Field service software
Orbit vs Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is general home service software with strong booking, estimates and payments. Routes and QuickBooks start on Essentials, route optimization and recurring service plans only on Max.
Where Orbit is stronger
- Recurring weekly service and route optimization on every plan, not only Max
- Chemical logs per body of water with target ranges
- Filter cleans and repairs tied to the pool
- Plans from $39 instead of $79, with no annual rate to chase
Where Housecall Pro is stronger
- Online booking and consumer financing
- A sales proposal tool and a large add-on catalog
- Phone-based employee GPS tracking on Essentials
Feature by feature.
Housecall Pro's column comes from www.housecallpro.com, checked October 2026. Plans and prices change; check theirs before you decide.
| Feature |  | Housecall Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| How you payWhat the monthly bill is based on | Flat $39 to $139. First tech included, $30 per extra tech | Basic $79 for 1 user; Essentials $189 for 5; Max $329 for 8, then $35 per user (monthly billing) |
| Pools or locationsAny cap on pools or locations | Unlimited on every plan | Unlimited customers |
| Office usersOwner and office staff | Unlimited | Counted as users |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 14 days on Max, no card |
| Contract | Month to month, cancel any time | Monthly or annual |
| Card processingWhat the processor charges you | Stripe's standard rate, nothing added | Cards from 2.59%, bank 1% |
| Routes and scheduling | ||
| Route optimizationReorder a day by distance | Every plan | Max only |
| Route map with progressDone and pending stops on the map | Not published | |
| Cover a dayHand a route to another tech for one day without touching the weekly route | Not published | |
| Recurring serviceWeekly stops generated from the service day | Max only | |
| Filter clean schedulingCleans come due from the last clean and the interval | — | |
| Calendar with repairs, events and time off | Every plan, phone feed on Pro | |
| Field app | ||
| Works without signalLogs save on the phone and sync when signal returns | Not published | |
| Readings per body of waterPool, spa, fountain, each with its own log | 2 on Starter, 5 on Pro, unlimited on Business | — |
| Dosing calculator in the appSoftware tells the tech what to add | — | — |
| Photos per visit | Unlimited | Photo reports on Essentials |
| Time clockClock in and out, hours to a timesheet | Pro and up | |
| Truck stockDoses count down what is on the truck | Business | Not published |
| Message the office from a stop | Not published | |
| Gate codes, dog and entry side on the stop | Customer notes | |
| Checklists per client | Pro and up | Essentials and above |
| Jobs and quotes | ||
| Repairs flagged from the field | Generic jobs | |
| Quotes with your logo | Every plan | |
| Quotes from the mobile app | Pro and up | |
| Accepted quote becomes the invoice | ||
| Price book and job templates | Pro and up | |
| Billing | ||
| Monthly service invoicesGenerated for every client from their rate | Pro and up | |
| Online payments | Pro and up, card by Stripe | |
| QuickBooks Online syncCustomers, invoices and payments | Business | Essentials and above |
| Service report emailed after each visitReadings, chemicals, photos, notes | — | |
| Customer portalCustomers log in to see history and pay | — | Not published |
| Text messages to customers | — | Quotes by text |
| Reports and records | ||
| Chemical spend by client, tech and month | Pro and up | — |
| Client profitabilityLabor, chemical and travel cost against the rate | Business | Job costing |
| Mileage and fleetOdometer readings per truck | Pro and up | Not published |
| Audit log of every changeWho changed what, when | Business, two years | Not published |
| Full export of your data and photos | Business | Not published |
| Chemical logs cannot be deletedNo role can delete a reading | — | |
Sources. Pricing. Housecall Pro is a trademark of its owner; Orbit is not affiliated with it.
See something wrong or out of date? Email support@orbitpoolsoftware.com and we fix it.
Try Orbit next to Housecall Pro for 30 days.
Run both on your own route for a week. The trial needs no card, and there is nothing to cancel if Orbit does not earn its place.