Side-by-side
TaxiDex vs Autocab — the modern cloud alternative
Thinking about switching off Autocab? This page compares the two systems honestly, including where Autocab still has the edge.
The Autocab pain points
Why UK fleets are leaving Autocab
We hear the same four pains every week from operators evaluating us. None of them are unsolvable — they're just unsolved on a 1990s-architected platform.
Where Autocab gets friction
Your dispatch software is owned by Uber
Uber acquired Autocab in April 2021, cleared unconditionally by the UK CMA. If you run an independent fleet, your dispatch platform — and the iGo marketplace it connects to — is owned by the largest competitor in your market. Whether that matters is a commercial judgement worth making deliberately.
- Uber completed its acquisition of Autocab in April 2021
- The iGo marketplace routes overflow work between operators
- Worth asking any vendor who owns them and where bookings flow
Legacy pricing is hard to predict
On older platforms the monthly rate is rarely the whole bill — hardware, per-seat dispatch licences and paid module bolt-ons mean cost grows with your back office, not just your fleet. Ask any vendor for a fully itemised quote before you compare.
- Ask what is included versus sold as a paid module
- Check whether dispatcher seats are licensed per PC
- Include hardware and setup fees in any comparison
TaxiDex driver app plus your own branded passenger app feel dated
The legacy app stack hasn't kept up with what your customers expect from Uber and Bolt. Conversion from web to app stays low, and drivers complain about the day-to-day experience.
- App UX trailing the Uber/Bolt experience riders expect
- Low web-to-app conversion holding back repeat bookings
- Driver friction that adds up shift after shift
Ask how often they actually ship
Release cadence and roadmap visibility vary a lot between dispatch vendors. Before you sign, ask how often new features ship, whether you can see what is coming next, and how operator feedback reaches the roadmap.
- Ask for the release cadence in writing
- Ask whether you get visibility of the forward roadmap
- Ask how operator feedback influences priorities
How TaxiDex answers it
TaxiDex isolates every tenant
Every fleet's data is scoped to its own company records, with role-based access and an audit log. Your DPO can request our sub-processor list in writing.
- Per-fleet data scoping, TLS 1.3 in transit
- Enterprise option for dedicated infrastructure
- DPA, audit log and sub-processor list provided in writing
Per-driver, no hardware
TaxiDex is cloud — nothing to install on dispatcher PCs. Pay per active driver (£11 / £9 / £7 a month), cancel any time, and the apps run on any browser or smartphone you already own.
- Cloud console — nothing to install on dispatcher PCs
- Per-trip pricing: £11/driver / £9/driver / £7/driver, cancel anytime
- Runs in any browser and on any smartphone
Modern white-label passenger app
iOS and Android apps with Apple Pay, Google Pay, live tracking, multi-stop, schedule-ahead and loyalty — published under your brand. Your customers won't know they switched.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay on the apps and web booker
- Live tracking, multi-stop, schedule-ahead and loyalty
- Published under your brand on a custom domain
Weekly updates, opt-in betas
We ship every Thursday. Customers in the operator panel can opt into beta tracks and influence the roadmap in monthly community calls — so the product keeps pace with your operation.
- New features every Thursday on a predictable cadence
- Opt-in beta tracks from the operator panel
- Monthly community calls that shape the roadmap
7–14 days
Typical migration
Weekly
Release cadence
Per-driver
Pricing, no hardware
Rollback
Old system live until you switch
The detailed comparison
Feature-by-feature, honestly
Where Autocab wins, we'll say so. Where we win, we'll prove it.
| Feature | TaxiDex | Autocab |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud-native architecture | Fully cloud | Hybrid |
| Logical data isolation per tenant | Per-tenant | Ask vendor |
| Data-processing agreement | On request | On request |
| Per-trip, no hardware pricing | £11/driver / £9/driver / £7/driver | |
| White-label iOS & Android passenger app | ||
| Apple Pay / Google Pay on web booker | ||
| AI auto-dispatch (12 signals) | ML model | Rules-based |
| Hotel concierge web booker | Included (Pro+) | Add-on |
| IVR-to-app conversion | Built-in | |
| Dead-mileage reduction analytics | Built-in | |
| Network of partner fleets (UK) | Growing | Largest |
| Release cadence | Weekly | Quarterly |
| Open API + webhooks | Full REST + webhooks | Limited |
| Typical migration time | 7–14 days | — |
| Long-term contract required | Cancel anytime | Often 3+ yr |
Cloud-native, data-private
Isolated data and per-driver pricing
On a hybrid, tightly-coupled platform your data shares infrastructure with the wider network and your costs grow with hardware leases, module bolt-ons and per-PC dispatch licenses. TaxiDex flips both: per-fleet data scoping with rest, and per-trip pricing (£11/driver, £9/driver and from £7/driver per month) with nothing to install on dispatcher PCs.
