BayRobin vs Shop-Ware: Which Should You Pick? (2026)
Shop-Ware is a cloud shop system with unlimited users, MOTOR labor data and its own AI receptionist. BayRobin is an AI front office built around answering and booking calls. Here's how they compare.
Shop-Ware is fully cloud-based shop management software for auto repair, founded in 2013 in San Francisco by Carolyn Coquillette, who built it while running her own shop. It has been part of Vehlo since March 2024. Every plan includes unlimited users and inspections, with the MOTOR labor guide, a parts catalog and unlimited texting from Pro. It also lists an AI Receptionist that answers calls and books appointments inside Shop-Ware.
More on this topic: Shop software pricing and alternatives, every guide in one place.
BayRobin is an AI receptionist and front office for independent shops. It answers every call, gets the year, make, model and the concern, books the appointment, and texts back missed calls, with inspections, estimates approved by text, invoices, pickup texts and review requests on every plan. This post is for owners comparing the two.
The short answer
Choose Shop-Ware if you want a complete cloud shop system with unlimited users, MOTOR labor data, parts integrations and analytics, and its AI receptionist booking straight into it. Choose BayRobin if you want a lower monthly price with the AI receptionist, text-back, booking, reminders and estimates included and a published price for all of it, and you can run without a labor guide or parts ordering.
Key takeaways
- Shop-Ware's plans are $279, $389, $499 and $999 a month ($251, $350, $449 and $899 billed yearly), per location, with unlimited users and no annual contract.
- Shop-Ware's AI Receptionist answers calls during busy times and after hours, handles booking requests inside Shop-Ware, logs conversations and escalates to a person. Its price isn't published.
- Online scheduling and CRM are in the $999 Ultimate+ plan or a $249 a month add-on; MOTOR labor and unlimited texting start on Pro at $389.
- BayRobin has no labor guide, parts ordering, inventory, financing, accounting sync or native app, and it limits users by plan.
- BayRobin is a front office more than a full shop management system: the AI receptionist, missed-call text-back, online booking and reminders come with inspections, repair orders, invoices and a dispatch board on every plan, and AI call time is paid from the plan's monthly credits.
Disclosure: we make BayRobin, so weigh our view accordingly. Everything we say about Shop-Ware comes from its own public pages or published reviews, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end. BayRobin is new and does less than Shop-Ware in several areas; we list them.
BayRobin vs Shop-Ware at a glance
| BayRobin | Shop-Ware | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI receptionist and front office for independent shops | Cloud shop management system for auto repair |
| AI answering | Included on every plan; call time from monthly credits | AI Receptionist; price not published |
| Users | 3, 8 or 20 by plan | Unlimited on every plan |
| Starting price | $149/month | $279/month, or $251 billed yearly |
Pricing compared
Both publish plan prices. Shop-Ware prices per location with unlimited users, month to month or cheaper billed yearly, with no free trial (a demo instead). It says data migration fees may apply, an Accounting Link integration fee applies, and Shop-Ware Payments carries transaction fees; it doesn't publish those amounts.
| BayRobin plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Starter | $149/month: 3 users, 2,000 credits a month (about 150 AI call minutes), every feature |
| Pro | $249/month: 8 users, 5,000 credits a month (about 400 AI call minutes), every feature |
| Shop | $399/month: 20 users, 12,000 credits a month (about 1,000 AI call minutes), every feature plus payroll |
Every plan has every feature, including inspections, repair orders, invoices and the dispatch board; only payroll is Shop-only. Plans are month to month with no contract or setup fee, and a plan's price doesn't go up while you stay on it. Yearly billing is 10× the monthly price (two months free). Credits also pay for the phone number, call minutes and call summaries, so the AI-minute figures are approximate. The launch offer is free until your first 10 booked jobs, with no card up front: jobs booked by the AI receptionist or your online booking page count.
| Shop-Ware plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Startup | $279/month, or $251 billed yearly: unlimited users, AI Parts Matrix, inspections, limited two-way texting, payments |
| Pro | $389/month, or $350 billed yearly: adds unlimited texting, MOTOR labor guide, parts catalog, OE specs, AutoWrite AI writing assistant |
| Master | $499/month, or $449 billed yearly: adds business analytics and inventory value tracking |
| Ultimate+ | $999/month, or $899 billed yearly: adds website, SEO, call tracking, CRM and online service scheduler |
| CRM + Online Service Scheduler | $249/month add-on |
| AI Receptionist | Price not published |
A shop that wants Shop-Ware's labor guide, unlimited texting and online scheduling pays $389 for Pro and $249 for the scheduler and CRM add-on, $638 a month, plus whatever the AI Receptionist costs. BayRobin Pro is $249 a month with the receptionist, booking, reminders, inspections and estimates, but no labor guide or parts catalog. Shop-Ware's unlimited users also matter for a big team: BayRobin's Shop plan stops at 20 users. Every Shop-Ware package and fee is broken down in Shop-Ware pricing.
