Guides for auto repair shops

Last updated: October 14, 2026

Plain-English guides for independent auto repair shops: what shop software really costs, how to choose it, and how to run a calendar that doesn’t double-book. Every competitor price is taken from the vendor’s own site and dated.

Pricing and costs

• Auto repair shop software pricing, 2026
  Published prices for 15 tools, checked on each vendor’s own site, and which vendors don’t publish one.
• Tekmetric pricing
  Start, Grow and Scale, add-ons and the yearly cost.
• Shopmonkey pricing
  Plans, user licences, the $20 per extra user and the $500 migration fee.
• AutoLeap pricing
  Essentials, Pro and Elite, the setup fee and add-ons.
• Shop-Ware pricing
  Per-location plans from $279/month with unlimited users.
• What auto repair shop software really costs
  Per-user vs per-shop pricing, and the fees that appear after you sign.

Choosing software

• Auto repair shop software compared, 2026
  The main platforms side by side, and what each vendor leaves out.
• Auto repair software for small shops
  What a 1–3 bay shop actually needs, and what to skip.
• Free auto repair scheduling software
  What the free options are, and exactly where each one breaks.
• A cheaper Tekmetric alternative
  $49/month instead of $199, if scheduling is what you need.
• A cheaper Shopmonkey alternative
  $49/month instead of $239 plus $20 per user.

Running the schedule

• Auto repair appointment scheduling guide
  Capacity at 75–85%, no-shows, and jobs that grow mid-repair.
• How to stop double booking
  The five causes in a repair shop, and the fixes, including free ones.