Elec-Mate vs Tradify
Tradify is solid job management built for every trade — plumbers, builders, sparkies alike. Elec-Mate is built only for UK electricians: BS 7671 certificates, AI site tools, 70+ calculators and exam training live alongside quoting, invoicing and payments. Here is the honest comparison.
1,000+
UK electricians
“Replaced three separate apps with Elec-Mate. Certs, quotes, and scheduling all in one place.”
Daniel Palmer — DP Electrical
Key Takeaways
- 1Tradify is genuinely good generic job management — but it cannot produce a single BS 7671 certificate. Electricians using Tradify still need a second app for EICRs, EICs and Minor Works.
- 2Elec-Mate replaces the whole stack: certificates, quoting, invoicing, payments, scheduling, calculators, RAMS and training in one subscription built only for UK electricians.
- 3Pricing model matters: Tradify charges per user (from £28–£34 per user per month in the UK). Elec-Mate is a flat £19.99/month for the electrician plan — a three-person team pays around £100/month on Tradify before certificates are even covered.
- 4The certificate-to-invoice flow is the killer difference: finish an EICR on site, the AI prices the remedials, the invoice raises from the same job, and the payment link goes out — one app, one workflow.
- 5If you run a multi-trade business (plumbing + electrical + building), Tradify’s trade-agnostic approach may fit better. If you are an electrician or electrical contractor, a purpose-built platform does more for less.
What Is Tradify?
Tradify is a job management platform for trade businesses, founded in New Zealand and widely used in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It covers the admin backbone of a trade business: enquiries, quotes, job scheduling, timesheets, invoicing, payments and accounting integrations, with iOS and Android apps.
It is deliberately trade-agnostic — the same product serves plumbers, builders, landscapers, HVAC engineers and electricians. UK pricing is per user, per month: the Lite plan at around £34/user (1–3 users) and Pro at around £28/user (4+ users), with a 14-day free trial.
Tradify's strengths: mature scheduling and dispatch, clean quote-to-invoice flow, timesheets, and a well-reviewed mobile experience. As general-purpose job management, it is one of the better options for UK trades.
What Is Elec-Mate?
Elec-Mate is an all-in-one platform built exclusively for UK electricians. The same job-management backbone — quoting, invoicing, scheduling, payments, customer records — is there, but it is wrapped around the work electricians actually do: BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 certification, testing, design calculations, RAMS and training.
That means 16 certificate types (EICR, EIC, Minor Works, EV charger, solar PV, fire alarm, emergency lighting, PAT), an AI suite including the Board Scanner and Voice Test Entry, 70+ BS 7671 calculators, an AI RAMS generator, and 46+ training courses with mock exams for the 18th Edition, 2391 and AM2.
Pricing is flat, not per user: the electrician plan is £19.99/month with a 7-day free trial, and the apprentice plan is £6.99/month.
Generic Trade Tool vs Electrician-Only Platform
The comparison comes down to one question: does your software know what an EICR is? Tradify manages the business around the job. Elec-Mate manages the business and the electrical work itself.
With Tradify, an electrician still needs separate software for certificates, a separate calculator app or the On-Site Guide for cable sizing, a separate RAMS product for commercial work, and separate training resources. Each is another subscription, another login, another place where job information gets retyped.
Certificate → Remedial Quote → Invoice → Paid
Finish the EICR on site, let the AI price the remedials, raise the invoice from the same job and send the payment link — one app, one workflow.
Try it free for 7 days
With Elec-Mate the certificate is the centre of the workflow, not an external document. An unsatisfactory EICR becomes a priced remedial quote in minutes using real UK trade pricing. An accepted quote becomes a scheduled job. A finished job becomes an invoice with unbilled time and materials already on it. Nothing is retyped.
Try Elec-Mate free for 7 days
16 certificate types, 70+ calculators, RAMS, quoting, invoicing, AI agents, and 46+ training courses — from £6.99/mo.
Start free trialPricing Compared (UK, 2026)
Tradify: per-user pricing — Lite around £34/user/month for 1–3 users, Pro around £28/user/month for 4+ users (annual billing reduces both). A sole trader pays ~£34/month; a three-person firm ~£102/month. Certificates, electrical calculators, RAMS and training are not included at any tier.
Elec-Mate: £19.99/month flat for the electrician plan — every feature included, no per-certificate charges and no per-user multiplier on the core plan. The 7-day free trial includes full access to everything.
For a sole-trader electrician the like-for-like saving is roughly £14/month before counting the separate certificate app (£10–£40/month) and calculator or RAMS tools that Tradify users typically run alongside it.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Feature | Elec-Mate | Tradify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built specifically for electricians | All trades | ||
| BS 7671 certificates (EICR, EIC, Minor Works…) | |||
| AI Board Scanner + Voice Test Entry | |||
| 70+ BS 7671 calculators | |||
| AI RAMS generator | |||
| Training courses + mock exams | |||
| Quoting | |||
| Invoicing | |||
| Job scheduling | |||
| Card payment collection | |||
| Xero / accounting sync | |||
| Timesheets & team features | |||
| Flat monthly price (not per user) | Per user | ||
| Apprentice learning hub |
The Verdict
Tradify is good software — that is the honest starting point. If your business spans several trades, or you already run a separate certification product you love, Tradify is a credible job-management choice.
But for a UK electrician or electrical contractor, paying per user for a tool that cannot produce an EICR means the most important part of the job still lives somewhere else. Elec-Mate delivers the same quoting, invoicing, scheduling and payments — plus certificates, AI site tools, calculators, RAMS and training — for a flat £19.99/month.
Try both trials side by side on a real job: quote it, do the work, certify it, bill it. The difference shows up the moment the certificate is due.
What Only Elec-Mate Offers
16 BS 7671 Certificate Types
EICR, EIC, Minor Works, EV charger, solar PV, fire alarm, emergency lighting and PAT — completed on your phone, signed digitally, sent as branded PDFs.
AI Board Scanner
Photograph a consumer unit and the AI populates circuit data into your certificate. Tradify has no equivalent — it does not handle certificates at all.
70+ BS 7671 Calculators
Cable sizing, volt drop, Zs, disconnection times, maximum demand, adiabatic checks — the On-Site Guide maths done properly, on site.
AI RAMS Generator
Site-specific risk assessments and method statements generated in minutes for commercial and domestic work.
Training + Mock Exams
46+ courses and 20,000+ practice questions covering the 18th Edition, 2391, AM2 and apprentice qualifications — included, not an add-on.
Flat £19.99/month
No per-user multiplier on the core plan, no per-certificate fees. A team pays a fraction of per-seat pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Trusted by electricians across the UK
Real feedback from real sparks
“Replaced three separate apps with Elec-Mate. Certs, quotes, and scheduling all in one place.”
Daniel Palmer
Sole Trader · DP Electrical
“I've won two contracts this month because I could turn quotes around same-day with the AI cost engineer.”
Nathan Perry
Electrician · NP Electrical Services
“The study centre got me through my AM2. Mock exams and flashcards are brilliant.”
Jake Pizey
3rd Year Apprentice · Apprentice
Run both trials on the same job
Quote it, do it, certify it, bill it. Elec-Mate free for 7 days — every feature included.
“Replaced three separate apps with Elec-Mate. Certs, quotes, and scheduling all in one place.”
Daniel Palmer, DP Electrical
From £6.99/mo after trial — less than a coffee a week