Side-by-side comparison
Real cost comparison
What each of us publishes as a starting price
| Feature | Autera | Garage Hive |
|---|---|---|
| Free planWINAutera Solo is free forever; Garage Hive is paid only. | ||
| Public, transparent pricing onlineWINGarage Hive publishes a “from £145 per month” starting price; the per-plan and per-user pricelist is quote-only. Autera publishes every plan and price in full. | From-price only | |
| Pricing modelWINAutera is one price per workshop: unlimited mechanics and unlimited admin users on every paid plan. Garage Hive bills by user count, splitting Full Users, which its terms describe as typically front-of-house staff, from Lite Users for individual mechanics on a phone or tablet. Add a user mid-month and you are charged for the rest of the month; remove one and you still pay the full month. | Per workshop, not per user | Per user |
| Starting priceWINGarage Hive’s published entry price is £145 a month, and it climbs with every named user you add. | £29 / month | £145 / month |
| Annual discount | ~17% off | Quote-based |
| Setup feeWINGarage Hive’s terms list system setup, data migration and install or training as one-off costs. Autera has none. | None | One-off costs apply |
| No long-term contractBoth are rolling monthly. Autera cancels from billing settings; Garage Hive’s terms are a one-month rolling contract, terminable any time after the first month, though its optional Autodata (quarterly) and Microsoft 365 (annual) add-ons commit you for longer. | ||
| Cloud-native, mobile-firstWIN | Cloud, but Dynamics-based UX | |
| Native iPad appWIN | Web app on iPad | |
| Native Android tablet appWIN | Web app on Android | |
| Setup time to first jobWIN | Under 30 minutes | Days, with onboarding |
| Mobile camera direct photo upload to jobGarage Hive’s pricing page lists “Take Vehicle Pictures Using Phones/Tablets”, and its Customer Online Authorisation page says technicians can take pictures of each item being reported, which the customer then sees in the authorisation document. On Autera, phone and tablet capture is included from Starter up; free Solo does not include it. | Starter+ | |
| Live UK DVLA reg lookup | ||
| Quote → invoice → payment in one tool | ||
| Online customer paymentsBoth take card payments online. Garage Hive connects to outside providers: Stripe, Dojo, Pay 360, and Payment Assist for financing. Autera has Stripe built in, so a pay-by-link invoice takes payment as soon as you connect an account. | Stripe built-in | Stripe, Dojo, Pay 360, Payment Assist |
| ADAS calibration certificates (PAS 1880)WINGarage Hive’s published feature list and its eleven partner integrations contain no ADAS or calibration entry. ADAS appears on its site only in trade-show write-ups, never as a Garage Hive feature. | Workshop+ | Not in their feature list |
| MOT reminder workflow | Workshop+ | |
| Branded invoices and PDFs | Starter+ | |
| Customer quote-acceptance & pay-by-link portalGarage Hive’s Customer Online Authorisation sends an online estimate with photos and descriptions by SMS or email for the customer to “Approve” at the click of a button, and its Stripe integration offers online payment through Pay by Garage Link. | ||
| CSV import for customers + vehiclesWIN | Paid migration | |
| Xero / QuickBooks sync | Starter+ | |
| Live supplier price lookup (Euro Car Parts / GSF)Garage Hive integrates with UK parts factors. On the Autera roadmap; manual entry until then. | Roadmap | |
| SetupWIN | Self-serve. Live in 30 minutes. | Consultant-led install, on-site or remote. Setup fees apply. |
| Best fit | Single sites through multi-site groups, and mobile mechanics | Groups already invested in the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem |
Comparison reviewed May 2026. Pricing and feature sets change frequently, check garagehive.co.uk for the latest from Garage Hive.
Why UK garages choose Autera
No per-user maths
Garage Hive bills per user, with Full Users typically for front-of-house staff and a Lite User for each mechanic, so the bill rises every time you take someone on. Autera bills per workshop: mechanics and admin users are unlimited on every paid plan, so hiring never changes the bill. Workshop is £79/month, Multi-Bay £149.
Mobile-first, not Dynamics-first
Garage Hive is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Powerful, but a steeper learning curve. Autera was designed phone-first for technicians on the shop floor.
Live in 30 minutes, not weeks
Most UK garages are operational on Autera within half an hour of signing up. No implementation projects, no onboarding fees, no consultants required.
Genuine free plan
Autera Solo is free forever, no card. Try the product for real, with real customers, before deciding whether to upgrade. Garage Hive is paid-only.
ADAS certificates built in
PAS 1880-compliant ADAS calibration certificates are included on the £79 Workshop plan, with technician IMI numbers captured on each cert and emailed to the customer.
No lock-in
Export your customers, vehicles and job history any time. No contract minimum, no exit fees. Cancel from billing in under a minute and your data stays exportable for 60 days.
Common questions
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