Workshop Software vs Tekmetric

Tekmetric is one of the best known shop management systems in North America, with more than 14,000 shops and a large review base. Workshop Software has been building automotive software since 1992, released its first version in 2013, and runs more than 9,400 users across the world. If your books are in QuickBooks, or you want to try the software before you talk to a salesperson, the two platforms are further apart than the price lists suggest. This page sets out where.

What is Workshop Software?

Workshop Software is cloud shop management software for independent repair shops, mechanical repairers and multi-location groups. It runs your scheduling and 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 it 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. 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 Tekmetric?

Tekmetric is a shop management system founded in 2017 and based in Houston, Texas. It covers repair orders, inventory and vendor management, digital vehicle inspections, digital authorisations and invoicing, with a labor guide, maintenance schedules, job clocks and employee performance analytics on the higher tiers. It is available in the United States and Canada. Every plan includes unlimited users and unlimited repair orders, which is genuinely one of the best things about it. Pricing runs from USD $179 per month on annual billing to $409 for the Scale plan, with add-ons for multi-shop, tire and marketing charged per shop on top. Tekmetric does not offer a free trial. It offers a demo and a self-guided tour.

Feature Comparison

Pricing Comparison

Tekmetric’s unlimited users beat per-user pricing from about two users up, and there is no point pretending otherwise. Where the comparison turns is what each tier actually contains. Two-way texting sits on Tekmetric’s Scale plan at USD $409 a month. The labor guide sits on Grow at $309. Workshop Software’s Gold plan is USD $179 and includes the advanced mobile app with the full job workflow, Workshop Intelligence, digital inspections and online bookings from your own website. So the honest comparison is not $149 against $179. It is what you get for $179 against what you get for $309 or $409, plus per-shop add-ons on top.

QuickBooks: Native on Every Plan, and Listed on the Intuit App Store

This is the row most United States shops assume runs the other way, and it does not. Workshop Software 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. That listing means the integration is built and maintained with Intuit, reviewed by them, and supported by us. Xero are native too, on every plan. Tekmetric reaches QuickBooks through Accounting Link, a product built by a separate company called The Back Office. That is a third party sitting between your shop and your accounting, with its own support queue and its own release cycle. The Back Office’s own published integration list runs to 23 accounting packages and contains no Xero. Tekmetric does not publish a price for that add-on, so the true cost of connecting your accounts is not something you can work out before speaking to them.

Bring the Repair Data You Already Pay For

Neither platform includes vehicle technical data in its entry subscription, so what matters is how you get it and on which tier. Workshop Software connects natively to Mitchell 1 ProDemand and PartsTech on any plan, including the USD $149 entry plan. If you already hold one of those subscriptions, the data lands inside the repair order rather than in a second browser tab, at no extra charge from us. Vehicle lookup is included through Carfax on every plan. Tekmetric bundles a labor guide, but only from the Grow plan at USD $309 a month. If you already pay Mitchell 1, you would be paying twice.

A Mobile App Your Team Will Actually Use

Both platforms have native apps, so the question is what they can finish and what shops make of them. Workshop Software’s advanced app, on Gold and above, carries the full job workflow: digital inspections with photos, bookings, estimating, invoicing end to end, clock on and off, and push notifications. A service advisor can open a repair order, complete it, invoice it and take payment without walking back to a desktop. Tekmetric Mobile is rated 2.7 out of 5 from 56 ratings on the Apple App Store and 2.9 out of 5 on Google Play. Those are their customers talking, not us.

Try It Before You Talk to Anyone

Workshop Software gives you 14 days with every feature switched on and no credit card. Afterwards there is no lock-in contract. Onboarding is one to one with a person and it is included, and so is your data migration: customers, vehicles, suppliers, products and vehicle history all come across. Tekmetric does not offer a free trial. You get a demo with a salesperson or a self-guided tour of a sample account. For a shop that wants to put its own repair orders through a system before committing, that is a structural difference rather than a feature row.

