Autera vs Motasoft

The Motasoft alternative
without the 12-month contract.

Motasoft’s Virtual Garage Manager is a well-established cloud system with a strong online-booking pedigree, used by over a thousand UK garages. It is honestly priced at £65/month with unlimited users — and it asks for a 12-month commitment. Autera asks for none: free to start, £29 to begin paying, cancel any month, with native apps in your pocket.

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FEATURE COMPARISON

Side-by-side comparison

The commitment comparison

What signing up actually commits you to

Motasoft VGM
£780 min.
A 12-month contract at £65/month is a £780 first-year commitment, however the year goes.
Autera
£0 min.
Free plan forever; paid plans cancel any month. Workshop is £79/month for 6 technicians, and month one is your only exposure.
6 clear winsAutera leads on 6 features Motasoft VGM doesn’t match
FeatureAuteraMotasoft VGM
Free planWINAutera Solo is free forever; VGM advertises no free plan or trial.
Public, transparent pricing onlineCredit where due: Motasoft publishes from £65/month.
ContractWINMotasoft’s own site states a 12-month contract by direct debit. This is the structural difference.None. Cancel any month.12-month contract, paid monthly
Starting priceWIN£29 / month£65 / month
Seat modelFor big teams VGM’s unlimited-users flat rate is genuinely strong — a 10-technician shop beats Autera’s Workshop-plus-seats price there. We say so. For 1–6 technicians, Autera costs less.Per technician; office staff freeUnlimited users at £65
Native iPhone & Android apps, full productWINVGM has a companion app for techs doing health checks; the management surface is web. Autera’s apps ARE the product: jobs, quotes, invoices, payments, all of it.Technician companion app
Setup time to first jobWINUnder 30 minutes, self-serveDemo-led
Online 24/7 customer bookingOnline booking is Motasoft’s heritage and it shows. Both do request-based booking well.Workshop+
Live UK reg lookup / DVSA MOT historyDVLA + MOT history built in
MOT reminder workflowWorkshop+
Vehicle health checksWorkshop+
Card paymentsStripe pay-by-link built inMotasoftPay
Xero / QuickBooks / SageXero + QuickBooks sync, Sage 50 exportXero, Sage, QuickBooks listed
Parts integrations (GSF, GroupTyre)VGM’s GSF Car Parts and GroupTyre integrations are real advantages today. On Autera’s roadmap; manual entry until then.Roadmap
ADAS calibration certificates (PAS 1880)WINWorkshop+Not advertised
Best fitGarages that want apps, no commitment, and to start freeLarger teams happy to commit 12 months for unlimited users

Comparison reviewed August 2026. Pricing and feature sets change frequently, check motasoft.co.uk for the latest from Motasoft VGM.

WHY AUTERA

Why UK garages choose Autera

No 12-month handcuffs

Motasoft asks for a year. Autera asks for nothing: Solo is free forever, paid plans roll monthly, and cancelling takes under a minute from billing. Software should keep you by being good in month eleven, not by a signature from month zero.

The whole product in the app

VGM’s mobile app is a technician companion; the business runs in the browser. Autera’s native iPhone and Android apps carry everything — jobs, photos, quotes, invoicing, payments — because our most engaged customers run their day from a pocket, not a desk.

Cheaper to start, honest about scale

Autera starts free and Starter is £29 against VGM’s £65 entry. At the other end we are straight with you: a shop with ten technicians beats Autera’s per-seat maths on VGM’s unlimited-users flat rate. For the 1–6 technician garages most independents actually are, Autera costs less.

Live in 30 minutes

No demo call, no onboarding project: sign up, type a reg, DVLA fills the vehicle, run the first job the same half hour. VGM onboarding is demo-led.

ADAS certificates built in

PAS 1880-compliant ADAS calibration certificates are part of the £79 Workshop plan, technician IMI numbers on every cert. VGM does not advertise ADAS certification.

Respect for a real competitor

VGM’s online booking pedigree and GSF/GroupTyre parts integrations are genuine advantages, and its £65 unlimited-users price is fair. If those are your deciding factors, it is a reasonable choice. Autera wins on apps, freedom and the price of finding out.

QUESTIONS

Common questions

Yes — Motasoft’s site states a 12-month contract paid monthly by direct debit, which makes signing up roughly a £780 first-year commitment at the £65 rate. Autera has no contract: the free plan never expires and paid plans cancel any month.

VGM is from £65/month with unlimited users on a 12-month term. Autera is Solo free, Starter £29, Workshop £79 covering up to 6 technicians (office staff free, extra technicians £12), Multi-Bay £149 unlimited — all monthly rolling. Below about 7 technicians Autera costs less; above that VGM’s flat rate can win on price, and we would rather tell you that than have you discover it.

A technician companion app for health checks and job tasks, yes — the management side runs in the browser. Autera’s native iPhone and Android apps are the full product, not a companion.

Parts and tyre supplier integrations (GSF Car Parts, GroupTyre) and Haynes technical data, today — those are on Autera’s roadmap. Its online-booking system is mature and well-regarded. And for very large teams, unlimited users at a flat £65 is strong pricing.

Export your customers and vehicles as CSV and Autera’s importer auto-maps common columns in minutes, or send the file to [email protected] and we will load it free. Run the two side by side — Autera costs nothing to try — and let your team pick.

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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