Workshop Software vs Fullbay

These two platforms are built for different shops, and the most useful thing this page can do is say so before you spend a week on demos. Fullbay is heavy-duty truck and trailer repair software, founded in 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona, with more than 5,000 shops and genuinely deep tooling for commercial fleet work. Workshop Software is general automotive shop management across five markets, from USD $149 a month, with QuickBooks and Xero on every plan and a mobile app that runs the whole job. If you repair trucks for fleets, Fullbay is built for you. If you repair cars and light commercials, this page is worth reading.

What is Workshop Software?

Workshop Software is cloud shop management software for independent repair shops, mechanical repairers and multi-location groups. It runs scheduling and the workboard, repair orders, estimating and invoicing, inventory, digital inspections, automated service reminders and a customer portal, with reporting through Workshop Intelligence. It is a listed app on the Intuit QuickBooks App Store, and connects natively to QuickBooks Online and Xero on every plan. Vehicle technical data comes through native Mitchell 1 ProDemand and PartsTech integrations on any plan, and vehicle lookup is included at no extra charge through Carfax. There are free native apps for iOS and Android, and on Gold and above the app carries the full job workflow. Pricing starts at USD $149 per month on annual billing, with additional users at USD $20. There is a 14 day free trial with full features and no credit card required, and no lock-in contract. See full pricing.

What is Fullbay?

Fullbay is a heavy-duty repair shop management platform founded in 2014 and based in Phoenix, Arizona. It describes itself as heavy-duty truck and trailer repair shop software and reports more than 5,000 shops and USD $6.5 billion in annual service orders and parts. Its strength is commercial vehicle work: service orders built around customer fleet units, DOT and BIT inspection reminders, preventive maintenance scheduled per unit, national account billing through FleetNet America and Interstate Billing Service, and a built-in parts marketplace with more than 19 million parts across 40 plus vendors including NAPA and O’Reilly. Pricing is USD $188 for Basic, $258 for Pro and $318 for Elite, on an annual agreement with monthly billing. Basic includes one full user licence and additional users are $89 to $119 a month depending on tier. Payments are available in the United States and Canada. Fullbay does not offer a free trial. Its FAQ states it currently only offers a free demo with one of its team.

Feature Comparison

Pricing Comparison

The entry gap is USD $39 a month, but that is not where the money is. Additional users are USD $20 with us against $89 to $119 with Fullbay. At five users the comparison is USD $229 against $544, and the difference is larger than either base subscription. Two costs are easy to miss on the Fullbay price list. QuickBooks is not available on Basic at all, so a shop that keeps its books in QuickBooks is really looking at Pro at USD $258. And inspections run through Whip Around, which carries its own subscription on top of Pro or Elite. Worth knowing what Basic actually is: no QuickBooks, no MOTOR labor guide, no texting of any kind, no API, no multi-location management and no integrations. Barcode scanning and the card terminal are purchased separately. Every plan we sell includes QuickBooks and Xero.

Different Jobs, and It Is Worth Being Straight About Which

Fullbay is heavy-duty. Its homepage calls it heavy-duty truck and trailer repair shop software, and the whole data model is built around customer fleet units rather than retail customers and their cars. DOT and BIT inspection reminders, preventive maintenance scheduled per unit, national account billing. If that is your work, none of the rest of this page should change your mind. Workshop Software is general automotive: independent shops, mechanical repairers, mobile mechanics, specialists and multi-location groups. Fleet maintenance is a supported use case, but it is not dedicated heavy-duty truck workflow with DOT compliance and national account billing, and there is no sense pretending otherwise. This comparison is for shops sitting on the line: a mixed workload, some light vehicle, some commercial, deciding which side to build on.

QuickBooks on Every Plan, and Xero at All

Workshop Software connects natively to QuickBooks Online and Xero on every plan including the entry plan, and is a listed app on the Intuit QuickBooks App Store. Intuit reviews listed apps against its published technical and security requirements, and runs its own security scan of them every year. Fullbay’s QuickBooks integration is available on Pro and Elite, not on Basic. So a Fullbay shop on QuickBooks starts at USD $258 rather than $188. Xero return no results on their site at all, which rules them out for most shops outside North America and plenty inside it.

Inspections Built In, Not Bolted On

Workshop Software includes digital inspections from the Gold plan at USD $179, with photos and customer approval by reply, and no second vendor to sign with. Fullbay has no native inspection module. Inspections come through Whip Around, a separate company, available on Pro and Elite, and Fullbay’s own page states there are additional fees for a Whip Around subscription. Whip Around is a good product. It is also a second subscription, a second support queue and a second renewal date.

A Real Mobile App

Workshop Software has free native apps on iOS and Android. On Gold and above the app carries the full job workflow: digital inspections with photos, bookings, estimating, invoicing end to end, clock on and off and push notifications. Fullbay has no app in the Apple App Store or Google Play. Its own FAQ answers the question with the line that you can use Fullbay on any smartphone or tablet equipped with Wi-Fi, which describes a responsive website. On a workshop floor that means no offline tolerance and no push notifications.

