Choosing between UK garage management systems
There are a handful of serious garage management software options for UK independents, and on a features list they look much the same. Where they genuinely differ is how they charge, what sits inside the headline price, and what happens to the bill as your team grows.
This is written by one of the providers, so read it with that in mind. What we have tried to do is set out each system fairly, including where they beat us, and be specific about prices rather than vague.
What actually separates them
Six things decide this, and only two are on a typical features list.
- Pricing model: a flat monthly price, or per user and per technician
- Upfront cost: setup and migration fees, which range from nothing to £1,300
- What is in the base price, and what is sold as a monthly add-on
- Contract: rolling, or a minimum term to get the sensible rate
- Integrations: parts, accounts, technical data and payments
- Whether you can trial it properly, or only see a demo
From the Autopilot teamAutopilot GMS
£99, £179 or £279 a month plus VAT. No upfront cost, no contract, and nothing charged per technician or per user.
Vehicle health checks are in the entry plan rather than held back. The technician app and multi-user access arrive on Plus at £179, and online booking with deposits plus the full reporting suite on Pro at £279. Text and vehicle lookup allowances are included on every plan. There is a 30-day trial on the full plan, so you can run real jobs before paying.
Built by developers working alongside a garage owner of more than fifteen years, who signs off what gets built. Worth knowing the trade-off: online booking sits on the top plan, and two of the systems below include booking lower down.
Garage Hive
From £145 a month on a one-month rolling contract, with their full feature set included rather than split across tiers.
The contract terms are as fair as any here, support is something their customers consistently praise, and development is shaped by an active user community. The thing to understand before signing is that technicians and users are charged individually, so the bill grows with the team. One garage we spoke to was paying around £1,500 a month once everyone was counted.
Best for a garage that values the community and support, and is not planning to grow headcount quickly.
TechMan
Four plans from £99 to £529 a month. Long established, with a broad feature set and the depth that comes from years in the trade.
Every plan has two prices: a lower rate on a minimum-term agreement, or a 30-day rolling plan that costs more monthly and carries a one-off fee of £199 to £1,300 covering onboarding, setup and migration. Their £99 Starter limits the diary to three columns and stock control to one user; digital check sheets begin at £315 a month.
Best for an established high-volume workshop that wants the work done for them and is comfortable committing to a term.
Motasoft
The cheapest headline prices here: £65, £95 and £149 a month plus VAT, with free setup and unlimited users on every plan.
Worth being straight about: that undercuts us at every tier. The condition is that the advertised rates apply to customers who sign up with MotasoftPay, their own payment processing. Their website states a 12-month contract while their pricing page says no fixed term, which is worth asking them to clarify. Parts ordering covers GSF and GroupTyre with no NAPA, and Sage and QuickBooks are export files rather than a direct sync.
Best for a price-sensitive garage happy to use their payment processing.
Bookar
£99.99 a month plus VAT with a £150 one-off setup fee, on a monthly rolling contract.
The closest competitor to us of anything here, and a genuinely modern product with a strong integration list: NAPA, GSF, SES Autoparts and several tyre suppliers, Xero, Sage and QuickBooks, TecRMI and TecDoc, plus Klarna and Clearpay alongside Stripe and Dojo. Several features are priced separately: technical data £69 a month, online booking £30, document scanning £30. Texts and vehicle lookups are 8p each.
Best for a garage that wants a modern system and is happy to assemble it from add-ons.
Autowork Online by Klipboard
No published pricing. You book a demo and ask.
Klipboard is a substantial group, supporting customers since 1976, with more than 55,000 customers across over 70 countries and their own AI tooling. Automotive is one of seven sectors they serve, alongside wholesale distribution, rental, manufacturing and field service.
Best for a larger operation that wants a managed implementation and the backing of a big software group.
So which is best?
It depends more on the pricing model than the feature list, and on whether you can try it before you pay.
Want it set up for you: Autopilot. A UK onboarding specialist sets your company details, VAT, labour rates, users, parts and accounting integrations and service packages on a kick-off call, and your customer, vehicle and invoice history comes across within 48 hours. It is included. TechMan will also set you up, but charges £199 to £1,300 for it.
Growing team: Autopilot or Motasoft, the two here that do not charge per user or per technician. On a per-seat system the bill rises every time you hire.
Want to try before paying: Autopilot. We are the only one of these offering 30 days on the full plan, booking real jobs and sending real invoices. Everyone else offers a demo.
Everything in one price, no add-ons: Autopilot or Garage Hive. Both include the feature set rather than selling technical data, online booking and the rest as monthly extras.
Cheapest headline price: Motasoft at £65 a month, provided you use their payment processing. If the lowest monthly figure is the only consideration, that is the honest answer.
For most independent UK garages we would say Autopilot: everything set up for you at no cost, a flat price whatever your headcount, health checks in the entry plan, and no contract. Garages switching to us from TechMan have told us plainly that it is easier to live with.
That last part you do not have to take on trust, which is rather the point of the trial. Run your own jobs through it for 30 days and decide on what you see.
Prices and features above are taken from each provider’s own published pages and were checked in October 2026. Our own prices are on our pricing page. Providers change their pricing at any time, so check before deciding.