Short answer: ServiceM8 is a long-established job management app that charges by the number of jobs you do each month, from a free plan up to £269 a month, with unlimited users on paid plans. Unavoidable CRM charges per business, from £29 a month, with every feature on every plan, and includes an AI receptionist that answers and books calls. If your main need is organising lots of jobs across a team in the field, ServiceM8 is a strong choice. If you lose work because the phone rings while you are on the tools, or quotes go quiet, Unavoidable CRM is built for that.
All figures are monthly, in pounds, taken from each company’s own pricing page on 22 October 2026. ServiceM8’s page does not say whether VAT is included.
| ServiceM8 (UK) | Unavoidable CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | By jobs per month. Paid plans have unlimited users | Per business, by number of users and contacts |
| Free or entry plan | Free: 30 jobs a month, 1 user. Starter £25: 50 jobs | Solo £29: 1 user, 1,000 contacts, every feature |
| Mid plan | Growing £59: 150 jobs. Premium £119: 500 jobs | Team £149: 5 users, 10,000 contacts |
| Top plan | Premium Plus £269: 1,500 jobs, then 15p a job | Agency £399: unlimited users and contacts, white-label |
| Text messages | Allowance from 100 a month on Starter, then 5p each | Paid to Twilio at cost, about 4p to 5p a UK text |
| Phone calls | ServiceM8 Phone add-on from £15 a month (caller ID, recording and transcription, call groups, after-hours routing) | AI receptionist on every plan, minutes paid to Retell at cost, about 10p to 15p a minute |
| Paying yearly | Not shown on the UK pricing page | Save 20% (Solo £290, Team £1,490 a year) |
| Trial | 14-day free trial, plus the free plan | 14 days, every feature, no card |
A three-person heating firm doing about 120 jobs a month would sit on ServiceM8 Growing at £59 a month, plus the Phone add-on from £15 if it wants call features, so from about £74 a month. On Unavoidable CRM the same firm needs the Team plan at £149 a month, plus usage: 100 answered calls of two minutes is roughly £20 to £30 of AI receptionist time. On price alone, ServiceM8 is cheaper for that firm. The question is whether answered calls and automatic follow-ups win you enough extra work to cover the difference.
Texts, calls and AI receptionist minutes are not in our plan price. They go on your own Twilio and Retell accounts at the provider’s price, with no markup from us. Typical costs in October 2026: a UK text about 4p to 5p, the AI receptionist about 10p to 15p a minute, a UK phone number about £2.65 a month. See how usage works.
Unavoidable CRM suits sole traders and small teams who miss calls while working, want every enquiry followed up automatically, and would rather have leads, messages, jobs and payments in one login than several apps.
ServiceM8 suits teams that do a steady, high number of jobs, want unlimited users at a low price, already answer their own phones, or want an app downloaded from the app store.
Unavoidable CRM does not suit a firm that only needs job sheets and nothing for calls or leads, or one that wants a free plan.
Export your customers from ServiceM8 to a spreadsheet, then import the file in Contacts. Every plan includes a free 15-minute setup call, and you can forward your existing phone number to the AI receptionist so customers keep calling the number they know. Related reading: our ServiceM8 alternative guide, Unavoidable CRM for trades and the best CRM for UK trades round-up.
Not always. ServiceM8 charges by jobs and gives unlimited users on paid plans, so a small team doing up to 150 jobs a month pays £59 a month on its Growing plan. Unavoidable CRM costs £29 a month for one person or £149 a month for up to five, with no job limits and the AI receptionist included. For one person doing more than 50 jobs a month, or for anyone who needs calls answered, Unavoidable CRM is often the better value.
Its UK pricing page lists a ServiceM8 Phone add-on from £15 a month with caller ID, recording, transcription and after-hours routing, and AI Smart Helpers on every plan. It does not list an AI call-answering add-on. Unavoidable CRM includes an AI receptionist that answers and books calls on every plan.
Yes. Export your customers from ServiceM8 as a spreadsheet and import it in Contacts. A free 15-minute setup call is included on every plan.
Yes. It runs in any mobile browser, so you can quote, invoice and check today’s jobs from the van. There is no separate app store download.
Yes. Unavoidable CRM has a 14-day free trial with every feature and no card needed. ServiceM8 also lists a 14-day free trial and a free plan.
14-day free trial, every feature, no card needed. From £29 a month per business.
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