The picks
- Jobber — Best for residential teams wanting SMS automation
- ZenMaid — Best budget option for small teams
- Housecall Pro — Best for teams ready to invest in growth marketing
- Zoho CRM — Best free option for budget-conscious operators
- ServiceTitan — Only if you’re running 20+ cleaners
#1 Pick
Jobber is the default choice for residential cleaning businesses with a team. Quote follow-ups, appointment reminders, and review requests via SMS all work out of the box. Your clients get a professional experience. You stop chasing people.
The client hub is genuinely useful. Customers can approve quotes, pay invoices, and request new bookings without calling you. That matters when you’re cleaning houses instead of sitting at a desk.
Why I picked this
Jobber’s strength is the automation stack. A client requests a quote through your online booking. Jobber sends the quote, follows up automatically if they don’t respond, converts it to a job when approved, sends the appointment reminder, and requests a review after the job. You can run a cleaning business while barely touching your phone.
The QuickBooks sync is solid. Invoices flow automatically. You’re not entering the same job twice.
GPS tracking and crew scheduling work well for teams. Know where your cleaners are, optimize routes, and dispatch on the fly.
The tradeoff: Jobber isn’t cheap. $39/month for Core is reasonable, but once you add team members and features, you’re looking at $119/month (Connect) or $219/month (Grow). Teams with multiple users may hit $599/month on the Max plan.
The honest answer: Jobber is overkill for a solo cleaner working 10 houses a week. But for a residential team that wants professional automation, it’s hard to beat.
Key features for cleaning businesses
- Automated quote follow-ups — Stops the chase when clients ghost
- SMS appointment reminders — Reduces no-shows
- Client hub — Self-service booking, approvals, and payments
- QuickBooks sync — No double-entry
- Online booking — Embed on your website
- GPS tracking — See where your team is
Skip this if…
- You’re a solo cleaner on a tight budget—$39/month is steep for 15 clients
- You focus on commercial/janitorial—Jobber is built for residential
- You need advanced route optimization—it’s basic compared to dedicated routing tools
- You’re happy with your current system—don’t switch for the sake of switching
#2 Pick
ZenMaid is cheaper than Jobber and simpler to use. A 3-person team runs $31/month on Starter. Comparable Jobber setup costs more. If you’re running recurring weekly or biweekly cleans and don’t need bells and whistles, ZenMaid does the job.
Why I picked this
ZenMaid’s pricing makes sense for small teams. The base cost is lower and the per-seat fees are reasonable. You’re not paying for features you won’t use.
The automation is designed around recurring appointments. Rebooking prompts happen automatically. The scheduling view is built for repeating jobs, not one-off projects. Digital checklists help standardize what cleaners do in each room.
The catch: SMS isn’t included. You pay $14 for 125 texts. If you’re sending appointment reminders to 50 clients twice a week, that adds up. Factor it into your cost comparison.
The reporting is useful. Track cleaner productivity, see which clients are most profitable, identify which services actually make money.
The honest answer: ZenMaid works best if your business is straightforward recurring cleans. If you do mixed work (deep cleans, move-outs, post-construction), the structure may feel rigid. Jobber is more flexible for varied work.
Key features for cleaning businesses
- Recurring job workflows — Built for weekly/biweekly schedules
- Automated rebooking prompts — Clients get reminded to rebook
- Digital checklists — Standardize the clean
- Productivity reporting — Track profitability by client and cleaner
- Client portal — Customers manage their own schedules
Skip this if…
- You need SMS included—it’s an add-on here, Jobber includes it
- You do varied work beyond recurring cleans—Jobber handles diversity better
- You want a single platform for multiple home services—ZenMaid is narrowly focused
- You’re scaling fast—you’ll outgrow the simplicity
#3 Pick
Housecall Pro is the growth-focused option. It costs more than Jobber or ZenMaid, but you’re paying for marketing features that help you scale. Review automation, postcard marketing, consumer financing.
Why I picked this
Housecall Pro’s marketing stack is stronger than competitors. Review automation gets Google reviews on autopilot. Postcard marketing (through their add-on) lets you hit past clients with direct mail. Consumer financing options help close larger jobs like deep cleans or move-outs.
The dispatch and scheduling features are solid. Real-time GPS, crew management, and route optimization work well for teams with multiple cleaners in the field.
The tradeoff: You’re paying for the marketing features. Basic starts at $59/month (annual) or $79/month (monthly). Once you add marketing add-ons, you’re easily at $150+/month. If you’re not actually using the growth features, you’re overpaying.