Try It Before You Talk to Anyone

Workshop Software gives you 14 days with every feature switched on and no credit card, then no lock-in contract. Onboarding is one to one with a person and included, and so is your data migration: customers, vehicles, suppliers, products and vehicle history. Fullbay does not offer a trial, and its plans run on an annual agreement billed monthly. You get a demo with a member of their team. For a shop that wants to put its own repair orders through a system first, that is a real difference.

Where Fullbay Is Genuinely Ahead

Three things, and they matter if they apply to you. Fullbay Insights publishes benchmarking across the heavy-duty repair industry, drawn from thousands of shops, alongside an annual State of Heavy-Duty Repair report. Workshop Intelligence works on your own numbers inside the product; it does not compare you to the industry at that scale. Their parts marketplace puts more than 19 million parts from 40 plus vendors inside the platform. And they offer two-way texting from the Pro plan, where we do not offer two-way SMS in the United States at all.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Workshop Software if you repair cars and light commercials rather than heavy trucks, your books are in QuickBooks or Xero and you want that on the entry plan, you run a team of more than one and USD $20 per user beats $89, you want digital inspections without a second vendor, you want a native mobile app your technicians will actually use, you operate outside the United States and Canada, or you want to trial the software before you talk to anyone. Fullbay may suit you if you repair heavy-duty trucks and trailers, you bill national accounts through FleetNet or Interstate Billing, you need DOT and BIT compliance with preventive maintenance per fleet unit, you want a parts marketplace inside the platform, or you want heavy-duty industry benchmarking. If your work is mostly light vehicle, the quickest test is to run a fortnight of your own repair orders through ours. Start a free trial.

Not sure this is the right category for your shop? See the full list of alternatives and who each one is built for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Workshop Software cheaper than Fullbay?

Yes, and the gap widens with team size. Workshop Software Silver is USD $149 per month on annual billing against Fullbay Basic at $188. Additional users are USD $20 with Workshop Software against $89 to $119 with Fullbay, so at five users the comparison is USD $229 against $544. Fullbay’s QuickBooks integration also requires the Pro plan at $258.

Is Fullbay only for heavy-duty truck repair?

It is built for heavy-duty. Fullbay describes itself as heavy-duty truck and trailer repair shop software, and the product is organised around customer fleet units, DOT and BIT inspections and preventive maintenance per unit. It does sell some light-duty MOTOR labor data as add-ons, but the platform is not positioned or built for general automotive work. Workshop Software is general automotive shop management for cars and light commercials, and does not offer dedicated heavy-duty fleet workflow or national account billing.

Does Fullbay integrate with QuickBooks or Xero?

QuickBooks, yes, but only on the Pro and Elite plans, not on Basic. Xero return no results anywhere on the Fullbay site. Workshop Software connects natively to QuickBooks Online and Xero on every plan, and is a listed app on the Intuit QuickBooks App Store.

Does Fullbay have digital vehicle inspections?

Not natively. Inspections come through Whip Around, a separate company, on the Pro and Elite plans, and Fullbay states that additional Whip Around subscription fees apply. Workshop Software includes digital inspections from the Gold plan with photos and customer approval, with no additional vendor.

Does Fullbay have a mobile app?

There is no Fullbay app in the Apple App Store or Google Play. Its own FAQ answers the question by saying you can use Fullbay on any smartphone or tablet equipped with Wi-Fi, which describes a responsive website rather than a native app. Workshop Software has free native apps on iOS and Android, and on Gold and above the app carries the full job workflow.

How do the two handle vehicle technical data?

Fullbay includes MOTOR labor guides on its Pro and Elite plans, with some MOTOR modules as paid add-ons, and its Mitchell 1 integration requires both a separate Mitchell 1 subscription and the Elite plan. Workshop Software connects natively to Mitchell 1 ProDemand and PartsTech on any plan, so you use the subscription you already hold, and includes vehicle lookup through Carfax at no extra charge.

Does Fullbay offer a free trial?

No. Fullbay’s FAQ states it currently only offers a free demo with one of its team members, and its plans run on an annual agreement billed monthly. Workshop Software offers a 14 day free trial with every feature switched on and no credit card required, followed by human one to one onboarding and no lock-in contract.

What is included on Fullbay’s entry plan?

Less than most comparisons suggest. Fullbay Basic has no QuickBooks integration, no MOTOR labor guide, no texting of any kind, no API, no multi-location management and no integrations, and barcode scanning and the card terminal are purchased separately. Every Workshop Software plan includes QuickBooks and Xero.

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Comparison based on information published by each vendor at the time of writing. Software pricing and features change, so please verify details with each vendor before you commit. Last reviewed August 2026.