A boat autopilot holds a heading, or follows a route from a chartplotter, so you are not stuck on the wheel or tiller. These rankings cover complete packs: a course computer, a heading sensor, a control head and, in most cases, the pump or drive that moves the steering. Raymarine, Simrad, Garmin, Lowrance and Furuno are covered. Loose parts sold on their own, such as a control head, a pump or a compass, are left out.
Steering type decides which pack you can buy, so the pages here are split by it. A hydraulic pump goes onto the steering lines of most outboard and sterndrive boats. Wheel-drive, cable and solenoid steering take a mechanical or solenoid pack. Tiller sailboats and small kicker motors have their own self-contained units. Boats with digital steer-by-wire need a pack that talks to the steering over the network.
A core pack is not a complete system. Several packs here come without the drive, and the drive is a separate purchase. Each product page says what is in the box, and the “drive included” page lists only the packs that need nothing else to steer.
Boat size is published in different ways. Some makers give a maximum length, some a displacement, and some only the hydraulic cylinder range the pump covers. Where a maker gives none of these, the product page says so.
Prices were last checked November 9, 2026. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon or the retailer's site at the time of purchase apply. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Top Picks
Raymarine ST1000+ Tiller Pilot
A low-cost tiller pilot for small coastal sailboats up to 6,600 lb.
Amazon $527.43$527.43
TillerTo 6,600 lbYes
Simrad AP44 VRF Pack High Capacity
For big hydraulic outboard and sterndrive boats up to about 50 ft.
Amazon $3,849.99$3,849.99
HydraulicTo 50 ftYes
Shop by Steering Type
Hydraulic steering
10 rankedPacks with a hydraulic pump for outboard, sterndrive and inboard boats with hydraulic steering.
Top rated: Simrad AP44 VRF Pack High Capacity $3,849.99
Mechanical, cable and solenoid
7 rankedPacks for wheel-drive sailboats, cable-steered outboards and boats with solenoid or reversible-motor drives.
Top rated: Lowrance Outboard Pilot, Cable Steer $1,539.99
Tiller and kicker
5 rankedSelf-contained tiller pilots and tiller-drive packs for sailboats, and an autopilot for small kicker motors.
Top rated: Simrad TP10 Tillerpilot $579.99
Steer-by-wire
4 rankedPacks for boats with digital drive-by-wire steering, joystick systems and Yamaha Helm Master.
Top rated: Raymarine EV-DBW Pilot $2,999.99
Narrow It Down
By budget
By feature
Deals
Best Boat Autopilots for Hydraulic Steering
- Simrad AP44 VRF Pack High Capacity#1 of 10Full review
For big hydraulic outboard and sterndrive boats up to about 50 ft.
Amazon $3,849.99$3,849.99HydraulicTo 50 ftYes - Simrad NAC-1 Outboard Pilot, Point-1#2 of 10Full review
The cheaper NAC-1 outboard kit for single-outboard boats up to about 30 ft.
Amazon $1,274.99$1,274.99HydraulicTo 30 ftYes - Simrad NAC-1 Outboard Pilot Pack#3 of 10Full review
A DIY-friendly hydraulic autopilot for a single outboard boat up to about 30 ft.
Amazon $1,869.99$1,869.99HydraulicTo 30 ftYes - Garmin Reactor 40 Hydraulic Corepack, GHC 50#4 of 10Full review
Garmin’s full hydraulic kit for inboards, outboards and sterndrives, with touchscreen control.
Amazon $4,399.99$4,399.99Hydraulic-Yes - Raymarine EV-150 Power Pilot Pack#5 of 10Full review
A step-up hydraulic kit for small to medium powerboats with a single engine.
Amazon $1,672.91$1,672.91Hydraulic-Yes
Best Boat Autopilots for Mechanical, Cable and Solenoid Steering
- Lowrance Outboard Pilot, Cable Steer#1 of 7Full review
For single outboards with cable steering, where hydraulic packs do not apply.
Amazon $1,539.99$1,539.99Mechanical-Yes - Raymarine EV-100 Wheel Pilot Pack#2 of 7Full review
The simplest way to add a networked autopilot to a mid-size wheel-steered sailboat up to 16,500 lb.
Amazon $1,679.26$1,679.26MechanicalTo 16,500 lbYes - Raymarine EV-200 Sail Pilot System#3 of 7Full review
For mid-size sailboats with an existing mechanical drive, or a buyer adding one separately.
Amazon $2,499.99$2,499.99MechanicalTo 24,000 lbNo - Garmin Reactor 40 Mechanical Corepack, GHC 50#4 of 7Full review
For boats with a mechanical or solenoid steering drive that add Garmin control.
Amazon $2,249.99$2,249.99Mechanical-No - Raymarine EV-300 Solenoid Pilot Pack#5 of 7Full review
For boats with solenoid-controlled power steering and no autopilot drive of their own.
Amazon $2,799.99$2,799.99Solenoid-No
See all 7 best boat autopilots for mechanical, cable and solenoid steering
Best Tiller and Kicker Motor Autopilots
- $579.99Tiller-Yes
- Raymarine ST2000+ Tiller Pilot#2 of 5Full review
A bigger tiller pilot for coastal sailboats up to 10,000 lb that does not need a network.
Amazon $594.43$594.43TillerTo 10,000 lbYes - Raymarine ST1000+ Tiller Pilot#3 of 5Full review
A low-cost tiller pilot for small coastal sailboats up to 6,600 lb.
Amazon $527.43$527.43TillerTo 6,600 lbYes - Raymarine EV-100 Tiller Pilot Pack#4 of 5Full review
For tiller-steered sailboats up to 13,200 lb that want an autopilot tied into a networked instrument system rather than a stand-alone tiller pilot.
Amazon $1,770.26$1,770.26TillerTo 13,200 lbYes - Garmin Reactor 40 Kicker Autopilot, GHC 50#5 of 5Full review
For anglers who troll behind a small gasoline kicker motor and want heading hold.
Amazon $2,999.99$2,999.99Kicker motor-Yes
Best Steer-by-Wire Boat Autopilots
- Raymarine EV-DBW Pilot#1 of 4Full review
For boats with digital drive-by-wire steering that need an autopilot without extra hardware at the helm.
Amazon $2,999.99$2,999.99Steer-by-wire-No - Garmin Reactor 40 Steer-by-Wire, GHC 50#2 of 4Full review
For boats with generic steer-by-wire steering that want Garmin autopilot control.
Amazon $2,799.99$2,799.99Steer-by-wire-No - Furuno NavPilot 300 OPT Kit#3 of 4Full review
For multi-engine outboard fishing boats that already have SeaStar Optimus 360 steering.
Amazon $2,695$2,695Steer-by-wire24 to 50 ftNo - Garmin Reactor 40 Yamaha Helm Master, GHC 50#4 of 4Full review
For boats with Yamaha Helm Master steering.
Amazon $3,449.99$3,449.99Steer-by-wire-No
How We Rank
Each pack is ranked against others with the same steering type, and scored on its price, capability range, what is included, standby power draw and warranty.
| Factor | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Value | pack price, log scale | 30% |
| Capability range | maximum boat length, displacement and hydraulic cylinder size | 30% |
| Features | control head, drive or pump, heading sensor and NMEA 2000 in the pack | 25% |
| Power draw | standby current | 10% |
| Warranty | warranty length | 5% |
How we rank explains each factor in full.