Taxi dispatch software is one of those categories where the sticker price tells you almost nothing. Vendors price three completely different things: flat-rate subscriptions, per-vehicle telematics, and per-ride marketplace commissions. Comparing them apples-to-apples requires translating each pricing model into "what does a five-cab shop actually pay per month?"
Here's the 2026 lay of the land for small taxi operators.
Category 1: Flat-rate customer tracking ($99 to $200/month)
This is the newest category. The pitch is simple: a flat monthly subscription gives the cab company a customer-facing tracking-link layer that doesn't touch fares, doesn't require hardware in vehicles, and scales the same whether you have 2 cabs or 15.
Take Fleet is the clearest example at $99/month flat for up to 15 active drivers, with unlimited tracking links and free driver accounts. There are no per-ride fees, no commissions, and no payment processing fees. A five-cab shop pays the same as a fifteen-cab shop: $99/month total.
Strength: cheapest path to "your customers stop calling for ETAs." Weakness: it's a tracking layer, not a full dispatch system, so you still need radio or phone dispatch underneath. For most small shops, this matches what they already do.
Category 2: Per-vehicle telematics ($150 to $300+/month for 5 cabs)
This is the enterprise stack: hardware installed in each vehicle, telematics data, ELD (where required), dashcams, fuel analytics, vehicle diagnostics, and full DOT compliance reporting.
Samsara: $27 to $33 per vehicle per month for basic telematics, plus a one-time hardware cost of $150 to $500 per vehicle. With cameras and full feature tiers, $100+ per vehicle per month plus hardware. Annual contracts are common.
Verizon Connect: similar structure, $30 to $60 per vehicle per month with annual commitments and hardware install costs.
For a five-cab shop on Samsara basic: 5 × $30 = $150/month + ~$1,500 in hardware. For a five-cab shop on Samsara with cameras: 5 × $100 = $500/month plus hardware. Strength: real compliance and safety features. Weakness: most taxi shops don't need ELD, don't need dashcam programs, and don't need vehicle-level fuel analytics. They're paying for trucking-industry features.
Category 3: Marketplace commissions ("free" but you share fares)
This category has no upfront cost. It takes a cut of every ride it sends you.
Curb: free for cab companies to join, but Curb takes a per-booking fee on every ride. Effective cost depends on what percentage of your rides come from Curb. A cab shop running mostly direct customers might pay near zero; a shop dependent on Curb-app demand might pay hundreds per month in commissions.
Flywheel: similar marketplace structure. Both connect riders to local taxi fleets via consumer apps in major US markets.
Strength: real consumer demand. Curb riders open the app looking for cabs. Weakness: the marketplace owns the customer relationship and takes a cut of every ride sent your way. For small shops that already have direct customers, the marketplace cut compounds quickly.
So which is actually the cheapest?
Depends on what you actually need:
- If you need customer-facing tracking links and nothing else: flat-rate ($99/month) is the cheapest. The other two categories charge for features you don't use.
- If you need DOT ELD compliance or insurance-mandated dashcams: per-vehicle telematics is unavoidable; it's the only category that delivers that. Pay the $150+/month and call it compliance overhead.
- If you need new rider acquisition more than you need direct-customer experience: marketplaces are the cheapest upfront and they bring real consumer demand. Just budget for the per-ride commissions and assume those compound.
Most small taxi operators want category #1: customer tracking links to stop the "where are you?" calls without changing how their existing dispatch already works.
See how Take Fleet works for taxi dispatch → · Compare Take Fleet vs every major alternative →