Joist review

Joist is estimating, invoicing and payments software for contractors. It brings estimates, invoices, customers, jobs and schedules into one app, with client management, reports, QuickBooks syncing, homeowner financing and an AI receptionist also on offer.

Contractors can build estimates from templates, add licenses and contracts, then convert an estimate to an invoice in one click. Joist supports card, bank-transfer and PayPal payments, plus payment tracking and reminders. Its job tools connect work orders, customer documents and notes with estimates and invoices. Joist also says contractors can offer financing from more than 30 lenders on estimates and get paid upfront.

The pricing page lists four plans, from Basics at $10 per month to Run at $70 per month, with lower listed prices for annual billing. There’s no free plan; the listed free trial is 14 days.

Joist’s strongest case is keeping routine contractor paperwork connected. Turning an accepted estimate into an invoice in one click avoids rebuilding the same job details in a second document. Payments, reminders, work orders and customer notes sit alongside that paperwork, rather than requiring separate tools for each step.

The plan ladder also makes the main upgrade points fairly clear. According to the pricing page:

• Basics is $10 monthly or $8.34 per month billed annually. It includes online payments, estimates-to-invoices, built-in AI tools and homeowner financing.
• Pro is $17 monthly or $14.17 annually, adding unlimited documents and clients, branding, line items, document photos, client activity tracking and work orders.
• Elite is $32 monthly or $26.67 annually, adding license and insurance tools, change orders, reporting, Joist Reviews and social integrations.
• Run is $70 monthly or $58.33 annually, adding job organization and visit scheduling, with jobs linked to estimates, invoices and clients.

That gives a small contractor a way to start with basic documents and pay more when they need unlimited volume or job-management features. Joist also lists financing from more than 30 lenders, which may help contractors offer customers another way to pay.

The main catch is the Basics document cap: five documents per month. For a contractor sending estimates and invoices regularly, that can be a quick reason to move up to Pro. Pro removes the document limit, but it costs $17 per month or $14.17 per month with annual billing. Joist has no free plan, so the 14-day trial is the only listed way to try it before paying.

The higher tiers add specific tools, but also raise the recurring cost. Elite is $32 monthly or $26.67 annually; Run is $70 monthly or $58.33 annually. Run’s annual price includes an additional 30% discount, according to the pricing details. Contractors who only need estimates and invoices may not need Run’s job organization and scheduling, while those who do need those features must take the top-priced plan.

The AI Receptionist is not included in the listed plan bundles: it is a separate $49-per-month add-on, billed monthly. So the headline plan price may not be the full cost for a contractor who wants that feature.

According to Joist’s pricing page, Basics costs $10 per month, or $8.34 per month with annual billing. It includes online payments and estimates-to-invoices, but caps you at five documents a month. Pro is $17 monthly or $14.17 annually and removes that document cap, while adding branding, work orders and client activity tracking. That is a $7 monthly jump from Basics.

Elite costs $32 monthly or $26.67 annually. It adds change orders, license and insurance features, reporting, and Joist Reviews. Run is $70 monthly or $58.33 annually, with job organization and scheduling. The jump from Elite to Run is $38 per month at monthly rates, so the scheduling and job-linking tools need to matter to justify it.

There’s no free plan, but Joist lists a 14-day free trial. Annual billing includes two months free; the pricing details also say Run’s annual price includes 30% off, without explaining how that discount relates to the listed price. The AI Receptionist is a separate $49 per month, billed monthly.

Joist covers estimates, invoices, payments, customer records, job notes and schedules, so switching means more than recreating a price list. Before moving, inventory the customer and job information you need, along with open estimates, unpaid invoices and documents. The published product information does not say whether Joist imports those records, what export formats it supports, or whether it can migrate data from another contractor app. Ask Joist about both import and export before committing; those details can affect how much manual work a move takes and how easily you can leave later.

The same information does not specify data-retention rules or what happens to records after cancellation. That matters if you use Joist for client documents and payment tracking. We also don’t have sourced Reddit reports here to establish why users leave Joist, so we won’t attribute complaints or exit patterns to Reddit. Get written answers on export access and migration support before you move active jobs into the system.