Under the hood you get the full enterprise toolkit — a live operations map with driver markers, status halos and an SOS panic panel, an ML-based auto-dispatch engine reading 12 signals, and a drag-and-drop dispatch board for moving jobs between drivers in real time.
Rollback-protected migration
From Autocab to TaxiDex in 14 days
Switching platforms sounds risky — it doesn't have to be. Over days 1–3 we work with your Autocab admin to export customers, drivers, zones, tariffs and 12 months of trip history. Nothing is left behind.
From days 4–10 both systems run live: drivers carry both apps while we shadow-run every dispatch on TaxiDex and compare results daily. The cutover over days 11–14 is shift-by-shift, starting overnight, and Autocab is decommissioned only after the third clean day — with direct founder support and a fixed migration cost throughout.
The verdict
Which one is right for you?
An honest read on when each platform makes sense — and why running both in parallel takes the risk out of switching.
Pick Autocab if…
You need the largest UK network of partner-fleets today and you're not concerned about cloud isolation, modern apps, or per-trip pricing. For operators who lean on that network reach, staying put can be the pragmatic call.
Pick TaxiDex if…
You want a fully cloud-native platform with isolated data, modern white-label passenger app, weekly releases and per-driver pricing — without a 3-year lock-in.
Run both during migration
Our typical migration runs both systems in parallel for 7–14 days. No downtime, no booking loss — drivers transition shift-by-shift until the cutover is complete.
Migration path
What switching from Autocab looks like
A fixed-cost, rollback-protected path that runs both systems in parallel and cuts over shift-by-shift — no booking loss.
Free guide
Planning the move off Autocab?
The migration checklist is the working document: what to export before you give notice, which fields legacy systems drop silently, and the reconciliation step most switches skip. Useful whether or not you end up choosing us.
How much does Autocab cost per month?
The rate commonly quoted for Autocab is around £11.40 per unit per month. Autocab quotes per fleet rather than publishing a public price list, so treat that as a ballpark to check your own quote against rather than a figure to budget from. Two costs usually sit outside the headline rate: a monthly minimum, commonly around £79 across this sector, and a one-off onboarding fee, which in this market commonly runs from £1,200 to £15,000 depending on fleet size and migration scope. Ask specifically whether you are billed per vehicle or per active driver — on a fleet where cars outnumber working drivers, that single definition changes the bill more than the rate does. TaxiDex is £11 per active driver on Starter, £9 on Professional and from £7 on Enterprise, with a £79 monthly minimum.
How does TaxiDex protect our data compared with Autocab?
TaxiDex scopes every fleet's data to its own company records, with role-based access and an audit log of sensitive actions. Your data protection officer can request our sub-processor list in writing.
How is TaxiDex pricing different from Autocab's?
Older dispatch platforms often combine hardware leases, paid module bolt-ons and per-PC dispatch licences, so ask any vendor for a fully itemised quote. TaxiDex is fully cloud, so there is nothing to install on dispatcher PCs. You pay per active driver across three tiers — £11 on Starter, £9 on Professional and from £7 on Enterprise — and you can cancel anytime, with no 3-year lock-in.
How do you migrate our data from Autocab without losing bookings?
Yes. Over days 1–3 we export your customers, drivers, zones, tariffs and 12 months of trip history. From days 4–10 both systems run in parallel — drivers carry both apps while we shadow-run every dispatch on TaxiDex and compare results daily. The cutover over days 11–14 happens shift-by-shift, starting overnight, and Autocab is decommissioned only after the third clean day. There is zero booking loss.
Are the passenger app plus the TaxiDex driver app really modern?
Yes. TaxiDex ships white-label iOS & Android passenger app with Apple Pay and Google Pay, live tracking, multi-stop, schedule-ahead and loyalty — published under your own brand on a custom domain. Riders get the Uber/Bolt-grade experience they now expect, and because the apps carry your branding your customers won't know they switched.
How fast does TaxiDex ship new features?
TaxiDex ships every Thursday. Customers in the operator panel can opt into beta tracks and influence the roadmap in monthly community calls. That weekly cadence stands in contrast to the quarterly releases and 6–18-month feature queues common on legacy platforms.
Does TaxiDex have the same UK partner-fleet network as Autocab?
Honestly, not yet — Autocab has the largest UK network of partner fleets today, and we say so. Our network is growing. Where TaxiDex wins is cloud-native architecture, per-tenant data isolation, modern white-label passenger app, Apple Pay and Google Pay on the web booker, ML-based auto-dispatch and weekly releases — without a long-term contract.
Get an Autocab migration quote
30 minutes. We'll review your current Autocab setup, give you an honest go/no-go, and a fixed migration cost.
Related
Keep reading
- Worth reading first: what you own when you leave a dispatch vendor.
- Weighing up other options too? See how the main taxi dispatch software alternatives.