The honest answer: Housecall Pro makes sense for established cleaning businesses ready to scale. If you’re a solo operator or small team focused on stability over growth, the marketing features are wasted budget.
Key features for cleaning businesses
- Automated review requests — Builds your Google presence
- Postcard marketing — Direct mail to past clients (add-on)
- Consumer financing — Payment plans for larger jobs
- Real-time dispatch — GPS tracking and route optimization
- Professional estimates — On-site quoting with instant job conversion
Skip this if…
- Budget is tight—starts higher than Jobber or ZenMaid
- You’re just starting—marketing tools don’t help until you have clients to market to
- You don’t need marketing features—you’re paying for a stack you won’t use
- You want simple—Housecall Pro has more features than some teams need
Honorable mentions
#4
Zoho CRM’s free tier gives you a real CRM for up to 3 users. Contact management, deal tracking, basic automation, mobile app. It’s not built for cleaning businesses, but it handles client follow-up better than a spreadsheet.
Zoho is criminally underrated. The entire suite (CRM, invoicing, email, forms) is built by a small, engaged team that actually ships improvements. Unlike Google Workspace, where products get abandoned or randomly deprecated, Zoho has been quietly reliable for years. No scheduling or crew dispatch, so you’ll need to pair it with Google Calendar for appointments.
Choose this if: You’re a solo operator, budget is tight, and you just need basic client tracking.
Skip it if: You need scheduling or automated job reminders. Jobber or ZenMaid’s base tiers are worth the money at that point.
#5
ServiceTitan only makes sense at scale. They explicitly say they’re “not optimized for companies with 3 or fewer technicians” and recommend 20+ for the platform to pay off. Complex dispatch, advanced reporting, call tracking, marketing attribution. Features you need when you have 20-50 cleaners and a dispatcher managing routes all day.
The pricing reflects that positioning: $245-500 per technician per month plus implementation fees from $5,000 to $50,000. A 20-person team pays $60,000-120,000/year before implementation. That math only works at serious scale.
Choose this if: You’re running 20+ cleaners, multiple locations, and need enterprise-grade dispatch and reporting.
Skip it if: You’re under 20 cleaners. The other tools on this list handle smaller operations better and cost a fraction of the price.
How to choose
Choose Jobber if you’re running a residential cleaning team and want SMS automation that works out of the box. Quote follow-ups, appointment reminders, review requests. The $39/month starting price makes sense for teams ready to professionalize.
Choose ZenMaid if you’re a small team watching your budget. Cheaper than Jobber for basic recurring scheduling. Just know that SMS costs extra.
Choose Housecall Pro if you’re an established cleaning business ready to invest in growth. The marketing features help if you’re actively scaling. Not worth it if you’re focused on stability.
Choose Zoho CRM if budget is tight and you just need basic client tracking. Free for 3 users. No cleaning-specific features.
Choose ServiceTitan if you’re running 20+ cleaners and need enterprise-grade dispatch and reporting. The pricing only makes sense at that scale.
The decision tree:
- Just starting, tight budget? → Zoho CRM Free or just Google Calendar + Square
- Small team, want to keep costs low? → ZenMaid
- Residential team, want full automation? → Jobber
- Ready to invest in growth marketing? → Housecall Pro
- 20+ cleaners, serious scale? → ServiceTitan
What should a cleaning business CRM actually do?
At minimum, a CRM for cleaning businesses should handle:
Scheduling and dispatch. Recurring appointments are the core of residential cleaning. Your tool should handle weekly/biweekly schedules without manual re-entry.
Client communication. SMS appointment reminders reduce no-shows. Automated quote follow-ups close more jobs. Review requests build your Google presence.
Invoicing and payments. Accept credit cards and ACH. Send invoices automatically after jobs complete. Sync with QuickBooks if you use it.
Mobile access. Your cleaners are in the field, not at a desk. The mobile app needs to be good.
The difference between generic CRMs (like Zoho) and industry-specific tools (like Jobber or ZenMaid) is how much comes built-in versus bolted-on. Industry tools assume your workflow. Generic tools require more setup.
For most residential cleaning businesses with 2-30 employees, an industry-specific tool pays for itself in time saved. Solo operators can get by with free options plus manual work.
Starting a cleaning business from scratch? Our list of 509 cleaning business name ideas covers professional, catchy, and niche-specific names.
If your cleaning business serves Airbnb and VRBO hosts, see our separate review of CRM tools built for vacation rental cleaning.