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Stacwork

Stacwork vs Joist

The Joist alternative that starts free and grows into a team

Stacwork has a Free plan for up to 2 people with scheduling and online booking, and Team adds appointment reminders, a customer portal, and room for up to 10 people at $49 a month. Joist is one user with one login, with scheduling only on Run.

Start freeMoving from Joist

Prices and features checked September 2026. See sources.

At a glance

Free plan
StacworkYes, $0 for up to 2 people
JoistNo longer available, 14-day trial instead
Team members
StacworkUp to 2 on Free, 10 on Team at $49/mo
JoistOne user with one login
Scheduling
StacworkEvery plan, including Free
JoistRun plan only, $100/mo list, $70/mo introductory
Online booking
StacworkEvery plan, including Free
JoistNot listed on its plans
Card fee
Stacwork3.9% + 30¢ all-in on Team
JoistUp to 3.49% + 49¢ (US)
Bank (ACH) fee
StacworkAt most $10 a payment on Team
Joist1%, capped at $15

Why teams switch

Where Stacwork is different

A Free plan, not only a trial

Stacwork Free is $0 a month for up to 2 people, with quotes, scheduling, invoicing, and payments. Joist's free plan is no longer available, and it offers a 14-day trial instead.

Scheduling and online booking on every plan

Scheduling and online booking come with every Stacwork plan, including Free. On Team, customers also get reminders before appointments and job visits, and view quotes and pay invoices in a customer portal.

Room for a team when you hire

Free covers up to 2 people and Team covers up to 10 for $49 a month. Every plan starts with five roles, from Owner to Viewer, and Team adds custom roles. Joist's help center says its accounts are for a single user with one login.

AI drafts, you approve

Stacwork's AI drafts quotes, messages, and follow-ups, visibly marked as drafts, and a person approves before a customer sees them, unless you choose autopilot for a routine automation.

Pricing

Published prices, side by side

Standard monthly list prices as of September 2026, before taxes and promotions.

Stacwork

  • Free

    Up to 2 team members. 2.5% card and 1% bank platform fee, plus Stripe.

    $0/mo

  • Team

    Up to 10 team members, then $10 each. 1% card and 0.5% bank platform fee, plus Stripe.

    $49/mo

  • Unlimited

    Unlimited team members. 0.25% card platform fee, no bank platform fee, plus Stripe.

    $249/mo

Monthly or yearly, no long-term contract. Stacwork's card and bank fees are a platform fee on top of standard Stripe processing (2.9% + 30¢ per card payment in the US).

Joist

  • Basics

    1 user. Up to 5 documents a month. $100 a year if billed annually.

    $10/mo

  • Pro

    1 user. Unlimited documents, job photos, QuickBooks sync. $170 a year if billed annually.

    $17/mo

  • Elite

    1 user. Adds change orders, business reports, Joist Reviews. $320 a year if billed annually.

    $32/mo

  • Run

    1 user. The only plan with jobs and scheduling. Introductory offer: $70/mo, or $700 a year billed annually.

    $100/mo

Per its pricing page and terms, Joist bills monthly with no long-term contract or yearly at a lower rate, and paid plans renew automatically for the same term. Its help center says each account is for a single user with one login.

Cost examples

What a month costs in practice

Two worked examples using each company's published rates. Your numbers depend on team size and how customers pay. Try your own numbers.

Solo contractor who needs scheduling, $4,000 a month by card

One person who needs scheduling takes $4,000 a month in 8 card payments and no bank payments, with both sides at monthly list prices as of September 2026 and Joist card fees at its published US maximum of 3.49% + 49¢ (Joist Run is $70 a month during its introductory offer).

Stacwork

Team

Team plan
$49
Stripe card fees, 2.9% of $4,000 + 30¢ x 8
$118
Stacwork platform fee, 1% of $4,000
$40
Total$207/mo

Joist

Run

Run plan, $100 list ($70 introductory)
$100
Card fees, up to 3.49% of $4,000 + 49¢ x 8
$144
Total$244/mo

Stacwork Team costs about $37 a month less than Joist Run at its $100 list price, or about $7 less at its $70 introductory price.

One $6,000 kitchen job paid by bank transfer

One person who needs scheduling collects one $6,000 kitchen job in a month as a single bank (ACH) payment and no card payments, on Stacwork Team (Free also includes scheduling) and Joist Run, with both sides at monthly list prices as of September 2026 (Run is $70 a month during Joist's introductory offer).

Stacwork

Team

Team plan
$49
Stripe bank fee, 0.8% capped at $5
$5
Stacwork bank fee, 0.5% capped at $5
$5
Total$59/mo

Joist

Run

Run plan, $100 list ($70 introductory)
$100
ACH fee, 1% of $6,000 capped at $15
$15
Total$115/mo

Stacwork Team costs $56 less this month at Joist's list price, or $26 less at its introductory price, and the bank fee is $10 against $15.

