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Autopilot vs Powered Now
Powered Now is a well-liked UK app for sole traders and small trade teams who mostly need quotes, invoices, and UK tax compliance. Autopilot plans start at $49 a month, and the $149 Full Throttle plan includes the full phone system, AI receptionist, QuickBooks, GPS, and marketing tools.
The Powered Now alternative built for North American crews
The numbers that decide it, side by side.
| Comparison point |  |  Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $49/mo flat | £28/user/mo + VAT |
| Team members included | 1, 5, or 10 by plan | Priced per user |
| Free trial | 2 weeks, no card required | 14 days, no card required |
| Onboarding fee | $0 | Not published |
| Contract | Month to month, cancel anytime | Monthly, or annual for 2 months free |
| AI receptionist | Full Throttle, $149/mo | Not offered |
| Full business phone system | Full Throttle, $149/mo | Not offered |
| Support | Human support chat, no ticket queue | Not published |
Last updated July 2026. Powered Now details are based on publicly available information; verify with Powered Now.
Who is Powered Now?
Powered Now is a bootstrapped and crowdfunded UK company, incorporated in 2011, that built a mobile-first admin app for trades: quoting, invoicing, scheduling, digital forms and certificates, and Making Tax Digital VAT submissions straight to HMRC. It targets sole traders up to teams of about 10, and its users like it, with a 4.7 rating on Capterra across a healthy review base and 4.5 on Trustpilot.
Pricing is per user, plus VAT: the Business plan is £28 per user per month, Professional is £32, and Premium is £40, with two months free on annual billing. There is a 14-day free trial with no card required. Higher tiers add unlimited text and email messaging, drag-and-drop scheduling, appointment reminders, and an AI text-drafting feature.
The honest framing: Powered Now is UK software for the UK. Pricing is in pounds, the killer feature is HMRC tax compliance, and there is no US presence, no built-in phone, and no marketing suite. If you are a British sole trader it is a strong pick. If you run a crew in North America it was not built for you.
Who is Autopilot?
Autopilot is an all-in-one CRM built for home service businesses: junk removal, cleaning, landscaping, moving, and the rest of the trades that keep neighborhoods running. Plans start at $49 a month for scheduling, estimates, invoicing, payments, and online booking. Crew at $99 adds two-way texting and limited calling. Full Throttle at $149 adds the full phone system, AI receptionist, QuickBooks, GPS, and marketing tools. Plans include 1, 5, or 10 team members respectively.
It was built by a founder who ran his own junk removal company and got tired of paying for three tools that didn't talk to each other. Over 400 businesses run on it today, and it holds a 4.8 rating on the App Store and 4.9 on Google Play.
Against Powered Now, Autopilot's case is scope and geography: built for North America, with online booking, marketing campaigns, and a business phone with an AI receptionist, none of which Powered Now offers.
Feature by feature
Not just checkmarks. Where a feature costs extra or sits on a higher plan, the table says so.
Phone & AI
| Comparison point | | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| AI receptionist that answers and books calls | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | No; AI text drafting on Premium |
| Built-in business phone (VoIP) | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | |
| Call recording & transcripts | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Not advertised |
| AI call summaries | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Not advertised |
| Two-way business texting | Crew and Full Throttle | Text & email messaging on higher plans |
Scheduling & Jobs
| Comparison point | | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop scheduling & dispatch | Drag-and-drop on Premium | |
| Online booking | Not advertised | |
| Estimates & quotes | ||
| Client & lead management | ||
| iOS & Android crew app | 4.8 App Store / 4.9 Google Play | iOS & Android |
Payments & Money
| Comparison point | | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing & payments | ||
| Tap to Pay on iPhone | Not advertised | |
| QuickBooks sync | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Not advertised; Xero sync |
| Price book | Not advertised | |
| Customer tipping | Not advertised |
Marketing & Growth
| Comparison point | | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| Review funnel | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Not advertised |
| SMS blast campaigns | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Not advertised |
| Email blast campaigns | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Not advertised |
| Automated marketing sequences | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Invoice chasing & reminders (Premium) |
| Google Ads tracking | Full Throttle ($149/mo) | Not advertised |
Where Powered Now goes deeper
| Comparison point | | Powered Now |
|---|---|---|
| UK Making Tax Digital VAT returns (HMRC) | ||
| Digital forms & certificates | Professional plan and up |
An honest comparison cuts both ways. If these are must-haves for your business today, Powered Now earns the look.
What you actually pay
Autopilot
- Starter$49/mo
- Crew$99/mo
- Full Throttle$149/mo
Clear plans for 1, 5, or 10 team members. No onboarding fee or annual contract. Free 2-week trial.
Powered Now
- Business£28/user/mo
+VAT; £280/user/yr billed annually
- Professional£32/user/mo
+VAT; adds forms, certificates, unlimited messaging
- Premium£40/user/mo
+VAT; adds drag-and-drop scheduling, reminders, AI text
All plans are per user in GBP, excluding VAT, with two months free on annual billing. A 5-person team on Professional runs £160 a month plus VAT.
Last updated July 2026. Powered Now details are based on publicly available information; verify with Powered Now.
The bottom line
Two different tools for two different businesses. Here is the honest split.
Choose Powered Now if…
- You are a UK sole trader or small team and need Making Tax Digital VAT submissions to HMRC
- Quotes, invoices, and certificates are most of what you need from software
- You want a mobile-first app with a long track record in the UK trades
Choose Autopilot if…
- You are in North America; Powered Now is UK-only with pricing in pounds
- You want clear team limits of 1, 5, or 10 members across the $49, $99, and $149 plans
- You want a business phone with call recording and an AI receptionist answering missed calls
- You want online booking and built-in marketing: review funnels, SMS and email campaigns, ad tracking
- You use QuickBooks; Powered Now advertises Xero
Switching from Powered Now takes an afternoon
Four steps, and our team does the heavy one for you.
- 1
Export your customers
Pull your client list out of Powered Now as a CSV. Every FSM platform supports this, and it takes about five minutes.
- 2
We import everything for you
Send us the file and our team loads your customers, jobs, and price book into Autopilot as part of free onboarding. No spreadsheet wrestling on your end.
- 3
Point your phone number at Autopilot
On Full Throttle, keep your existing business number. We port it or forward it, so calls start landing in Autopilot with recording, transcripts, and the AI receptionist behind them.
- 4
Run both for a week, then cut over
Your Powered Now account keeps working during your free trial. Most crews book their first Autopilot job on day one and cancel the old subscription within the month.
- 400+
- businesses run on Autopilot
- 4.9
- Google Play rating
- 4.8
- App Store rating
- $49
- per month starting price
Autopilot vs Powered Now: your questions
The things owners actually ask before they switch.
Try the Powered Now alternative built for your crew
Start a free 2-week trial and book your first job today. No credit card, no onboarding fee, no contract.
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Powered Now is a trademark of Powered Now Ltd. Autopilot is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Powered Now Ltd. Competitor pricing and feature information is based on publicly available sources as of July 2026 and may have changed; features missing from a plan may be available on higher plans or for an additional fee. Confirm details with the vendor before buying.