Tradify vs Powered Now: Which Is Better for UK Plumbers? (2026)
Quick Verdict
These two tools are the closest comparison in this category for plumbers — same audience, similar price, both work on Android and iOS. The decision comes down to one question: are you Gas Safe registered, or do you carry out Legionella risk assessments? If yes, Powered Now is the answer. It's the only job management tool in this category with native Gas Safety Records, CP12 landlord certificates, and Legionella risk assessment templates. Tradify cannot produce these documents.
If your plumbing work is entirely domestic without gas or commercial water system obligations, Tradify has faster quoting and cleaner Xero integration. Most plumbers who do any gas work and have tried both end up on Powered Now — the compliance workflow alone justifies it.
The Core Difference
Tradify is a New Zealand product refined over many years into an efficient quote-to-invoice workflow with excellent accounting sync. It's not a UK compliance tool — no Gas Safe certificates, no Legionella templates, limited CIS support.
Powered Now was built in the UK specifically for British tradespeople. That difference shows up in everything from the Gas Safe certificate library to how CIS deductions are calculated. It's not just a feature list difference — it's a fundamentally different product philosophy. Tradify is built around job management efficiency. Powered Now is built around the complete paperwork lifecycle for UK trades, including the compliance documentation that is legally required after every gas job.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Tradify | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| Android app | ✅ Full parity with iOS | ✅ Full parity with iOS |
| Gas Safe certificates (CP12) | ⚠️ Added (UK forms) — verify format | ✅ Built in, native — established |
| Legionella risk assessment | ❌ Not included | ✅ Templates included |
| CIS deductions | ⚠️ Via Xero only | ✅ Native, built-in |
| Making Tax Digital | ⚠️ Via Xero | ✅ Native |
| Offline working | ❌ Needs signal | ✅ Full offline mode |
| Xero integration | ✅ Best in category | ⚠️ Works, less seamless |
| Quoting speed | ✅ Faster | ⚠️ More steps |
| Starting price | £34/mo per user | £15/mo (Business solo) |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
Where Tradify Wins
Xero integration. Tradify's connection to Xero is consistently rated the most reliable in this category. Invoices, bills, purchase orders, customers, and contacts all sync automatically. If your accountant works primarily in Xero, Tradify is the safer choice. Powered Now's Xero sync works but requires more manual reconciliation.
Quoting speed. Building and sending a quote in Tradify is faster, particularly when working from a saved price list or materials catalogue. The AI quoting assistant on the Plus plan (£54/mo) auto-populates materials from imported supplier price lists — useful for plumbers pricing bathroom installations or heating upgrades against fluctuating parts costs.
Simpler to learn. Most users report being fully operational in Tradify within an afternoon. Powered Now's broader feature set means slightly more setup time, though it's still faster than most competitors.
Where Powered Now Wins
Gas Safe compliance certificates. Gas Safety Records and CP12 landlord gas safety certificates are built directly into Powered Now's job workflow. Complete the boiler service on-site, fill in the CP12 in the app, get a digital signature, email it to the landlord, raise the invoice — one system, one workflow. With Tradify, the certificate has to be produced separately. For any Gas Safe-registered plumber, this is the decisive factor.
Legionella risk assessment templates. Powered Now includes Legionella risk assessment templates covering hot and cold water systems under HSE's L8 Approved Code of Practice. For commercial plumbers carrying out Legionella assessments for landlords or property managers, this is the only native option in this category.
CIS and MTD natively. CIS deduction calculations and Making Tax Digital are built into Powered Now, not routed through Xero. If you work as a subcontractor under CIS and issue reverse charge VAT invoices, Powered Now handles the correct HMRC-required wording automatically. Tradify handles this through Xero — which works, but requires Xero to be correctly configured first.
Offline working. Powered Now works fully without internet. Everything syncs when signal returns. For plumbers working in basements, plant rooms, or rural properties with poor coverage, this is a practical daily advantage. Tradify requires signal to function.
UK-native development. When regulations change — new Gas Safe documentation requirements, MTD updates — Powered Now addresses them as a core priority. Tradify addresses UK compliance as a secondary market requirement.
The Catches
Tradify: No Gas Safe certificates. No Legionella templates. Limited CIS support without Xero setup. No offline mode. The "sent from Tradify" footer on every outbound email. No way to send photo reports with invoices.
Powered Now: Field engineers pay the same rate as office staff — no lower-tier field licence. Xero integration requires more manual attention than Tradify's. Quoting UI has more steps. Setup takes slightly longer due to the broader feature set.
Pricing at Real Business Sizes
| Setup | Tradify | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | £34/mo (Starter) | £15/mo (Business) |
| 2-person team | £68/mo | £50/mo (Professional x2) |
| 5-person team | £170/mo | £125/mo (Professional x5) |
| 5-person + AI quoting | £270/mo (Plus x5) | £125/mo |
Powered Now is cheaper at most team sizes. The gap narrows if you need Tradify's AI quoting features, but for pure job management and compliance, Powered Now's pricing is more competitive at every tier.
Who Should Choose Which
Choose Tradify if
- You do no gas work and need no compliance certificates
- Your accountant relies on clean Xero sync
- Quoting speed is your main bottleneck
- You want the fastest possible setup
- You need the AI materials quoting assistant
Choose Powered Now if
- You are Gas Safe registered and produce Gas Safety Records
- You carry out Legionella risk assessments
- You work as a subcontractor under CIS
- You work in areas with poor or no signal
- You want everything in one UK-native system
- You're a sole trader — the £15/mo Business plan is hard to beat
Tradify — 14-day free trial, no card
Try Tradify →Powered Now — 14-day free trial, no card
Try Powered Now →What Real Users Say
Tradify users (plumbers) report
"Tradify enables us to keep everything together from quoting to invoice, back costing and a record of each job completed." — Capterra, plumbing company
"Inventory management also isn't very strong, which could be an issue for businesses that track a lot of parts or materials." — Capterra, heating engineer
"The reporting tools could go a little deeper. I'd love more customisable dashboards." — G2, verified
Powered Now users (gas engineers) report
"Nine months in and Powered Now has changed my business. I can complete bookings and send invoices in minutes from the van — preset invoices for gas safety checks and boiler servicing are one click." — Trustpilot, self-employed gas engineer
"Being able to generate certificates straight from the app on-site saves time and ensures everything is correct and professional." — Capterra, verified
"Our experience has been 2nd to none. We expected a difficult learning process but it's been much simpler than expected." — Capterra