As at 3 Nov 2026

GarageFree vs GarageBooks

A row-by-row comparison of GarageFree and GarageBooks, as at 3 Nov 2026. Every price and feature has a source and the date we checked it.

Where each one is ahead

GarageFree is ahead on

MOT and service reminders, Reg lookup (DVSA data), Quotes, Invoicing, Online booking by customers, Digital health check, Card payments, SMS

GarageBooks is ahead on

MTD VAT filing

GarageBooks, as at 3 Nov 2026

Prices

Plan	Price (ex VAT)	Source
Free	£0 Job cards, customers, vehicles, multiple users.	Source, checked 3 Nov 2026
Workshop	£29/month Described as a founding price. Adds quotes, invoicing, schedule, MOT email reminders and reg lookup.	Source, checked 3 Nov 2026

Plan

Price (ex VAT)

Source

Free

£0

Job cards, customers, vehicles, multiple users.

Source, checked 3 Nov 2026

Workshop

£29/month

Described as a founding price. Adds quotes, invoicing, schedule, MOT email reminders and reg lookup.

Source, checked 3 Nov 2026

GarageFree costs £0. Where a price is not published we say so rather than guess.

As at 3 Nov 2026

Features

Feature	GarageFree	GarageBooks	Result
Free plan	Included free Every feature, £0. No card, no contract. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Included free A free plan with job cards, customers and vehicles. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Level
MOT and service reminders	Included free Email reminders are free. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Paid extra MOT email reminders are on the £29/month Workshop plan. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
Reg lookup (DVSA data)	Included free Unlimited lookups, from DVSA data. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Paid extra Reg lookup is on the £29/month Workshop plan. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
Quotes	Included free Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Paid extra On the £29/month Workshop plan. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
Invoicing	Included free Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Paid extra On the £29/month Workshop plan. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
Online booking by customers	Included free Against your own opening hours and bays. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	No No customer booking listed. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
Customer portal	Included free Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Not published Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Cannot compare
Digital health check	Included free Traffic-light check with photos. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	No No digital vehicle inspection listed. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
Card payments	Included free Through your own Stripe account; Stripe's card fees apply and we take none. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	No No card payments listed. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
SMS	Paid extra Pay-as-you-go and off until you switch it on. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	No No SMS listed. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageFree ahead
MTD VAT filing	No We show VAT on invoices but do not file with HMRC. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Included free MTD VAT filing is listed on the free plan, with HMRC approval shown as pending. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	GarageBooks ahead
Offline or app use	No An installable web app with offline job cards is in build. No native app. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Not published Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Cannot compare
Supplier and labour-time data	No No Autodata or supplier integrations. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Not published Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Cannot compare
Data export	Included free CSV export of everything, any time. Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Not published Source, checked 3 Nov 2026	Cannot compare

“Cannot compare” means one side has not published the detail. Information is taken from GarageBooks's own public pages (https://www.garagebooks.co.uk/) and may have changed since we checked. Spotted a mistake? Email us and we will correct it.

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