Frontdesk vs OnCrew for Home-Service Contractors
Frontdesk and OnCrew can both answer contractor calls, but they are not priced or designed the same way. Frontdesk is a broader AI front-office platform billed around voice minutes; OnCrew is contractor-specific and publishes call-count tiers.
| Area | Frontdesk | OnCrew |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $99/mo; $79/mo annual billing | $49/mo |
| Included usage | 200 voice minutes | 100 calls |
| Trade specialization | Home-services workflows published; broad SMB platform | Built for 13 home-service trades |
| Booking | Live calendar booking is a core published capability | Appointment-request capture / Google Calendar handoff; contractor retains dispatch decisions |
| Automation | Broad CRM/calendar/Zapier/API/webhook stack | Contractor-oriented handoff; Housecall Pro direct API path for eligible accounts plus webhook workflows |
Price cannot be compared without call duration
One OnCrew “call” can be short or long; Frontdesk meters voice minutes. A shop with 100 five-minute calls has very different economics from one with 100 ninety-second calls. Put a real month of call logs into the comparison before choosing on headline price.
Decision frame
Investigate OnCrew first if you are a small contractor and want contractor-specific intake with simple per-call tiers. Investigate Frontdesk first if live calendar booking and broader front-office automation are central. Neither conclusion replaces hands-on testing.