Jobber vs Nexa
The Real Comparison for Ductwork Installers

Jobber
$49/mo ($588/yr)
VS
Nexa
$279 once — own forever
or 3 payments of $99
Break even: 5.7 months at Jobber's current price.

Bottom Line

Jobber costs ductwork installers $588/year at today's list price. Nexa is $279 once for invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking and accounting in one suite — so it pays for itself in 5.7 months and you own it after that. What it is not: hosted-for-you software with a support desk and a roadmap you can lobby. That is the trade, and the rest of this page is the detail behind it.

The verdict for ductwork installers: Jobber is solid software, but at $49/month it costs $1,764 over 3 years. Nexa does most of what Jobber does for $279 once. For solo ductwork installers and small teams, Nexa is the better deal.

Choose Nexa if:

  • You're done paying monthly forever
  • You're a solo operator or small team (1-5)
  • You need time-tracker, Invoicing, task-manager in one purchase in one tool
  • You're tired of price increases
  • You want to own your tools like you own your equipment

Choose Jobber if:

  • You have a large team (10+) needing enterprise features
  • You're deeply invested in Jobber's specific workflow
  • You need a feature Nexa doesn't have yet

What Jobber Actually Costs Ductwork Installers

Today's list price is $49/month — $588 a year, from Jobber's own pricing page. Every figure below is that price, multiplied. Nothing is projected.

Three years at today's price

Year 1$588
Year 2$588
Year 3$588
Three years of Jobber$1,764

Nexa: $279 once (or 3 × $99). Over the same three years, that is $1,485 less.

If Jobber raises its price, the three-year cost goes up; if it cuts it, the cost comes down. We don't guess which. Add-ons, extra seats and card-processing fees are not included, on either side.

Feature-by-Feature

FeatureJobberNexa
Invoicing—✓
Scheduling—✓
CRM—✓
Time Tracking—✓
Full Accounting—✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management—✓
Works offline—✓
Price$49/mo$279 once
or 3 × $99
3-Year Total$1,764$279
You own it?No — stop paying, lose accessYes — forever

✓ and ✗ for Jobber come from its own published feature list. — means the feature isn't in that list, which is not the same as Jobber lacking it: check with them. Three years is at today's price.

What "$279 Once" Does And Doesn't Buy

What Jobber Does Better

Straight from Jobber's own feature set. If one of these is the reason you pay them, that reason does not disappear because Nexa is cheaper.

Jobber is the better call if you need built for home services specifically, or if your team is large enough that per-seat pricing still beats buying software outright.

Where business tools fit — for a ductwork installer

Software doesn't do the actual work — it automates the business around it. And that part is the same for every ductwork installer: find the work, manage it, bill for it, get paid. Each step has a tool — and the right single tool runs the whole loop, so the handoffs are automatic and you get back to the actual work. Tap a step to see what gets automated.

  1. 1
    Find the work

    Win the job

    ↓

    A lead, a call, a referral — and a quote or estimate that turns it into a booked job.

    • CRM / contacts
    • Estimates & proposals
    • Booking / scheduling
    then ↓
  2. 2

    The part you actually get paid for — with the time, materials, add-ons, and tasks tracked as you go, not guessed at later.

    • Job / project tracking
    • Time tracking
    • Expenses, materials & add-ons
    then ↓
  3. 3

    The work becomes the invoice — the hours, the add-ons, the materials, the deposit credited — totaled and sent, instead of re-typed at 9pm.

    • Invoicing
    • Deposits & credits
    then ↓
  4. 4

    Paid by card or link, the deposit credited, and what's overdue chased — without you doing it by hand.

    • Card / online payments
    • Automatic reminders

You can stitch four separate subscriptions across these four steps, or run one tool that does the whole flow so a booking becomes a job becomes an invoice becomes a payment without re-typing. Either way the goal is the same: less time on the business of the business, more on the actual work. (Nexa is built to be the one — but the honest options for each step are above and below.)

Watch a job become an invoice

This is the connection that makes the rest worth it. A ductwork installer's job already holds the services, the hours, the add-ons, and the materials — so the invoice builds itself from the work instead of you re-typing it at 9pm. Toggle an add-on or nudge the hours and watch it recompute.

The job Basement trunk line and supply runs
Service Supply run with register boot 8 × $90 $720
Time Labor — tracked on the job 14 hrs × $85/hr $1,190
Materials Sheet metal trunk, flex duct and strap $780
The invoice builds itself
Subtotal$0
Deposit credited−$1,000
Invoice total$0

You didn't write this invoice — the job did.

Calculate Your Full Stack

Jobber plus whatever else you're paying for:

Email yourself this comparison?

Switching from Jobber

1
Export your data — Go to Settings → Data Export. Download clients, jobs, and invoices as CSV.
2
Set up Nexa — 15-minute setup. Import your client list and job categories.
3
Parallel run — Run both for 1-2 weeks to verify scheduled jobs transfer cleanly.
4
Cancel Jobber — Cancel subscription before your next billing cycle. Download final export.
✓ 30-day money-back guarantee. Zero risk.

Sound Familiar?

