Five things the data says
- The index tracks 179 verified AI tools across 36 trades and local business types. That works out to 303 tool-to-trade pairings, an average of 8.4 recommended tools per trade.
- 73 of the 179 tools (41%) have a free tier or cost under $100 a month. Getting started with AI in a trade business is a two-digit monthly bill, not a five-figure project.
- 63 of 179 tools (35%) will not publish a price. 61 are quote-based and 2 charge per report. And hidden pricing is an enterprise habit: 57 of the 61 quote-based tools are enterprise-tier products.
- 158 of 179 tools (88%) serve exactly one trade. Only 10 tools span five or more trades. The market is specialists, not platforms.
- 0 of the 179 listings pay us anything. Every tool in the feed carries is_affiliate: false as of 2026-07-18, so no number in this report is shaped by a commission.
How many AI tools are there for trade businesses in 2026?
The Agentic AI Index lists 179 verified AI tools across 36 trades and local business types as of 2026-07-18. Those 179 tools map to 303 tool-to-trade pairings, an average of 8.4 recommended tools per trade. Every tool was checked by hand before listing: real product, real vendor pricing page, mapped only to trades where it actually applies.
The 36 categories cover hands-on trades (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, welding, and more), licensed professionals (attorneys, dentists, veterinarians), and main-street businesses (restaurants, salons, cafes). This report calls them trades throughout because that is where the index started and where coverage runs deepest.
What does AI software for the trades actually cost?
Of the 179 tools we track, 73 (41%) have a free tier or cost under $100 a month. Another 34 (19%) run $100 to $300 a month, and only 9 (5%) cost $300 or more. The single biggest group, 61 tools (34%), publishes no price at all and makes you ask for a quote. Two tools charge per report.
| Price band (as recorded in tools.json) | Tools | Share of 179 |
|---|---|---|
| Quote-based | 61 | 34.1% |
| Paid — under $100/mo | 59 | 33.0% |
| Paid — $100–300/mo | 34 | 19.0% |
| Free tier + paid | 14 | 7.8% |
| Paid — $300+/mo | 9 | 5.0% |
| Per-report | 2 | 1.1% |
| Total | 179 | 100% |
We record prices as durable bands, not exact dollar figures, because vendor prices change too often to keep accurate. Always check the vendor's site for the current number.
Is AI software built for small shops or big companies?
Mostly for small shops. We tag every tool with a business-size tier, and 112 of 179 tools (63%) are starter or SMB tier: 86 starter (48%) and 26 SMB (15%). The remaining 67 (37%) are enterprise products. So if you run a small operation, roughly two of every three tools in the index were built with you in mind.
The tiers also price differently. 53 of the 86 starter tools (62%) are free or under $100 a month, while 57 of the 67 enterprise tools (85%) are quote-based. The market has effectively split into cheap, self-serve tools for small shops and call-for-pricing suites for everyone else, with a thin middle.
Are these tools trade specialists or do-everything platforms?
Overwhelmingly specialists. 158 of the 179 tools (88%) serve exactly one trade. Another 11 span two to four trades, and just 10 tools (6%) work across five or more. If you were expecting a market of general-purpose platforms, the data says the opposite: most AI tools for the trades were built for one trade's specific workflow.
The 10 genuine cross-trade platforms are a short and familiar list. The widest is Podium at 21 trades, followed by Quo at 18, QuoteIQ at 17, Jobber at 16, and Housecall Pro at 12.
| Tool | Trades served | Price band | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Podium | 21 | Quote-based | Enterprise |
| Quo | 18 | Paid — under $100/mo | SMB |
| QuoteIQ | 17 | Paid — under $100/mo | SMB |
| Jobber | 16 | Paid — under $100/mo | SMB |
| Housecall Pro | 12 | Paid — under $100/mo | SMB |
| Fixlify AI | 9 | Free tier + paid | SMB |
| ServiceTitan | 9 | Quote-based | Enterprise |
| Buildertrend | 5 | Quote-based | Enterprise |
| Knowify | 5 | Paid — under $100/mo | Enterprise |
| Workiz | 5 | Quote-based | SMB |
Which trades have the most AI tools, and which have the fewest?
