ZenMaid vs Service Puffin

The ZenMaid alternative built for one.

ZenMaid is good software for a cleaning company with a crew. If you are the one doing the cleaning, you are paying for GPS tracking, payroll and staff checklists you will never open — and the plan that fits your budget stops at 40 jobs a month.

$29/month · 7-day free trial, no card · Bring your client list with you

Should you actually switch?

We would rather you read this bit than start a trial you were always going to cancel.

Stay with ZenMaid if…

You have people working for you.

  • You employ cleaners and need to see where they are
  • You run payroll out of your scheduling software
  • You send staff out with digital checklists
  • You track holiday and availability for a team
  • You need service ratings, Zapier or Mailchimp
See ZenMaid's pricing

Switch to Service Puffin if…

You are the whole business.

  • You clean the houses yourself
  • You book more than 40 jobs a month
  • You want texting included, not metered on top
  • You want a booking link without upgrading twice to unbrand it
  • You would rather pay one flat price than do seat math
Start a free trial

The $19 plan, honestly

40 appointments is about two weeks of work.

Four houses a day, five days a week, four weeks a month is 80 jobs. ZenMaid's Starter plan caps at 40, so a solo cleaner working full time is on Pro at $39/month before the first month is out — and text messages are billed separately on top of that, on every plan.

80
jobs a month, working full time
40
the Starter plan ceiling
$29
Service Puffin, unlimited, texts included

What each one costs

Service Puffin
$29/mo

One plan. Unlimited jobs.

ZenMaid Starter
$19/mo

Capped at 40 appointments/month.

ZenMaid Pro
$39/mo

Unlimited appointments. Adds crew tools.

ZenMaid Pro Max
$49/mo

Adds PTO, ratings, data export.

Feature by feature

Including the rows we lose.

Service Puffin compared with ZenMaid, feature by feature
FeatureService PuffinZenMaid
What it costs
Starting price$29/month$19/month
Appointments includedUnlimited40/month on Starter, unlimited on Pro
Extra user seatsNo seats — one operatorBilled per seat*
Free trial7 days, no card14 days, no card
Text messagesIncluded in the planBilled separately on every plan
Running the day
One-off and recurring jobsIncludedIncluded
Calendar and map view of the dayIncludedIncluded
Calendar sync (Google + Apple)IncludedVia export
Mobile accessWeb app, any phoneNative app
Talking to clients
Automatic 24-hour reminder textIncludedSMS billed separately
"On my way" textIncludedSMS billed separately
Editable message templatesAll message typesLimited on Starter
Reply handling with STOP/START opt-outIncludedDepends on SMS setup
Booking page clients can request fromIncludedPro and above
Booking page without the vendor’s brandingIncludedPro Max only
Getting paid
Invoices with line items and taxIncludedIncluded
Card payments (Stripe)IncludedIncluded
Automatic chasing of overdue invoicesIncludedManual
Payment receipt sent automaticallyIncludedManual
QuickBooks-ready invoice exportIncludedPro and above
Invoice CSV exportIncludedPro Max only
Crew tools
GPS clock-in and location trackingNot availablePro and above
PayrollNot availablePro and above
Digital checklists for staffNot availablePro and above
Staff availability and PTONot availablePro Max only
Service ratingsNot availablePro Max only
Zapier / MailchimpNot availablePro Max only

ZenMaid plan details taken from their published pricing page, checked 11 August 2026. *ZenMaid's pricing page lists a monthly price per plan; software directories such as Capterra and G2 additionally list a per-seat charge for extra users. Prices change — check theirs before you decide. ZenMaid is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with Service Puffin.

Moving over takes an evening.

Step 1

Export your clients

Download your client list from ZenMaid as a CSV. If your plan will not let you export it, send us whatever you can get — a spreadsheet, a screenshot, a list — and we will sort it out.

Step 2

Drop the file in

Service Puffin reads the column headings and matches them up for you — names, phone numbers, emails, addresses. You check the preview and confirm. Nothing is imported twice.

Step 3

Rebuild the week, not the year

Add your recurring jobs once and they generate forward on their own. Most solo cleaners have fewer than a dozen. It is an evening, not a project.

Would rather not do it yourself? Email your client list to hello@servicepuffin.com and we will import it for you before your trial starts.

Switching questions

Built for one.
Not for a crew you don't want.

Run both for a week. Import your clients, book a few jobs, send a reminder. Cancel whichever one loses.

No credit card · We'll import your client list · Cancel anytime