At 7 I'm in a new-construction basement with the mechanical plans, marking the 30-foot main trunk run on the joists with a chalk line. My helper and I hang the trunk on hanger strap every few feet, keep it level, and join the sections at the S-and-drive connections. By 10 I'm cutting in takeoffs, 6-inch starting collars along the trunk, then pipe runs to each floor boot, measured and cut off the cut list I worked up from the plans. The design calls for a certain static pressure, and if I undersize the trunk the system never balances, so I check the sizes against the Manual D sheet before I cut. At noon I'm on the tailgate with snips, a hand seamer and a Pittsburgh lock, building a return drop that didn't match the shop drawing. After lunch every joint gets mastic brushed on, including the takeoffs and the plenum connection, and I strap the flex so nothing sags. At 3 I run to an older house on a retrofit service call. The homeowner says the return is whistling. It's an undersized return grille and a gap at the filter rack; I seal the gap and quote a larger grille. At 5 I'm back to clean up, count leftover fittings, and photograph the rough-in for the inspection. At home I write down the day's pieces and hours, figure the shop time for the next job's fittings, and send the GC my progress bill, knowing it's net 45 on this contract.

Time tracking, invoicing, job tracking and the books are the pieces of that day. Some tools rent you each piece separately. A few — Nexa among them — bundle the lot into something you buy once. The sections below price both routes honestly.

None of that is a software problem you can buy your way out of in one click — it is why the tool you pick matters more than what it costs. Jobber solves some of it. So does Nexa. The difference is what you are left holding in three years.

What This Means for Ductwork Installers

The median ductwork installer earns $55,000/year. At $588/year, Jobber is a recurring slice of that — paid again every year, whether the year was good or not. Owning the same jobs outright is $279 once, and the slice stops.

Nexa is $279 once. Invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, accounting — all connected, built for ductwork installers. You own it like you own your Snips (left, right, straight), seamers, hand brakes.

Is Nexa actually right for a ductwork installer?

An honest fit check — because the wrong tool is worse than no tool.

Right for you if

  • You run solo or a small crew — like the 15,000 ductwork installers in the US who do, and you wear every hat.
  • You're tired of paying every month for jobber and a pile of apps that don't talk to each other.
  • You want to invoice, schedule, and track from the field — not from a back office.
  • You'd rather own your software once, the way you own your Snips (left, right, straight), seamers, hand brakes.

Look elsewhere if

  • You run a 20+ ductwork installer fleet that needs enterprise dispatch and multi-crew routing — Nexa is built for 1–5, and a fleet platform will serve you better.
  • You need full payroll for a large team or deep, SKU-level inventory — that's not what Nexa is for.
  • You're genuinely happy paying monthly and don't mind stitching tools together. No tool fixes a workflow you already like.

The honest fit: if you're a solo or small ductwork installers business that owns its tools and is sick of renting software, Nexa replaces your whole stack for $279 once. If you're scaling past a handful of crews, a fleet platform may fit better — and we'd rather tell you that now than sell you the wrong thing.

Ductwork Installers by the numbers — by place

Tax, licensing & seasonality where you operate

1-13.3%income tax
CSLB (Contractors State License Board)licensing

Year-round construction in SoCal. Fire season (June-November) drives restoration demand. Drought impacts landscaping. Earthquake retrofitting is ongoing market.

Register a business in California →

Noneincome tax
TDLR (Texas Dept of Licensing and Regulation)licensing

Extreme summer heat drives HVAC demand. Hurricane risk on Gulf Coast. Year-round construction. Rapid population growth in DFW, Austin, Houston, San Antonio creates sustained demand. Freeze events (like 2021) create emergency plumbing/HVAC surge.

Register a business in Texas →

Noneincome tax
DBPR (Dept of Business and Professional Regulation)licensing

Hurricane season June-November creates massive restoration demand. Snowbird season November-March boosts service volume 30-40%. Year-round construction. Pool service is year-round industry. Pest control peaks in summer humidity.

Register a business in Florida →

4-10.9%income tax
NYC DCA + NYS DOS + specialty boardslicensing

Harsh winters in upstate, moderate in NYC. Construction limited in winter upstate. NYC market is enormous but hypercompetitive. Brownstone/pre-war building maintenance is specialized trade. NYC licensing is notoriously complex.

Register a business in New York →

Time tracking, invoicing, job tracking and the books are the pieces of that day. Some tools rent you each piece separately. A few — Nexa among them — bundle the lot into something you buy once. The sections below price both routes honestly.

