First, the short answer: most taxi dispatch platforms in the UK charge a monthly platform fee in addition to a per-driver fee, typically charged on a weekly or monthly basis. For example, the current standard model of CabTaxi comes to £100 per month for the platform and £3.50 per active driver per week. This works out to approximately £403 per month for a 20-driver fleet. Typically, setup, migration, and a couple of other miscellaneous matters lie outside of that headline number, and that is where many operators find themselves caught off guard a few weeks after they've signed up.
That's a short version. If you are looking for the facts, why do the figures keep changing from one quote to another, and why are certain items left out of a quote? Read on and learn more about the facts.
Why "It Depends" Actually Is the Right Answer
Ask three different taxi dispatch companies what they charge and you won't just get three different numbers, you'll get three completely different ways of arriving at a number. Some charge strictly per driver. Some charge a flat fee no matter how big your fleet is. Some throw the passenger app and driver app in as standard; others sell them as separate add-ons you have to opt into. None of that is shady on its own; it's just that taxi dispatch software, unlike something like basic email hosting, never really settled on one pricing convention across the whole market.
In practice, what actually moves your final bill is fairly predictable once you've seen a few quotes: how many active drivers you're running week to week, whether you want a proper white-label app with your own branding in the app stores or you're fine with a shared generic one, how many branches or depots need their own logins and permissions, whether you need custom pricing zones for different areas of a city versus one flat fare structure, and this one catches people out the most how much work your specific migration actually needs based on what your old system can even export.
What Usually Doesn't Show Up in the Headline Number
This is the part that trips up most operators, and honestly it's rarely because anyone's being dishonest. It's just easy to miss if you're only comparing the big number at the top of a pricing page.
Setup and configuration. Getting your company structure, driver list, vehicle records, and fare rules actually built into the system properly is real work on someone's end. Whether that's folded into your monthly fee or billed as a one-time setup charge varies a lot from provider to provider, so ask directly rather than assuming.
Migrating off your old system. Pulling driver records, historic job data, and account details out of whatever you're using now is almost never a clean export-and-drop-in job. What can realistically be migrated depends heavily on what your current platform even lets you export in the first place; some older systems are frustratingly locked down here. That should genuinely be reviewed before anyone quotes you a migration cost, not assumed as a flat fee upfront.
App branding. A generic, shared passenger app that every operator on the platform uses is one thing. A fully white-label app that carries your own company name and logo in the App Store and Play Store is a different job entirely, and it's often priced as its own line item, sometimes even as a separate one-off cost.
Training your team. Getting dispatchers and office staff comfortable on a new system takes actual hours, whether that's a live session, documentation, or ongoing support in the first few weeks. Depending on the provider, that might be bundled in for free or it might land as a separate charge again, worth asking rather than guessing.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Sign Anything
Instead of just stacking headline monthly figures next to each other, which honestly tells you less than it feels like it should, it's worth putting these questions directly to each provider you're talking to:
- Is the number you've quoted me the full cost, or are setup, migration, and training billed on top of that?
- Does pricing apply to active drivers only, or every driver on my roster whether they're working that week or not?
- If my fleet grows from 20 drivers to 40 over the next year, what happens to my monthly cost?
- Is there a minimum contract term, and realistically, what does it look like if I need to leave the platform down the line?
A provider that can answer these clearly, with specific numbers, instead of steering you back toward "let's book a call to discuss" every time, is generally one worth taking more seriously.
Get an Actual Quote for Your Fleet
Rough averages are a decent starting point, but they only get you so far. The real number for your business comes down to your driver count, how many branches you're running, and which modules you actually need switched on. Book a live CabTaxi demo and we'll walk through current pricing against your specific fleet size with no obligation attached.
FAQS
Is taxi dispatch software priced the same way across every provider?
No. Some charge purely per driver, some charge a flat platform fee regardless of fleet size, and some bundle apps and reporting differently from one another. Always ask for the full pricing structure, not just the number at the top of the page.
Does the price change as my fleet grows?
Generally yes, if pricing is charged per active driver the total scales up or down with however many drivers are actually using the platform in a given week.
Is a white-label app more expensive than a generic one?
Often, yes. A fully branded app carrying your own identity in the app stores usually needs more setup work than a shared, generic app that every operator on the platform uses.
What's a reasonable next step if I want an accurate number for my own business?
Give a provider your active-driver count and tell them what system you're currently on. A published example like the one above is useful for getting oriented, but an accurate number depends on your actual setup.
Should price be the main factor in choosing a platform?
Not on its own. A cheaper platform that can't handle your branch structure or driver documentation properly can end up costing you more in workarounds and lost time than a slightly pricier, more complete system would have.
