Shortlist

The best estimate app for auto repair

Sorted by what the customer sees when the estimate arrives, because that is where the job is won or stalled.

An estimate is not a document, it is a decision you are asking somebody to make while they are at work and holding a phone. Everything else about estimate software is downstream of that moment: how fast you can build it, what arrives on their screen, and how much of it they can say yes to.

All seven products on this page produce digital estimates and all seven can get one to a customer. The order below comes from four narrower questions: is the estimate shaped like a repair order, how granular is the approval, can you build it standing at the car, and does the inspection you just did turn into lines the customer can read.

Fixty publishes this page and is fourth on it. The three above it are established auto repair systems carrying parts inventory and shop workflows that Fixty does not have and does not claim.

How this list was sorted

1
Is the estimate built around a vehicle and a repair order?
A quote attached to an address does not carry a plate, a mileage reading or what you replaced last spring. Four of the seven model a vehicle. Two model a property. That is not a small preference, it is what the document is.
2
How does the customer approve, and how much can they approve?
Approving a whole estimate or nothing turns a five item list into a yes or no on the total, which is how a job that was going to be half sold becomes no job at all. The wording each company uses for approval is quoted in full under each entry, because the wording is the answer.
3
Can you build it at the vehicle, on a phone?
The estimate written in the driveway goes out while the customer is still thinking about the noise. The estimate written at home that evening competes with whoever they called in the meantime.
4
Does the inspection feed the estimate?
Photographs of the failed part are the difference between a price and an argument. What matters is whether the inspection and the estimate are one flow or two products bolted together.
5
Published price, billing basis, and can you try it?
Last on purpose. Price should not decide which estimate flow fits your work, but it should decide ties, and one entry on this page publishes no price at all.

What is not on this list

This page does not rank estimating on labor time guides or parts catalog pricing, and it should. Our sourced dataset has no axis for either, so nothing below makes a claim about whose labor guide is better or whose parts pricing is live. If that is your deciding factor, none of these entries answers it and you should ask each vendor directly.

It also does not rank collision estimating systems. Insurance estimating for body work is a separate category with its own vendors and its own rules, and none of the seven products here is one of them.

Nothing on this page is ranked from a review site, a star rating or anyone's user count.

Tekmetric

Tekmetric is first because it clears the first four criteria without any stretching. It is auto repair software rather than a field service tool adapted to cars, its estimate page is about approvals rather than documents, and their own sentence says shops can share estimates by text or email and the customer can approve or decline the work from their device.

The inspection half is in the same product: their FAQ says digital vehicle inspections are created in the Tekmetric mobile app and the findings shared by text or email. That is one flow rather than two.

Right for

A repair shop that wants estimates, inspections and repair orders in one auto native system, and wants the customer answering from their phone.

Wrong for

Anyone who wants to try the flow before paying. Their own FAQ says free demos but not free trials, and the published figure is an annual billing rate.

Digital estimates and quotes

Yes

“Create professional estimates and get approvals faster with Tekmetric's auto repair estimate software. Save time, boost productivity, and build customer trust with our all-in-one shop management software.”

tekmetric.com/feature/estimate-building, read August 29, 2026

Customer approves the estimate by text, line by line

Yes

“With Tekmetric, shops can share estimates via text or email with their customers. From there, customers can approve or decline work from their device.”

tekmetric.com/feature/estimate-building, read August 29, 2026

Photo vehicle inspections

Yes

“Yes! You can create DVIs within our Tekmetric mobile app and then share the vehicle findings via text or email with your customer.”

tekmetric.com/feature/digital-vehicle-inspection, read August 29, 2026

Entry price, long commitment

$179 a month, their rate when billed annually, which is the cheapest monthly figure they publish.

“Tekmetric starts at $179 per month when billed annually.”

tekmetric.com/ai-info, read August 29, 2026

Try before you buy

Free demo and self guided tours. No free trial.

“Tekmetric offers free demos but not free trials. However, you can test drive Tekmetric 24/7 with our self-guided tours.”

tekmetric.com/faq, read August 29, 2026

AutoLeap

AutoLeap is a close second and wins criterion three outright: their mobile mechanic page describes building and sending estimates, collecting payment and pulling complete vehicle history from any device at any job site. If your estimates are written standing next to the car, that sentence is the one that matters.

