# Pool Brain vs Poolside

Pool Brain meters active field technicians. Poolside meters technician and customer caps. Published list prices and feature gates as of 2026-09-06. No winner.

- Canonical: https://www.poolprostack.com/compare/pool-brain-vs-poolside
- Vendors: [Pool Brain](https://www.poolprostack.com/vendors/pool-brain), [Poolside](https://www.poolprostack.com/vendors/poolside)
- No ranked winner
- Updated: Sep 8, 2026

Pool Brain bills per active field technician. Poolside bills flat tiers locked by technician and customer caps. Those meters are not interchangeable, so this page does not name a cheaper product or a winner. Figures are from vendor pages checked 2026-09-06. We have not tested either app.

## Two different meters

> **Verified fact:** [Pool Brain pricing](https://www.poolbrain.com/pricing/) bills per **active field technician** at **$65/tech**. That is the only HTML-locked dollar amount on the fetched page. The page does not define "active." It states unlimited office users. Office-user and base totals are unpublished in the HTML.

> **Verified fact:** [Poolside pricing](https://trypoolside.com/pricing) publishes **flat monthly tiers** locked by **active technician count and customer count**. Starter is 1 technician and up to 50 customers. Growth is up to 2 technicians and 125 customers. Pro is up to 5 technicians and 300 customers. Enterprise is custom, unlimited on both caps.

You cannot subtract a Pool Brain tech-line dollar from a Poolside tier dollar and get a breakeven. A Poolside "customer" is not a Pool Brain billing unit. Headcount moves Pool Brain. Crossing a tech cap or a customer cap jumps Poolside.

Pool Brain's documented functions sit on the [Pool Brain profile](/vendors/pool-brain), still without a field test. Poolside's documented functions sit on the [Poolside profile](/vendors/poolside), still without a field test.

## Pool Brain published component

> **Verified fact:** The public [pricing](https://www.poolbrain.com/pricing/) heading is **ALL FEATURES + FREE SETUP**. The calculator shows **$65 per active field technician**. That is the only HTML-locked dollar amount. Unlimited office users are stated. Office-user and base totals stay unpublished.

> **Verified fact:** The public picker labels start at 5, 10, 15, and continue through 50. There are no 1–4 technician presets on the fetched page.

| Field techs | What is published | What this page will not treat as the monthly plan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Unit price $65/tech. No preset. Total unpublished. | $65 as a 1-tech monthly plan |
| 5 | Picker includes 5. $65 × 5 = $325 is line arithmetic only. | $325 as the published monthly plan |

> **Editorial judgment:** Use $65/tech as a unit, not as a checkout total. Do not treat $65 as a solo plan. Do not treat $325 as the five-tech plan. Ask Pool Brain for a written quote at your actual tech count, including how they define "active" and what office users cost.

This page does not invent an office-user fee from HTML attributes, and it does not back-solve a dated 3-tech chart into a missing line.

## Poolside published prices

> **Verified fact:** Public [Poolside pricing](https://trypoolside.com/pricing), 2026-09-06. Worked examples use the published list price. The 50% first-month promo is not the ongoing floor.

| Plan | List price | Technician cap | Customer cap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $29.99/mo | 1 | 50 |
| Growth | $59.99/mo | 2 | 125 |
| Pro | $99.99/mo | 5 | 300 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited |

> **Verified fact:** The same pricing page advertises **50% off the first month** on paid plans, no long-term contract, and cancel anytime. That promo is a first-month discount. It is not a free trial and not the month-two price.

> **Verified fact:** The fetched home and pricing pages do not advertise a free trial. The 50% first month is the published entry offer.

