Autera vs Dragon2000

The Dragon2000 alternative
for garages that fix cars, not forecourts.

Dragon2000 has been building dealer management software since 1995: vehicle sales, AutoTrader feeds, dealer websites, with workshop management inside a larger DMS. Autera is the other way round — built for the workshop first, with native apps, public pricing and a free plan. Which one fits depends on whether your business sells cars or repairs them.

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FEATURE COMPARISON

Side-by-side comparison

Cost comparison

What a repair-only workshop pays

Dragon2000
Quote
Pricing is not published; you find out the number on a demo call, and you carry the full DMS whether or not you sell cars.
Autera Workshop
£79/mo
Public price, covers 6 technicians, nothing you do not use.
4 clear winsAutera leads on 4 features Dragon2000 doesn’t match
FeatureAuteraDragon2000
Free planDragon2000 offers a genuine 30-day no-card trial of DragonDMS. Autera Solo simply never expires.Free forever (Solo)30-day free trial
Public, transparent pricing onlineWINDragon2000 pricing is quote-led; Autera plans and prices are public.
Starting priceWIN£29 / monthQuote-only
Built forThe workshop, first and onlyDealerships, with workshop inside a DMS
Native mobile appsBoth ship mobile apps. Honest tie — Dragon2000 lists dedicated apps including recent ones.
Setup time to first jobWINUnder 30 minutes, self-serveDemo-led
Live UK reg lookupDVLA, built in
Quote → invoice → payment in one toolStripe pay-by-link built inIntegrated card payments (Clover)
Vehicle health checksWorkshop+
MOT reminder workflowWorkshop+
ADAS calibration certificates (PAS 1880)WINWorkshop+Not advertised
Xero / QuickBooks syncStarter+Sage and Xero listed
Vehicle SALES stock managementIf you buy and sell vehicles, Dragon2000 earns this column outright: inventory, AutoTrader stock feeds, CAP and HPI. Autera does not do vehicle sales.
Dealer websites & ecommerce
Best fitIndependent repair and MOT workshops of every sizeDealerships and garages whose business includes selling vehicles

Comparison reviewed August 2026. Pricing and feature sets change frequently, check dragon2000.co.uk for the latest from Dragon2000.

WHY AUTERA

Why UK garages choose Autera

A workshop tool, not a DMS with one inside

Dragon2000 is a dealer management system whose workshop module lives alongside sales stock, forecourt websites and AutoTrader feeds. If you never sell a car, all of that is surface area you pay for and navigate around. Autera is the workshop, whole.

A price you can see today

Dragon2000 tells you the price on a demo call. Autera publishes it: Solo free, Starter £29, Workshop £79 for 6 technicians, Multi-Bay £149. You can budget before you ever speak to anyone.

Phone-first where it counts

Both products ship apps — Dragon2000 deserves that credit. Autera’s were designed as the PRIMARY surface: our busiest paying customer runs his whole day from the app and invoices from the sofa at ten at night.

Free forever beats 30 days

Dragon2000’s 30-day trial is genuinely no-card, and fair play. Autera Solo just never ends: run real jobs free for as long as you like, and upgrade the month the limits pinch.

ADAS certificates built in

PAS 1880-compliant ADAS calibration certificates are included on the £79 Workshop plan, with technician IMI numbers captured per cert. Dragon2000 does not advertise ADAS certification.

Leave whenever, with everything

Full export of customers, vehicles, jobs and invoices at any time, no exit process. Trying Autera next to Dragon2000 for a month costs nothing and risks nothing.

QUESTIONS

Common questions

Primarily a DMS: Dragon2000 has built dealer software since 1995 — vehicle sales stock, AutoTrader feeds, CAP and HPI integration, dealer websites — with workshop management as part of the suite. Autera is workshop-only by design. If your business sells vehicles, that DMS layer is a real reason to pick Dragon2000; if it repairs them, it is weight you never use.

Dragon2000 does not publish pricing; quotes come via demo. Autera publishes everything: Solo £0, Starter £29/month, Workshop £79/month covering up to 6 technicians, Multi-Bay £149/month, and only technicians count as seats.

Everything to do with selling cars: sales stock management, AutoTrader stock feeds, CAP valuations, HPI checks, dealer websites with ecommerce. Autera does none of that, on purpose. Dragon2000 also carries thirty years of installed-base experience.

Export your customers and vehicles as CSV and Autera’s importer auto-maps common columns, or send the file to [email protected] and we will load it free. Most garages start new jobs in Autera on day one and keep the old system readable for a month of lookups.

Yes. Solo is free forever and paid plans have a 14-day no-card trial, so the two can run side by side on real work before you decide anything.

Comparing other UK garage software too?

vs ServiceM8vs Garage Hivevs Garage Assistantvs MAM Autoworkvs LaunchControl

Or explore Autera by feature:

Garage management softwareMOT remindersInvoicingVehicle health checks
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