SortScape

Comparison

SortScape vs ServiceM8 for lawn and garden businesses.

Two Australian products, two very different designs. ServiceM8 charges per job and is built for general trades. SortScape charges per user with unlimited visits and is built for recurring lawn and garden rounds, simple enough that the whole crew uses it.

Try SortScape free See SortScape pricing

At a glance

SortScape

ServiceM8

Built for

Lawn & garden maintenance

Trades & field service generally

Pricing model

Per-user tiers, unlimited visits

Per-job tiers, unlimited users

Entry price

A$15/month (1 user)

A$29/month (50 jobs)

Unlimited jobs/visits per month

Full app on Android

Yes, for years

Yes (new, Sep 2026)

Full app on iPhone/iPad

Recurring visits without add-ons

Seasonal visit frequencies

Re-run route optimisation any time

Xero integration

Yes (Premium plan)

Yes

QuickBooks Online integration

Yes (Premium plan)

Yes

Free trial

ServiceM8 details checked September 2026 from ServiceM8's public pricing page and help centre. Plans and prices change, so confirm current details on ServiceM8's pricing page. SortScape prices are AUD, from our pricing page.

The maths of per-job pricing on a mowing round.

ServiceM8's model suits trades doing fewer, higher-value jobs. Mowing is the opposite: many small visits, every week, all year.

A weekly client on ServiceM8

Each visit is a job that counts against your monthly plan limit. A weekly client is roughly 4 to 5 jobs a month, so as your round grows, your plan tier grows with it:

  • Starter (A$29, 50 jobs): roughly 11 weekly clients
  • Growing (A$79, 150 jobs): roughly 35 weekly clients
  • Premium (A$149, 500 jobs): roughly 115 weekly clients

Our arithmetic from ServiceM8's published job limits, July 2026. Fortnightly clients halve the numbers; extra one-off jobs use up the limit faster.

The same round on SortScape

Visits are unlimited on every plan. Pricing follows your team size instead, which for most mowing businesses grows much more slowly than visit count:

  • 1 user: A$15/month (Basic) or A$29/month (Premium)
  • 2 users: A$29/month (Basic) or A$59/month (Premium)
  • 5 users: A$59/month (Basic) or A$119/month (Premium)

100 weekly clients or 400, same price. See full pricing.

Where ServiceM8 is stronger

  • Unlimited users on paid plans. If you field a large team doing few jobs each, per-job pricing can work in your favour.
  • Phone integration. The ServiceM8 Phone add-on pops up a caller's job history and saves call recordings to the job. Genuinely slick.
  • General trade toolkit. Electronic forms, certificates, and workflows suited to plumbers, electricians, and locksmiths, plus MYOB integration and mature AI features.
  • Project landscaping. Progress payments and expenditure tracking suit quoted construction jobs. Landscapers doing projects rather than repeat visits tell us that work fits ServiceM8 better.
  • Free tier and new-business discount. A solo operator doing under 30 jobs a month can use ServiceM8 for free, and businesses under two years old get 50% off paid plans for 12 months.

For a trade business doing varied quoted work, ServiceM8 is a strong choice. Lawn care just is not its centre of gravity.

Where SortScape is stronger

  • Simple enough that the crew actually uses it. Reviewers who have tried the big trade apps say SortScape is the one that is not overly complicated. Staff pick it up in a day, older hands off paper included.
  • Android that has had years to mature. SortScape's full app has run on iOS and Android for years; ServiceM8's full Android app arrived in September 2026. The day's run also shows on CarPlay and Android Auto in the ute.
  • Recurring rounds are the product. Repeating series, seasonal frequencies, and whole-series rescheduling are core features, not a web-only add-on.
  • Route optimisation you can re-run. Rain moved the day around? Re-optimise the run in one click, as often as you need.
  • Unlimited visits. Your subscription does not climb because your round got busier.
  • No doubling up with Xero. Reviewers who came to SortScape after ServiceM8, Fergus, and Tradify say the difference is that SortScape does not duplicate features already in Xero. It schedules the work and, on Premium, pushes the invoice across; your accounting stays the source of truth.
  • Free one-on-one training. Every trial includes a personal setup session with a real person.

The bottom line

Choose ServiceM8 if you run a general trade business, your jobs are fewer and higher value, and features like VoIP phone integration and forms matter to you.

Choose SortScape if your week is a recurring round of lawns and gardens, you want an app the crew picks up in a day, and you would rather pay for users than for every visit you complete.

Weighing more options? Read the best lawn care software in Australia roundup or the guide to choosing a ServiceM8 alternative.

SortScape vs ServiceM8 FAQs

Does ServiceM8 work on Android phones? +
Yes, since September 2026, when ServiceM8 released a full Android app. For years before that its full app ran on iPhone and iPad only, with ServiceM8 Lite as a limited Android companion for field staff, and ServiceM8's help centre notes the new Android app has almost all of the iOS app's functionality. SortScape's full app has run on both iOS and Android for years.
How does ServiceM8's per-job pricing work for a mowing round? +
ServiceM8 plans include a set number of jobs per month, and every recurring visit counts as a job. A weekly lawn client is roughly 4 to 5 jobs a month, so around 35 weekly clients can already push you past the mid tier. High-volume, low-value visits are exactly what per-job pricing penalises. SortScape includes unlimited visits on every plan.
What is ServiceM8 better at than SortScape? +
ServiceM8 is excellent for varied trade work. Unlimited users on paid plans, a strong phone and VoIP integration that pops up client history when they call, electronic forms, MYOB support, and mature AI features. For a plumber or electrician, it is a deservedly popular Australian product.
What is SortScape better at for lawn and garden work? +
Recurring rounds are SortScape's core, not an add-on: repeating series with seasonal frequencies, bulk rescheduling when the weather turns, route optimisation you can re-run whenever the day changes, and unlimited visits so a big mowing round does not push your subscription up a tier. And it stays simple: operators who have tried the big trade apps say SortScape is the one that is not overly complicated, so the crew actually uses it.
Can I re-optimise my route in ServiceM8 after the day changes? +
ServiceM8's auto-routing for recurring jobs runs once, when jobs are activated, and its documentation states jobs will not be moved again afterwards. In SortScape you can re-run route optimisation on a job run whenever you like, which matters when rain or a callout reshuffles the day.
Can I move from ServiceM8 to SortScape? +
Yes. Export your clients from ServiceM8 and we will import your customers and properties for you. Every trial includes a free one-on-one training session, and most businesses have their rounds rebuilt in an afternoon.

Run your round on any phone, for one flat price.

Start a free SortScape trial and rebuild your busiest week in an afternoon. We will even import your customers for you.

SortScape app