## Units side by side

| | [Pool Brain](/vendors/pool-brain) | [Poolside](/vendors/poolside) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Billable unit | Active field technician | Flat tier (technician cap + customer cap) |
| What counts as one unit | "Active" is not defined on the fetched page | One active technician and one customer, per the pricing page |
| Published rate | $65 per active field technician | Starter $29.99 (1 tech, ≤50 customers). Growth $59.99 (≤2 / ≤125). Pro $99.99 (≤5 / ≤300). Enterprise custom |
| What moves the bill | Each additional active field technician | Crossing a tech cap or a customer cap jumps the shop to the next tier |
| What does not move the bill | Customer count; extra stops at one account | Extra locations inside a customer cap; extra stops at one customer |
| Office / admin seats | Unlimited office users stated; HTML totals unpublished | Not a separate published seat fee |
| Public calculator presets | Picker starts at 5, 10, 15 … 50. No 1–4 presets | Published tier cards. No 1-tech monthly total from Pool Brain to compare against |
| First-month offer | Home: 30-day free trial. Pricing CTA: "Start free trial" with no day count. Do not merge those. | 50% off list. Not a free trial. Not the ongoing floor |
| Feature gate on price | Pricing heading: all features + free setup | Chemistry, optimizer, Stripe tools, and QuickBooks sit on different tiers |

## Same-shop cells

These cells apply the published formulas to the same headcount. Poolside "customers" and Pool Brain "active field technicians" are different units. Optional texts, card fees, and the Poolside 50% first month are excluded.

| Shop | Poolside list | Pool Brain published |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 tech / ≤50 customers | $29.99 (Starter) | Gap. No 1-tech preset. Monthly total unpublished. Not $65 as a plan. |
| 5 techs / ≤300 customers | $99.99 (Pro) | $325 is the $65 × 5 tech component only. Not the monthly plan. |

> **Editorial judgment:** Read the cells as unit arithmetic, not a ranking. At one technician, Poolside publishes $29.99 on Starter and Pool Brain does not publish a checkout total. At five technicians inside 300 customers, Poolside is $99.99 on Pro and Pool Brain's public page only locks the $325 tech line. Chemistry, offline, payments, and QuickBooks copy still differ. Get both quotes.

## Documented feature gates

These are published claims, not a field test.

> **Verified fact:** [Pool Brain Orenda](https://www.poolbrain.com/orenda-calculator-integration/) claims a native Orenda calculator and predicted LSI. [Pool Brain LaMotte](https://www.poolbrain.com/lamotte-spintouch-integration/) claims Spin Touch import. [Pricing](https://www.poolbrain.com/pricing/) puts those on the all-features $65/tech unit.

> **Verified fact:** [Poolside home](https://trypoolside.com/) lists **chemical readings** in the technician app. The pricing feature lists and the fetched home page do not name Orenda, an LSI calculator, or LaMotte. Treat those as unpublished.

> **Verified fact:** [Pool Brain features](https://www.poolbrain.com/features/) and [home](https://www.poolbrain.com/) claim one-click route optimization. [Pricing](https://www.poolbrain.com/pricing/) places that on the all-features unit, not a higher tier.

> **Verified fact:** Poolside Starter lists **route management and maps**. **Smart route optimization** sits on Growth and above ([pricing](https://trypoolside.com/pricing)).

> **Verified fact:** Pool Brain [home](https://www.poolbrain.com/) and [features](https://www.poolbrain.com/features/) claim the technician app works offline with no signal. We have not confirmed every workflow (invoices, signatures) while offline.

> **Verified fact:** Poolside's pricing FAQ says the technician app works offline: complete stops, capture photos, and log service without a signal, then sync when back in range. We have not confirmed every workflow (invoices, signatures) while offline.

> **Verified fact:** [Pool Brain features](https://www.poolbrain.com/features/) claim automatic billing via credit card or ACH, with a retry if a card declines. A processor percentage is not published on the fetched home, features, or pricing pages.

> **Verified fact:** Poolside Starter lists **Quotes and Stripe pay-links**. Growth adds **card on file and in-app charging**. A processor percentage is not published on the fetched pricing or home pages.

> **Verified fact:** [Pool Brain features](https://www.poolbrain.com/features/) claim two-way QuickBooks Online sync (customers, invoices, payments, refunds, products/services, and more). [QBO help](https://help.poolbrain.com/en/articles/5398848-quickbooks-online-2-way-sync-details) documents two-way sync with exceptions, including bundle-line invoices that do not take QBO edits back. The sync fee is unspecified.

