Free alternative to Tofu for small businesses in 2026

A service app designed around one owner can work well until the business needs a larger crew. Then the distinction between the owner's account and the number of workers becomes central to the comparison.

Lux Field is a free Tofu alternative with unlimited users and an included workflow for clients, jobs, visits, estimates, and invoices. Saved items are unlimited, and tasks, notes, photos, service reports, and payment recording are included. The business can involve its office and field staff without buying a larger worker allowance.

This guide compares Lux Field with Tofu's field-service product. Tofu's published paid plans are Solo, Team for up to five workers, and Business for up to ten workers. Temporary introductory prices should be separated from the regular subscription before deciding what the arrangement will cost.

We publish this guide at Lux. Product and plan details were checked against official sources on September 16, 2026. The business scenarios are illustrative, and subscription examples exclude taxes and optional services unless stated otherwise.

Tofu and Lux Field at a glance

The introductory price is not the ongoing price

On the checked monthly pricing page, Solo displayed $19/month for three months, then the regular $29 rate. Team displayed $49 for one month, then $79, and Business $99 for one month, then $149. The page offers a seven-day trial.

Those worker allowances are the relevant limitation for a growing crew. Lux provides unlimited free users with the included service features, rather than a temporary discount followed by a paid worker package. Promotions can change, so the regular rate is the more useful basis for the comparison.

What changes with 10 or 20 people

Tofu describes its team allowances in workers, not simply all people in the business. The examples therefore distinguish the owner from field workers, and do not assume that a separate office administrator is automatically included in a worker allowance.

A ten-worker allowance should not be described as a ten-total-user cap, and a twenty-person price should not be invented when the public page does not specify one. The useful comparison is the real arrangement the business needs.

Lux lets the team include its people without that paid allowance calculation. The owner, field workers, and office participants can use the included workflow while jobs and visits continue to grow.

A plumbing repair that needs the owner and crew to share context

Imagine an owner receives a request for a repair and prepares an estimate. A worker attends, records the condition, and discovers that a second visit is needed. The owner is handling another call, and an office helper needs to explain the next step to the customer.

The job record should answer the immediate questions: what was proposed, what happened during the visit, and what remains to be arranged. A worker's note needs enough detail for the owner to review the situation without being on site. A photo should clarify the relevant condition, not merely prove that somebody attended.

Lux Field includes the clients, jobs, visits, tasks, notes, and photos that support this routine. The estimate records proposed work, the service report explains the completed service, and the invoice records the charge. Unlimited free users allow the office helper to contribute without being squeezed into a worker-based subscription arrangement.

The business can establish who reviews changes and who prepares customer documents. The subscription does not determine how many useful participants can be involved.

The office needs the reason behind the next visit

A schedule entry can show when somebody will return without explaining why. That is not enough when the customer asks what remains or the next worker needs to prepare. Keep the reason alongside the work record.

A good note identifies the unresolved action and the decision needed before attendance. A task makes the expected work concrete. A photo supplies visual context. Together they let another person continue the job without recreating the first conversation.

Lux's unlimited visits and included documentation support that continuity. A growing team can maintain the same record standard even when the owner no longer attends every appointment.

What stays free as the business grows

Evaluate participation beyond the field crew

A business with eight workers may also have an owner who estimates, an administrator who invoices, and somebody who covers customer calls. Those people have different responsibilities, even if the company's public description is simply “an eight-person crew.”

Before comparing a worker-priced plan, identify who needs to handle customer and commercial records. Do not assume that a worker app and an office role are interchangeable. The access arrangement should match the actual handover, including the people who rarely attend a site.

Lux's included workflow is free for unlimited users. The business can evaluate the owner-to-worker and worker-to-office handovers with the whole group instead of treating office involvement as an unresolved pricing detail.

Make the owner-to-worker brief survive the first visit

A small company's owner often holds the full context of a customer request. They know what was discussed, why the estimate uses a particular description, and which details matter on arrival. The worker needs that information in a usable form, especially when the owner is unavailable during the visit.

Start with a brief that explains the agreed service and the expected action. Preserve any relevant access or site detail in the job context. The worker should not need to reconstruct the original sales conversation before beginning the agreed work.

Lux includes the job, its visits, tasks, and notes for that purpose. The estimate describes proposed work, while the field record preserves what actually happened. Unlimited users give the owner and crew room to participate without a paid worker allowance.

A return visit needs a reason, not just a date

In the repair example, the first worker determines that the job needs another attendance. The next record should explain the remaining action and any customer decision needed first. The office helper may be able to arrange the appointment, but only if they understand what is ready to proceed.

An illustrative note could say: “Initial visit recorded. Further work needs customer confirmation before a return is arranged. See the proposed scope in the estimate.” The actual finding should be described by the worker who attended. A supporting photo is useful when it clarifies the relevant condition.

Keep the follow-up easy to scan:

• Completed work: what was done at the first visit.
• Remaining work: the specific action still required.
• Pending decision: what must be confirmed before attendance.
• Customer document: the estimate or report appropriate to the current stage.
• Next participant: the person responsible for moving the job forward.

Include the office in the example from the start

A worker allowance does not, by itself, answer every question about an office role. The administrator may need to prepare invoices, while the owner reviews estimates and the crew records visits. Those contributions are part of the same service even though they happen in different places.

During evaluation, give each participant their normal responsibility. Have the worker leave a visit record, the office helper explain the next step, and the owner review the proposed work. The useful test is whether the handover works without private explanations between every stage.

Lux's free users allow that whole group to participate. The owner can include someone who only helps occasionally without making that access a separate subscription question.

Keep the customer explanation consistent

At completion, review the service report and invoice together. The report should explain the result, including any remaining action. The invoice should describe the agreed charge. Neither should imply that a proposed additional service was completed if it was only discussed.

Saved items can make the document descriptions consistent, but each job still needs a scope check. Unlimited estimates and invoices mean the business can represent its work without a document allowance; they do not remove the responsibility to review the content.

Record received payments clearly and distinguish that record from card processing. Provider services can have separate fees. If moving from an existing system, keep the records the business needs independently, confirm import requirements, and decide which system owns each open invoice.

The free Lux workflow is most valuable when the owner can stop being the only source of context. Jobs, visits, documentation, and customer documents remain available to unlimited users, allowing the crew and office to maintain a clear record as the business grows.

Include the people who complete the work

The comparison that matters for this business

The advantage of Lux is strongest when a small company wants the same practical service record to involve more people over time. The free user allowance and the included features support each other: documentation is more useful when the person with the relevant information can maintain it directly.

A practical evaluation before moving active work

The service workflow can grow beyond a worker package

Tofu's five- and ten-worker plans define the public paid options for a growing crew. Lux Field removes that allowance from its included service workflow, combining unlimited users with free clients, jobs, visits, estimates, invoices, and documentation.

The owner can concentrate on a clear brief, a useful visit record, and an accurate customer handover while the office and field staff participate without subscription charges.