For most plumbing companies with one to ten trucks, the best CRM is a field-service tool built for trades, such as Jobber or Housecall Pro, because quotes, scheduling and invoices come ready to use. Larger shops with dispatchers look at ServiceTitan. A custom CRM makes sense when your process does not fit those tools or seat fees keep climbing.
The prices below come from each vendor's own pricing page, as listed on October 20, 2026. Vendors change them often, so check before you buy.
What does a plumbing company need from a CRM?
A plumbing CRM has to follow a job from the first call to the paid invoice, on a phone, from a truck. If a tool cannot do the things below without workarounds, keep looking.
- Every lead in one list, with where it came from: a call, a text, your website or Google.
- Stages that match plumbing work. New call, quoted, scheduled, done, paid.
- Quotes with options, like repair or replace, and a reminder when a quote goes quiet.
- Scheduling and dispatch that shows who is where today.
- Texts from your business number, saved on the customer's record.
- History by address. Which water heater, what year, what you found last time.
- Photos and notes from the job, taken on a phone.
- Invoices and card payments before the truck leaves.
Two extras matter more in plumbing than in most trades: a way to flag emergencies like a burst pipe, and a way to catch the calls that never get typed in.
What do the popular plumbing CRMs cost in 2026?
Field-service CRMs start around $49 to $79 a month for one user when you pay monthly, and climb to a few hundred dollars a month for a crew. ServiceTitan does not publish prices. General CRMs like HubSpot and Zoho have free plans, but they are not built for scheduling trucks.
| Tool | What it lists | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Jobber Core | $49 a month, 1 user, paid monthly | Quotes, scheduling and online booking |
| Jobber Connect | $139 a month, 1 user | Adds automated quote and invoice follow-ups |
| Jobber Grow | $199 a month for 1 user, $299 for 5 users | Adds two-way texting; extra users are $29 a month each |
| Housecall Pro Basic | $79 a month, or $59 billed yearly, 1 user | Online booking on every plan |
| Housecall Pro Essentials | $189 a month, or $149 billed yearly, 5 users | Sized for small crews |
| Housecall Pro Max | $329 a month, or $299 billed yearly, 8 users | Recurring service plans; extra users are $35 a month |
| ServiceTitan | No price listed, "Request Pricing" | Priced per technician, built for larger shops |
| HubSpot free tools | Free for up to 2 users | A general CRM with no dispatch |
| Zoho CRM Free | Free for up to 3 users | A general CRM with no dispatch |
Jobber also lists lower first-year prices if you pay for a year up front.
What does a five-person plumbing shop pay?
Here is the list-price math for a shop with five people who need logins. It is arithmetic on the prices above, not a quote.
| Plan | A month | A year |
|---|---|---|
| Jobber Grow, 5 users, paid monthly | $299 | $3,588 |
| Housecall Pro Essentials, 5 users, paid monthly | $189 | $2,268 |
| Housecall Pro Essentials, 5 users, billed yearly | $149 | $1,788 |
| Housecall Pro Max, 8 users, billed yearly | $299 | $3,588 |
Then add what the list price leaves out: card processing, a texting number and any add-ons. Ask each vendor to name them.
Which CRM fits your plumbing company?
Pick by crew size and by how your calls get answered, not by the longest feature list. Most small shops do best with a field-service tool their techs will actually open. Bigger shops with a dispatcher and memberships need more depth. Here is an honest starting point.
- Solo plumber. A free CRM, Jobber Core or even a good spreadsheet. Spend first on catching missed calls.
- Two to eight people. Jobber or Housecall Pro. Run a two-week trial with real jobs and let your techs pick the app they like.
- Ten or more techs, a dispatcher, memberships. Get a ServiceTitan quote and compare it with the top plans of the others.
- Big jobs with long follow-up, like repipes and sewer lines. Make sure quote follow-up is on your plan, or quotes go quiet.
If one of these covers how you work, use it. That is often the right answer, and we say so on our free calls.
When does a custom CRM make sense for a plumber?
A custom CRM makes sense when your process keeps fighting the tool, when per-user fees grow with every office hire and seasonal tech, or when you want the CRM, an AI text-back and an owner dashboard working as one system you own. It rarely makes sense for a solo plumber.
Common reasons owners give us:
- Leads leak before they reach the CRM. Missed calls and website forms never get typed in.
- Too many tools. Calls in one app, texts in another, quotes in a third.
- Seat fees. Everyone who touches a job needs a login.
- Stages that do not fit, like a separate path for commercial accounts or warranty callbacks.
Often the answer is not a full replacement. Elevate, a Houston AI, software and marketing studio led by Justin Davis, can keep the field tool you already use and build what sits in front of it: the missed-call text-back, a lead board with sources, and quote follow-up.
Custom vs rented vs doing it yourself
| Rented field-service CRM | Built for you | Doing it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | A free trial, then a monthly plan | A build, priced on a free call | Your time |
| Monthly cost | By plan, often by user | A flat monthly plan, no per-seat fee | A spreadsheet is free |
| Fits plumbing on day one | Mostly | Built around your stages | Only if everyone keeps it updated |
| Your data | You can export it, but the account is theirs | You own the code, the data and the accounts | Yours |
| Biggest risk | Paying for features nobody uses | Hiring the wrong builder | Leads lost in texts and memory |
What about the calls that never reach the CRM?
Most CRMs start when someone types the lead in. A call you miss while you are under a sink never gets typed in. In a CallRail survey of 1,000 US consumers, 21% said they immediately call another business when nobody answers, and 42% said they leave a voicemail.
That is why a text-back belongs in front of any CRM. It answers the missed call by text within a minute and puts the lead on the board with its source. Read how missed call text back works, or compare your options in plumbing answering service: live, AI or text back.
What should you ask before you sign?
Take these questions to every demo, ours included.
- What is the monthly total for my exact headcount, office staff included?
- Which plan has two-way texting from my business number?
- Does it remind me, or the customer, when a quote goes quiet?
- How do missed calls and website forms get in?
- Can I export every customer, job and note, and in what format?
- What happens to my data if I stop paying?
Where to go from here
Want a second opinion on your setup? Book a free call. It takes 15 to 30 minutes, and you will leave knowing whether a rented tool, a custom CRM or a fix in front of the tool you have is the right move. Every build is priced on that call, with one flat price in writing before any work starts, and you own what we build. See what we would build first on our page for Houston plumbers.