Approval is described as quick digital approvals from a text or email, which is a shorter promise than Tekmetric approve or decline, and inspection reports go out the same way. It sits second rather than first because the approval wording is thinner, not because anything is missing.

Right for

A mobile or multi location repair business that writes estimates away from a desk and wants vehicle history in hand while doing it.

Wrong for

Anyone who needs to trial the estimate flow first. Their pricing FAQ says there is no free trial because they build the system around your shop data.

Digital estimates and quotes

Yes

“AutoLeap’s automotive repair estimate software is built for repair shops and service centers that need speed, accuracy, and consistent approvals.”

autoleap.com/features/estimates, read August 29, 2026

Customer approves the estimate by text, line by line

Yes

“Send the estimate to customers via text or email for quick digital approvals.”

autoleap.com/features/estimates, read August 29, 2026

Building it at the vehicle

Yes

“Mobile mechanics can manage their full schedule, build and send estimates, collect payment, track service truck inventory, and access complete vehicle history from any device at any job site, whether they're in a customer's driveway, a car park, or on the road between jobs.”

autoleap.com/mobile-mechanic-software, read August 29, 2026

Photo vehicle inspections

Yes

“Send vehicle inspection reports via text or email to reduce back-and-forth calls and boost customer satisfaction.”

autoleap.com/features/vehicle-inspection, read August 29, 2026

Entry price, long commitment

$179 a month, their starting figure, which is the annual billing rate.

“Power your shop with #1 Auto Repair Software starting at $179/mo. Flexible monthly and annual plans designed to streamline operations for shops of any size.”

autoleap.com/pricing, read August 29, 2026

Shopmonkey

Shopmonkey publishes the bluntest approval sentence in the set: stop wasting paper, send estimates and invoices right to your customers phone for instant approval. Their estimates page is explicitly about getting them approved fast rather than about producing a nice PDF.

It is third rather than higher because of criterion three. Their own product page scopes the dedicated app to technicians, with owners and service writers in the web app, so an owner building an estimate at the car is doing it in a browser rather than in the app they named.

Right for

A shop that prices from stock and supplier catalogs. Their own material describes inventory tracking, purchase orders and direct ordering through parts suppliers, which is where estimate lines come from in a busy shop.

Wrong for

A one person operation building every estimate on a phone, and anyone who wants to start without contacting them: no trial offer was found on any page we opened.

Digital estimates and quotes

Yes

“Get estimates done and approved by customers fast.”

shopmonkey.io/product/estimates, read August 29, 2026

Customer approves the estimate by text, line by line

Yes

“Stop wasting paper. Instead, send estimates and invoices right to your customers' phone, for instant approval.”

shopmonkey.io/product/workflow, read August 29, 2026

Building it at the vehicle

Partial

“Empower your technicians with tools to streamline operational workflow and maximize their time using the Shopmonkey for Techs iOS and Android mobile apps.”

shopmonkey.io/product/mobile-app-overview, read August 29, 2026

Entry price, long commitment

$215 a month, their starting figure, which their own pricing page ties to annual pricing discounts.

“Simple pricing for auto repair and shop management software. Shopmonkey offers plans starting from just $215/month with annual pricing discounts.”

shopmonkey.io/pricing, read August 29, 2026

Try before you buy

Demo walkthrough, about 30 minutes

“See how Shopmonkey fits your shop in a quick, no-pressure walkthrough.”

shopmonkey.io/pricing, read August 29, 2026

Fixty

This is us

Fixty is fourth on its own page. The estimate is built in a phone browser, the customer opens a link and picks the lines they want, and they sign. Photo inspections are on every plan rather than an upgrade, and Starter is $99/mo published on a month to month basis.

What Fixty does not have is the machinery the three above it use to build estimate lines in the first place: no parts inventory, no supplier ordering, no labor guide, no second person to hand the job to. For a shop pricing from stock, that is not a gap, it is the wrong product. For one mechanic pricing from a supplier quote on the phone, it is not a gap at all.

Right for

One mobile mechanic who wants the customer to say yes to three of the five items on the list, from their phone, with a signature, and to pay on the same link.

Wrong for

Any shop whose estimate starts from stock levels, a parts catalog or a labor time guide. Fixty holds none of those.

Customer approves the estimate by text, line by line

Yes

The customer opens a link, picks the lines they want, and signs.

Our own product, so there is no outside page to quote.

Photo vehicle inspections

Yes

Included on every plan, not an upgrade.

