TLDR: Broadly is retiring their legacy app and forcing all customers to migrate to Broadly Engage by April 30, 2026. Many service businesses are using this disruption as a reason to switch to something cheaper and better. VisibleFeedback starts at $65/mo (vs Broadly’s $299-$699/mo) with no contract, and includes problem detection and retention reminders that Broadly doesn’t offer. This article compares four alternatives and includes a migration checklist.
If you use Broadly for your service business, you’ve probably received the email by now. Broadly is retiring their legacy app and force-migrating all customers to a new platform called Broadly Engage. The migration window runs from February through April 2026, with the legacy app shutting down permanently on April 30th.
You have two choices: migrate to Broadly Engage, or use this as the moment to switch to something better.
This article breaks down what we know about the Broadly Engage migration, what it means for HVAC, plumbing, pest control, cleaning, and electrical businesses, and what alternatives are worth considering if you decide the forced migration is a good reason to shop around.
Broadly has been going through changes since Vendasta acquired them in 2023. Product development slowed. Support complaints grew. And now, they’re rolling out a new platform called Broadly Engage that replaces the legacy Broadly app entirely.
Here’s what we know:
For a small service business already paying $299 to $699 per month, being told to move to a new platform you didn’t ask for is disruptive. Your team has to learn a new interface, verify that everything transferred, and hope the new platform works as well as the old one.
That disruption is why many service businesses are treating this migration as a natural switching point.
The logic is straightforward. If you have to go through the pain of transitioning anyway, why transition to a more expensive version of the same tool when you could transition to something better and cheaper?
Here are the most common reasons service businesses are making the switch:
Broadly’s plans run $299 to $699 per month with a $350 setup fee and 12-month contracts. For an HVAC company with 3 trucks or a pest control company with 5 techs, that’s a significant monthly expense for a tool that primarily sends review requests and manages a webchat widget.
At those prices, Broadly needs to deliver outsized results. Most small service businesses report that it does not.
When a vendor forces you to move to a new platform, it signals that their priorities are not aligned with yours. You didn’t ask for a new interface. You didn’t ask for new workflows. You had a tool that was working (or at least familiar), and now you’re being told to start over — while still paying the same price.
That’s a reasonable moment to evaluate whether this vendor still deserves your business.
The biggest knock on Broadly has always been what it does not do. Broadly collects reviews and manages messages. It does not:
These aren’t minor gaps. For service businesses, catching problems early and driving repeat revenue are the two things that matter most for long-term profitability. If Broadly didn’t add these features in three years, Broadly Engage probably won’t either.
If you’re going to switch, switch to something that actually addresses the problems Broadly ignores. Here are the most realistic options for service businesses.
Price: $65/mo Standard, $100/mo Pro. Annual: $55/mo and $85/mo. Contract: None. Month-to-month. Free trial: 14 days, no credit card.
VisibleFeedback was built from the ground up for service businesses. HVAC, plumbing, pest control, cleaning, electrical — these are the industries the tool is designed for.
The core difference from Broadly is what happens after a job is completed. Instead of immediately asking for a review, VisibleFeedback asks the customer how the job went. Privately.
If the customer is happy, they get guided to leave a Google review. If something went wrong — the tech was late, the repair didn’t hold, the cleanup was sloppy — you find out in your inbox the same day. Before Google. Before Yelp. Before any damage is done.
This private feedback loop is something Broadly has never offered and Broadly Engage doesn’t appear to add.
On top of that, VisibleFeedback includes retention reminders that automatically bring past customers back for repeat service. Quarterly pest treatments, seasonal HVAC tune-ups, filter replacements, annual inspections — set them up once and they run in the background, generating repeat revenue without anyone on your team remembering to make a call.
What you get that Broadly doesn’t offer:
What Broadly has that VisibleFeedback doesn’t:
For a service business that cares about keeping customers and protecting its reputation, VisibleFeedback covers the gaps Broadly has always had — at roughly 80% less money.
Price: $75/mo Reviews, $125/mo Pro. Contract: None. Free trial: 14 days, no credit card.
NiceJob is a focused review generation tool. It’s good at what it does: after each job, it sends a polished review request via email and SMS. The flow is well-designed, the reminders are well-timed, and it integrates natively with Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan (via Zapier), QuickBooks, and 30+ other platforms.
If your only goal is more 5-star Google reviews, NiceJob delivers. But it shares Broadly’s biggest gap — no private feedback step. Every customer gets the review request whether the job went well or not. And while NiceJob Pro includes a “Get Repeats” feature for $125/mo, it requires a CRM integration and you can’t customize the timing.
Best for: Businesses that already have strong customer relationships and just need more reviews. Not a retention tool.
Price: Starting at approximately $399/mo. Custom pricing for larger businesses. Contract: Typically 12 months. Free trial: Demo only.
Podium is a heavyweight communication platform. Reviews, webchat, text payments, AI assistant (Jerry 2.0), unified inbox. For larger service businesses with multiple locations and a front office team managing customer communication all day, Podium is powerful.
But it costs the same or more than Broadly, with similar contract requirements. And like Broadly, it doesn’t address problem detection or retention reminders. You’re paying premium prices for messaging and reviews.
Best for: Multi-location businesses with 10+ employees and the budget for an enterprise communication platform.