Coverage is remarkably even. The deepest category, optometrists, has 11 listed tools; the thinnest, chiropractors & PT, daycare, and pharmacies, have 6 each. Every one of the 36 trades has at least 6 vetted tools, and most of the classic trades (plumbing, electrical, roofing, welding, painting) sit at 9. HVAC and landscaping lead the hands-on trades at 10 apiece.
| Rank | Trade / category | Tools listed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Optometrists | 11 |
| 2 | HVAC | 10 |
| 2 | Landscaping | 10 |
| 4 | Roofing | 9 |
| 4 | Solar Power | 9 |
| 4 | Auto Service | 9 |
| 4 | Decks & Outdoor | 9 |
| 4 | Marine Structures | 9 |
| 4 | Swimming Pools | 9 |
| 4 | Handyman | 9 |
Also at 9 tools: appliance repair, pest control, plumbing, electrical, painting, welding, and restaurants. At 8: construction, carpentry, cleaning services, auto body, and 12 others. The full per-trade counts are in the open data feed.
Who pays The Agentic AI Index for these listings?
Nobody, and the feed proves it. Every entry in tools.json carries an is_affiliate field, and as of 2026-07-18 it reads false on all 179 tools. Not most of them. All of them. We earn nothing when you click through to a vendor, and no vendor can pay to be listed, ranked, or described more kindly.
We publish the field precisely so you do not have to take our word for it. Open the feed, search for is_affiliate, and count. If that ever changes for a listing, the field will say so on that listing.
Common questions about this report
What is the State of AI in the Trades 2026 report based on?
Every number comes from one source: the tools.json data feed behind The Agentic AI Index directory, containing 179 AI tools we checked by hand, as the data stood on 2026-07-18. Each entry records the tool's name, price band, vendor URL, affiliate status, business-size tier, and the trades it applies to. There are no outside market statistics, survey results, or projections anywhere in this report. If we did not count it ourselves, it is not here.
How much does AI software cost for a trade business in 2026?
Of the 179 tools we track, 73 (41%) either have a free tier or cost under $100 per month, 34 (19%) run $100 to $300 per month, 9 (5%) cost $300 or more per month, and 2 charge per report. The remaining 61 (34%) do not publish a price at all; you have to call for a quote. Prices are recorded as durable bands rather than exact dollar figures because vendor prices change too often to keep accurate.
Can I cite or reuse this data in an article or report?
Yes. The full dataset is published free at theagenticaiindex.com/tools.json under a CC-BY-4.0 license. Anyone (journalists, bloggers, researchers, AI systems) may quote, chart, or republish the numbers with attribution to The Agentic AI Index and a link to the site. No permission request is needed.
How were the 179 tools chosen and verified?
Each tool was reviewed by hand before listing: we confirm the product is real and currently sold, check the vendor's own pricing page and record the price band, and map the tool only to trades where it genuinely applies. Vendors cannot pay for placement, and none pays us: 0 of the 179 listings are affiliate links as of 2026-07-18. Tools are re-checked on a rolling schedule and the feed's tool_count field always matches the number of entries.
Methodology: where every number comes from
The source. This report is an analysis of tools.json, the machine-readable feed behind The Agentic AI Index directory. The feed lists every AI tool recommended anywhere on the site, one JSON record per tool, with name, description, price band, vendor URL, affiliate status, applicable trades, and business-size tier. It is the same file our own trade pages are built from, so the report and the directory can never disagree.
How tools get in. Before a tool is listed we verify by hand that the product exists and is currently sold, read the vendor's own pricing page and record a durable price band (not an exact dollar figure, since vendor prices change too often to keep accurate), assign a business-size tier, and map the tool only to trades where it genuinely applies. No vendor can pay for inclusion or placement, and 0 of the 179 current listings pay us anything.
How the numbers were produced. Every figure on this page was computed directly from the feed by counting records: price-band counts, tier counts, per-trade tallies, trade-spread counts, and affiliate counts. Each distribution sums to exactly 179. Percentages are rounded to whole numbers in the text and shown to one decimal in tables, so rounded shares may not sum to exactly 100.
- Data as of: 2026-07-18 (feed generated 2026-07-16, analyzed for this report on 2026-07-18)
- Records analyzed: 179 tools, 303 tool-to-trade pairings, 36 distinct trade categories
- License: CC-BY-4.0 with attribution to The Agentic AI Index
- Open data feed: theagenticaiindex.com/tools.json, free for anyone to cite with attribution
Journalists and bloggers: this data is yours to use
Writing about AI in the skilled trades or on main street? Every number in this report, and the 179 underlying records, are published free at theagenticaiindex.com/tools.json under CC-BY-4.0. Quote it, chart it, build on it. All we ask is attribution with a link:
Source: The Agentic AI Index, State of AI in the Trades 2026 (theagenticaiindex.com)
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See the tools behind the numbers, trade by trade
Every count in this report unpacks into a real, browsable list. Pick your trade to see the specific tools, what each one does, and its price band. And if you would rather have someone set it all up for you, we keep a free directory of local AI consultants at Find a local AI pro.