If you run an independent auto repair shop and you’re shopping for a new management system, this Tekmetric review will tell you straight up whether it’s worth your money today. Short version: it’s one of the best cloud shop management systems on the market, but it’s not the cheapest, and it’s not the easiest to learn. Whether that trade-off makes sense depends on your shop.
We’ve put Tekmetric through our full scoring rubric, weighed it against the real gripes shop owners have with it, and lined it up against the competition. Here’s where it lands.
Quick Answer
Tekmetric is a top-tier online shop management system built for independent auto repair shops. It gives you unlimited users and repair orders, one of the strongest digital vehicle inspection workflows in the business, and a deep integration lineup, starting at $179/month billed annually.
It’s best for shops with 3 or more technicians that want a modern all-in-one platform. Solo operators and very small shops can find simpler, cheaper tools.
STS Verdict
One of the few online shop systems that nails the whole repair-order-to-invoice loop with digital inspections, MOTOR labor times, and live parts ordering baked in, and it’s priced like it respects your shop.
Tekmetric Review: Our Verdict at a Glance
Tekmetric earns an overall STS Score of 9.2, which puts it in STS Gold territory. It’s the platform we’d point most growing independent shops toward first.
It’s best for independent general-repair and multi-bay shops with 3+ technicians, plus multi-location operators who want centralized reporting across their stores. If you’ve outgrown a basic system and want real-time visibility into every job in the shop, this is your lane.
The headline strengths: it runs in your web browser with nothing to install, gives you unlimited users and repair orders on every plan, has a deep digital vehicle inspection (DVI) workflow, and connects to most of the tools you already run.
The honest weaknesses: it costs more than some alternatives, each physical location needs its own subscription, and there’s a real learning curve when you first switch over.
Those category scores feed the 9.2 overall. If you want to see exactly how we weight each area, here’s how we score. The rest of this review breaks down every feature, the real pricing math, the onboarding reality, and who should skip it.
What Is Tekmetric? A Quick Overview
Tekmetric is an online shop management system built specifically for independent auto repair shops. It runs entirely in your web browser, so there’s nothing to install on your shop computers and you can pull up a repair order from your phone, the front counter, or home.
The platform has one of the largest install bases in the category. That scale matters because the company builds its product roadmap around real data from those shops, focused on four things every owner cares about: car count, average repair order (ARO), driver experience, and cycle time.
The core philosophy is what sets it apart from legacy systems. No long-term contracts. No per-user fees.
No charge per repair order. Every shop gets full access to the platform, unlimited users, unlimited ROs, and unlimited support.
The people using it day to day are service advisors writing estimates, technicians running inspections, and owners watching the numbers. Multi-shop operators use it to manage several stores from one login.
This is not a general business tool bent to fit auto repair; it is purpose-built for shops.
The language is all shop talk: ROs, DVIs, ARO, canned jobs, the Tech Board. Next, let’s get into what it actually does.
Tekmetric Features: A Deep Dive Into What the Platform Can Do
This is the meat of the review. Tekmetric packs in more than most shops will use on day one, so we’ll walk through each major area and flag what’s genuinely useful versus what’s marketing.
Repair Order and Estimate Building
The repair order is the heart of the system, and Tekmetric’s flow from first phone call to paid invoice is clean. You start an RO, add the customer and vehicle, and build the estimate line by line or drop in a canned job.
Canned jobs (Tekmetric calls the smarter ones Smart Jobs) are pre-built service packages with labor, parts, and pricing already set. Building a brake job from a canned job instead of by hand saves roughly 10 minutes per RO once your library is set up.
The estimate building pulls MOTOR labor times so you’re not guessing at labor hours. When the job’s approved, the same RO becomes the invoice with no re-keying. That repair-order-to-invoice flow is one of the tightest we’ve seen.
