Shopmonkey vs Tekmetric: Published Pricing and Terms Compared

Shopmonkey and Tekmetric both show up on the same shortlist a lot: established, well-funded shop management platforms aimed at independent shops that have outgrown a spreadsheet. They price differently, gate different features behind their top tiers, and fit different shops. Here's what's actually published by each, side by side, so you're comparing the real numbers instead of two sales calls against each other.

Pricing, tier by tier

Shopmonkey lists three tiers, Basic, Clever and Genius, at $239, $399 and $499 a month. Each includes 3 to 5 users, and extra users cost $20 a month each on every tier. Tekmetric lists four tiers, Start through Scale, from $199 to $439 a month, flat per shop, with unlimited users included on every tier from the bottom up.

That per-user structure is the single biggest practical difference between them. A Shopmonkey shop running eight logins on the $239 Basic tier (5 users included) pays an extra $60 a month for the three additional seats, bringing the real cost to $299 before payments or hardware. The same eight-login shop on Tekmetric pays whatever tier its feature needs land on, with no per-seat math at all.

What's gated behind the top tier

Both platforms hold back a feature shops tend to assume is standard. Shopmonkey gates MOTOR diagrams and repair procedures to its top Genius tier, so a diagnostic-heavy shop that needs that data has an effective floor of $499 a month, not the $239 headline price. Tekmetric gates two-way texting to its top $439 Scale tier, and its own MOTOR labor guide integration doesn't arrive until the $349 Grow tier. If licensed labor-time data matters to your estimating workflow, both platforms put it several tiers above their advertised starting price.

Contract terms

Tekmetric is month-to-month with no long-term contract, by its own published terms. Shopmonkey's terms of service state that agreements may not be terminated for the customer's convenience during the term, and that fees are non-refundable and non-cancellable, so read the actual term length in your specific agreement before signing anything, since "month-to-month" on a sales call and a term you can't exit early are very different commitments.

Users and payments

• Shopmonkey: 3-5 users included per tier, $20/mo per extra user, in-house payment processing with a $249 card reader plus $10/mo per device
• Tekmetric: unlimited users on every tier, payment processing rates are quote-only
• Shopmonkey's per-user fee scales with headcount; Tekmetric's flat-per-shop price does not
• Neither publishes a free tier

Who each one actually fits

Shopmonkey's clearest fit is a multi-location operation that wants one vendor handling payments, marketing and parts ordering, and has the budget to match. Its 2024 "2.0" redesign was a forced migration for existing customers, and long-time users have publicly reported the new workflows take more clicks to do the same daily tasks, worth asking current users about directly rather than taking a demo's word for it.

Tekmetric's clearest fit is a 4+ bay shop that already tracks ARO and gross-profit metrics and wants a real-time dashboard built around that, with unlimited users included from the start. Its starter tier was widely cited at $99 a month back in 2023; it lists at $199 now, worth knowing if you're working from an old quote or a friend's outdated recommendation.

The gap both leave for a smaller shop

Neither platform publishes a free tier, and both have a real floor once you add the users or features a working shop actually needs, $299+ for Shopmonkey with a handful of extra seats, $199-439 flat for Tekmetric depending on which gate you need past. For a one to three bay shop that doesn't need in-house payments, marketing automation or a labor-time guide on day one, that's a lot of platform to carry. Lugbird sits underneath both: free to start for a small shop's daily pipeline, unlimited users on every plan including the free one, and a flat $49 a month Pro plan with no per-seat math and no annual term.

Common questions

Is Shopmonkey or Tekmetric cheaper?

Tekmetric's listed range starts lower ($199 vs $239) and includes unlimited users on every tier, while Shopmonkey charges $20 a month per user past the 3-5 included on each tier. For a shop running more than a handful of logins, Tekmetric's flat pricing is usually the cheaper real-world number, though both are worth pricing out against your actual headcount, not the headline figure.

Which one includes unlimited users?

Tekmetric includes unlimited users on every tier. Shopmonkey includes 3 to 5 users per tier depending on the plan, with additional users billed at $20 a month each.

Does either platform have a free plan?

No. Both Shopmonkey and Tekmetric are paid platforms with no published free tier. Lugbird is the free-to-start option in this category, with a paid Pro plan at $49 a month flat when a shop outgrows the free tier's limits.

Can I switch from one to the other without losing my data?

Data export and migration terms aren't fully published by either vendor, so ask directly what a full export includes and how long it takes before you commit to either platform. It's a reasonable question to put in writing during a sales call, not just assume.