> **Verified fact:** Poolside's pricing matrix lists **QuickBooks sync on Pro and Enterprise**, not Starter or Growth. The billing FAQ says "Connect QuickBooks to keep your books in sync." We found no help article that maps objects or direction. This page does not invent that map.

> **Verified fact:** [Pool Brain home](https://www.poolbrain.com/) advertises a **30-day free trial**. The [pricing](https://www.poolbrain.com/pricing/) CTA is "Start free trial" with no day count on that page. Those are different published lines. This page does not merge them.

> **Editorial judgment:** If daily work is Orenda, LSI, or LaMotte, Pool Brain publishes those claims and Poolside does not. If the constraint is a solo tech inside 50 customers, Poolside publishes $29.99 and Pool Brain does not publish a 1-tech total. If the constraint is five techs inside 300 customers, Poolside's Pro list is $99.99 and Pool Brain's public page only locks the $325 tech component. Confirm chemistry, offline, payments, and QuickBooks in a trial.

## Questions for sales or a trial

1. Pool Brain: what is the monthly total for my actual number of active field technicians, and how do you define "active"?
2. Pool Brain: what do unlimited office users cost on that quote?
3. Pool Brain: is the trial 30 days as the home page states, or the uncounted CTA on pricing, and what is month two?
4. Pool Brain: what is the processor percentage on card and ACH auto-pay?
5. Poolside: at my technician count and customer count, which list tier am I on, and is month two still $29.99 / $59.99 / $99.99 after the 50% first month?
6. Poolside: is a customer still one customer if I visit weekly, and do multiple bodies at one address count as one customer or two?
7. Poolside: what objects move in the Pro QuickBooks sync, in which direction, and is there a help article?
8. Both: which offline workflows (photos, invoices, signatures) work without cell service, and what happens to my data if I cancel?

## What we are not claiming

This page does not rank a winner. We have not tested either app. We are not publishing a Pool Brain 1-tech monthly plan. We are not treating $65 as a solo checkout total. We are not treating $325 as the five-tech plan. We are not inventing an office-user dollar amount. We are not back-solving a dated 3-tech chart into a missing fee. We are not applying the Poolside 50% first month to worked examples. We are not inventing Orenda, LSI, or LaMotte for Poolside. We are not inventing a processor percentage. We are not inventing a Poolside QuickBooks object map. We are not merging Pool Brain's 30-day home line with the pricing CTA. We do not earn commissions from these vendors.

Ask for written totals at your technician count and your customer count. Then trial the chemistry step, the offline stop, and the QuickBooks objects on the same week of invoices. Buying notes: [Pool Brain](/vendors/pool-brain), [Poolside](/vendors/poolside), [small-team guide](/guides/best-pool-service-software-for-small-team), [QuickBooks guide](/guides/best-pool-service-software-with-quickbooks), [chemical tracking guide](/guides/pool-service-software-with-chemical-tracking). Other meters: [Skimmer vs Pool Brain](/compare/skimmer-vs-pool-brain), [Poolside vs Skimmer](/compare/poolside-vs-skimmer), [Jobber vs Pool Brain](/compare/jobber-vs-pool-brain), [Jobber vs Poolside](/compare/jobber-vs-poolside), [Paythepoolman vs Pool Brain](/compare/paythepoolman-vs-pool-brain), [Poolside vs Paythepoolman](/compare/poolside-vs-paythepoolman), [Pool Office Manager vs Poolside](/compare/pool-office-manager-vs-poolside). Poolside's public site is [trypoolside.com](https://trypoolside.com/).

## Sources

- [Pool Brain - Home](https://www.poolbrain.com/)
- [Pool Brain - Pricing](https://www.poolbrain.com/pricing/)
- [Pool Brain - Features](https://www.poolbrain.com/features/)
- [Pool Brain - Orenda Calculator](https://www.poolbrain.com/orenda-calculator-integration/)
- [Pool Brain - LaMotte Spin Touch](https://www.poolbrain.com/lamotte-spintouch-integration/)
- [Pool Brain - QBO 2-way sync](https://help.poolbrain.com/en/articles/5398848-quickbooks-online-2-way-sync-details)
- [Poolside - Home](https://trypoolside.com/)
- [Poolside - Pricing](https://trypoolside.com/pricing)