Trade Caddy and Service Autopilot compared on 2026 pricing, including the sign-up fee Service Autopilot does not publish and which plan includes route optimization.
Service Autopilot is one of the few platforms genuinely built for lawn care rather than adapted to it, and at the high end it is very capable. If you are running thousands of recurring stops it deserves a serious look. For most operators the thing to understand first is the pricing structure.
The short version
| Trade Caddy | Service Autopilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $49/mo | $49/mo (Startup), plus a sign-up fee |
| Sign-up fee | None | Listed on every plan, amount not published |
| Plans to choose from | 1 | 4, the top one quote-only |
| Users included | 1 | 1 business user, 1 mobile license |
| Each additional user | $10/mo | Varies by plan tier |
| Route optimization | Included at $49 | Pro, $199/mo |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | Demo-led |
Prices checked on each company's own pricing page on 2 September 2026.
Ask what the sign-up fee is before anything else
Every Service Autopilot plan is published as a monthly price plus a sign-up fee, and the amount of that fee is not shown on the pricing page. That is not necessarily unreasonable, since onboarding a large operation onto new software is real work that costs them real money. But it does mean the advertised $49 is not the number you will pay in month one, and you cannot find out what is without talking to sales.
If you are evaluating them, get that figure in writing first. It changes the comparison completely, and it is the single most important number on the page.
Route optimization sits on the Pro plan at $199/mo. On Trade Caddy it is in the $49 plan.
Where Service Autopilot is genuinely the better choice
- You are running high volume, in the thousands of recurring stops, where its automation earns back its price.
- You want deep job costing and want to know your margin per property to the cent.
- You need the chemical and application tracking that regulated lawn treatment work requires. Trade Caddy does not have this.
- You want a dedicated onboarding process and are willing to pay for it.
Where Trade Caddy is the better choice
- You want to know the full price before you talk to anyone.
- You are a solo operator or small crew rather than a high-volume operation.
- You want to start today rather than book a demo.
- You want route optimization without moving to a $199/mo tier.
About these numbers
Everything here comes from each company's own published pricing page, not from a review site. Software pricing moves, and plan contents move with it, so check theirs before you decide anything. If something below is out of date, it is a mistake rather than a sales tactic, and it will be corrected.
This comparison covers list pricing and what is included at each tier. It does not attempt to rank the software itself. Every one of these products is used successfully by real businesses.
Prices checked on each company's own pricing page on 2 September 2026.
Try it against your own route
The honest way to settle this is not a comparison table, it is your own customer list. Trade Caddy is $49/mo flat, $10/mo per additional user, with a 30-day free trial and no credit card to start. Put a week of real jobs in it and see whether it holds. If it does not, you have lost a week and no money. If it does, you know what you are switching from and exactly what it costs.
Get Trade Caddy
Scheduling, invoicing, online booking, and QuickBooks sync. Run your whole trade business from your phone.