CrewBarn vs Housecall Pro: a feature comparison
Housecall Pro is a popular platform for home service businesses, with scheduling, invoicing, payments, marketing and its own accounting and payroll products. CrewBarn is a complete platform to run a service company of any trade, from the first call to the books. Everything said about Housecall Pro here comes from Housecall Pro's own website, with a link to the page; where we couldn't confirm something there, the table says so.
As of October 2026. Features and plans change; check Housecall Pro's own site for the latest. Housecall Pro is a trademark of its owner, and this page isn't affiliated with or endorsed by it.
Feature by feature
| Feature | CrewBarn | Housecall Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling and dispatch | Drag-and-drop calendar that checks clashes and time off, a live dispatch map, Suggest a tech, and a late-tech watch. More | Scheduling, dispatching, a drag-and-drop calendar and route optimization. Source |
| Mobile field app | Android app today, works with no signal; iPhone in the browser until the App Store version is out. More | Mobile app. Source |
| Quotes with options | Good, better and best options, e-signature on the customer's phone, partial approval. More | Estimating, and a sales proposal tool on the Max plan. Source |
| Invoicing and payments | Invoices made from the job; Stripe (with Tap to Pay), GoDaddy Payments, bank transfer, cash and check; deposits. More | Invoicing, payments, a card reader and consumer financing. Source |
| Customer portal | Portal with company team logins (manager, accounting, intake), approve by text, and your own branded app. More | Customer portal where customers book and change visits, sign off on quotes and pay. Source |
| Service agreements | Agreements that book their own visits, bill each period, cover named equipment, and renew at your uplift. More | Recurring service plans, on the Max plan. Source |
| Equipment history | A record and QR label for each piece of equipment at every site; the property owner decides which other companies see it. More | Property profiles that track the equipment installed at a property and its service history. Source |
| Inventory and purchasing | Stock by shop, truck and bin, reorder lists, purchase orders, a parts cart and supplier PDF catalogs. More | Not confirmed on Housecall Pro's pages. See Housecall Pro's site. |
| Accounting | Built-in general ledger, bank matching, sales tax, expenses, vendor bills and month close. More | Housecall Pro Accounting: profit, cash flow and balance sheet views, with a bookkeeping team. Source |
| Payroll | Works out pay, commission and time off and posts it to the books. It does not pay employees or file payroll taxes. More | HCP Payroll, which handles federal, state and local payroll taxes with automatic filing. Source |
| QuickBooks | QuickBooks Online: import customers, items and invoices, and push the ones that aren't there yet; journal export. More | QuickBooks Online sync, on the Essentials plan and up. Source |
| Phones and call recording | Your Twilio or net2phone lines; calls recorded and transcribed, and kept on the job. More | Voice phone system and call answering services. Source |
| AI assistant | CBI drafts jobs from calls, writes call notes on the job, phones a running-late tech (press 1 to reach the customer), and asks before it acts. Runs on your own AI key. More | AI Team, including CSR AI. Source |
| Marketing and reviews | Marketing automations for customers who opted in, and Google review requests after finished jobs. More | Automated marketing, campaigns and review management. Source |
| Website builder | A website written from your services and towns, on your own domain through Cloudflare. More | Websites. Source |
| Open API | REST API with scoped tokens, signed webhooks, partner access, and an open-source (MIT) work dashboard. More | Open API access and Zapier, on the Max plan. Source |
| Subcontractor network | Send a job to a sub with a not-to-exceed amount; they work it in a free CrewBarn account, synced both ways. More | Not confirmed on Housecall Pro's pages. See Housecall Pro's site. |
| Customer marketplace | Customers ask for quotes and service plans on the CrewBarn marketplace; you answer with your price. More | Not confirmed on Housecall Pro's pages. See Housecall Pro's site. |
| Pricing | In beta: free for life for trades that help test it. You pay your own providers (AI, phones, maps) directly. | Published plans: Basic, Essentials and Max. Source |
Who each is for
Housecall Pro. Housecall Pro's site is aimed at home service pros, with published plans by number of users, and products like HCP Payroll, Housecall Pro Accounting with a bookkeeping team, financing and marketing. It suits home service companies that want an established, well-reviewed app and a service that runs payroll for them.
CrewBarn. CrewBarn suits service companies of any trade and size, residential or commercial, that want inventory, purchasing, equipment records across many sites, service agreements and the books in one system, plus a network of subs, and that are comfortable joining a platform in beta.
Where Housecall Pro is more established
- Time in market. Housecall Pro is a mature product with a long track record. CrewBarn is new and in beta.
- Size. Housecall Pro's pricing page says it is "trusted by 200,000+ Pros". Source
- Payroll. HCP Payroll handles payroll taxes and filing. CrewBarn works out pay and posts it, but doesn't pay employees or file taxes. Source
- Reviews. Housecall Pro's pricing page shows its Capterra rating. CrewBarn doesn't have public reviews yet. Source
- Integrations and financing. Housecall Pro lists an integrations page and consumer and business financing. Source
- Apps. CrewBarn's iPhone app isn't in the App Store yet; iPhone users use the browser for now.
Where CrewBarn stands out
- Inventory and purchasing built in. Stock by shop, truck and bin, reorder lists, purchase orders, receiving to the job, and supplier PDF catalogs with a parts cart beside the page.
- An assistant that phones people. CBI calls a running-late tech on your company line, connects them to the customer when they press 1, and can call the customer with your script. It writes call notes on the job and asks before it acts.
- A network of trades. Send a job to a sub who works it in a free CrewBarn account, synced both ways, and answer quote and service-plan requests on the CrewBarn marketplace.
- Equipment records across every site, controlled by the customer. Chain and facility customers keep every store under one account, and the owner decides which other companies see the records.
- Company teams in the portal. A customer's managers, bookkeeper and front desk each get the right login, and approvers can say yes by text.
- Open. A REST API and webhooks for everything the app does, and an open-source (MIT) work dashboard.
Questions
Is CrewBarn an alternative to Housecall Pro?
Yes. CrewBarn covers scheduling and dispatch, a field app, estimates, invoicing and payments, a customer portal, service plans, reviews and a website builder, and adds inventory and purchasing, equipment records across sites, built-in accounting and a subcontractor network. It is newer and in beta.
Does CrewBarn have built-in accounting?
Yes. CrewBarn has its own general ledger, bank matching, sales tax, expenses, vendor bills and month close, and can also sync with QuickBooks Online.
Does CrewBarn handle service plans?
Yes. Service agreements book their own visits, bill each period, cover named equipment, get signed online, and are drafted for renewal before the term ends.
Does CrewBarn run payroll?
CrewBarn works out each person's pay, commission and time off and posts the period to your books. It doesn't send paychecks or file payroll taxes.
Does CrewBarn track inventory?
Yes. Stock by shop, warehouse, truck and bin, reorder points, purchase orders, receiving, serial numbers and counts are built in.
How much does CrewBarn cost?
CrewBarn is in beta, and trades that help test it keep it free for life. You bring your own keys for providers like AI, phones and maps, and they bill you directly.