Tekmetric charges $199–439/mo plus add-ons for marketing and tire management. Shop Commander includes everything — SMS, AI, marketing, inspections, tire storage, and more — for $0/mo. Here's the full breakdown.
If you run an independent auto repair shop, you've probably come across Tekmetric in your search for shop management software. Tekmetric is a cloud-based platform that offers digital vehicle inspections, repair order management, estimates, invoicing, and basic reporting. It has built a solid reputation in the industry and serves thousands of shops across North America.
But here's the problem: Tekmetric's pricing adds up fast. Their base plan starts at $199/mo, and the features most shops actually need — like two-way SMS and marketing automation — are locked behind higher tiers and paid add-ons. By the time you're running a fully-featured shop on Tekmetric, you're looking at $500+ per month.
Shop Commander was built to solve exactly this problem. Created by a shop owner who got tired of paying hundreds of dollars a month for software, Shop Commander includes every feature — digital inspections, two-way SMS, AI-powered tech notes, automated marketing, tire storage tracking, loaner management, payments, and more — for $0/mo. No tiers. No add-ons. No per-user fees. No catch.
This page breaks down the complete comparison between Shop Commander and Tekmetric so you can make an informed decision about which platform is right for your shop. We'll cover pricing, features, AI capabilities, and real-world cost savings — with no spin. Just facts.
Tekmetric uses a three-tier pricing structure. Each tier unlocks additional features, which means the entry-level plan is missing key capabilities that most shops consider essential. On top of the base subscription, Tekmetric offers paid add-on modules that increase your monthly bill further.
A shop running Tekmetric Scale with marketing and tire management pays $500+/mo — over $6,000/year.
| Cost | Shop Commander | Tekmetric Starter | Tekmetric Growth | Tekmetric Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Base Price | $0 | $199 | $349 | $439 |
| Marketing Module | Included | Paid add-on | Paid add-on | Paid add-on |
| Tire Management | Included | +$39/mo | +$39/mo | +$39/mo |
| Two-Way SMS | Included | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| AI Features | Included | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Per-User Charges | None | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Realistic Monthly Total | $0 | $238+ | $388+ | $500+ |
| Annual Cost | $0 | $2,856+ | $4,656+ | $6,000+ |
For a detailed multi-platform comparison, see our full comparison page. Pricing info from our pricing breakdown.
Tekmetric covers the basics well — digital inspections, estimates, invoicing, payments, and VIN decoding are all solid. But when you dig into the features that actually drive revenue and efficiency for a modern shop, the gaps become clear. Here's a feature-by-feature breakdown of where Tekmetric falls short and where Shop Commander pulls ahead.
| Feature | Shop Commander | Tekmetric |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Vehicle Inspections | ✓ | ✓ |
| Estimates & Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Embedded Payments | ✓ | ✓ |
| Text-to-Pay | ✓ | ✓ |
| VIN Decoding | ✓ | ✓ |
| Parts Ordering Integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reporting & Analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Two-Way SMS | ✓ Free | Scale only ($439/mo) |
| Marketing Campaigns | ✓ Free | Paid add-on |
| Google Review Pipeline | ✓ Free | Marketing add-on |
| AI Tech Note Cleanup | ✓ Free | ✗ |
| AI Job Suggestions | ✓ Free | ✗ |
| AI Declined Job Follow-Up | ✓ Free | ✗ |
| Automated Declined Job Recovery | ✓ 30/60/90 day | Marketing add-on |
| Tire Management | ✓ Free | +$39/mo add-on |
| Tire Storage Tracking | ✓ Free | ✗ |
| Loaner Vehicle Management | ✓ Free | ✗ |
| Offline Inspections | ✓ Free | ✗ |
| Real-Time Collaboration | ✓ WebSocket | ✗ |
| Seasonal Campaigns | ✓ Free | Marketing add-on |
| Buy Now Pay Later | ✓ | ✗ |
Shop Commander matches Tekmetric on every core feature and adds 12+ capabilities that Tekmetric either doesn't offer or charges extra for. See all features in detail on our features page.