Digital Vehicle Inspections (DVI)
We rate Tekmetric’s digital vehicle inspection the strongest in its class. A technician runs through the inspection on a tablet, marks each item green, yellow, or red, and snaps photos or shoots video right on the item.
That inspection goes to the customer by two-way texting. They see the photos, read the notes, and hit online approvals to green-light the work they want. No phone tag, no “let me call you back.”
A current update rewrote the inspection text wording so customers stop confusing an inspection notice with “your car is ready for pickup.” Small fix, but it cut a recurring source of front-counter confusion.
Tekmetric Smart DVI (Coming Soon)
Announced at Tektonic this year the company’s first industry-wide conference, Tekmetric Smart DVI is an AI tool that could change how techs run inspections. The technician narrates a video walkaround, and the system transcribes the notes, sorts the images, and builds out the estimate automatically.
The goal is to make a thorough inspection fast enough that no tech has a reason to skip it. If it works as pitched, this is a real differentiator, since skipped or rushed DVIs are where shops leave money on the table.
Tech Board and Technician Productivity Tracking
The Tech Board (and the related Job Board) is a live view of every job in the shop and who’s on it. Owners and service advisors watch cycle time, see what’s stuck, and track technician productivity without walking the floor.
For a busy shop, this is the difference between knowing where every car stands and guessing. You can see which tech is flying through jobs and which one keeps getting bogged down.
Inventory Management
Parts inventory tracking is built in, and a recently update added inventory cost reporting so you can see what your stock actually costs you, not just what it’s worth on paper.
Parts ordering happens inside the repair order through integrations with parts suppliers like PartsTech and WORLDPAC. You look up a part, check pricing and availability, and order without leaving the RO. When it comes in, it ties back to the job.
Customer Communication Tools
Two-way texting, online approvals, and digital authorizations all live in one place. Text-to-Pay lets a customer pay by tapping a link in a text, which cuts down on people forgetting to swing back for their car.
A recently mobile app update lets you attach media to a customer concern, so if someone drops off saying “it makes a noise here,” the advisor can capture that on the spot and pass it to the tech.
Tekmetric Marketing (Add-On)
Tekmetric Marketing is a paid add-on that handles online booking, appointment reminders, review generation, and follow-up campaigns. If you’re already running something like Kukui for marketing, you can weigh whether to consolidate or keep them separate.
Tekmetric Payments
Tekmetric Payments processes cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Text-to-Pay right inside the RO workflow. Because it’s built in, the payment closes out the ticket automatically instead of you reconciling a separate terminal at end of day.
Payment processing carries transaction fees like any processor, so ask for the exact rate during your demo and compare it against what you pay now.
Reporting and Analytics
The real-time reporting dashboard tracks ARO, car count, and labor and parts margins as jobs move. A recently update added custom customer segments, so you can group customers (say, fleet accounts or first-time visitors) and market to them differently.
If you want to sanity-check your labor rates and margins against the reports Tekmetric shows you, our free shop margin calculator is a quick way to run the numbers.
Multi-Shop Management
For multi-location owners, a recently update brought permission groups and multi-shop permissions management, so you control exactly what each employee sees across stores. Centralized reporting rolls up numbers across locations.
The catch: each location needs its own plan subscription plus the Multi-Shop add-on. We break the real cost down in the pricing section below.
New This Year: Tekmetric Phones and Digital Ads
Tekmetric Phones, built on RingCentral, pops the customer’s full profile the moment a call comes in: their vehicle details, open ROs, and upcoming appointments all show before the advisor says hello. No scrambling to find who’s calling.
Tekmetric Digital Ads helps your shop show up when a nearby driver searches for repair online. It’s in Early Access for a limited number of shops, so confirm current availability and terms on your demo.
Federal Excise Tax Support
A recently update added Federal Excise Tax (FET) support, which matters if you work on heavy-duty trucks or tires subject to the tax. If that’s your business, note that heavy-duty and diesel shops have their own strong options too, which we cover in our Fullbay review.
