Comparison
Chauffeur Drive Systems alternative for chauffeur and limo operators
Chauffeur Drive Systems (CDS) is a cloud dispatch system from Scotland sold per editing licence per month in pounds sterling, with view-only logins free. 4fleet is chauffeur and limo booking software sized by fleet, priced in euro, built around the path from an enquiry email to a quote, a dispatched job and a paid invoice, with an assistant that proposes actions for the office to approve.
Who Chauffeur Drive Systems and 4fleet are for
CDS describes a 100% cloud-based dispatch system for chauffeur companies: dispatch, driver and passenger apps, live vehicle tracking, automatic pricing and invoicing, branded automatic messages, client and web portals and an online booking system, with customer help and support at no extra cost. Its pricing page charges per licence per month for users who edit data, gives view-only access free, and says the price does not depend on cars, jobs, drivers, offices or countries. GNet, a CDS International network and CDS Connect appear in its navigation.
4fleet is for chauffeur, limo, black car and transfer operators from one owner-driver to an office with a dispatch team and partner operators, in 6 interface languages and 44 invoicing currencies, with the subscription priced in euro. It is not a passenger-facing ride app: clients book through the operator's quote, portal and tracking links.
How the two charge
| What | Chauffeur Drive Systems | 4fleet |
|---|---|---|
| Charging model | One price per editing licence per month in pounds sterling plus VAT; view-only logins free; four hours a month of a second active administrator included. Not priced by cars, jobs, drivers, offices or countries. | Four plans by fleet size (Solo, Starter, Operations, Scale) with vehicles and users included per plan and paid extras above that; bookings are not metered. Monthly or annual billing. |
| Trial | Not mentioned; the page offers an online demo arranged by phone. | 14-day trial, no card required, on the plan you pick. |
| Setup fee | Not mentioned; the page says no contract and no hidden charges. | None. Founding Operators get a personal setup call included. |
| Card payments | Not mentioned on the pricing page. | Stripe, connected to your own account; 4fleet adds no commission on top. |
| Partner work | GNet, a CDS International network and CDS Connect are named in the site navigation; the pricing page does not describe them or say whether they are included. | Your own invited partner network with tenders, partner portal and statements, plus the GNet integration for farm-in and farm-out. |
| Passenger-facing | Passenger app, client portal, web portal and an online booking system. | Public quote page, tracking link and client portal in the browser; no passenger app to install. |
Where the workflows differ
Counting the people who edit or counting the fleet
CDS charges for each person who edits data and lets everyone else look for free, so a one-dispatcher office with many viewers pays for one licence, and an office where several people type pays for each of them. 4fleet includes a number of users and vehicles in each plan and charges for extras above that. Count the people who actually change bookings before comparing totals.
Where the work starts
CDS leads with dispatch, automatic pricing and branded messages. 4fleet starts in the inbox: it connects the operator's mailbox, turns an enquiry email into a priced quote on the operator's own rate card, chases the quote and only creates the booking when the client accepts, with an assistant, Carson, that drafts replies and flags unassigned jobs for the office to approve. CDS's pages do not describe an assistant or enquiry parsing.
Partners and networks
Both products name GNet. 4fleet also carries the partners you invite yourself, whatever software they run: tenders to several partners for one job, a partner portal where they confirm the driver and vehicle, and statements at month end. CDS's own network and CDS Connect are named in its navigation; read those pages for what they include, because the pricing page does not say.
Passengers: an app to install or a link to open
CDS lists a passenger app alongside its client and web portals. 4fleet gives the client a quote page, a tracking link and a portal that open in the browser, which suits corporate bookers who arrange travel for other people; it has no passenger app to install.
Markets and languages
CDS is based in Scotland, prices in pounds sterling and says the price does not depend on countries; its language options appear in the menu without a list. 4fleet prices its subscription in euro, issues quotes and invoices in any of 44 currencies and runs the office, driver app and client portal in 6 languages. A UK or Irish operator should check sterling and euro invoicing and support hours with each vendor.
Switching from Chauffeur Drive Systems to 4fleet
4fleet imports bookings, clients and vehicles from a CSV or Excel file with a mapping preview, so the data you take out of CDS can be loaded before the first live day. Read the switching page for the preparation steps and the Help article on migrating from another system for the clicks. Run both systems in parallel for one week of real jobs; the trial needs no card.
How switching to 4fleet works · Migrate from another system, step by step · 4fleet plans and pricing
Frequently asked questions
Does 4fleet charge per user like CDS?
Partly. Each 4fleet plan includes a number of users and vehicles, and extra users or vehicles above that are paid add-ons; there is no separate charge for viewing. CDS charges one licence for every person who edits data and gives view-only logins free. Count your editors and your viewers before comparing.
Is there a free trial of 4fleet?
Yes, a 14-day trial with no card on the plan you pick. CDS's pricing page does not mention a trial and offers an online demo instead.
Do both connect to GNet?
4fleet has a GNet integration for farm-in and farm-out, set up per account under Integrations and covered step by step in the Help Center. CDS names GNet in its navigation; the pricing page does not say whether it is included, so ask the vendor.
Does 4fleet have a passenger app?
No. Clients use a quote page, a tracking link and a client portal in the browser. CDS lists a passenger app; if your passengers want an app of their own, that is a point for CDS.
Is this comparison independent?
No. We make 4fleet. Every CDS fact on this page comes from the vendor's own pages, read on the date in the data, and nothing is scored. Confirm current terms with the vendor before deciding.
Sources
Features and prices change; confirm current terms with the vendor before you decide.