comparison guide
Evaluating Otonomo competitors?
Smartcar is a developer-friendly alternative to vehicle data marketplaces like Otonomo.
Is Smartcar right for you?
If you’re looking to purchase data sets for mapping, traffic management, parking solutions, or media management then Otonomo may be a good fit for you. This type of vehicle data may help you determine where to place a new retail location, which billboard ads to run, or how to route your fleet more efficiently.
But if you want to integrate apps or services with connected vehicles, then Smartcar is the developer platform for you. With Smartcar, you can easily retrieve data from cars and even trigger actions through our simple and secure API. Mobility businesses of all kinds use our APIs to track vehicle location, verify mileage, share digital car keys, manage EV charging, and much more.
Why choose Smartcar?
Smartcar is a developer-friendly alternative to Otonomo for integrating apps and services with connected cars.
Vehicle compatibility
Smartcar is compatible with more vehicles and car brands across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Best developer experience
Our extensive documentation, SDKs, and automations let you easily integrate your app with Smartcar.
World-class support
Get the help and guidance you need over the support channels you prefer.
Compatible with more vehicles
Smartcar is compatible with more than twice as many connected vehicles compared to Otonomo.
One API for 37 brands
Smartcar’s APIs are compatible with 29 vehicle makes in North America and 23 different brands across Europe. Using Smartcar, your application or service can connect to 161 million connected cars with just a single integration.
Connect to specific vehicles
Smartcar provides mobility businesses with direct access to individual cars while ensuring that vehicle owners are in full control of their data and privacy. Vehicle owners can accept detailed permissions before an app can make API requests to their specific vehicle.
The best developer platform for mobility services
Smartcar has everything you need to integrate, launch, and optimize your mobility products and services.
Integrate faster
Our extensive documentation and SDKs in every major programming language let you easily integrate Smartcar with your tech stack.
Test and validate
Before launching your integration, our Vehicle Test Simulator lets you test your mobility app in real-world scenarios with any Smartcar compatible vehicle straight from your Dashboard. You can Simulate live trips and receive real-time API data.
Bundle your API requests
Optimize and scale your mobility service by accessing multiple API endpoints with just a single request.
Automate data retrievals
Schedule webhooks to receive recurring updates from authorized vehicles as often as once an hour.
A better customer experience
Our team of experts is here to help you every step of the way.
Guidance when you need it
From implementation to launch and beyond, our experienced Customer Success team will ensure you get the most value from the Smartcar platform.
More ways to reach out
We offer multiple support channels so you can get the help you need the way you prefer the most. Our team is ready to answer your questions over email, phone, or even live chat.
Compare for yourself
Smartcar | Otonomo | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Vehicle compatibility | |||
Data | Specific vehicle data with user consent | Primarily anonymized aggregated data sets | |
Vehicles | 161 million | 40 million | |
Vehicle commands  Send commands to vehicles to trigger actions like lock / unlock doors or start / stop charging. |  |  | |
Countries | 31 | Undisclosed | |
Brands | 29 - North America, 23 - Europe | Undisclosed | |
Developer experience | |||
Public SDKs Publicly available SDKs for top programming platforms and languages like Android, iOS, JavaScript, Go, Java, Node.js, Python, and Ruby. | | | |
Documentation Comprehensive integration guides, SDK tutorials, error guides, and changelogs. | | Limited | |
Error handling Detailed error states and suggested resolutions. | | Limited | |
Scheduled Webhooks Schedule and receive recurring updates from connected vehicles. | | Undisclosed | |
Batch Requests Call multiple API endpoints with a single request. | | Undisclosed | |
Simulated vehicles Retrieve mock data from simulated vehicles before taking your integration into production. | | | |
Live test vehicles Test your integration on a fleet of real vehicles. | | Undisclosed | |
Consent management | |||
2FA & PIN support Support for two factor authentication (2FA) and personal identification numbers (PIN) during user login process. | | Undisclosed | |
Vehicle compatibility check Verify a car’s eligibility before sending a user through the consent flow. | | Undisclosed | |
Bypass brand selection Automatically skip brand selection if your application already knows the vehicle’s make. | | Undisclosed | |
Password reset flow Incorporate a password reset flow into your application for each car brand. | | Undisclosed | |
Internationalization and localization (i18n) | | Undisclosed | |
Customer support | |||
Email support | | | |
Phone support | | | |
Live chat support | | | |
Smartcar features based on the Smartcar Enterprise plan as of September, 2021
Otonomo features based on publicly available information via otonomo.io and docs.otonomo.io as of September, 2021
Leading brands trust Smartcar
Smartcar powers commercial apps and services for some of the world's leading mobility businesses.
“We searched the globe for the right technology partner and found an industry-leading partner in Smartcar. Smartcar's team consists of innovative thinkers who push their own limits to provide more value for each use case.”
“I was completely awestruck that Smartcar enables insurers to connect to over 161 million vehicles—a number that’s vastly superior to other solutions on the market. This is a huge step forward for the insurance telematics industry.”
“We couldn’t think of an easier way to remotely monitor and manage our customers’ electric vehicles. The Smartcar platform is straightforward, easy to integrate with, and compatible across car brands.”
“Smartcar is making it easier than ever for us to build new and innovative mobility experiences with connected vehicles.”
“Not only does the Smartcar platform provide amazing technology, but their team also helped us integrate in just a few weeks, which enabled us to scale incredibly fast!”