Price: $79/mo add-on to existing Jobber subscription. Contract: Tied to Jobber subscription.
If you’re already running your business on Jobber, their Marketing Suite add-on gives you basic review requests, email campaigns, and automated follow-ups without adding another vendor. The integration is seamless because it pulls directly from your job completion data.
The tools are basic compared to dedicated platforms, but for a Jobber shop that wants “good enough” marketing, it works.
Best for: Businesses already on Jobber that want to consolidate vendors.
| Feature | Broadly Engage | VisibleFeedback | NiceJob | Podium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $299-$699 | $65-$100 | $75-$125 | $399+ |
| Annual pricing | Unknown | $55-$85/mo | None | Quote |
| Setup fee | $350 | None | None | Varies |
| Contract | 12 months | None | None | 12 months |
| Problem detection | No | Yes | No | No |
| Retention reminders | No | Yes | Pro only ($125) | No |
| Review automation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS | Yes | Pro ($100) | Yes | Yes |
| Webchat | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Free trial | Unknown | 14 days | 14 days | Demo only |
| Built for service businesses | Partially | Yes | Yes | Partially |
| Active development | Uncertain | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Whether you migrate to Broadly Engage or switch to an alternative, you need to act before the legacy app shuts down. Here’s the timeline:
Now through March 15:
March 15 through April 15: 4. Make your decision. If you’re switching, begin the transition. Import your customer list, set up follow-up templates, configure retention reminders. 5. If you’re staying with Broadly, complete the Engage migration and verify all data, templates, and automations transferred correctly.
Before April 30: 6. Confirm that your new system (whether Broadly Engage or an alternative) is fully operational. 7. Cancel Broadly if you’re switching. Get cancellation confirmation in writing.
Do not wait until April. Platform migrations always take longer than expected, and if something goes wrong, you want time to fix it while the legacy app is still running.
Here’s the math that makes the decision simple.
A plumbing company on Broadly’s Standard plan pays $299/mo plus the $350 setup fee. That’s $3,938 in year one.
The same company on VisibleFeedback Standard pays $65/mo with no setup fee. That’s $780 in year one.
Annual savings: $3,158.
For the Pro tier, the savings are even larger. Broadly Premium at $499/mo plus setup is $6,338/year. VisibleFeedback Pro at $100/mo is $1,200/year. Savings: $5,138.
But the cost goes beyond the subscription. With VisibleFeedback, you also get problem detection that catches unhappy customers before they leave bad reviews, and retention reminders that bring past customers back for repeat service. Those features generate revenue that Broadly simply does not.
One caught problem that saves a $2,000 annual maintenance customer from leaving is worth more than a year of any software subscription.
Yes. Broadly has announced that the legacy app will be retired on April 30, 2026. All customers must migrate to Broadly Engage or lose access to the platform.
Broadly says customer data will transfer, but we strongly recommend exporting your data independently before the migration. Customer lists, review history, message logs — save copies of everything. Platform migrations can have gaps.
Possibly. A forced platform change could constitute a material change in service terms. Review your contract language and consult with your payment processor or attorney if needed. At minimum, document the migration requirement and any changes in functionality, pricing, or terms.
Start a free trial at VisibleFeedback.com. Import your customer list (CSV upload takes about 5 minutes). Set up your follow-up templates and retention reminders. You can run VisibleFeedback alongside Broadly during your trial to compare results before canceling.
VisibleFeedback is building integrations with Jobber, Housecall Pro, and other FSM platforms. Currently, follow-ups are triggered through the dashboard or CSV import. The core functionality — problem detection, review automation, and retention reminders — works independently of your scheduling tool.
No. Your Google reviews belong to your Google Business Profile, not to Broadly or any other tool. Switching review management platforms has zero effect on your existing reviews. You’ll just be sending future review requests through a different tool.
The Broadly Engage migration is a disruption you didn’t ask for. But it’s also an opportunity. If you’re going to go through the hassle of transitioning anyway, transition to something that costs less, does more, and doesn’t lock you in.
VisibleFeedback starts at $65/mo with no contract, no setup fee, and a 14-day free trial. It catches problems before they become bad reviews. It brings customers back for repeat service. And it was built specifically for HVAC, plumbing, pest control, cleaning, and electrical businesses.
Don’t migrate to Broadly Engage by default. Evaluate what else is out there. You might find that a forced migration is the best thing that could have happened for your business.
Start your free trial at VisibleFeedback.com
Austin Spaeth is the founder of VisibleFeedback, a follow-up and retention tool built for service businesses. He writes about customer retention, reputation management, and repeat revenue for small service companies.
Text or email clients after every job. Catch issues early, recover unhappy clients fast, and drive repeat work with smart reminders.
Austin Spaeth is the founder of VisibleFeedback, a tool that helps service companies automate post-job follow-ups, catch issues early, and drive repeat work with smart reminders. With a background in software development and a focus on practical customer retention systems, Austin built VisibleFeedback to make it easy to text or email customers after every job, route problems to the right person, and keep relationships strong without awkward outreach. When he’s not building new features or writing playbooks for service businesses, he’s wrangling his six kids or sneaking in a beach day.
Whether you’re dealing with callbacks, unhappy customers, or low repeat work, we’ll help you tighten the follow up loop.
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