Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it has been replaced by another product. You can still read our original review below, but Top Ten Reviews is no longer updating this product’s information.
If you don’t want to pay for a subscription with a roadside emergency service that you ultimately may not use, consider switching to Urgent.ly, a standalone roadside assistance service. With this service, you pay a flat fee for the service you need when you need it. You don’t have to sign up for a membership or pay for an annual subscription to access help.
Urgent.ly claims to work similar to Uber, a ridesharing service. As with Uber, Urgent.ly itself doesn’t provide the emergency roadside assistance; rather, it connects you with a service provider near you who has signed up to be dispatched through the company. These contracted providers compete with each other to help you out, so you may receive competitive low prices and fast response times. This is similar to how other at-will services, like Honk, work.
To use Urgent.ly, you open the company’s mobile app, select which service you need, input your personal and car information, then share your location. From here, you’re provided a summary of your request and can see how much the service will cost. If you agree to the cost, click next, and Urgent.ly will dispatch the nearest service provider to your car. You get a tracking link and an estimated time of arrival.
Urgent.ly covers towing, auto lockout, jump-starts, fuel delivery, flat tires, winch services and even motorcycle towing, and it accepts all major debit and credit cards. The app is available in the United States and Puerto Rico 24/7, though service may depend on your specific location and whether there are participating service providers near where your car broke down. The service is connected with over 55,000 providers, but there doesn’t seem to be any vetting on Urgent.ly’s end.
One nice thing about Urgent.ly is that once you submit your service request, you receive real-time updates on it and can even track the dispatched service provider in real time. You can also share your tracking with a friend or family member so they can watch along with you and make sure you’re taken care of.
