Tow Deputy vs. TowPilot
Tow Deputy is towing-only AI from $99/mo: it quotes your exact rate card — including zone-based hook-up fees — and can collect a PCI-compliant SMS deposit. TowPilot is also a towing AI dispatcher with a published 7-day trial; its public site lists no prices, but plans shown in its trial-signup flow start at $499/mo (September 2026). Same job category. Five times the starting price.
Tow Deputy is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to TowPilot. Product names are trademarks of their owners. TowPilot details on this page are taken only from towpilot.ai (homepage and text resources) as of September 2026; verify on the vendor’s site. This page does not link to TowPilot.
Two towing AI dispatchers. Different published offers.
Exact quotes, SMS deposits, public $99.
We only answer for towing and roadside. Drivetrain, landmarks, your hook-up and per-mile rates, and a PCI SMS deposit are product settings — not a prompt. An AI towing dispatcher that cannot price the job still loses the shopper who hangs up in 90 seconds.
Starter is $99/mo (290 calls). Growth is $199/mo (590 calls, Smart Deposits). Both include a 14-day free trial. Tow Deputy does not offer a $0 monthly tier. Today’s Towbook and Omadi handoff is SMS plus the dashboard; native sync is not built yet.
Published trial. Prices only shown at signup.
TowPilot’s homepage calls the product “Your AI Towing Dispatcher,” offers a 7-day free trial, cancel anytime, and says it answers 24/7/365. It states it provides a quote based on distance, vehicle type, and time of day, and handles English, Spanish, and more.
Their llms.txt resource “What is an AI dispatcher?” says the product connects to Towbook and Dispatch Anywhere. Their pricing resource describes a monthly subscription with a bucket of voice minutes and per-minute overage. No dollar amount appears on the public site — their FAQ answers “Is TowPilot expensive?” with “Costs vary, but TowPilot is typically less expensive than hiring additional dispatch staff” (towpilot.ai, September 2026). Plans shown inside their trial-signup flow: Standard at $499/mo and Heavy at $1,499/mo, each after a 7-day free trial (September 2026); confirm current pricing with the vendor.
Tow Deputy works alongside the dispatch software you already run. You create the job in Towbook, Omadi, or whatever you use. That is intentional: we will not write that we push jobs into those systems until native two-way sync ships.
Pricing: $99 published vs $499 at signup
Tow Deputy prices are current list prices. TowPilot does not publish prices on towpilot.ai; the $499/mo starting price was shown in TowPilot’s trial-signup flow in September 2026 and its resources describe a subscription-plus-minutes model. Confirm current billing with that vendor. Neither product replaces an overnight human dispatcher. A towing dispatcher salary averages about $48,447/yr per Salary.com.
| Capability | Tow Deputy | TowPilot (published) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting paid plan | Yes. $99/mo Starter (290 calls) | From $499/mo (shown at trial signup, Sept 2026; not on public site) |
| Trial | Yes. 14-day free trial on Starter and Growth | 7-day free trial · Cancel anytime (homepage) |
| Next plan up | Yes. $199/mo Growth (590 calls, Smart Deposits) | $1,499/mo Heavy plan (shown at trial signup, Sept 2026) |
| Usage overage | Yes. $0.30 per extra call, or $30 per 100 | Per-minute overage after included minutes (rate not published) |
| Billing model | Yes. Flat monthly by included calls | Subscription + included voice minutes (pricing resource) |
| Free plan | No. None — paid plans only | Not published |
A year of Tow Deputy Starter is $1,188. As an illustration, if you booked five extra $150 cash tows a week, that math is about $3,250 a month (5 × $150 × 52 ÷ 12) against a $99 bill — using the site-wide average local job of about $150, not a typical or guaranteed result. According to TheKeyBot, 85% of emergency callers will not leave a voicemail. An experimental Lead Engine plan at $3,000/mo bundles Growth with marketed jobs; that is a different conversation than $99 Starter versus TowPilot’s $499 starting price.
Why quoting and deposits decide cash tows
A towing call is not a dentist appointment. The intake questions that decide a job are industry-specific. A dispatcher that logs the call and still misses the money usually missed one of these:
- Drivetrain Skip FWD vs RWD vs AWD vs 4x4 and you roll the wrong truck — a wasted driver and a caller still sitting on the shoulder.
- Location Callers say “behind the Shell off exit 12.” Landmark, exit, and mile-marker resolve is what dispatches a wrecker.
- Your rate card Base hook-up, per-mile from HQ, tiered mileage, zone-based hook-up fees by distance from the yard, vehicle type/weight, after-hours with your night hours.
- A deposit No PCI-compliant SMS pay link into your own Stripe means the 3 AM lockout that changes its mind still cost you a roll. See how deposit collection works.
Feature comparison
Tow Deputy cells are shipped product behavior. TowPilot cells cite only public pages on towpilot.ai as of September 2026. Where the public site is silent, the cell says “not published.” Confirm current capabilities with that vendor.
