Icey vs Service Autopilot for Snow Removal: An Honest Comparison

Quick answer

Pick Service Autopilot if you run lawn care, landscaping or other recurring work all year and plow in winter, want set-and-forget automations for follow-ups and reminders, want card payments and a two-way QuickBooks sync, and are ready to pay for a plan. Its snow dispatch is on Pro ($199 a month at annual rates, plus a sign-up fee) and up.

Pick Icey if snow and ice is the core of the business and you want to start free (up to 10 sites and 5 crew, every feature), quote per-event rate cards where plowing and de-icing are priced as separate visits, with the salt included in the price or listed separately, and keep a salt and de-icing log at every site.

Side by side (as of October 2026)

What each one costs

Service Autopilot, as of October 27, 2026: Startup is $49 a month, Pro $199 and Pro Plus $499, each “+ sign up fee”, and its page says “All pricing is based on annual subscription rates.” Elite is priced on request. The page names no currency and doesn’t give the sign-up fee. App licences included: 1 on Startup, 2 on Pro, 5 on Pro Plus and 8 on Elite; office users: 1, 1, 1 and 2. For more app licences its FAQ says to book a demo; it doesn’t list their price. Snow Dispatch and route optimization start on Pro.

Icey Software: Free forever up to 10 sites and 5 crew. Every feature. Above that, paid plans are priced by sites, from $119 CAD a month for 11–35 sites, with every driver included, no sign-up fee and no contract. Prices are in CAD; companies in the United States pay USD prices.

So a small snow crew pays nothing on Icey while it fits the Free plan. A bigger operation should price both: Icey by its site count, Service Autopilot by the plan and the number of app licences it needs, plus its sign-up fee.

Where Service Autopilot is stronger

• All year, many trades. Service Autopilot sells to lawn care, landscaping, cleaning, pest control and pool companies as well as snow removal, so the same system runs the summer work. Icey is for snow and ice work only.
• Automations. On Pro Plus and Elite, automations follow up on estimates, remind clients about invoices and past-due balances, and send texts and email campaigns; its automations page says you “Set it once, and it will go - by itself - until you say stop”.
• Payments. Integrated payments are on every Service Autopilot plan, and its app takes payments in the field. In Icey you mark an invoice paid by hand when the money arrives.
• Accounting. Service Autopilot has a two-way sync with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop (an add-on on Pro and Pro Plus, included on Elite). Icey exports invoices as a CSV file in the format QuickBooks imports.
• More ways to bill. Its snow page lists flat rate, per push, per event, per inch and hourly billing. Icey’s quotes are per-event rate cards or a seasonal contract paid in monthly instalments.
• Android. Service Autopilot links an app on Google Play. Icey’s Android app is still in testing, so Android crews use Icey in the phone’s browser.
• A guided start. After sign-up you get a launch advisor who sets up the account with you. Icey is self-serve; you can email or call if you want a walkthrough.

Where Icey is stronger, or simply different

• A free plan with every feature. Free forever up to 10 sites and 5 crew. Every feature. Service Autopilot lists no free plan, and its features are split by plan: Snow Dispatch, route optimization and professional quotes start on Pro, and automations on Pro Plus.
• Every driver on a paid plan. Icey’s paid plans are priced by sites and include every driver. Service Autopilot’s plans include a set number of app licences.
• No sign-up fee, monthly, no contract. Icey’s paid plans are billed monthly, with no sign-up fee and no contract. Service Autopilot’s plans carry a sign-up fee whose amount isn’t on its site, are priced at annual subscription rates, and can be downgraded at the end of your contract period.
• De-icing priced as its own visit. Icey’s per-event rate cards price plowing and de-icing as separate visits, with the salt included in the price or listed separately, and each site’s service area drawn on satellite imagery. Accepting the quote makes the site active for the season.
• A salt and de-icing log at every site. Crews log what went down, how much and when, and it stays in your own records — the client’s site report shows the visit and the photos, not the amounts. See salt tracking.
• A site report for every completed visit, with the time it was completed and the photos, kept on the job. See proof of service.
• Weather on every plan. Icey’s Weather Center shows the forecast for your service area, with a “Notify me” alert you can switch on for when the forecast crosses your snowfall trigger. Service Autopilot’s pricing and snow pages don’t mention weather.
• Made for dead zones. Field Mode keeps recording starts, finishes, photos and material logs with no signal. Service Autopilot’s pages don’t say whether its app works offline, so ask them.

We have not run a storm on Service Autopilot, so we can’t tell you how its snow dispatch or its app feels in practice. Icey is free to start and Service Autopilot offers a free trial, so run a real storm on each before you commit.

Who should pick which

• Lawn care or landscaping all year, snow in winter, one system: Service Autopilot.
• You want follow-ups and reminders to run by themselves: Service Autopilot’s Pro Plus.
• You want card payments and a two-way QuickBooks sync: Service Autopilot.
• Your crews carry Android phones and want a store app: Service Autopilot.
• A snow crew that fits Icey’s Free plan (up to 10 sites and 5 crew): Icey, free.
• Per-event rate cards with de-icing as its own visit, the salt in the price or listed separately, and a salt log at every site: Icey.
• You want to sign up yourself, with no sign-up fee and no contract: Icey.

Sources

• Service Autopilot pricing, checked October 27, 2026: Startup $49, Pro $199 and Pro Plus $499 a month, each “+ sign up fee”; “All pricing is based on annual subscription rates”; Elite “Contact for pricing”; the plan chart (Snow Dispatch, route optimization and professional quotes on Pro and up, automations on Pro Plus and up, app licences and office users per plan, the QuickBooks sync and customer portal as add-ons); the FAQ on app licences and downgrades; the Atlanta, GA address and the app store links.
• Service Autopilot snow removal software, checked October 27, 2026: billing options, pre-built master routes, photos and timestamps in the app, asset and chemical tracking, the launch advisor.
• Service Autopilot QuickBooks Online and Automations, checked October 27, 2026.
• Icey Software pricing and what Icey does.