The free, open-source Service Autopilot alternative.
Crewtavo covers the work you do in Service Autopilot, from estimates and recurring routes to automations, a crew app, invoicing and a client portal, and it runs in your own Railway account. No yearly subscription, no sign-up fee, no licenses to count, and your data stays in a database you own.
Crewtavo vs. Service Autopilot. Both run recurring lawn and cleaning work from estimate to paid invoice. The difference is the contract, the licenses, and who owns it.
| Topic | Crewtavo | Service Autopilot |
|---|---|---|
| Price of the software | Free for any size of business | Yearly subscription by plan, plus a sign-up fee |
| Adding a team member | No extra cost, in the office or the field | Plans include a set number of mobile and office licenses |
| Client portal and QuickBooks sync | Included | Included on the top plan; priced separately on the others |
| Who hosts it | You, in your own Railway account | Service Autopilot |
| Where your data lives | A Postgres database in your Railway account | Service Autopilot’s servers |
| Source code | Open source (AGPL-3.0), on GitHub | Closed |
| Changing how it works | Change anything, or hire any developer to | The settings and integrations Service Autopilot offers |
| Support | Docs, and bug reports on GitHub | Included with your subscription |
Service Autopilot’s plans and prices change over time; see Service Autopilot’s pricing page for current details. Comparison checked October 2026.
Everything you do in Service Autopilot, in Crewtavo.
Recurring routes, automations and billing map over directly, so your office and crews keep their routine.
Included, no add-ons. Tools many service businesses pay for separately come built in.
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Equipment maintenance
Service schedules by date, hours or miles, repair history with receipts, and alerts when something is due.
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Weather holds
Rain and temperature rules flag visits that shouldn’t go ahead, and shift a rain day in one step.
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Satellite map measuring
Measure areas and lengths on the map and feed them straight into quote formulas.
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SOP knowledge base
Procedures with revision history and required reading, so new hires learn your way of doing the job.
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Custom roles
Rename the starter roles or build your own, enforced by the database rather than just hidden buttons.
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Claude and ChatGPT
Connect an AI assistant that only does what each person’s role allows, with every call logged.
Is Crewtavo right for you? An honest take.
Crewtavo is a great fit if
- You’d rather not sign up for a year at a time
- Licenses for every crew member and office user add up
- You want a client portal and QuickBooks sync without the top plan
- You want to own your data and your software
Service Autopilot may suit you better if
- You track chemical applications, which Service Autopilot has built in
- Your crews want a native app from the App Store
- You want a fully managed service with a training academy
Switching from Service Autopilot in five steps.
Most of the work is setting up your price list. Your clients come over in a CSV file.
- 1 Set up Crewtavo and pick your trade Click Deploy on Railway and create a free Railway account. Crewtavo sets itself up and opens; choose your trade so starter services, formulas and checklists load.
- 2 Bring over your clients Export your client list from Service Autopilot, save the file as CSV, then import it on the Clients screen in Crewtavo.
- 3 Set your prices Adjust the starter price list to match what you charge, and add any services that are missing.
- 4 Invite your team Send invitations and give each person a role: general manager, operations manager, foreman, employee or your own.
- 5 Switch over Book new work in Crewtavo while you finish open jobs in Service Autopilot. Keep your old invoices and reports on file.
Service Autopilot alternative FAQ.
Is Crewtavo really a free alternative to Service Autopilot?
Yes. Crewtavo is free for any size of business, with every feature included. There’s no subscription and no per-user fee. It runs in your own Railway account, and you pay Railway directly: its Hobby plan is $5 a month and includes $5 of usage, and a new instance at rest uses about $3.60 of that.
Can I import my data from Service Autopilot?
You can import your customer list from a CSV file. Export it from Service Autopilot, and if it comes as an Excel file, open it in Excel or Google Sheets and save it as CSV. Crewtavo matches the columns it recognizes, and you match the rest. Jobs, estimates and invoice history don’t transfer automatically, so most businesses finish open work in Service Autopilot, keep old invoices on file, and start new work in Crewtavo.
Does Crewtavo work with QuickBooks?
Yes. Crewtavo sends invoices and payments to QuickBooks Online, and it also connects to Zoho Books.
Is there a mobile app for my crew?
Crews use My day in their phone’s browser and can add it to the home screen like an app. It shows the day’s visits with gate codes, checklists, photos, timers, and on my way, start and complete buttons.
How hard is it to set up?
Easy, with no servers to manage. Click Deploy on Railway, create a free Railway account and approve the setup. Crewtavo creates the app, a Postgres database, sign-ins and file storage in your account, then opens when it’s ready, usually within a few minutes.
Who fixes things if something breaks?
Crewtavo is developed in the open on GitHub, where you can report problems and see fixes as they land. Because you host it, you choose when to update.
Is Crewtavo affiliated with Service Autopilot?
No. Crewtavo is an independent open-source project. Service Autopilot is a trademark of its owner, used here only to describe the comparison.
Keep your routes. Drop the contract.
Free for any size of business, month to month on your own hosting. Deploy it to your own Railway account, bring over your clients, and own the software your business runs on.