Essential vs FireDeck
Essential
withessential.com
FireDeck
firedeck.appSide by side
| Figure | Essential | FireDeck |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $29/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 13 |
| Spec score · Fire Protection Software | 7.5 (#23) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Integrations | Listed integrations include Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar, The Compliance Engine, NetSuite, Zoho Books, Dynamics 365 Business Central, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Online and Desktop, and Xero. | Customer Invoicing exports QuickBooks-ready CSV, and the AI Assistant connects to Microsoft 365 inbox and calendar and supports Telegram approval taps. |
| Support | The privacy policy lists Intercom for customer support and in-app messaging, and provides [email protected] for privacy requests. | The Help Center provides product guides and directs users to email support when they cannot find an answer. |
Plans
FireDeck
- Customer Invoicing$29 a month
- Public testing — Customer Invoicing$29 a month
- Public testing — Submittals$29.99 a month
- Submittals$29.99 a month
- Public testing — Receipts & Reconciliation$30 a month
- Receipts & Reconciliation$30 a month
- Inspections & Compliance$49 a month
- AI Answering Service$99 a month
- Canvas Floor Plans$99 a month
- Field Service & Inspections$99 a month
In their own words
Essential
Essential has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
FireDeck
FireDeck is an all-in-one contracting platform for fire alarm work. It began as a fire-alarm submittal generator and also includes field service, inspections, invoicing, receipts, and AI tools. Submittal PDFs combine battery calculations, voltage-drop analysis, a device matrix, and embedded cut sheets. Supported panels include Fire-Lite, Notifier, Potter, and Silent Knight, with a generic worksheet for other panels. The tablet field app supports offline inspections and work orders, GPS timesheets, dispatch mapping, inventory, photos, and customer signatures. Inspections & Compliance tracks NFPA 10 extinguisher and NFPA 25 sprinkler schedules, deficiencies, impairments, and per-site invoicing. Canvas provides browser-based floor-plan building with NFPA 72 placement, coverage checks, addressing, plan sheets, and riser diagrams. Invoicing exports QuickBooks-ready CSV files. The AI Assistant connects to Microsoft 365 and supports Telegram approvals. FireDeck records payments but does not process customer card payments online. Public-testing modules are free; listed plans range from $29 a month to $149 a month.