Our own product, so there is no outside page to quote.

Parts inventory management

Fixty tracks parts on a job, not stock on a shelf.

Our own product, so there is no outside page to quote.

Entry price

$99/mo for Starter, billed month to month.

$149/mo for Growth. Both published, no sales call.

Try before you buy

14 day free trial on Starter.

A card is collected at signup and charged on day 14. Growth is billed in full at signup.

Housecall Pro

Housecall Pro describes creating polished, detailed estimates in minutes and sending them by text or email for quick customer approval, which is a clean answer to criterion two.

It ranks fifth because criterion one goes against it. Housecall Pro is designed, in their own words, for home service businesses like HVAC, plumbing, electrical, cleaning and landscaping. The estimate is shaped around a job at an address, and the closest thing to an inspection on their site is a job checklist with pass and fail steps.

Right for

Mobile work that prices like home service, wanting a cheap annually billed entry plan and a self serve trial before committing.

Wrong for

Estimates that have to name a vehicle, carry its history and justify the work with photographs of the part.

Digital estimates and quotes

Yes

“Send quick, accurate quotes with clear pricing by text or email.”

housecallpro.com/features/estimating-software, read August 29, 2026

Customer approves the estimate by text, line by line

Yes

“Create polished, detailed estimates in minutes and send them by text or email for quick customer approval.”

housecallpro.com/features/estimating-software, read August 29, 2026

Photo vehicle inspections

Partial

“Structure every job with dropdowns, checkboxes, pass/fail flags, and required steps.”

housecallpro.com/features/jobsite-photo-app, read August 29, 2026

Entry price, long commitment

$59 a month, the annually billed rate for the one user entry plan.

“Basic, 1 user: $59/month, saving $20 per month [dash normalized]”

housecallpro.com/llm-info, read August 29, 2026

Try before you buy

14 day free trial with full access to the MAX plan

“Enjoy full access to all Housecall Pro features on our MAX plan for 14 days”

housecallpro.com/pricing, read August 29, 2026

Jobber

Jobber is sixth on the strength of criterion two and nothing else. Their own help documentation describes what the customer can do with a quote sent by text: view it online to request changes or approve. That is a decision on the whole document, and the granular version was not found anywhere on their site.

Everything else about Jobber is competitive here. Its quotes page describes creating and sending a professional looking quote before you have left the property, its published entry figures are the lowest in this set on both billing bases, and it has a fourteen day trial.

Right for

A mechanic whose estimates are usually a single number, who values speed and price over line by line approval.

Wrong for

Selling a five item list where you expect two items to be deferred. On their own wording that is a conversation, not a checkbox.

Customer approves the estimate by text, line by line

Partial

“This option sends the quote to your client via text message. They will be able to view the quote online to request changes or approve and will also receive a PDF attachment for their records.”

help.getjobber.com/en/articles/quote-basics, read August 29, 2026

Digital estimates and quotes

Yes

“Create and send a professional-looking quote before you've even left the customer's property.”

getjobber.com/features/quotes, read August 29, 2026

Entry price, long commitment

$29 a month, the cheapest per month figure they publish, billed annually.

“Jobber plans from $29 to $529/mo (billed annually).”

getjobber.com/pricing, read August 29, 2026

Entry price, month to month

$49 a month, paid month to month with no commitment.

“For 3 months, then $49/mo”

getjobber.com/pricing, read August 29, 2026

Try before you buy

14 day free trial, on the Grow plan

“For 14 days you get full access to all of Jobber's features on the Grow plan”

getjobber.com/pricing, read August 29, 2026

ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan has a real answer to criteria two and three. Technicians build, customise and present estimates directly from the Field Mobile App, and their documentation describes the customer receiving an email or text with a link they can use to sign the estimate.

It is last because criterion five disqualifies it for anybody comparing options alone. No price is published anywhere on their site, no trial was found on any page we opened, and the inspection product they document is fire and life safety work rather than anything to do with a vehicle.

Right for

A large contracting business already inside the ServiceTitan world, where estimate signing is one workflow among many.

Wrong for

A repair business comparing estimate tools on published prices, and any work where the inspection has to be of a car.

