SMG Tools vs MakeHay
An honest comparison for a business choosing between them, or thinking of switching. Every fact about MakeHay is quoted from its own pages, with the date it was checked.
On every plan
Everything here is on every SMG Tools plan, the free one included. MakeHay has 5 of these 14 on every plan of its own.
- Quotes and proposals
- Options and extras on a quote
- Online booking
- A page for each client
- Invoicing and card payments
- Job costing
- Alerts when a job’s profit slips
- Route planning
- Finding a time for a job
- Automations
- Time tracking
- Expense tracking
- Inventory and truck stock
- Commissions and pay rules
A year, at your volume
Put in your own figures and the year below follows them. Nothing you type leaves this page.
What a year costs a business with 2 people in the office, 3 technicians in the field, and $25,000 a month in card payments averaging $350.
| Plan | Subscription | Extra users | Card fees | A year | Beside SMG Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMG Tools Crew | $1,188 | None | $9,707 | $10,895 | |
| MakeHay Free | $0 | None | $13,457 | $13,457 | $2,562 more |
A year on SMG Tools Crew is $10,895; the lowest on MakeHay that fits is Free, $13,457: $2,562 more. Crew includes 5 office seats and any number of field workers.
MakeHay is free for the whole team: what it costs is its card fee. Card fees are each product’s published rate for a domestic card payment: MakeHay, standard Stripe processing plus a 1.5% MakeHay platform fee; SMG Tools, Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ plus 0.25%.
Where SMG Tools is different
- Lower card fees: a card payment on SMG Tools costs Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ plus SMG Tools’ 0.25%. MakeHay’s: standard Stripe processing plus a 1.5% MakeHay platform fee.
Where MakeHay is stronger
- Free for the whole team: the plan is $0 a month, with no seat fees.
- Weather-aware scheduling: a forecast for each job site’s address, and warnings from rules you set.
- Satellite measurement with historical imagery, on the free plan.
- Two-way customer messaging with photos, and e-signatures on contracts with a signed PDF and audit trail.
Switching
Your clients, the units at their properties, your Price Book and your kinds of work come across from a spreadsheet, each file checked row by row before anything is created. Past jobs, invoices and payments stay in the system you are leaving, as the history: SMG Tools starts from the day you switch. Importing and exporting your data
The facts
What each side has, row by row. SMG Tools’ side is read from the product itself; MakeHay’s is quoted from the pages under Sources, below, each as it read on the day it was checked.
| What | SMG Tools | MakeHay |
|---|---|---|
| Quotes and proposals | Proposals: Every plan | Quoting: Every plan |
| Options and extras on a quote | Proposal Options: Every plan | Good/better/best quote packages with deposits: Every plan |
| Online booking | Online Booking: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages; its request forms ask for a quote |
| A page for each client | Client Hub: Every plan | Client portal, with messages, documents and billing: Every plan |
| Invoicing and card payments | Invoices and payments: Every plan | Invoicing, with online card and ACH payments: Every plan |
| Job costing | Job costing: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Alerts when a job’s profit slips | Margin Intelligence: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Route planning | Route Planning: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Finding a time for a job | Scheduling & dispatch: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Automations | Automations: Every plan | Automatic quote follow-ups, and invoice and visit reminders: Every plan |
| Time tracking | Time tracking: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Expense tracking | Expenses & receipt scanning: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| QuickBooks Online and Xero sync | Accounting sync: Professional | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| An AI assistant | Assistant: Professional | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Answering the phone | Phone Assistant: Add-on, $19/month | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Inventory and truck stock | Inventory: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Commissions and pay rules | Commissions & pay rules: Every plan | Not listed on MakeHay’s pricing or features pages |
| Card payments | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢, plus 0.25% (at least $1 on Starter) | Standard Stripe processing plus a 1.5% MakeHay platform fee |
| Who is charged for | Office seats; Crew includes 5 and any number of field workers | Your whole team, with no seat fees. |
MakeHay’s plans
| Plan | Users | Billed annually | Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Any number | $0 a month | $0 a month |
Sources:
- makehay.io/pricing , checked October 7, 2026
- makehay.io/features , checked October 7, 2026
- stripe.com/pricing (as archived) , checked October 7, 2026
MakeHay is a trademark of its owner, used here only to say which product is meant. This page compares published facts, checked October 7, 2026; if one has changed, email support@smgtools.com and we will correct it.