What ductwork installers actually deal with

A day in the life of a ductwork installer

At 7 I'm in a new-construction basement with the mechanical plans, marking the 30-foot main trunk run on the joists with a chalk line. My helper and I hang the trunk on hanger strap every few feet, keep it level, and join the sections at the S-and-drive connections. By 10 I'm cutting in takeoffs, 6-inch starting collars along the trunk, then pipe runs to each floor boot, measured and cut off the cut list I worked up from the plans. The design calls for a certain static pressure, and if I undersize the trunk the system never balances, so I check the sizes against the Manual D sheet before I cut. At noon I'm on the tailgate with snips, a hand seamer and a Pittsburgh lock, building a return drop that didn't match the shop drawing. After lunch every joint gets mastic brushed on, including the takeoffs and the plenum connection, and I strap the flex so nothing sags. At 3 I run to an older house on a retrofit service call. The homeowner says the return is whistling. It's an undersized return grille and a gap at the filter rack; I seal the gap and quote a larger grille. At 5 I'm back to clean up, count leftover fittings, and photograph the rough-in for the inspection. At home I write down the day's pieces and hours, figure the shop time for the next job's fittings, and send the GC my progress bill, knowing it's net 45 on this contract.

The tools a working ductwork installer actually owns

Why ductwork installers leave the big platforms

Local ductwork installers on Nexa

Real ductwork installers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a ductwork installer? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every ductwork installer on Nexa →

The kit a working ductwork installer owns

The tools of the trade — each a one-time buy that earns its keep for years.

Core kitEssential

Aviation snips set

$25–$90
Core kitEssential

Hand seamer and crimpers

$40–$150
Core kitEssential

Sheet metal brake

$300–$1,500
Core kitEssential

Drill and impact driver

$200–$450
Core kitEssential

Manometer

$60–$300
Core kitEssential

Flex duct cutting tools

$20–$80
Core kitEssential

Duct hangers and strap tools

$40–$150
Core kitEssential

Anemometer and balancing hood

$40–$200
Upgrade

Duct board grooving tools

$80–$350
Upgrade

Plasma cutter

$300–$1,500
The core kit, bought once $725–$2,920

Here's the bar that matters: you spent $725–$2,920 on tools that last for years, and never thought twice. So why should the software cost more than your whole kit — every single year? Hold it to the same standard as a good tool: $279, once.

What Nexa does for a ductwork installer — and what it doesn't

The honest version. Nexa was built to beat the rented stack on the jobs that matter most to a ductwork installer — here's where it wins, where the integration wins it anyway, and the things it genuinely doesn't do, with who to use instead. (No tool is best at everything; a guide that pretends otherwise is just an ad.)

Compare the essential business tools for ductwork installers

The usual subscriptions vs. Nexa, side by side. Drag the time slider — every year you keep renting, the gap widens. Nexa is $279, one time.

The reason it wins the set: From the joist-hung trunk through the on-site return drop and the mastic seal to the invoice, one record carries the run so the cut-list math and the static-pressure design never get re-keyed. in one record — $279 once vs 3 subscriptions · ~$1,044/yr.

What Nexa takes off your plate

  • Job & project tracking vs Jobber → The 30-foot basement trunk run tracks the joist-strap hang, the on-site return-drop build, and the mastic sealing on one job, so the new-construction shop time and the static-pressure design stay on the record instead of scattering across Jobber.
  • Invoicing vs FreshBooks → The cut list you turned from architectural plans into physical trunk and takeoff pieces carries straight from the job onto the invoice, so the labor you scoped bills without re-typing into a separate billing tool.
  • Books & accounting vs QuickBooks → Each job's duct, strap, and mastic cost lands in your books as you hang and seal, so you see margin on new-construction versus retrofit runs without exporting from Housecall Pro into QuickBooks.

What to hand to a specialist

  • When you run real payroll for a team → Gusto →
  • When you run big email campaigns & automations → ConvertKit →

Prefer to own a piece outright instead of renting? Free and open-source tools (GnuCash, Invoice Ninja and the like) each handle one job if you'll self-host them — a real option, listed because it's true.

These are affiliate links — if you sign up through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We list them because they're the honest best pick for the job, Nexa included. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Competitor pricing verified 2026-06-12.

How To Read This Page

How we put this guide together

We build a ductwork installer's guide the same way every time, and we'd rather you trust it than take it on faith. Nexa is our product, so the test we hold ourselves to is simple: a tool only "wins" a job here when it genuinely does that job better for a ductwork installer — and where something free, open-source, or buy-once does it better, we say so and link you to it. Where Nexa falls short (payroll is the honest example), we name the alternative outright.

Where the numbers come from

Found something out of date? Prices change and we don't catch every move the day it happens. This guide is published and maintained by the Nexa team; if a figure here is wrong, tell us and we'll fix it — getting it right matters more to us than the sale.

FAQ

Is Nexa really a Jobber replacement?

For solo ductwork installers and small teams, yes. invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting — all for $279 once. Jobber may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.

What does Jobber do that Nexa doesn't?

Jobber has features like Built for home services and Mobile app for field teams that some businesses rely on. For most solo ductwork installers, these aren't dealbreakers.

How fast does Nexa pay for itself?

At $49/month, Nexa pays for itself in 5.7 months. After that: $588 saved every year.

Can I pay in installments?

Yes. Nexa is $279 as a one-time payment, or 3 payments of $99 ($297 total). Either way it's a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees ever.

$1,764 Over 3 Years. Or $279 Once (or 3 × $99).

Own your tools. Stop renting your software.

Get Nexa — $279 Once
or 3 payments of $99
✓ 30-day money-back — save $500 or full refund

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