Joist App Review 2026: Pricing, Fees and Real Limits

Quick answer: Joist is a low-cost, simple estimate, invoice and payment app for solo and small home contractors. As of November 2026, plans run $8.34 to $58.33 a month on annual billing (Basics, Pro, Elite, Run), or $10 to $100 a month month to month (some plan cards show two monthly prices). For most working contractors, Pro ($17 a month) is the realistic starting plan, because Basics is capped at 5 documents a month and line items start on Pro. Card payments through Joist cost up to 3.49% + $0.49. Bank (ACH) payments cost 1%, capped at $15. There’s no free plan anymore, just a 14-day trial with no credit card.

Joist is built mainly for turning an estimate into an invoice and getting paid from your phone. Its AI drafts the document from your description, and Joist’s help center describes it filling in quantities and rates from what you put in the prompt. You still bring the numbers.

One thing up front: I build EstimationPro, which some contractors look at alongside Joist. I haven’t run my own business on Joist, so every Joist fact on this page comes from Joist’s own pricing page, feature pages and help center, opened on November 9, 2026, and linked at the bottom. If you’d rather have the estimate built from your photos and notes and followed up for you, you can Try EstimationPro on one real job and compare.

Joist pricing, November 2026

Joist’s pricing page shows four plans, each with a monthly or annual toggle. Annual billing gives 2 months free on every plan. On Run, the page says the annual price “includes 2 months free + 30% off.”

Plan	Month to month	Annual (per month)	Annual total	Document limit
Basics	$10 (a $12 price also shows)	$8.34	about $100	5 per month
Pro	$17	$14.17	about $170	Unlimited
Elite	$32	$26.67	about $320	Unlimited
Run	$100 (a $70 price also shows, with “30% off” wording)	$58.33	about $700	Unlimited

The annual totals are my math: the per-month price times 12, rounded to the dollar. When a card shows two monthly prices, budget on the higher one. Promo prices end. The regular price doesn’t.

The pricing page also shows an “Introductory Price: 30% off!” label near the Elite card, so treat any Elite discount as temporary and check what it renews at.

Other costs on the pricing page:

• AI Receptionist add-on: $49 a month, billed monthly.
• Free plan: Joist’s FAQ says “Joist’s free plan is no longer available.”
• Trial: 14 days, no credit card. The FAQ says the trial gives full access to Run features.
• Contracts: monthly plans have no long-term contract, and you can upgrade, downgrade or cancel anytime. Joist says there are no setup fees.

Paying annually saves real money on the upper plans. Pro month to month is $204 a year ($17 x 12) against about $170 annual, a $34 difference. Elite is $384 against about $320, a $64 difference. Run at $100 a month is $1,200 a year against about $700 annual, a $500 difference. Run the trial first, though. I wouldn’t prepay a year of any software until I’d sent real bids on it.

What each Joist plan actually adds

Here’s what each plan card lists. Each plan includes everything in the one before it.

• Basics: up to 5 documents a month, online payments, estimates to invoices, built-in AI tools, homeowner financing.
• Pro: unlimited documents and clients, your logo, line items and document photos, client activity tracking, work orders.
• Elite: license and insurance on your documents, change orders, business and sales reports, Joist Reviews, social integrations.
• Run: organize jobs, schedule visits, and link jobs to estimates, invoices and clients.

Here’s how I’d read that as a contractor who bids work:

Basics is a trial in disguise. Five documents a month is barely more than one a week, and the card lists “Estimates to Invoices” on the same plan, so check during the trial whether invoices count toward the 5. And line items start on Pro. An estimate without line items is a one-number quote, which is how scope fights start.

Pro is the real starting plan. Line items, photos, your logo and unlimited documents are the bare minimum for a professional bid.

Elite is for anyone who does remodel work. Change orders are on Elite. If you’ve ever opened a wall and found rot nobody could see on the walkthrough, you know change orders aren’t optional. Hidden work will get you, and the change order is how you get paid for it.

Run is for juggling several jobs at once. It adds jobs and visit scheduling. If one person does the bidding and the work, a calendar may be all the scheduling you need.

What Joist’s AI does, and what it doesn’t

Joist lists “built-in AI tools” on every plan. Its help center and estimate feature page describe two pieces:

1. Estimate with AI and Invoice with AI. You describe the job, client and work by typing or by voice, and the AI drafts the document in a few seconds. You review and edit it before you send. Joist says this is on all plans, and as of the article it was “rolling out with limited availability on iOS and Web.”
2. AI note improver. The estimate feature page says it can “turn quick notes into customer-ready descriptions.”

The part that matters for bidding is in the fine print. Joist’s help center says the AI fills in quantities and rates from what you include in your prompt, and it doesn’t describe the AI choosing prices for you. It calculates line-item totals and the subtotal when your prompt includes quantities and rates. Markups, discounts, taxes, deposits and payment schedules aren’t added automatically. You enter them after the draft.