When Joist costs less

With card payments averaging $500: if you work alone and only need estimates and invoices, Joist Pro ($17) or Elite ($32) costs less than Stacwork Team at any card volume, and Pro costs less than Stacwork Free above about $900 a month. If you need scheduling, Joist Run costs less than Team above about $13,700 a month by card at its $100 list price, or about $5,600 at its $70 introductory price.

Fee calculator

What will it cost you?

Start from the first example above, then change the numbers to match your business. Each total counts the plan and every payment fee, and Stacwork's includes Stripe's processing. With Stacwork your customers can cover card fees; uncheck the box to see them absorbed, as in the examples.

Your team

Everyone who needs a login, you included

Cards online

Invoices, deposits and bookings paid by card

$500 each on average

Bank payments

ACH transfers from a bank account

Each card payment carries a surcharge that covers Stripe's and Stacwork's card fees, so card payments cost you nothing. Bank payments are not surcharged.

Pass fees only where the law and card network rules allow it.

Lowest total for 1 person: Stacwork Free, $0 a month. See the breakdown below.

Stacwork's lowest-cost plan for you, beside Joist's closest plan

  • Stacwork Free

    Lowest total

    $0a month

    Your customers pay about $225 a month in card surcharges

    Plan priceFree, up to 2 people
    $0
    Stacwork fees1% of bank payments, up to $10 each. Card fees covered by your customers
    $0
    Stripe processingBank payments only. Card fees covered by your customers
    $0
    Total
    $0

  • Joist Run

    $100a month

    At Joist's $70 introductory price: $70 a month.

    Plan price$100 a month list ($70 introductory) for 1 user
    $100
    Card feesPassed to your customers, as with Stacwork
    $0
    Bank fees1%, capped at $15
    $0
    Total
    $100

    Joist Run, the only Joist plan with scheduling, at its $100 list price and its $70 introductory price.

  • Stacwork Team

    $49a month

    Your customers pay about $163 a month in card surcharges

    Plan price$49 a month, up to 10 people
    $49
    Stacwork fees0.5% of bank payments, up to $5 each. Card fees covered by your customers
    $0
    Stripe processingBank payments only. Card fees covered by your customers
    $0
    Total
    $49

  • Stacwork Unlimited

    $249a month

    Your customers pay about $132 a month in card surcharges

    Plan price$249 a month, unlimited team members
    $249
    Stacwork feesCard fees covered by your customers, no bank fee
    $0
    Stripe processingBank payments only. Card fees covered by your customers
    $0
    Total
    $249

Estimates use Stripe's standard US rates (cards 2.9% + 30¢, bank payments 0.8%, capped at $5 each), payments of equal size, card fees passed to your customers as a surcharge on each card payment (bank payments are not surcharged), and prices in US dollars before tax; Joist figures use its published rates and monthly list prices as of September 2026. Card fees are treated as passed to your customers with Joist too, so neither total includes them. Joist Run is $70 a month during its introductory offer, and its total at that price is shown too.

Features

Feature by feature

Including the places where Joist does more today.

Win the work
FeatureStacworkJoist
Online booking and request formsStacworkYes, every planJoistNot listed on its plans
AI receptionistStacworkNot yetJoistAdd-on from $49/mo, answers calls and books jobs
Estimates and quotesStacworkYes, every planJoist5 documents a month on Basics, unlimited on Pro and up
Proposals with Good, Better, Best tiersStacworkYes, every planJoistNot listed on its plans
Deposits and e-signatureStacworkYes, every planJoistYes, every plan
Change ordersStacworkNot yetJoistElite plan and up
Schedule and do the work
FeatureStacworkJoist
SchedulingStacworkYes, every planJoistRun plan only
Recurring jobsStacworkYes, every plan, from a recurring planJoistNot listed on its plans
Assign work to team membersStacworkYes, every planJoistNo, one user per account
Checklists and job photosStacworkYes, every planJoistJob photos on Pro plan and up
Time trackingStacworkYes, time can flow into invoicesJoistNot listed on its plans
MobileStacworkWeb app you add to your phone home screenJoistNative iOS and Android apps
Get paid
FeatureStacworkJoist
Card feesStacworkStripe 2.9% + 30¢ plus Stacwork 1% on TeamJoistUp to 3.49% + 49¢ (US)
Bank (ACH) feesStacworkAt most $15 on Free, $10 on Team, $5 on UnlimitedJoist1%, capped at $15
Pass card fees to the customerStacworkYes, every plan, a surcharge on card payments onlyJoistYes, every plan
Tap to Pay in personStacworkNot yetJoistYes, every plan
Customer financingStacworkNot yetJoistHomeowner financing, every plan
Keep customers in the loop
FeatureStacworkJoist
Customer portalStacworkTeam plan and upJoistNot listed; clients view, sign, and pay online
Reminders before appointments or visitsStacworkAppointments and job visits, Team plan and upJoistNot currently sent for visits
Invoice remindersStacworkTeam plan and up, drafts you approveJoistYes, automatic
Review requestsStacworkTeam plan and up, drafts you approveJoistJoist Reviews, Elite plan and up
Email and shared inboxStacworkTeam plan and upJoistNot listed on its plans
Run the business
FeatureStacworkJoist
Team membersStacworkUp to 2 on Free, 10 on Team, unlimited on UnlimitedJoistOne user with one login
ReportsStacworkYes, every planJoistBusiness reports, Elite plan and up
AIStacworkDrafts quotes and messages for your approvalJoistDrafts estimates and invoices, all plans (limited rollout)
InventoryStacworkTeam plan and upJoistNot listed on its plans
Expense trackingStacworkNot yetJoistPro plan and up
Accounting sync and integrationsStacworkNot yetJoistQuickBooks sync, Pro plan and up