Intake & quoting
| Capability | Tow Deputy | TowPilot (published) |
|---|---|---|
| Built for towing companies | Yes. Towing and roadside only | Yes. Homepage: purpose-built for towing |
| Roadside service types | Yes. Tows, lockouts, jumps, tires, winch-outs — separate prices | Resource lists lockouts, jumps, tires, fuel delivery |
| Drivetrain, keys, passengers | Yes. Every call, including FWD/RWD/AWD/4x4 | Collects vehicle type and issue; drivetrain not published |
| Landmarks, exits, mile markers | Yes. Built for tows | Not published |
| Quotes your exact rate card live | Yes. Always on from your card | Homepage: quote from distance, vehicle type, time of day |
| Zone-based hook-up by distance from yard | Yes. In the live quote | Not published |
Payments & deposits
| Capability | Tow Deputy | TowPilot (published) |
|---|---|---|
| PCI-compliant SMS deposit on a cash tow | Yes. Secure pay link (Growth) | Not published |
| Funds land in your own Stripe | Yes. Stripe Connect | Not published |
Dispatch & software
| Capability | Tow Deputy | TowPilot (published) |
|---|---|---|
| Works alongside Towbook / Omadi today | Yes. SMS + dashboard; native sync not built | Site lists Towbook and Dispatch Anywhere |
| Native automatic job creation | On the roadmap — not built yet | Resource: can log jobs into towing software |
| Driver / operator alerts | Yes. SMS + driver web app | Homepage: text, app, even a phone call |
| Impound inquiries | Yes. FAQ / impound questions; not an impound-lot product | Homepage: impound lookup automated |
| Human transfer / escalation | Yes. You set the rules | Yes. Transfers by rules (resource) |
Coverage & languages
| Capability | Tow Deputy | TowPilot (published) |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 answering, simultaneous calls | Yes. Under two seconds | Yes. 24/7/365; unlimited simultaneous (resource) |
| Languages | Yes. Automatic Spanish on paid plans | English, Spanish, and more (homepage) |
| Keep your number | Yes. Forward or use a dedicated AI line; live in under 24 hours | Call forwarding or integration; setup “in minutes” (homepage) |
| Contracts | Yes. No contracts, no hardware | Homepage: no contracts |
Who should evaluate TowPilot first
If you already decided you need a vendor that publicly lists Towbook and Dispatch Anywhere connections, and you are comfortable buying without a public price list, start with TowPilot’s own site. That is a fair reason to call them.
If you want an AI towing receptionist with published $99/$199 pricing, a 14-day trial, zone hook-up quotes, and SMS deposits, start on Tow Deputy. Until native Towbook sync ships, you will enter the job yourself from the text and dashboard — we would rather say that than oversell.
What operators say
“I'm a one-man operation. I drive the truck. When I'm winching a car out of a ditch or strapping a vehicle down, I can't answer the phone if a call comes in. Before Tow Deputy, those calls just went to voicemail and I'd lose the job. Now the AI picks up, gets all the details, and texts me the summary. I just glance at my phone and decide if I can take it.”
Anthony G.
Owner-Operator, Gorillas Towing · +12 jobs/week
“We run 14 trucks across three counties. We used to need two full-time dispatchers around the clock. Tow Deputy handles the intake perfectly — vehicle type, drivetrain, exact location, the whole nine. The structured data feeds right into our routing, so we always send the closest available driver. We cut our dispatch overhead by 90% and our average response time dropped by 8 minutes.”
Eric A.
Operations Manager, Ayalas Towing · −90% dispatch overhead
“I set it up specifically for the 12AM–6AM window. I used to wake up to every single call, half of them just price shoppers. Now Tow Deputy screens everything — it collects the info, qualifies the job, and only wakes me up with a call if it's a confirmed, high-paying call. I'm sleeping through the night again and still catching every legitimate job.”
Jay D.
Owner-Operator, J&J Towing & Recovery · 100% call answer rate
More comparisons: Tow Deputy vs Towbook, vs answering services, vs generic AI receptionists, plus the 2026 AI dispatch buyer’s guide.
Tow Deputy vs TowPilot FAQs
What's the difference between Tow Deputy and TowPilot?
Both are AI dispatchers built for towing. Tow Deputy publishes $99 and $199 plans, a 14-day free trial, live rate-card quotes including zone hook-up fees, and PCI SMS deposits on Growth. TowPilot publishes a 7-day trial and a minutes-based subscription; its public site lists no dollar prices, and plans shown at trial signup start at $499/mo (Sept 2026). Native Towbook job creation is not built in Tow Deputy yet.
How much does Tow Deputy cost vs TowPilot?
Tow Deputy Starter is $99/mo for 290 calls; Growth is $199/mo for 590 calls and Smart Deposits. Both include a 14-day free trial. Extra calls are $0.30 each or $30 per 100. Tow Deputy does not offer a $0 monthly tier. TowPilot does not publish prices on towpilot.ai; plans shown in its trial-signup flow start at $499/mo (Sept 2026), on a subscription plus included voice minutes with per-minute overage.
Does TowPilot quote towing prices?
TowPilot’s homepage (Sept 2026) says it provides a quote based on your pricing — distance, vehicle type, and time of day. Whether that includes zone-based hook-up fees by distance from the yard is not published. Tow Deputy quotes your exact rate card on every call, including those zones, as the product — not an optional add-on.
Does Tow Deputy replace TowPilot or my dispatch software?
Neither product replaces Towbook, Omadi, or other job software. Tow Deputy answers, quotes, and can take a deposit, then hands you the intake by SMS and dashboard. TowPilot’s site lists Towbook and Dispatch Anywhere as platforms it connects to. Confirm current connectors with that vendor. Tow Deputy is not affiliated with TowPilot.
When should I choose TowPilot instead?
If you need a vendor that already publishes Towbook and Dispatch Anywhere connections, and you are fine without a public price list, evaluate TowPilot on their site. If you want published $99/$199 pricing, a 14-day trial, zone hook-up quotes, and SMS deposits into your Stripe, start on Tow Deputy. Confirm any feature that is not on this page with the vendor.
Does Tow Deputy create jobs automatically in Towbook?
No. Native automatic job creation for Towbook and Omadi is on the roadmap and is not built yet. Today you copy the finished intake from SMS or the dashboard into the software you already run. See the Towbook and Omadi integration pages for the current handoff.
Put a towing-only agent on your line
Start Starter at $99/mo with a 14-day free trial, or call the demo at (615) 205-9369.