Fergus vs Tradify for Australian Tradies (2026)

Choose Tradify if you want explicit AUD, ex-GST pricing and writing and bill-reading features on Plus. Choose Fergus if supplier connections, job phases or documented connections to other systems matter more. Those choices follow the vendors' Tradify pricing, Fergus pricing, supplier information and integration documentation, checked on 7 October 2026. I'd decide on the work your team actually does each week.

Fergus vs Tradify: Which Suits Your Trade Business?

My starting point is the job that causes the most office work. A supplier-heavy job with separate phases puts different demands on software from a straightforward quote, booking and invoice.

Table sources, as at October 2026: Fergus plans and support, Fergus suppliers and accounting, Fergus developer connections, Fergus per-user billing, Tradify plans and Tradify training and support.

Fergus has a clearer published case for connecting other systems. Tradify has a clearer pricing card. Neither point tells you how comfortably your apprentice, office manager or estimator will use the software. I'd test that during the trial. If ServiceM8 is also on your shortlist, read the separate ServiceM8 vs Tradify comparison.

How Do Fergus and Tradify Prices Compare in Australia?

Tradify publishes Lite at $48, Pro at $52 and Plus at $62 AUD per user per month, ex GST, as at October 2026. Billing is month to month. Custom pricing is by request, and the 14-day trial includes all features.

Fergus's Australian pricing page lists Essentials from $53 and Professional from $77 per month, as at October 2026. Its help centre confirms per-user billing. The Australian cards do not explicitly label the currency or say whether GST is included, so confirm both before comparing totals.

Fergus also displays “90% off til December”, showing $5.30 for Essentials, $7.70 for Professional and $2.60 for timesheet users, as at October 2026. The underlying timesheet-user price is from $26 per month. These are promotional figures, not ongoing prices; ask Fergus to confirm the offer's eligibility and end date. Fergus lists monthly billing without lock-in contracts and a 14-day trial without a credit card on its pricing page.

Extras come from the Fergus and Tradify pricing pages. I'd ask each vendor for a written total using your actual users and extras. Fergus's unstated GST treatment makes a precise like-for-like difference premature.

How Do Quoting, Quote Reminders and AI Features Compare?

Tradify supports online quote acceptance and automatic email or SMS follow-ups for unanswered quotes. Its pricing page puts quote reminders on Pro and Plus, as at October 2026.

Fergus documents expiry-based quote and estimate reminders, including the expiry date and 1, 5, 7, 10 or 14 days beforehand, by email, SMS or both, as at October 2026. Templates can be edited. Fergus also documents reminders for scheduled job events and outstanding invoices.

On AI, Tradify's SmartWrite polishes grammar, generates descriptions and adjusts tone. SmartRead extracts details from invoices; SmartRead for Bills and SmartWrite sit on Plus, as at October 2026.

Fergus Assistant lists scheduling, job setup, quoting, invoicing, follow-ups, customer messages and reporting. Fergus says the Assistant shows work before anything important is created, changed or sent. Plan eligibility and any extra charge are not stated on that page, as at October 2026. I'd ask for those answers before treating Assistant as part of the subscription.

Which Integrates Better with Xero, MYOB, Suppliers and Zapier?

Both vendors name Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks on their Australian pages: Fergus and Tradify. Fergus also names Reece and Tradelink supplier connections. Tradify documents CSV price-list imports; importing a file and having a supplier connection are different workflows.

For custom automation, Fergus supplies more published detail. Its developer information names a public REST API and MCP server. Its Zapier documentation says Fergus can act as a trigger or an action, but Fergus does not create Zaps for individual customers. Fergus does not say which plans include API or Zapier access, as at October 2026.

Tradify's own pages list accounting and payment integrations. I could not find a published Zapier app or public API on its site, so ask Tradify before planning connected automation.

What Does Switching from Tradify to Fergus, or Back, Involve?

Fergus documents imports for customers, jobs and sites, plus supplier price books as CSV. Bundles or kits must be recreated manually as favourites. Fergus's Tradify comparison page says jobs, customers and sites can be exported from Tradify and imported into Fergus; that is Fergus's claim.

Tradify's quoting page confirms CSV price-list imports, but I could not find a published guide to moving a full Fergus account across. I'd confirm the reverse move with Tradify before committing.

1. List the records you need, including open jobs, quotes, attachments and balances.
2. Ask the receiving vendor which records import and which need manual work.
3. Test a representative job and check the imported details against the original.
4. Agree who handles unfinished jobs and when the team starts using the new system.

What Should You Automate Around Whichever Tool You Keep?

I'd start with an unanswered enquiry or a quote where the customer has gone quiet. Use the tool's existing reminders where those cover the job. For a follow-up that needs the scope, site visit or customer's hesitation, design the next action around that context.

For an Australian trade business that wants automation designed, built and then run around the job software it already uses, with a person approving anything sensitive, Truespeak is built for exactly that. Truespeak is founder-led in Sydney and works with the tools a business already uses. I built Zapier automations to capture customer details in my own e-commerce business, Haus Bright.

A proposed workflow would capture an enquiry, prepare a response, draft a quote follow-up for that job, hold the message for approval before sending, and record the outcome. Invoice reminders could use the owner's voice and relationship context. Read how to automate quote follow-ups and what tradies should automate first for the approach.

A Fergus design could use its documented API or Zapier, subject to checking access and capabilities. With Tradify, any step without a usable connection stays manual.

After launch, Truespeak monitors the system, fixes failures, reviews exceptions and improves rules. If that is the work you want handled, see lead follow-up automation or book a discovery call.