Tekmetric restricts two-way SMS to their Scale tier at $439/mo. If you're on Starter or Growth, your customers can't text you back. Shop Commander includes full two-way SMS on every account — automated status updates, estimate approvals, pickup notifications, review requests, and text-to-pay links. All free. Because texting your customers shouldn't cost $439/mo.
Tekmetric offers zero AI features. Shop Commander uses AI to clean up tech shorthand into professional customer-facing notes, suggest jobs based on vehicle history and mileage, write personalized declined job follow-up messages, and detect customer satisfaction signals before sending Google review requests. AI isn't a gimmick here — it saves your service writers hours every week.
Tekmetric charges extra for their marketing module — it's a paid add-on on top of your base subscription. That means seasonal campaigns, declined job follow-ups, and Google review generation all cost more. Shop Commander includes automated marketing campaigns, 30/60/90-day declined job recovery, and an AI-powered review pipeline at no cost. Your marketing runs itself while you wrench.
Tekmetric charges an additional $39/mo for their tire management add-on. Shop Commander includes tire management and tire storage tracking — a feature Tekmetric doesn't offer at any price. Track stored tire sets with location, tread depth, and DOT codes. Automated seasonal swap reminders go out to customers when the weather turns. All free.
If your shop lends vehicles to customers while their car is in the bay, you know how chaotic tracking can get. Tekmetric offers no loaner management at any tier. Shop Commander tracks your entire loaner fleet — who has what, when it's due back, mileage out and mileage in, condition notes, and automated return reminders. One less thing to track on paper.
Internet goes down. It happens. With Tekmetric, your inspections stop when your connection stops. Shop Commander's digital inspections work offline — techs can complete full inspections with photos and measurements, and everything syncs automatically when connectivity returns. No lost work. No frustrated techs.
Tekmetric uses standard HTTP requests, which means your team sees updates when they refresh or when the page polls for changes. Shop Commander uses WebSocket technology for true real-time collaboration — when a tech updates an inspection, your service writer sees it instantly. When a customer approves an estimate, the board updates immediately. No refresh needed. No delays.
Declined work is money left on the table. Tekmetric's marketing add-on offers some follow-up capability, but it's a paid extra. Shop Commander automatically tracks every declined job and sends personalized AI-written SMS follow-ups at 30, 60, and 90 days. Seasonal campaigns fire automatically when weather changes make that deferred brake job feel more urgent. Shops recover thousands in revenue they'd otherwise lose.
Let's put that $6,000+ per year in perspective. That's a new lift. That's a scan tool upgrade. That's six months of a tech's phone bill. That's money that should be going back into your shop — not into a software company's pocket for features that should be included in the first place.
And here's what makes it worse: Tekmetric charges $439/mo for two-way SMS that Shop Commander gives you free. They charge $39/mo for tire management that Shop Commander includes. They charge extra for marketing that Shop Commander automates. You're not just paying more for the same thing — you're paying more for less.
The math isn't close. Over three years, the difference is $18,000+. Over five years, it's $30,000+. That's real money for a shop running on tight margins. See our full pricing breakdown for more details.
Not every platform is the right fit for every shop. Here's an honest look at who benefits most from making the switch from Tekmetric to Shop Commander.
For the vast majority of independent shops, Shop Commander delivers more features at zero cost. The question isn't whether Shop Commander can replace Tekmetric — it's why you'd keep paying for Tekmetric when a better alternative is free. Read more about our story on the about page.
Switching shop management software sounds painful. We made it painless. Shop Commander offers free data migration from Tekmetric — and we handle everything for you.
Here's what gets migrated:
All customer records, contact info, communication history, and vehicle associations.
Complete vehicle database with VIN, year/make/model, mileage history, and notes.
Past repair orders, inspections, line items, and declined work — all preserved.
Most migrations are completed same day. You won't lose a single customer record, vehicle history entry, or service note. Your team can start using Shop Commander immediately while we handle the data transfer in the background.
No export headaches. No CSV wrangling. No downtime. Just tell us you're ready and we take care of the rest. Contact us to start your free migration.
Shop Commander includes everything Tekmetric charges $439+/mo for — plus AI, tire storage, loaner management, offline inspections, and automated marketing — at $0/mo. Forever.
Free migration. Same-day setup. No credit card. No catch.