Sparkbill vs Joist
If you left Joist because the fees add up, the invoices land in spam, or features you relied on moved behind a paywall — here's how Sparkbill is different.
| Sparkbill | Joist | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment fees | Your own Stripe rate — 0% markup. ACH available for big invoices. | Payments can route through a processor charging roughly 6–9%. |
| Get paid by text | Yes — invoices go out by SMS with a Pay Now button. | Email-first; PDFs often land in spam. |
| Automatic reminders | SMS + email, multi-touch, stop the moment they pay — included. | Limited; email reminders only. |
| Pricing | Flat $49/mo, not per-seat, no per-invoice fees. | Paid tiers; features have moved behind paywalls. |
| Who holds your money | Nobody — funds go client → your bank. You keep your own Stripe. | Routed through their payment flow. |
| Free to start | 5 free invoices, no credit card. | Free tier, but key features have been gated over time. |
Why the trades switch
- Keep your own rate.You connect your own Stripe and we never add a markup or take a cut — so a big invoice doesn’t lose 6–9% on the way to your bank. Offer ACH and the fee is a few dollars, not hundreds.
- Texts get opened. Around 98% of texts are read versus about 20% of email. Sending invoices and reminders by SMS is the whole reason Sparkbill gets you paid faster.
- We don’t take a free feature away.If it’s free today, it stays free. No bait-and-switch.