Side-by-side comparison
The cost of finding out
What it costs to see whether it suits you
| Feature | Autera | GarageDash |
|---|---|---|
| Free planWINGarageDash publishes a single £29 price. Autera Solo is free with no expiry, so you can run real jobs through it before deciding anything. | Solo, free forever, one mechanic | None; £29/month only |
| Trying it without payingWINGarageDash’s signup form states a card is required, with no charge until the trial ends. Autera’s free plan asks for neither a card nor a deadline. | Free plan, no card, no clock | 14-day trial |
| Starting priceCredit where due: the same honest, published price, and neither of us hides it behind a demo call. | £29 / month | £29 / month |
| Seat modelNeither charges per head. Hiring moves neither bill. | Unlimited mechanics and admin users on every paid plan | Unlimited team members |
| ContractBoth rolling. No handcuffs on either side. | None. Cancel any month. | Cancel anytime |
| Live UK reg lookup (DVLA)WINTyping a plate and having the vehicle fill itself in is the single most-used thing in Autera. GarageDash does not advertise a registration lookup anywhere on its site, homepage or any of its six feature pages. | Built in, fills make, model, year and colour | Not advertised |
| MOT remindersWINCredit where due: GarageDash includes MOT and service due-date tracking at £29, on a page of its own. Asked on its own site whether it sends reminders automatically, the answer is that it tracks due dates so the garage can see what is upcoming or overdue and reach out. Autera sends the reminder itself, by email and text, before expiry. | Sent automatically by email and text, Workshop+ | Due-date tracking; the garage makes the contact |
| Customer job tracking linkWINA live "is my car ready?" page for every job, so the phone stops ringing. | Workshop+, no app or login for the customer | Not advertised |
| Native iPhone & Android appsWINA difference in shape rather than quality. GarageDash reaches the workshop floor through its browser web app, which it says runs on tablets in the workshop; Autera ships native iPhone and Android apps. | Windows app; Mac coming soon; browser | |
| Windows desktop appStraight credit: if your office runs on a Windows machine and you want a desktop app, GarageDash has one and Autera does not. | Web and mobile only | |
| Customer-facing online bookingGarageDash advertises a visual booking calendar for staff. A public page customers book through themselves is not advertised. | Workshop+ | Booking calendar (internal) |
| Card payments / pay-by-linkWIN | Stripe pay-by-link on invoices | Not advertised |
| Parts inventoryGarageDash wins this outright at the entry price, low-stock alerts included. Autera puts inventory on Workshop. | Workshop+ (£79) | Included at £29 |
| Vehicle inspections / health checksSame again: digital inspections are in GarageDash’s £29, pass/advisory/fail with photos on the items that need attention. Autera puts health checks on Workshop and adds video evidence and a link the customer approves on their phone, where GarageDash produces a printable report. | Workshop+ (£79) | Included at £29 |
| Quotes, invoices, job sheets, customer & vehicle historyThe core is comparable. Choose on the rest. | ||
| Xero / QuickBooks / Sage | Xero + QuickBooks sync, Sage 50 export | Not advertised |
| ADAS calibration certificates (PAS 1880)WIN | Workshop+ | Not advertised |
| Free data migrationBoth offer to move your existing customers and vehicles across for you. | ||
| Best fit | Garages that want to start free, work from a phone, and lean on DVLA and MOT data | Garages wanting inventory and inspections at the lowest paid price, happy to work in a browser |
Comparison reviewed August 2026. Pricing and feature sets change frequently, check garagedash.co.uk for the latest from GarageDash.
Why UK garages choose Autera
Free is not a countdown
GarageDash gives you a fortnight and asks for a card up front. Autera Solo is free with no expiry and no card, so you can put real jobs through it in a quiet week, leave it alone for a month, and come back. Deciding on garage software in fourteen days, around actual cars, is a deadline nobody needs.
Type the plate, not the car
DVLA lookup fills in make, model, year and colour from the registration, with MOT history alongside it. GarageDash does not advertise a registration lookup anywhere on its site, not on the homepage feature grid and not on any of the six pages linked from its footer, which for a UK garage means typing what the DVLA already knows.
The work that books itself
MOT reminders go out by email and text before expiry, off DVLA expiry dates, and the customer tracking link answers "is it ready yet" without anyone picking up the phone. Both are Workshop-tier, and both bring work back through the door rather than just recording it.
A browser tab or an app in your pocket
GarageDash calls itself the desktop app and ships a Windows installer, with a Mac version in development. Its route to the workshop floor is the browser: a web app it says works on any device, including tablets in the workshop. Autera’s iPhone and Android apps are native and carry the whole product: jobs, photos, quotes, invoicing, payments. Both of us expect the work to happen in the bay. The difference is whether that means a browser tab or an app on the phone in your pocket, which is where offline tolerance, the camera and push notifications live.
Where they are genuinely cheaper
Parts inventory and vehicle inspections are in GarageDash’s £29. In Autera both sit on Workshop at £79. If those two are what you came for and you do not need DVLA lookup, MOT reminders or apps, GarageDash is the cheaper answer and we would rather say so here than waste your fortnight.
Respect for a real competitor
GarageDash publishes its price, does not charge per seat, does not tie you into a year, and will move your data across for nothing. That is a fair product built by people who have thought about garages. Autera wins on starting free, on UK vehicle data, and on being usable from a phone.
Common questions
Comparing other UK garage software too?
Or explore Autera by feature: