GarageCodex vs Shopmonkey

A Shopmonkey alternative for shops that aren't ten bays.

Q: Can I move my Shopmonkey history into GarageCodex?

There is no importer. Export your data from Shopmonkey and keep it as the archive; re-enter your active customers and vehicles in GarageCodex (VIN scan makes vehicles quick). Most small shops are back to work the same day.

Q: Can two people use it at the same time?

Not on separate devices; GarageCodex is a single-device app. One tablet at the counter that everyone uses works fine; two tablets syncing does not.

One-time $99.99 shop management on Android, instead of $239 a month.

Shopmonkey is a full platform built for multi-bay shops with service writers, texting, online booking, and card processing, and it's priced that way. If you're a one- or two-person shop, you're paying for seats you'll never fill. GarageCodex covers the daily work for $99.99 once: estimates, invoices, payments, inspections, history.

Get it on Google Play See the comparison

Free to try·$99.99 one-time unlock·No subscription

Shopmonkey prices checked on October 19, 2026 on shopmonkey.io/pricing. Vendors change pricing, so confirm there before you decide. Shopmonkey is a trademark of its owner; GarageCodex is not affiliated with Shopmonkey.

The short answer

Which one fits your shop?

Pick GarageCodex if you're a solo tech or a small independent shop working from one Android tablet, you don't need online booking or customer texting, and you'd rather own your records than rent them.

Pick Shopmonkey if you have service writers and techs who all need to be in the system at once, want integrated card processing, texting, online scheduling, and QuickBooks, and the monthly bill is a rounding error against your car count.

Side by side

GarageCodex vs Shopmonkey, line by line

Shopmonkey column from its published pricing page.

	GarageCodex	Shopmonkey
Price	$99.99 once. Free tier to try, no time limit.	Basic $239/mo ($215/mo billed annually), Clever $399/mo ($359), Genius $499/mo ($449). Multi-shop: call for pricing.
Users included	One device, the shop's tablet or phone.	3 (Basic), 4 (Clever), 5 (Genius). Extra users +$20/mo each.
Free tier	Free download: 3 customers, 3 work orders, watermarked PDFs. Never expires.	No free trial listed, demos only.
Extra fees	None. The one unlock includes every feature, every update.	Card reader $299 + $10/mo per device; QuickBooks Desktop is an additional fee; payment-processing rates on request.
Works with no internet	Yes Everything. No account, no login, no signal needed.	No Browser-based; needs a connection.
Where your data lives	On your device. Optional backup to your own Google Drive. CSV and PDF export anytime.	Shopmonkey's cloud, under your subscription.
Platforms	Android phones and tablets	Web browser, plus a mobile app for techs.
Multiple users / devices	No One device, one shop. No multi-user sync.	Yes Built for teams.
Work orders, estimates, invoices	Yes Auto-numbered, status workflow, labor + parts + tax, PDF estimate → invoice.	Yes
Payments	Partly Records cash/card/check payments and balances. No built-in card processing.	Yes Integrated processing, card readers, instant payouts.
Digital inspections	Yes 24-point inspection with photos, printed on the PDF.	Yes
Online booking & customer texting	No No customer texting or marketing. Share PDFs by any app on the device.	Yes
Labor guides & parts ordering	No No labor guides, OBD tools, or AI features.	Yes Through integrations.
Accounting integration	No No QuickBooks link. CSV export of invoices, payments, expenses, and mileage.	Yes QuickBooks (Desktop is an added fee).
Mobile mechanic tools	Yes Mobile mode: service address + Navigate, service-call fee, GPS trip miles, IRS mileage log, deposits.	Shop-based workflow.
Expenses & year-end taxes	Yes Expense log + a year-end, Schedule-C-shaped tax summary PDF.	See Shopmonkey's feature list.

Rows marked “See Shopmonkey's …” are features we didn't verify on its pricing page and won't guess at.

The bill, over time

Shopmonkey Basic at its cheapest vs GarageCodex

Using the annual-billed Basic price ($215/mo = $2,580/yr), the lowest Shopmonkey publishes. Month-to-month is $2,868/yr.

Year 1

Shopmonkey Basic (annual billing)$2,580

GarageCodex$99.99

3 years

Shopmonkey Basic (annual billing)$7,740

GarageCodex$99.99

5 years

Shopmonkey Basic (annual billing)$12,900

GarageCodex$99.99

Shopmonkey's Basic plan pays for GarageCodex in its first two weeks. Card readers, extra users, and QuickBooks Desktop are on top. GarageCodex updates are free; a future major version may be a separate one-time purchase, never a subscription.

Straight talk

Where each one wins

Shopmonkey does a lot GarageCodex doesn't. Here's the honest split.

Where Shopmonkey is the better pick

Shopmonkey wins on team and customer tooling

Teams. Service writers and techs in one live system. GarageCodex is one device.
Customer communication. Texting, online booking, approvals by text. We generate the PDF; you send it however you like.
Money handling. Integrated card processing and readers. GarageCodex records payments; it doesn't run cards.
Integrations. QuickBooks, parts ordering, labor guides. We export CSV and leave the rest to you.
Any computer. Browser-based. GarageCodex is Android only.

Where GarageCodex is the better pick

GarageCodex wins on price, offline, and ownership

$99.99 once vs $2,580 a year, minimum. Over five years that's a used lift.
No per-user seats. There's nothing to count.
Works with zero signal. Your shop's records don't go down when the internet does.
Your data is a file you can hold. On-device database, rotating backups, optional backup to your own Google Drive, CSV export.
Mobile mechanic mode. GPS trip miles, IRS-style mileage log, service-call fee, deposits. A bay-based platform has no reason to build any of that.

Good to know

Leaving Shopmonkey

Can I move my Shopmonkey history into GarageCodex?

There's no importer. Export your data from Shopmonkey and keep it as the archive; re-enter your active customers and vehicles in GarageCodex (VIN scan makes vehicles quick). Most small shops are back to work the same day.

Does GarageCodex do customer texting or online booking?

No. It has a calendar for appointments and generates estimate and invoice PDFs you can send by text, email, or any app on the device, but there's no built-in messaging platform.

Can two people use it at the same time?

Not on separate devices. GarageCodex is a single-device app. One tablet at the counter that everyone uses works fine; two tablets syncing does not.

Is $99.99 really the whole price?

Yes. One in-app purchase unlocks everything: unlimited customers and work orders, clean PDFs, Settings, Mobile mode, parts price lookup, Google Drive backup. No seats, no add-ons, no processing fees. Updates are free.

Get GarageCodex

Try it free, then decide

Download it free and run real jobs today. When you're ready, one $99.99 in-app purchase unlocks the full shop. One time, forever, no subscription.

Get it on Google Play See everything inside

Built and supported by one independent developer. No investors, no ads, no reselling your data. Questions? support@garagecodex.app