level margin, and you want a tool built specifically for your trade. Sera customers report a 52% net profit increase in 6 months in the company's own case studies — those numbers are HVAC-specific, but they're real. CurbBid is for the rest of the trades — and for any shop that wants to add a fifth tech without writing another $149 check.
Start free. Setup is fast and the price is flat. If CurbBid doesn't pay for itself in 30 days, get every penny back.