Side-by-side comparison
Real cost comparison
Example: a 1 front-of-house + 4 technician shop
| Feature | Autera | TechMan |
|---|---|---|
| Free planWINAutera Solo is free forever; TechMan does not advertise a free plan or trial. | ||
| Public, transparent pricing onlineWINTechMan pricing is demo-and-quote led; its Capterra UK listing shows from £58 per user. Autera plans and prices are public. | ||
| Pricing modelWINAutera admins, front-of-house and the owner are free; only technicians count. TechMan is listed per user. | Per workshop + per technician | Per user |
| Starting priceWIN | £29 / month | From £58 / user (Capterra listing) |
| No long-term contractAutera can be cancelled any month from billing settings. TechMan’s site does not state contract terms. | Not stated | |
| Native iPhone appWINTechMan is web-based; its site mentions no native mobile apps. Autera ships real iOS and Android apps. | ||
| Native Android appWIN | ||
| Works from a phone in the workshopWIN | Designed for it | Browser only |
| Setup time to first jobWIN | Under 30 minutes, self-serve | Demo, migration and training led |
| Mobile camera direct photo upload to job | Starter+ | Browser upload |
| Live UK reg lookup | DVLA, built in | |
| Electronic vehicle health checksBoth products treat VHC as core. TechMan’s EVHC is mature and includes customer-facing video. | Workshop+ | |
| Quote → invoice → payment in one tool | ||
| Online customer payments | Stripe built-in | Available |
| MOT reminder workflow | Workshop+ | |
| ADAS calibration certificates (PAS 1880)WIN | Workshop+ | Not advertised |
| Customer quote-acceptance & pay-by-link portal | Authorisations supported | |
| CSV import for customers + vehiclesTechMan offers supported data migration as part of onboarding; Autera lets you do it yourself in minutes or hand it to us. | Self-serve, or we do it free | Assisted migration |
| Parts supplier & technical data integrationsThis is TechMan’s strongest card and we say so: deep AutoData / Haynes Pro / factor integrations. On the Autera roadmap; manual entry until then. | Roadmap | AutoData, Haynes Pro, parts suppliers |
| Xero syncWINTechMan advertises QuickBooks; Autera syncs Xero, QuickBooks and produces Sage 50 import packs. | Starter+ | Not advertised |
| QuickBooks sync | Starter+ | |
| Best fit | Independents who live on their phones, single sites through multi-site groups | Established workshops that want factor integrations and assisted onboarding |
Comparison reviewed August 2026. Pricing and feature sets change frequently, check techmangms.com for the latest from TechMan.
Why UK garages choose Autera
Real apps, not a browser tab
TechMan is web-based. Autera ships native iPhone, iPad and Android apps built for a technician standing at the ramp with oily hands: photos straight onto the job, statuses updated in two taps, and the owner invoicing from the sofa at ten at night. The web portal is there for the office.
Pricing you can see before you talk to anyone
TechMan is demo-and-quote led, listed from £58 per user on Capterra. Autera publishes everything: Solo free, Starter £29, Workshop £79 covering 6 technicians, and only technicians count — admins and front-of-house are free.
Live in 30 minutes
No demo call required, no onboarding project. Sign up, type a registration, and DVLA fills in the vehicle. Most garages run their first real job through Autera the same half hour.
A genuine free plan
Autera Solo is free forever, no card. Run real jobs through it before deciding anything. TechMan advertises no free plan or trial.
ADAS certificates built in
PAS 1880-compliant ADAS calibration certificates are part of the £79 Workshop plan, with technician IMI numbers on each cert. TechMan does not advertise ADAS certification.
No lock-in, ever
Export your customers, vehicles, jobs and invoices any time. No contract minimum stated, cancel from billing in under a minute, and your data stays exportable for 60 days after.
Common questions
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