Digital estimates and quotes

Yes

“Technicians can use the Field Mobile App to quickly build, customize, and present estimates directly from their mobile device.”

servicetitan.com/features/field-mobile-app, read August 29, 2026

Customer approves the estimate by text, line by line

Yes

“The customer will receive an email or text with a link they can use to sign the estimate.”

help.servicetitan.com/v1/docs/contactless-experience-in-servicetitan-mobile, read August 29, 2026

Photo vehicle inspections

Partial

“Replace paper forms with fire alarm inspection report software that delivers digital NFPA inspections and audit-ready reports instantly.”

servicetitan.com/industries/fire-life-safety-software, read August 29, 2026

Entry price, long commitment

No price published. You have to ask them for one.

“Get Pricing & Personalized Demo”

servicetitan.com/demo, read August 29, 2026

Approval is where estimates die, and the wording gives it away

Put the approval sentences side by side and they are not saying the same thing. Tekmetric: customers can approve or decline work from their device. Shopmonkey: send estimates and invoices right to your customers phone, for instant approval. AutoLeap: send the estimate by text or email for quick digital approvals. Jobber, in their own help documentation: view the quote online to request changes or approve.

Three of those are a decision about work. One is a decision about a document. That distinction decides whether a five line estimate can come back as a three line job or has to come back as a phone call.

One thing this page will not claim: that Fixty is the only product where a customer can approve individual lines. Fixty does work that way and says so. Whether the others do was not stated on any page we read, and absence of a sentence on a marketing site is not evidence that a feature is missing. Treat it as unverified and ask the vendor, rather than treating it as a difference.

The inspection is the estimate, for the customer

For a customer who cannot see the car, the photograph is the argument and the estimate is just its price tag. That is why criterion four exists and why it splits this list cleanly in two.

Three products put a vehicle inspection in the same flow as the estimate and say so on their own pages: Tekmetric creates inspections in its mobile app and shares the findings by text or email, AutoLeap sends inspection reports by text or email, Shopmonkey sells digital vehicle inspections as a product in their own right. Fixty includes photo inspections on every plan.

The other three do not have a vehicle inspection to feed anything. Jobber offers customisable job forms and checklists for site inspections. Housecall Pro offers job structure with dropdowns, checkboxes and pass or fail flags. ServiceTitan documents fire alarm inspection reporting under NFPA. All three are real capabilities. None of them is a photograph of a leaking strut attached to a line item.

What this page cannot tell you

Two things decide estimate accuracy more than any feature ranked above, and this page has no sourced data on either: labor time guides and live parts pricing. Whether a product ships a labor guide, which one, and whether parts prices come from your supplier in real time are the questions an experienced shop asks first, and our comparison axes do not cover them.

That is a gap in the research rather than a judgement about the products, and it is stated here rather than papered over. Ask each vendor which labor guide they use, whether it costs extra, and which parts suppliers they price from live.

The second thing this page cannot tell you is how any of them feel after a week. Three of the seven let you find out yourself. Two say no. Two did not say. That distribution is itself a signal about who expects to sell you software over a phone call.

Questions

What is the best estimate app for an auto repair shop?

On the criteria at the top of this page, Tekmetric. It is auto repair native, the customer approves or declines work from their own device, and the digital vehicle inspection lives in the same mobile app. AutoLeap is close behind and better if estimates get written at the vehicle. Fixty, which publishes this page, is fourth and is only the right answer for a single mechanic.

Can a customer approve part of an estimate?

Fixty works that way: the customer opens a link, picks the lines they want, and signs. For the six competitors, none of their own pages stated whether approval is line by line or whole document, except Jobber, whose help documentation describes approving or requesting changes on the quote as a whole. Everything else is unconfirmed rather than absent.

Do any of these price parts and labor for me?

Several of them clearly price from stock and supplier catalogs, and this page has no sourced data on labor time guides for any of them. Do not choose on that basis from this page. Ask each vendor which labor guide is included and which parts suppliers they price from.

Which one can I try before paying?

Housecall Pro publishes a fourteen day trial, Jobber publishes a fourteen day trial on its Grow plan, and Fixty gives fourteen days on Starter with a card collected at signup. Tekmetric and AutoLeap both say in their own words that they do not offer trials. For Shopmonkey and ServiceTitan we found no trial offer on the pages we opened, which is not the same as there being none.

If Fixty is the one that fits

Fixty is a CRM for one mobile mechanic: estimates approved by text, photo inspections, scheduling and card payments, all from a phone. Starter is $99/mo with a 14 day free trial, and if one of the products above suits your work better, buy that one instead.

Try Fixty free for 14 days