As Joist describes it, the AI saves typing, not pricing. If you already know your numbers cold, that’s fine. If the slow part of your evening is figuring out quantities, labor hours and what to charge, Joist’s help center doesn’t describe the AI doing that part. Our free contractor estimate template and contractor markup calculator cover the pricing side whatever app you send it from.

Joist payment fees, with a worked job

This is where Joist gets interesting, in both directions. From Joist’s help center (US rates, “effective as of August 2025”):

Payment method	Fee
Credit or debit card	Up to 3.49% + $0.49
Apple Pay and Google Pay	3.49% + $0.49
Buy now, pay later (Klarna)	4.99% + $0.49
ACH bank transfer	1%, capped at $15
Mobile check deposit	1%, capped at $15

According to the same help article, the fee is subtracted from what you receive, and it isn’t returned if you refund the client.

Card fees add up fast on big tickets, but that ACH cap is a big deal on remodel-size invoices. Say you collect a $12,000 job in three payments of $4,000:

	Paid by card (at 3.49% + $0.49)	Paid by ACH (1%, $15 cap)
Percentage fee	$12,000 x 3.49% = $418.80	$4,000 x 1% = $40, capped at $15, three times
Per-payment fee	3 x $0.49 = $1.47	$0
Total	$420.27	$45.00

That’s a $375.27 swing on one job. On a $12,000 job paid by ACH, Joist’s fee is lower than a year of its Pro plan ($45 vs about $170). If you use Joist, put “bank transfer preferred” in your payment terms on every estimate.

Joist also has an option to pass the processing fee to the client. Its help center says that option only covers the fee for debit and credit card payments, not the higher buy-now-pay-later fee, and tells you to check your local laws first. I’d do the same before adding any card surcharge.

What Joist really costs a solo contractor for a year

The subscription is the small part. Here’s a worked year for a solo remodeler on Elite (for change orders), annual billing, using Joist’s published prices and fees. Swap in your own numbers.

Assumptions: 20 jobs at $12,000 each, $240,000 collected through Joist, every job paid in three $4,000 payments (60 payments). Half the payments by card, half by ACH, and card fees at the top 3.49% rate.

Line	Math	Yearly cost
Elite, annual	$26.67 x 12	$320.04
Card fees (30 payments, $120,000)	$120,000 x 3.49% + 30 x $0.49	$4,202.70
ACH fees (30 payments, $120,000)	30 x $15 cap	$450.00
Total		$4,972.74

The software is about 6% of that year. The card fees are about 85%. Move every payment to ACH and the fees drop to $900 (60 x $15), so the whole year comes to $1,220.04. Move every payment to card and the fees are $8,405.40 ($240,000 x 3.49% + 60 x $0.49).

Every dollar in that table is overhead, and revenue isn’t profit. Put your real software and processing costs into the contractor overhead calculator, then make sure your markup still carries them.

Does Joist follow up on your estimates?

Partly. Here’s what Joist’s own pages say, as of November 2026:

• Estimates: the estimate feature page says you get notified when a customer opens, views or signs the estimate, and that you’ll “Know when you need to follow up on an estimate.” Pro lists “track client activity.” I didn’t find an automatic reminder sequence for estimates on Joist’s estimate page, pricing page or help articles.
• Invoices: the invoice feature page says Joist can “send automatic reminders when invoices are coming due or overdue.”

So Joist tells you when to chase a bid, and then you chase it. That’s better than nothing, and it’s a fair setup if you’re disciplined about calling back.

I’m not, at least not when I’m on a job site all week. A lot of jobs are won on the second or third follow-up, not the first estimate. Most contractors send a bid and never chase it. The ones who do stand out. If you follow up by hand, these quote follow-up templates and timing are worth having whatever software you use.

Joist and QuickBooks

From Joist’s help center:

• Joist lists QuickBooks sync on Pro, Elite and Run at no extra cost.
• Sync runs one way, Joist to QuickBooks, every night at 4am EST when automatic sync is turned on.
• A document syncs once it’s marked “ISSUED,” which emailing it does. Printing it doesn’t.
• Payments don’t sync. You record them in QuickBooks yourself.

That last line matters if you collect a lot through Joist Payments. Plan on some bookkeeping by hand each month, or ask your bookkeeper how they want it handled before you switch.

Who Joist fits, and who it doesn’t

Going by Joist’s published features and prices:

Joist fits a solo contractor or small crew (Joist says its typical customer has 1 to 3 employees) who already knows their prices, wants clean estimates and invoices from a phone, and gets paid on larger jobs where that $15 ACH cap saves real money. Joist says it has iOS and Android apps plus web access, and it serves the US and Canada.

Joist is a weaker fit if:

• You need help with the numbers themselves. Joist’s help center describes the AI drafting from the quantities and rates you give it, not pricing the job.
• You want bids followed up automatically. Joist tells you when to follow up; I didn’t find an automatic estimate sequence on its pages.
• Most of your clients pay by card. At up to 3.49% + $0.49, card fees add up fast.
• You run crews with dispatching and time tracking. Run adds jobs and visit scheduling, but a field service platform is built for that. I compared Jobber in EstimationPro vs Jobber.