Support That Covers More Than One Time Zone

Online chat is staffed by people 24 hours a day. Phone and email run 8:30am to 5:00pm in both Australia and the United Kingdom on one global phone system, and the two teams cover each other, so there is a human on the end of the line across most of the clock. Tekmetric supports United States business hours. If your shop runs evenings or weekends, that is worth checking against your own opening times.

If You Operate Outside North America

Tekmetric is available in the United States and Canada. If you run shops beyond that, or you invoice in more than one currency, it is not an option. Workshop Software publishes pricing in Australian dollars, US dollars, British pounds and South African rand, and supports shops across five markets from one platform.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Workshop Software if your books are in QuickBooks and you want a native integration rather than a third-party connector, you use Xero, you operate outside the United States and Canada, you run a small team, you already pay for Mitchell 1 or PartsTech and want that data on the entry plan, you want digital inspections and a full-workflow mobile app without moving up two tiers, or you want to trial the software properly before you speak to anyone. Tekmetric may suit you if you run a United States or Canadian shop with a larger team where unlimited users outweighs everything else, two-way texting is a firm requirement and the Scale plan is within budget, you are comfortable reaching QuickBooks through a third-party product, or you want the platform with the largest published review base in North America. The quickest way to settle it is to run your own repair orders through both. Start a free trial.

Still shortlisting? Compare all ten systems on the criteria that decide the fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Workshop Software cheaper than Tekmetric?

At entry, yes: Workshop Software Silver is USD $149 per month on annual billing against Tekmetric Start at $179. Above roughly two users Tekmetric’s unlimited-user pricing becomes cheaper on subscription. The more useful comparison is by feature set. Two-way texting requires Tekmetric’s Scale plan at $409 and the labor guide requires Grow at $309, while Workshop Software’s Gold plan at $179 includes the full-workflow mobile app, Workshop Intelligence, digital inspections and online bookings.

Does Tekmetric integrate with QuickBooks?

Not natively. Tekmetric connects to QuickBooks through Accounting Link, a product built by a separate company called The Back Office, which sits between your shop and your accounting. Workshop Software is a listed app on the Intuit QuickBooks App Store, with an integration built and maintained with Intuit.

Does Tekmetric integrate with Xero?

No. The Back Office publishes a list of 23 accounting packages its Accounting Link product supports, and neither Xero appears on it. Neither appears anywhere on tekmetric.com either. Workshop Software connects natively to QuickBooks Online and Xero on every plan.

Does Tekmetric work outside the United States?

Tekmetric is available in the United States and Canada. Workshop Software publishes pricing in Australian dollars, US dollars, British pounds and South African rand, and supports shops in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa from one platform.

Which has the better mobile app?

Both have native iOS and Android apps. Tekmetric Mobile is rated 2.7 out of 5 from 56 ratings on the Apple App Store and 2.9 out of 5 on Google Play. Workshop Software’s advanced app, on Gold and above, carries the full job workflow including digital inspections, bookings, estimating, invoicing end to end, clock on and off and push notifications.

How do the two handle vehicle technical data?

Neither includes it in the entry subscription. Workshop Software connects natively to Mitchell 1 ProDemand and PartsTech on any plan, so you use the subscription you already hold and the data appears inside the repair order. Tekmetric bundles a labor guide from its Grow plan at USD $309 per month. Workshop Software also includes vehicle lookup through Carfax at no extra charge.

Does Tekmetric offer a free trial?

No. Tekmetric offers a demo with a member of its team and a self-guided tour. 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.

Which is better for a shop in the United States?

For a larger United States or Canadian shop that needs two-way texting and values unlimited users, Tekmetric is a strong option with the biggest published review base in the region. Workshop Software is the better fit for a shop whose books are in QuickBooks or Xero, that wants a native accounting integration, a real free trial, existing Mitchell 1 or PartsTech data on the entry plan, or support beyond United States business hours.

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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.