Tekmetric Pricing: Plans, Costs, and What You Actually Pay
Tekmetric pricing starts at $179/month for the Start plan when you bill annually. Grow runs $309/month and Scale runs $409/month, both billed annually.
Month-to-month costs more. Start climbs to $199/month and Scale to about $439/month on the monthly plan. Confirm the current numbers at tekmetric.com/pricing, since the annual discount is where the real savings live.
Start
- Unlimited users
- Unlimited repair orders
- Unlimited support
- Digital authorizations
- Invoicing and inspections
- Inventory management
Grow
- Everything in Start
- Deeper reporting
- More workflow tools
Scale
- Everything in Grow
- Advanced features for larger operations
Every plan, even Start, includes unlimited users, unlimited repair orders, unlimited support, digital authorizations, invoicing, digital inspections, and inventory. You’re not paying more just to add a service advisor or a technician, which is a genuine break from older systems that charge per seat.
Add-ons stack on top: Tekmetric Marketing, Tekmetric Payments (processing fees), the Multi-Shop add-on at $70/month, Tire Suite, Tekmetric Phones, and Tekmetric Digital Ads. Budget for these separately.
There are no long-term contracts and no per-user fees, which is a real advantage over legacy competitors. Enterprise pricing for 5+ location operators is custom, so contact sales directly and ask about implementation fees.
Want to see how that stacks against other systems? Use our comparison tool before you sign anything.
Setup, Onboarding, and the Tekmetric Learning Curve
Here’s the part shop owners need to hear before they buy. Tekmetric is not plug-and-play. Onboarding involves migrating your customer and vehicle data, setting up your canned jobs, labor rates, and inventory, and training your crew on a new way of working.
The most consistent complaint we hear is the learning curve. Owners describe the interface as busy and say some everyday actions take too many clicks. Building estimates and updating ROs can feel slower than expected until your team gets the rhythm.
There’s also a documented pattern of support attention cooling off after onboarding wraps. Some owners say the energy from the sales and setup team doesn’t always carry through to ongoing account help. Ask about post-onboarding support cadence during your demo.
The context that balances this: any online platform with this much depth takes real investment to learn. Shops that push through report strong long-term results. And unlimited support on every plan means you’re not paying extra to get help while you climb the curve.
Our realistic guidance: budget 2 to 4 weeks of adjustment, and pick one person in the shop to own the transition. That internal champion learns the system first and trains everyone else.
Tekmetric rewards shops that invest in learning it. It punishes shops that expect it to run itself.
Tekmetric Integrations: How Well Does It Connect to the Rest of Your Shop?
Tekmetric supports a long list of integrations, and the ones that matter most for a general repair shop are all here: PartsTech, CARFAX, WORLDPAC, Kukui, QuickBooks Online, ALLDATA, and RingCentral through Tekmetric Phones.
Parts ordering runs inside the repair order. You look up a part through PartsTech or order from WORLDPAC without leaving the ticket, and it syncs back to the job. That saves the old dance of ordering in a separate tab and hand-typing part numbers.
On accounting, QuickBooks Online is the main bridge. It works for pushing invoices, but some owners report that accounts payable and credit tracking are weak spots. If your bookkeeping leans heavily on those, test the sync with real numbers before you rely on it.
The RingCentral integration behind Tekmetric Phones is new and specifically built to surface a caller’s RO history the second the phone rings. It’s one of the more useful integration additions this year.
Bottom line on integrations: the lineup is strong, but depth varies from one to the next. Test the specific ones your shop lives on during any demo.
Tekmetric Pros and Cons: What Real Users Say
These pros and cons come from our analysis of verified owner feedback plus our own read of the feature set. Here’s the honest balance sheet.
