Side by side, with the receipts.
Compared on 2026-09-11 from Joist's public pricing page, joist.com/pricing. Plan names, prices and feature names are quoted as that page showed them; where it doesn't state something, this table says so rather than guessing.
| What you're comparing | QuoteIron | Joist (pricing page, 2026-09-11) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Free for 5 jobs a month; Pro $15.99/mo or $159.99/yr — one paid tier, everything in it | Basics at $10/mo billed monthly, or $8.34/mo billed annually |
| Free use without a card | 5 jobs a month, free, no card, no expiry | “14 day free trial”; “Joist's free plan is no longer available” |
| Documents per month on the cheapest paid plan | Unlimited on Pro | Basics: “Up to 5 documents per month”. “Unlimited documents & clients” starts at Pro, $17/mo |
| Your logo on the paperwork | Included | “Display your logo” listed under Pro, $17/mo |
| Change orders | Included — its own numbered document tied to the job it amends | “Add change orders” listed under Elite, $32/mo |
| License and insurance printed on documents | Included | “Add license and insurance” listed under Elite, $32/mo |
| Scheduling / job organizing | Included | “Organize jobs,” “Schedule visits” under Run, $70/mo introductory ($100 struck through) |
| Flat-rate price book | 1050+ job templates across 13 trades, priced from your labor rate and markup | Not listed on their pricing page |
| Works with no signal | Yes — local-first; the app runs offline | Not listed on their pricing page |
| Spanish | Full app and all job templates in English and Spanish, native-reviewed | Not listed on their pricing page |
| Platforms | iPhone and iPad (App Store), Android (Google Play) | No OS named; the page says “our web and app platforms” |
| Add-ons | None — one paid tier | “AI Receptionist” add-on listed at $49 /mo |
Joist plan names, prices and feature names fetched 2026-09-11 from joist.com/pricing. Their page has a monthly/annual toggle: the monthly figures above are its default view. Vendors change pricing without notice — open the link and check before you decide anything on our say-so.
Where the two actually differ.
The entry price isn't the comparison. Joist's Basics plan is listed at $10 a month billed monthly (2026-09-11), below QuoteIron's $15.99 — a real number, not a trick. The line to read is the one printed right under it: “Up to 5 documents per month.” Send more than five estimates or invoices in a month and the plan you're really pricing is Pro at $17/mo, where Joist lists “Unlimited documents & clients.” A dollar apart is close enough that price shouldn't decide this.
What decides it is which features sit behind a tier wall. On Joist's page (2026-09-11), change orders and the license-and-insurance block are under Elite at $32/mo, and job organizing and scheduled visits under Run at $70/mo introductory. QuoteIron has one paid tier, so change orders, a job address, your license line, payment terms and due dates, partial payments with a running balance, receipts, tax-exempt clients and private job notes are all simply in it. If the two or three things you need most are the ones Joist puts a tier up, the gap widens fast.
The price book isn't on their pricing page at all. QuoteIron ships 1050+ job templates across thirteen trades. They carry structure only — a typical labor-hour figure and a mid-grade materials cost — and your labor rate, markup and rounding do the pricing, so the book reprices itself when your rate changes. See it work in the free book builder, or read the method in how to build a flat-rate price book.
Offline, Spanish and the mobile OSes are blanks on their page — none of the three appear on it, so we claim nothing either way; ask them. On our side, offline and Spanish are load-bearing: QuoteIron is local-first, which is why it keeps working in a crawlspace with no bars, and the whole interface plus every job template is in English and Spanish, reviewed by native speakers. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Where Joist is the better answer. Homeowner financing in the app, an AI receptionist answering your phone (their add-on, $49 /mo), the sales-reporting and review tools on their higher tiers — real products on their page, with no QuoteIron equivalent. We're deliberately narrow: price the job, send the paper, get paid, without a signal. Anything wider is a fair reason to pick something else.
Joist’s pricing page, re-checked October 8, 2026
Joist’s pricing page on October 8, 2026 still lists Basics $10/mo (“Up to 5 documents per month”), Pro $17/mo, Elite $32/mo, Run $70/mo introductory ($100 list) and the AI Receptionist add-on at $49/mo, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Its Basics column also lists online payments, homeowner financing and built-in AI tools, and its product menu lists a QuickBooks sync. QuoteIron has no live QuickBooks sync.
“What decides it is which features sit behind a tier wall.”
Questions people ask about this one.
Is Joist cheaper than QuoteIron?
At the entry tier, yes on paper: Basics is listed at $10/mo, or $8.34/mo billed annually (their pricing page, 2026-09-11), against QuoteIron's $15.99/mo or $159.99/yr. But Basics lists “Up to 5 documents per month.” The plan with “Unlimited documents & clients” is Pro at $17/mo — about a dollar apart, at which point features matter more than price.
Does either one have a free plan?
QuoteIron does: 5 jobs a month, free, no card, no expiry. Joist's pricing page lists a “14 day free trial. No credit card required.” and states that “Joist's free plan is no longer available” (2026-09-11).
Which one handles change orders?
Both, at different prices. Joist lists “Add change orders” under Elite at $32/mo (2026-09-11). QuoteIron includes them on both plans, free included, numbered separately and tied to the job they amend, so the extra work rolls into the final invoice once. Writing your first one? There's a walkthrough and template in how to write a change order.
Does Joist work offline?
Not listed on their pricing page, so we won't claim it either way — ask them. QuoteIron works offline by design: it's a native app, your book and documents live on the device, and nothing needs a signal to quote a job.
Is either app available in Spanish?
QuoteIron is — the whole interface and all 1050+ job templates, English and Spanish, reviewed by native speakers. Spanish isn't listed on Joist's pricing page.
Can I move my clients and prices from Joist into QuoteIron?
Export a CSV and open Settings → Import & Export → Import from Another App in QuoteIron. It reads your column names, shows the first rows before adding anything, and one tap undoes the import. The file is read on your device — nothing about your client list is uploaded. The FAQ lists which fields come across.
Does Joist sync with QuickBooks?
Joist’s site lists “Sync with QuickBooks” among its product features (checked October 8, 2026). QuoteIron has no live QuickBooks sync; you can export your data anytime.
More sourced comparisons.
Every one quotes its prices from the vendor's own page and dates the fetch.
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