Fair comparison

When Joist is the better fit

We would rather you pick the right tool. Joist is likely the better choice if:

  • You work alone, only need estimates and invoices, and want a low monthly price: Joist Pro is $17 with unlimited documents.
  • You take mostly card payments and want a lower card percentage: up to 3.49% on Joist in the US against 3.9% all-in on Stacwork Team.
  • You want native iOS and Android apps today.
  • You need QuickBooks sync today, which Joist includes on Pro and up.
  • You want to offer homeowner financing, which Joist includes on every plan.
  • You take card payments in person and want Tap to Pay, which Joist includes on every plan.

Switching

Moving from Joist

Your client list is yours. Here is how to export it from Joist.

  1. 1

    Sign in to the Joist web app at pro.joistapp.com.

  2. 2

    Go to the Clients section.

  3. 3

    Click the three vertical dots at the top right of your client list.

  4. 4

    Click Export to download your clients as a CSV file.

  5. 5

    Repeat from the Items section to export your items list.

Joist downloads the list to your computer as a CSV file, and its export help article does not list the columns included or any row limit.

Import from a Joist file: not yet. It is coming soon. Until then, start free and add clients as you go, and keep your export ready.

Start free

Stacwork and Joist: questions

Straight answers for teams comparing Stacwork with Joist.

Is Stacwork cheaper than Joist?

It depends on what you need. For a solo contractor who needs scheduling and takes $4,000 a month in 8 card payments, Stacwork Team is about $207 a month against $244 on Joist Run at its $100 list price, or $214 at its $70 introductory price. With $500 card payments, Run costs less above about $13,700 a month, and if you only need estimates and invoices, Joist Pro ($17) or Elite ($32) costs less than Team.

Does Joist have a free plan?

Not anymore. Joist's pricing page says its free plan is no longer available and offers a 14-day trial instead. Stacwork Free is $0 a month for up to 2 people, with a 5.4% + 30¢ all-in card rate (Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ plus Stacwork 2.5%).

Can I move my clients from Joist to Stacwork?

You can export them from Joist today: in the Joist web app, open Clients, click the three dots at the top right, and choose Export to download a CSV file. Stacwork's client import is coming soon; until then, you can add clients as you go.

Can more than one person use Stacwork?

Yes. Free includes up to 2 team members, Team includes up to 10 for $49 a month and then $10 a month per extra member, and Unlimited has no cap. As of September 2026, Joist's help center says its accounts are set up for a single user with one login.

Does Stacwork send appointment reminders to customers?

Yes, on Team and up, for booked appointments and for job visits. Appointment reminders go out automatically or wait for your approval, as you choose when you turn on Appointments. Job confirmations and day-before reminders, quote follow-ups, and invoice reminders are drafted for your approval, or run on autopilot if you turn it on. Joist's help center says its visits currently do not send reminders to customers.

Does Stacwork have QuickBooks sync?

Not yet. Stacwork does not sync with QuickBooks or Xero today. Joist includes QuickBooks sync on Pro and up, so if you rely on that sync now, Joist is the better fit.

Does Stacwork have a native mobile app?

Not yet. Stacwork runs in any modern browser, and your team can add it to the phone home screen on iOS and Android. Joist has native iOS and Android apps.

Sources

Joist prices and features were checked on September 22, 2026 from Joist's public pages and may have changed since. Stacwork prices are from our pricing page. Joist is a trademark of its owner. Stacwork is not affiliated with or endorsed by Joist.