Pros
- Unlimited users and repair orders on every plan, no per-seat penalty for growing your crew
- The strongest DVI workflow in the category, with photos, video, and customer approvals over text
- Real-time reporting with live ARO, margin, and cycle-time tracking
- Deep integration lineup, including major parts suppliers and QuickBooks Online
- No long-term contracts and transparent flat-rate pricing
- Active product roadmap with real this year additions like Smart DVI, Tekmetric Phones, and Digital Ads
Cons
- Learning curve and interface complexity are the most common gripes
- Per-location subscription model makes multi-shop costs climb quickly
- Some owners find it pricey versus simpler alternatives
- The PartsTech connection has had documented reliability hiccups
- A few technicians question the labor guide times running low on some jobs
- Online only, so if your internet drops, your shop is down with it
The weaknesses are real, but most are manageable. The right fit comes down to your shop size, your growth plans, and how much onboarding effort you’re willing to put in.
Tekmetric vs. The Competition: How It Stacks Up Against AutoLeap, Shopmonkey, Mitchell 1, and Shop-Ware
Tekmetric fights in a crowded market. The right pick depends on your shop size, your feature priorities, and your budget. Here’s how it lines up against the four systems shops most often weigh against it.
Tekmetric vs. AutoLeap
AutoLeap is the closest direct competitor for growing independent shops. Both run online, both do strong DVIs, and both target the same 3+ technician shop.
AutoLeap often gets nods for a smoother first-week experience, while Tekmetric edges it on depth of reporting and the breadth of its roadmap. If DVI depth and multi-shop tools matter most, Tekmetric wins.
Tekmetric vs. Shopmonkey
Shopmonkey is frequently called easier to learn, with fewer clicks to get through common tasks. If your crew wants the gentlest onboarding and you can live with slightly less reporting depth, Shopmonkey deserves a look. For an established shop that will actually use the deeper analytics and integrations, Tekmetric gives you more room to grow.
Tekmetric vs. Mitchell 1
This is online versus legacy. Mitchell 1’s Manager SE is a long-standing system, and its ProDemand labor and repair data is a category benchmark that some techs trust more than Tekmetric’s MOTOR times.
But Mitchell 1 feels dated next to Tekmetric’s browser-based workflow, texting, and DVI. Choose Mitchell 1 if labor-guide depth is your top priority. Choose Tekmetric for a modern all-in-one flow.
Tekmetric vs. Shop-Ware
Shop-Ware and Tekmetric share a lot of DNA: both are online, both lean hard on DVIs and customer transparency. Shop-Ware built its whole workflow around the inspection and the “workflow-first” idea.
Tekmetric spreads its strength more evenly across reporting, inventory, and payments. For most general repair shops, Tekmetric’s broader feature set is the safer bet.
| Feature | Tekmetric | AutoLeap | Shopmonkey | Mitchell 1 | Shop-Ware |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $179/mo billed annually ✓ | $179/mo billed annually | $215/mo billed annually | Quote-based | $249/mo month to month |
| Pricing Model | Flat, transparent ✓ | Flat tiers | Flat tiers | Legacy tiers | Flat, unlimited users |
| Unlimited Users | Yes ✓ | Yes | Varies | No | Yes |
| Strong DVI | Yes ✓ | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Native Multi-Shop | Yes ✓ | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Contract Required | No ✓ | Varies | Varies | Often | Varies |
| Online Only | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| STS Score | 9.2 ✓ | See our reviews | See our reviews | See our reviews | See our reviews |
Which one is right for your shop?
- Choose Tekmetric if you run a growing independent shop with 3+ techs and want the deepest all-in-one platform with transparent pricing.
- Choose AutoLeap if you want a similar modern platform and value a slightly smoother first week.
- Choose Shopmonkey if your crew wants the easiest possible tool with the least learning.
- Choose Mitchell 1 if labor-guide and repair-data depth outrank everything else.
Still torn? Our find your match tool walks you to the right system based on your shop size and priorities.
Who Is Tekmetric Best For, and Who Should Look Elsewhere?
Tekmetric is a premium platform priced and built for shops serious about growth. That’s a compliment and a warning at the same time.
Best for: Independent shops with 3+ technicians that have outgrown entry-level software. Service advisors and owners who want live visibility into ROs and ARO. Shops planning to scale to multiple locations.
Operations that value a strong DVI and customer texting. Shops that want a forward-looking platform with active AI and marketing development.
Also good for: Multi-shop operators who want centralized reporting and permission control, as long as they model the full per-location cost first. Any shop tired of paying per user, since adding staff never raises your bill.
Not the best fit for: Solo operators or 1-2 tech shops that don’t need the full feature depth and want a lower monthly cost. Shops with spotty internet, given the online-only setup.
Owners who want a simple tool and won’t invest in onboarding. And any shop that leans hard on a specific integration with a spotty track record, so verify it works before you commit.
Tekmetric is not the right tool for everyone, and that’s fine. A one-bay shop doesn’t need a system built for a five-bay operation with three advisors.
Tekmetric Support and Customer Service: What to Expect
Unlimited support comes with every plan, which is a genuine edge over competitors that lock better support behind higher tiers. You get in-app support, a documentation portal, and public release notes so you can see exactly what changed and when.
As covered in the onboarding section, the one recurring knock is that support attention can fade after setup. Ask directly how escalations are handled once you’re an established account.
On the plus side, Tekmetric runs a public feature request board, so customers vote on what gets built next, and the company held its first industry-wide conference, Tektonic, in Houston. Both signal a vendor investing in its shop community rather than coasting.
Our recommendation: during your demo, ask what ongoing account support looks like three months in, not just during the first two weeks.
Does Tekmetric Have a Free Trial? How to Get Started
Tekmetric does not offer a self-serve free trial. The standard way in is a free demo with a sales rep who walks you through the platform live.
The one exception: the Tekmetric Digital Ads add-on has run Early Access promotions for qualifying shops. That’s an ads add-on, not the full platform, and terms change, so confirm on your demo.
The demo is a live walkthrough where the rep shows the workflow, asks about your shop size and how you work, and gets into pricing. Come prepared. Have your questions ready about the integrations you rely on, multi-location pricing if it applies, your onboarding timeline, and ongoing support.
Ask about annual billing during the pricing talk. The annual plans save real money over month-to-month, and it’s worth confirming the current numbers at tekmetric.com/pricing before you decide.
What Shop Owners Are Asking
“Can Tekmetric run multiple locations from one login?”
Yes. Centralized reporting and multi-shop permission groups let you manage several stores from one place. Just remember each physical location needs its own plan plus the $70/month Multi-Shop add-on, so the cost climbs with every store.
“Will my shop grind to a halt if the internet goes down?”
Effectively, yes. Tekmetric is online only with no offline mode, so a WiFi or internet outage stops you cold. If your shop’s connection is unreliable, install a backup internet line that switches to a cell signal automatically before you go live.
“Are the labor times accurate enough to bill from?”
Tekmetric pulls MOTOR labor times, which cover most common jobs well. Some techs report certain times running low and prefer to double-check unusual or heavy jobs against another source. For bread-and-butter work, the built-in times are fine for most shops.
“Is it worth switching from my old desktop system?”
If you’re on a legacy desktop tool and want texting, DVIs, and remote access, the switch usually pays off within a few months of full use. Budget 2 to 4 weeks to get your crew comfortable, and migrate your customer data during a slow week, not your busiest one.
“Does the DVI actually get more work approved?”
Shops that use it consistently say yes, because photos and video sent by text make declines harder to justify than a phone call. The gain shows up when techs run a full inspection on every car, not just the ones with obvious problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tekmetric worth it?
For independent shops with 3 or more technicians, Tekmetric is worth it. You get unlimited users and repair orders, a top-tier digital inspection workflow, real-time reporting, and a deep integration lineup with no contract.