If you’re a handyman weighing Joist against Clear Estimates, InvoiceOwl and others, the handyman estimating software page puts them side by side with prices.

How to test Joist in the 14-day trial

The trial runs on Run features, so it’s easy to fall for features you won’t pay for later. Use the trial to test the plan you’d actually buy:

1. Bid a real job, not a sample. Use your next actual walkthrough, with line items, photos and your logo (all Pro features).
2. Try the AI with your real prices in the prompt. See how much editing the draft needs before you’d send it.
3. Send the estimate to yourself and open it on your phone the way a homeowner would. Approve it and turn it into an invoice.
4. Write a change order if you’d be on Elite. That’s the one most remodelers end up needing.
5. Run one small payment by ACH and check what lands in your bank and when.
6. Turn on QuickBooks sync if you use it, and check what shows up the next morning.

If it handles all six cleanly, Pro or Elite on annual billing is a lot of software for the money.

Where EstimationPro fits instead

I’m a remodeler. My problem was never typing up the estimate. It was the hours figuring out the numbers in the evening, then getting busy and forgetting to chase the bid.

EstimationPro builds a priced, line-item estimate (labor and materials, adjusted for your region) from your photos, a voice walkthrough, typed notes or measurements. You review and edit every line. When you send it from EstimationPro, the client gets a reminder at 24 hours if they haven’t opened it, another 48 hours after they open it if they haven’t responded, and a final one at 7 days. Contractors save 2+ hours per estimate.

It costs more than Joist: Starter is $79 a month (10 estimates), Pro is $149 a month (25 estimates, plus e-signatures, invoices and milestone payments), or one estimate for $9. Card payments are Stripe’s standard 2.9% + 30¢ with nothing added; bank payments carry a 2% platform fee on Starter and 1% on Pro, with no $15 cap. A $4,000 bank payment is $40 on EstimationPro Pro against $15 on Joist, so on large bank payments Joist is cheaper. It isn’t a dispatch or field-service platform and doesn’t order materials.

FAQ: Joist app questions

Is Joist free? No. Joist’s FAQ says its free plan is no longer available. There’s a 14-day trial with no credit card, then Basics is listed at $10 to $12 a month month to month, or $8.34 a month billed annually.

Which Joist plan do most contractors need? Pro at $17 a month, or about $170 a year billed annually. Basics caps you at 5 documents a month and doesn’t include line items. Remodelers who write change orders need Elite at $32 a month.

What are Joist’s payment processing fees? In the US, up to 3.49% + $0.49 for cards, and 1% capped at $15 for ACH bank transfers, per Joist’s help center. On a $4,000 payment, that’s $140.09 by card or $15 by ACH.

Does Joist’s AI price the estimate for me? Not according to Joist’s help center. It says the AI builds a draft from your typed or spoken description, but it only calculates totals when your prompt includes quantities and rates. Markups, taxes and deposits are added by hand.

Does Joist sync with QuickBooks? Yes, on Pro, Elite and Run. It syncs one way, from Joist to QuickBooks, nightly, and payments don’t sync.

How should I price my jobs so software and card fees are covered? Add your yearly software and processing costs to overhead, spread them across your expected jobs, and set markup to carry them. The profit margin calculator shows what you actually keep after that.

What’s a good Joist alternative? It depends on what you’re missing. For dispatch and crews, a field service platform. For estimates priced from your photos and notes with automatic follow-up, EstimationPro. If you just need simple invoices and online payments, Joist’s Pro plan at $17 a month (about $170 a year billed annually) covers that.

Before you pick

Add up the whole year: plan, add-ons and payment fees. Then decide which part of your week you’re paying software to fix. If it’s typing estimates and collecting payments, Joist does that cheaply. If it’s building the numbers and chasing bids, look for a tool that does those.

That’s the part EstimationPro handles: it builds the estimate, follows up on every estimate you send from it automatically, and Pro turns the yes into an invoice and milestone payments. Try EstimationPro on your next real job ($9, 30-day money-back guarantee).

Sources

Joist facts were checked on November 9, 2026, on Joist’s own site. Prices and fees change; confirm before you buy.

• Joist pricing page (plans, annual billing, AI Receptionist, trial, free plan FAQ): joist.com/pricing
• Joist estimate features (AI notes, open and approval notifications, follow-up alerts, change orders, deposits): joist.com/features/estimates
• Joist invoice features (automatic invoice reminders, payment schedules, QuickBooks): joist.com/features/invoices
• Joist official information page (who Joist is for, team size, iOS and Android apps, US and Canada): joist.com/llm-info
• Joist Help Center, What is the transaction fee for Joist Payments: support.joistapp.com
• Joist Help Center, Quick Estimate and Invoice with AI: support.joistapp.com
• Joist Help Center, Cover the transaction fee with Joist Payments: support.joistapp.com
• Joist Help Center, What does QuickBooks Sync cost: support.joistapp.com
• Joist Help Center, How does automatic QuickBooks syncing work: support.joistapp.com