Surfacely vs BrushDesk

Surfacely9.4Visit BrushDesk8.5Visit

Higher score Surfacely #1 in Painting Contractor Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Surfacely

vs

BrushDesk #8 in Painting Contractor Software 8.5/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 6 features Visit BrushDesk

• Surfacely fits best

  Painting teams wanting the broadest free toolkit

• BrushDesk fits best

  UK painting firms managing office and field seats

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	Surfacely 9.4/10 Visit ↗	BrushDesk 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.5
Ranking	#1 in Painting Contractor Software	#8 in Painting Contractor Software
Best for	Painting teams wanting the broadest free toolkit	UK painting firms managing office and field seats
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	—	£10/seat/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop, Mobile	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android	Web
Support	Email, Docs	Email
Integrations	3 integrations	1 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business
Features Surfacely 6/6 · BrushDesk 5/6
Estimate builder	✓	✓
Proposal signatures	✓	✓
Job scheduling	✓	✓
Crew management	✓	✓
Material cost tracking	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Invoicing and payments	✓	✓
Our review
Pros	Free plan includes full measuring and quoting with no card needed Covers proposals, scheduling, crews, costs, invoicing and payments Works across web, desktop, mobile and offline field workflows	Room-by-room estimates with configurable labour rates VAT and CIS invoicing with Stripe card payments Field tools for photos, progress, tasks and timesheets
Cons	Paid plans are needed for features beyond the free plan's highlights Accounting connections are limited to Xero and QuickBooks Online Enterprise uses bespoke seat and usage arrangements with a custom quote	Office seats cost £39 per seat monthly Web-only access limits platform choice Stripe is the only listed integration
Our verdict	Surfacely is painting-business software for measuring surfaces, building estimates and proposals, scheduling jobs, managing crews, invoicing customers and tracking job profitability. It is designed for sole traders, small crews and growing… Read the review →	BrushDesk is software for UK painting and decorating firms that need one system for estimating, scheduling, customer approvals, field updates, invoicing and payments. Its office workflow covers room-by-room estimates, paint and sundries… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Surfacely — where it wins

  • Free plan includes full measuring and quoting with no card needed
  • Covers proposals, scheduling, crews, costs, invoicing and payments
  • Works across web, desktop, mobile and offline field workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid plans are needed for features beyond the free plan's highlights
  • Accounting connections are limited to Xero and QuickBooks Online
  • Enterprise uses bespoke seat and usage arrangements with a custom quote

• BrushDesk — where it wins

  • Room-by-room estimates with configurable labour rates
  • VAT and CIS invoicing with Stripe card payments
  • Field tools for photos, progress, tasks and timesheets

  Where it doesn't

  • Office seats cost £39 per seat monthly
  • Web-only access limits platform choice
  • Stripe is the only listed integration

• Surfacely9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad painting-business toolkit with a capable free plan and field-ready workflows.

  Visit SurfacelyFull verdict →
• BrushDesk8.5/10 · 14-day trial

  A focused web tool for UK decorating firms, with strong room-level estimating and field workflows.

  Visit BrushDeskFull verdict →