Tekmetric is good software for a shop with a service writer, a parts counter and a few techs. If you're the one at the counter and in the bay, you're paying $179 a month and up for a lot of screens you'll never open. GarageForge does the counter work a small shop does every day: $59 for a one-person station, $99 for Pro with inspection photos and up to 5 users. You can try it without a card.
7-day free trial · No credit card · Month-to-month, no contract
If you have a parts counter and a service writer, Tekmetric may be worth every dollar. It has 30-plus parts suppliers wired in, integrated labor guides, CARFAX, and unlimited users on every tier. That part is real and we're not going to pretend otherwise.
If you have 1 to 4 bays and write your own tickets, most of that is dead weight you're paying for. Tekmetric's entry tier was $179 a month per location as of July 2026, and there is no free trial. You sit through a demo, then you commit.
If you run a state inspection lane, Tekmetric doesn't track your stickers. Neither does Shopmonkey. GarageForge was built around that lane, by someone who ran one.
Tekmetric figures come from our July 2026 review of Tekmetric's published pricing and its Capterra listing. Tekmetric sets its own prices and features and can change them at any time. GarageForge figures are current.
I ran a two-bay shop in Dover, PA for 15 years. Inspections, emissions, brakes, whatever rolled in the door. I ran it off sticky notes and a whiteboard, and I felt every unbilled hour and every sticker I couldn't account for in my own pocket.
The big shop systems all start around $180 to $200 a month, and every one of them is built around a front desk I didn't have. What I actually needed fit on one sticky note: know where every sticker went, know which customers were due, get the estimate to the customer's phone, get paid before the car left.
So that's what GarageForge is. The counter work a small shop does every day, the inspection lane done properly, and none of the tire-store, multi-location and parts-network modules a two-bay shop pays for and never touches. That's the whole reason it's a third of the price. Not a stripped-down trial. Just less software you didn't need.
Tekmetric earns its price in that shop. We'd rather you know that now than find out after you switched.
Seven days, no card. If it doesn't fit, the trial ends and nothing happens.
Published tiers as of July 2026, per location
Multi-shop add-on ran about $70/mo per extra shop. No free trial. Industry cost guides put the typical real bill for shop software at $250 to $450 a month once add-ons and payment processing are counted.
Current pricing, month-to-month, no contract
7-day free trial, no credit card. No per-user fees, no payment-processor lock-in. Add 250 texts for $10/mo. Pay annually and get 2 months free. Done-for-you data import is $199 (free for founding members).
Every sticker tracked from the batch you bought to the car it went on: in stock, issued, voided, missing, each with a timestamped note. Hand it to the auditor instead of digging through the drawer.
Every car needs one every year. GarageForge texts the customer when theirs is due, so they come back to you instead of the shop down the road.
The brakes they said no to in March go back on the estimate in one click and get a follow-up text without you remembering to send it.
Punch in the VIN and see every inspection, repair and sticker tied to that vehicle, even after it changes hands.
As of July 2026, Tekmetric's published entry tier (Start) was $179 a month per location, with Grow at $309 and Scale listed between $409 and $439 depending on which listing you check. Industry cost guides put the typical real bill for shop management software at $250 to $450 a month once add-ons and payment processing are counted. For a 1 to 4 bay shop that is often the biggest software bill in the building.
GarageForge starts at $59 a month with no per-user fees.
Both are general repair-shop platforms built for a shop with a front desk. As of July 2026, Shopmonkey's Basic tier ran about $199 to $215 a month, with roughly $20 a month per extra user and a 2.5 to 2.7 percent cut on card payments, and digital inspections only on its Clever tier and up. Tekmetric's Start tier was $179 with digital inspections and unlimited users on every tier, but no free trial.
Between the two, Tekmetric is usually the better value for a small crew. If you're 1 to 4 bays, the honest answer is probably neither. GarageForge covers the daily counter work from $59 a month, and you can try it on your own jobs for seven days without a card.
As of July 2026, no. Tekmetric sells through a demo and you commit after. GarageForge gives you seven days with every Pro feature, no credit card and no demo call. If it doesn't fit, the trial ends and nothing happens.
No. Neither Tekmetric, Shopmonkey nor ARI has sticker inventory, an inspection audit trail, or inspection-due reminders as a built-in system. They're built for general repair, and the inspection lane is an afterthought.
GarageForge was built around it. Every sticker is tracked from the batch you bought to the windshield it went on, and inspection-due reminders go out on their own.
Yes. Send us your customer and vehicle export and we load it for you. Done-for-you data import is $199, and it's free for founding members. You can also start clean during the trial and import later once you've decided.
No parts-supplier ordering network. No licensed labor-time guide (Pro gives you an AI-assisted estimate you verify yourself). No CARFAX pull. No live QuickBooks sync; CSV export is on Shop+ only. No customer financing at the counter.
Those are the modules a 1 to 4 bay shop pays for in Tekmetric and rarely opens. Skipping them is why GarageForge costs a third as much.
Try GarageForge for 7 days on your own tickets. No card, no contract, no demo call. If it fits, Starter is $59 a month for a one-person station, Pro is $99 with photos and up to 5 users.