The learning curve and per-location pricing are real trade-offs, but shops that use the platform fully report strong ARO and revenue gains. Solo operators can find cheaper, simpler options.
How much does Tekmetric cost per month?
Tekmetric starts at $179/month for the Start plan billed annually, with Grow at $309/month and Scale at $409/month. Month-to-month pricing is higher, with Start around $199 and Scale around $439.
Add-ons like Marketing, Payments, and the $70/month Multi-Shop module stack on top. Confirm current numbers at tekmetric.com/pricing.
What is the difference between Tekmetric plans?
All three plans include unlimited users, unlimited repair orders, unlimited support, digital inspections, invoicing, and inventory. Start covers the core workflow. Grow adds deeper reporting and workflow tools.
Scale layers on advanced features aimed at larger operations. Most single-location shops do fine on Start or Grow, so don’t jump to Scale unless you’ll use the extra depth.
Does Tekmetric have a free trial?
Not for the full platform. The standard entry point is a free live demo with a sales rep.
The one exception is the Tekmetric Digital Ads Early Access program, which has run promotions for qualifying shops; terms change, so ask directly. Come to the demo with specific questions about integrations, pricing, and onboarding.
What integrations does Tekmetric offer?
Tekmetric supports a long list of integrations. Key ones include PartsTech and WORLDPAC for parts ordering, CARFAX for vehicle history, ALLDATA for repair data, QuickBooks Online for accounting, Kukui for marketing, and RingCentral through Tekmetric Phones. Depth varies by integration, so test the ones your shop depends on during a demo.
How does Tekmetric compare to Mitchell 1?
Tekmetric is a modern online platform with strong DVIs, texting, and real-time reporting. Mitchell 1 is a longer-established system whose ProDemand labor and repair data is a category benchmark that many techs trust deeply.
Choose Mitchell 1 if labor-guide depth is your top priority. Choose Tekmetric for a smoother, all-in-one online workflow with transparent pricing.
Who are the typical users of Tekmetric?
Tekmetric users are overwhelmingly independent auto repair shops, most of them small businesses. Day to day, service advisors write estimates, technicians run inspections, and owners watch reporting.
Multi-shop operators use it to manage several locations from one login. It’s built for general-repair and multi-bay shops, not for solo garages.
Final Verdict: Is Tekmetric Worth It?
Tekmetric is one of the most capable shop management systems available for independent auto repair shops right now. The strongest reasons to buy: unlimited users and repair orders on every plan, a DVI workflow we rate the best in its class, a deep integration lineup, real-time reporting, no contracts, and an active roadmap that keeps adding real features like Smart DVI, Tekmetric Phones, and Digital Ads.
The honest caveats stand too. The learning curve takes weeks, not days.
Per-location pricing adds up for multi-shop owners. A couple of integrations have had reliability wobbles.
And because it’s online only, an internet outage stops your shop. None of these are dealbreakers for the right shop, but you should walk in knowing them.
On outcomes, the vendor points to shops like Mission Auto KC growing annual revenue more than 50% in a year on the platform. That’s a vendor-sourced number, so treat it as directional, but it tracks with what happens when a shop actually uses the DVI, reporting, and canned jobs to their full extent. You can run your own labor and margin math anytime with our Shop Tech Score tools.
Our call: if you run a growing independent shop with 3 or more technicians, take the demo. Tekmetric is very likely worth the investment.
If you’re a solo operator or you just want the simplest possible tool, look at AutoLeap or Shopmonkey first. Browse our full library of shop software reviews to compare before you commit.
Shop standards referenced in our scoring: Automotive Service Association (ASA).
STS Verdict
One of the few online shop systems that nails the whole repair-order-to-invoice loop with digital inspections, MOTOR labor times, and live parts ordering baked in, and it’s priced like it respects your shop. Best for independent general-repair and multi-bay shops that want a modern all-in-one platform with strong DVI and transparent pricing.
