MechanicTap vs Tekmetric for Mobile Mechanics (2027)

Tekmetric is shop management software for repair shops with bays, technicians, and service advisors, and it starts at $199 a month ($179 billed yearly). For a mobile mechanic working out of a van, MechanicTap covers the work you actually do, from the booking link to the quote and deposit, for $0 to start or $20 a month for Pro. Tekmetric's own site says solo, single-bay operations with no employees may not need it.

If you're a mobile mechanic, you can try MechanicTap on the Free plan with no credit card, take real requests, and upgrade to Pro when you want quotes and card deposits. See what each plan includes.

What is Tekmetric built for?

Tekmetric is built to run a repair shop. Its own pitch is "built by a shop owner, for shop owners," and it says it's ideal if you run an independent or multi-location mechanic shop (Tekmetric). The core tools reflect that: repair orders, digital vehicle inspections, parts ordering and inventory, a technician board, and live dashboards for average repair order, gross profit, tech productivity, and car count.

Those are the right tools for a building with bays, a parts room, and a service advisor at the counter. They also explain the price. A mobile mechanic who does the diagnosis, the quote, the drive, and the repair alone doesn't need a technician board or shop-wide analytics.

What does Tekmetric cost in 2026?

Tekmetric prices per shop, not per user, with unlimited users and unlimited repair orders on every plan (Tekmetric):

Integrated payments is a $345-a-month add-on below Enterprise, multi-shop management is $70 a month per shop, and the tire suite is $39 a month (Tekmetric). Plans are month to month or yearly with no long-term contract. Capterra's listing shows no free version or free trial (Capterra).

What does MechanicTap cost?

MechanicTap has two plans and no per-user or per-booking charges:

• Free, $0: your booking page and link, a requests inbox with the car, VIN, photos, and location, up to 5 bookings, a customer list, cash, Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App payments marked in the app, and a listing in Find a Mechanic.
• Pro, $20 a month or $200 a year: unlimited bookings, quotes approved on the customer's phone, card deposits and payments through Stripe, reminder and On my way texts, automatic Google review requests, extra-work approvals, and expense and mileage tracking.

Card payments run through Stripe at 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per successful domestic card charge (Stripe), with no MechanicTap fee on top. There is no separate payments add-on to buy.

How do the features compare?

Why does MechanicTap fit a mobile mechanic better?

A mobile job starts in someone's driveway or a parking lot, so the hard parts happen before you arrive: knowing what you're walking into, getting paid to hold the slot, and getting there when you said. MechanicTap is built around those steps.

• The request tells you the job. Customers send the car, the VIN, the symptoms, photos or a short video, and where the car is parked, and you accept or decline each one.
• The quote matches mobile pricing. Labor, parts or customer-supplied parts, a separate mobile fee, and a deposit to book. Customers approve on their phone and agree to your terms in the same step.
• Extra work gets approved in writing. If you find something else on site, the customer approves the added cost on their phone, which follows the FTC's advice that shops get approval before doing extra work (FTC).
• Drive time is protected. A booked job blocks its full length plus your buffer between jobs, so customers can't book you while you're still on the last car.
• Customers see you coming. An On my way text sends a live ETA with your van's color and plate.

Want the full pricing side? Our guide to quoting car repairs over the phone walks through labor, parts, and the mobile fee.

When is Tekmetric the better pick?

Tekmetric is the better pick once you're running a shop. Choose it if:

• You have bays, a service advisor, and technicians you need to assign and track.
• You stock parts and want inventory and integrated parts ordering.
• You want a built-in labor guide and maintenance schedules.
• You're running more than one location and want shop-wide numbers like car count and average repair order.

At that point Tekmetric's price buys tools you'll use every day. Plenty of mechanics start mobile and open a shop later; if that's your plan, see how to start a mobile mechanic business. If you're weighing field-service software instead, read MechanicTap vs Housecall Pro.

How do I start with MechanicTap for free?

1. 1Create a free account with your email. No credit card.
2. 2Set your services, hours, and service area, then claim your booking link.
3. 3Share the link on Google, social media, and in your texts.
4. 4Run your first bookings on Free.
5. 5Upgrade to Pro when you want quotes, card deposits, and reminder texts, and cancel back to Free anytime.