Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Autera | AutoChain |
|---|---|---|
| Free planWINAutera Solo is free forever, no card. AutoChain gives the first month free on the base subscription, which is a free trial rather than a free tier, and their own checkout notes that any add-ons you pick are billed from day one regardless. | ||
| Public, transparent pricing onlineCredit where due: AutoChain publishes its prices too. £69.99 + VAT/month core, plus SMS reminders £15 + VAT, HaynesPro £49.99 + VAT and Credit where due: AutoChain publishes its prices too. £69.99 + VAT/month core, plus SMS reminders £15 + VAT with 200 SMS credits included, HaynesPro £49.99 + VAT per site, multi-site priced per site, and Axel AI credits pay-as-you-go at 1p a credit. Their £69.99 + VAT is £83.99 to pay.. Their checkout totals the base at £83.99 including VAT. | ||
| Starting priceWINAutera prices are what you pay; we are not VAT registered, so there is nothing to add. AutoChain quote plus VAT throughout. | £29 / month | £69.99 + VAT (£83.99) / month |
| Unlimited employees, no per-seat chargeHonest tie: neither product charges per head. AutoChain include unlimited employees at one flat price, and Autera includes unlimited mechanics and unlimited admin users on every paid plan. On the flat price we are marginally cheaper, £79 on Workshop against their £69.99 + VAT, which is £83.99 to pay. | ||
| No long-term contractBoth are monthly rolling with no lock-in. Honest tie. | ||
| Setup time to first jobBoth products get this right; AutoChain says most garages are running within minutes. | Under 30 minutes, self-serve | Fast, self-serve |
| Native iPhone appWINAutoChain is cloud web on any device; no native apps are advertised. Autera ships real iOS and Android apps. | ||
| Native Android appWIN | ||
| Works offline-tolerant on the shop floorWIN | Native app | Browser |
| Live UK reg lookup | DVLA, built in | |
| DVSA MOT history | ||
| Online 24/7 customer booking | Workshop+ | |
| Drag-and-drop diary | ||
| Vehicle health checksBoth include digital health checks. AutoChain layers HaynesPro technical data into theirs (oil grades, torque figures, brake minimums) for £49.99 + VAT a month, which Autera has no equivalent of at any price. Both include digital health checks. AutoChain layers HaynesPro into theirs for £49.99 + VAT per site a month: ten tabs covering repair times, servicing, wiring diagrams, diagnostics, bulletins and recalls, and inside the health check it grades pad and disc readings against the manufacturer minimum and supplies the vehicle’s fitted tyre sizes. Autera has no equivalent of that at any price. | Workshop+, included | Included |
| MOT / service remindersAutomated email MOT reminders are in AutoChain’s core plan; the SMS channel is a £15 + VAT add-on. Autera Workshop includes both, with 150 texts a month. | Email and text, included | Email included, SMS £15 + VAT |
| Card paymentsBoth take card payment by link. AutoChain names card payments as a core-plan feature. | Stripe pay-by-link built in | Stripe pay-by-link, core plan |
| ADAS calibration certificates (PAS 1880)WIN | Workshop+ | Not advertised |
| Xero / QuickBooks syncAutoChain connects Xero and exports QuickBooks and Sage 50 as CSV in its core plan. Autera syncs Xero and QuickBooks directly on Starter and above. | Both live, Starter+ | Xero live; QuickBooks and Sage by CSV |
| AI assistantTwo different models rather than two different sizes, so the numbers do not compare directly: AutoChain’s FAQ says “Axel uses pay-as-you-go AI credits, where one credit is 1p” and each reply spends a variable number, making their credit a unit of money. Autera’s is a unit of work, a monthly allowance: 30 on Solo, 200 Starter, 600 Workshop, 2,000 Multi-Bay, refilled each month. AutoChain gives Axel 250 starter credits and then sells top-ups from £5 for 500. Checked in their product 14 September 2026. | 600 credits a month on Workshop, refilled | Pay as you go, 1p a credit |
| Parts stock | Workshop+ | |
| Tyre stock by sizeAutoChain has dedicated tyre management. In Autera a tyre is a normal stock part, so there is no stock-by-size, no fitment lookup from the reg and no load or speed rating. If tyres are your business, that gap is real. | ||
| Purchase orders to suppliersAutoChain raises POs to any supplier. Autera has no purchase-order concept at all: stock only goes up by editing it by hand. Worth knowing if you order parts in volume. | ||
| Postcode & address autofillThey look an address up from the postcode; we make you type it. Small, but you feel it on every new customer. | ||
| Best fit | Garages that live on their phones, from one mechanic to multi-site | Garages running tyre and parts stock in a browser, with purchase orders and HaynesPro as an add-on |
Comparison reviewed September 2026. Pricing and feature sets change frequently, check autochain.co.uk for the latest from AutoChain.
Why UK garages choose Autera
Apps, not tabs
AutoChain runs in the browser on any device. Autera ships native iPhone, iPad and Android apps built for the ramp: two-tap status changes, photos straight to the job, invoicing from the sofa. The web portal covers the office.
Start free, not at £69.99
Autera Solo is free forever with no card, and Starter is £29. AutoChain’s entry point is £69.99 + VAT before any add-ons. Trying Autera costs you half an hour.
Everything in one price
Vehicle health checks, online booking and email MOT reminders are part of Autera’s £79 Workshop plan, with unlimited mechanics. AutoChain includes health checks and email reminders in its core plan too; text reminders are a £15 + VAT add-on there, and included here.
Both set up fast — one keeps going
AutoChain deserves credit for self-serve setup, and so does Autera: DVLA fills the vehicle from a reg and the first job runs inside half an hour. AutoChain deserves credit for self-serve setup, and so does Autera: DVLA fills the vehicle from a reg and the first job runs inside half an hour. Stripe pay links and Xero sync are in AutoChain’s core plan too. What Autera adds from there are the native apps, so the same job runs from under the ramp rather than from the office.
ADAS certificates built in
PAS 1880-compliant ADAS calibration certificates are included on Workshop, with technician IMI numbers on every cert. AutoChain does not advertise ADAS certification.
No lock-in on either side
Both products are monthly rolling — we will not pretend otherwise. Autera adds a free-forever plan and full data export at any time, so even trying it commits you to nothing.
Common questions
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