Feature by feature: BayRobin vs Shop-Ware
| BayRobin | Shop-Ware | |
|---|---|---|
| Answering calls | AI receptionist answers 24/7 with your shop's name, asks what's wrong or what service they want, the year, make and model, rough mileage, whether they'll wait or drop off, and their name, then books an open time | AI Receptionist answers during peak times and after hours and answers common questions |
| Booking from a call | Offers real open times from your team's hours and bookings, shared out round robin, and books the appointment as a job with the vehicle on it | Handles scheduling and appointment requests connected to Shop-Ware |
| Urgent calls and handoff | Urgent calls (won't start, brakes failing, overheating, unsafe to drive) get the earliest open time or a transfer to that day's on-call person, your choice; it suggests they don't drive it | Escalates calls when a person is needed |
| Records | Call recording, transcript and summary on each job (recording can be turned off) | Logs conversations |
| Missed-call text-back | Missed-call text-back within a minute, on by default, message editable; replies land in your shared inbox; STOP honored | Not described |
| Texting | Texts from the shop's inbox thread per customer; STOP honored | Limited two-way texting on Startup, unlimited from Pro |
| Online booking | Online booking page (a link) that offers real open times, asks for texting consent and turns each booking into a scheduled job | Online service scheduler on Ultimate+ or the $249 add-on |
| Inspections | Digital inspections on the technician's phone browser: each item green, yellow or red with notes and photos, and recommended work from the findings | Inspections with photos, video and notes on every plan |
| Labor and parts | No labor guide or repair data (no MOTOR, ALLDATA or ProDemand); you set your own labor hours and prices. No parts ordering, parts catalogs or inventory | MOTOR labor guide and parts catalog from Pro; parts ordering through partners like PartsTech, Nexpart and Worldpac |
| Payments | Approved work becomes the invoice, sent by text with a pay link; card payments through your own Stripe account, or PayPal | Shop-Ware Payments (transaction fees apply) |
| Reporting | Reports: jobs the receptionist booked, calls answered, money collected and owed, estimates won, jobs by type and technician | Business analytics from Master |
| Technician app | No native app: technicians use My day in their phone's browser | TechApp for technicians |
What comes with BayRobin
Many independent shops pay for shop management software, a phone or answering add-on, a texting tool and a review tool, then copy the same customer between them. BayRobin puts the parts that win the job and bring the customer back in one place, starting at $149/month. If you're weighing Shop-Ware, check which of these you'd pay extra for there.
| Included | What it does |
|---|---|
| AI receptionist | AI receptionist answers 24/7 with your shop's name, asks what's wrong or what service they want, the year, make and model, rough mileage, whether they'll wait or drop off, and their name, then books an open time |
| Urgent calls | Urgent calls (won't start, brakes failing, overheating, unsafe to drive) get the earliest open time or a transfer to that day's on-call person, your choice; it suggests they don't drive it |
| Missed-call text-back | Missed-call text-back within a minute, on by default, message editable; replies land in your shared inbox; STOP honored |
| Online booking and reminders | Online booking page (a link) that offers real open times, asks for texting consent and turns each booking into a scheduled job. Reminder text about a day before each appointment booked ahead; the customer replies C to confirm or R to reschedule |
| Vehicles and recalls | Vehicles on each customer, matched by VIN, then plate, then year, make and model; a VIN fills in year, make, model, trim and engine from NHTSA's free decoder; mileage on each job. Open NHTSA safety recalls for the vehicle's year, make and model on the repair order and inspection, marked "may apply" with a link to the VIN check |
| Inspections and estimates | Digital inspections on the technician's phone browser: each item green, yellow or red with notes and photos, and recommended work from the findings. Repair orders of labor (hours at your labor rate), parts and fees, built from canned jobs; the customer approves or declines each service on one link, and phone approvals are recorded with your name |
| Invoices and pickup | Approved work becomes the invoice, sent by text with a pay link; card payments through your own Stripe account, or PayPal. Ready for pickup: one button texts the customer their vehicle is ready, with the total and a pay-by-card link |
| Bringing customers back | Service-due texts by miles or months (mileage estimated from the vehicle's own readings), and texts about declined work 14 and 90 days later. One Google review request by text once an invoice is paid in full |
| Dispatch | Dispatch board on every plan: day and week views with one row per technician, drag to reassign or move, clash check, one-click text of the new time |
What BayRobin doesn't do
| Labor guide and repair data | No labor guide or repair data (no MOTOR, ALLDATA or ProDemand); you set your own labor hours and prices |
| Parts | No parts ordering, parts catalogs or inventory |
| Mobile app | No native app: technicians use My day in their phone's browser |
| Accounting | No QuickBooks or Xero sync |
| Financing | No consumer financing |
| Other shop software | No live connection to other shop software; forward calls to it and add bookings there yourself |
| Languages | The receptionist speaks English only |
Where Shop-Ware is the better choice
Unlimited users
Every Shop-Ware plan includes unlimited users. BayRobin has 3, 8 or 20 by plan.
Labor data and parts
The MOTOR labor guide, OE specs and a native parts catalog from Pro, plus parts ordering integrations. BayRobin has no labor guide or parts ordering.
AI that writes as well as answers
An AI parts matrix on every plan and the AutoWrite writing assistant from Pro, besides the AI Receptionist. BayRobin's AI is the phone receptionist.
Analytics and a decade of shops
Business analytics and coaching dashboards on Master, and more than ten years in the market.
Where BayRobin is the better choice
A published price for answering
BayRobin's receptionist is in every plan, with call time from the plan's monthly credits. Shop-Ware doesn't publish what its AI Receptionist costs. See the AI receptionist.
Booking and reminders without the top tier
Online booking, reminders, estimate follow-ups and review requests are on every BayRobin plan. On Shop-Ware, the online scheduler comes with Ultimate+ or a $249 add-on.
Missed callers get a text
A text within a minute of a missed call, with replies in your inbox. See missed-call text-back.
Lower entry price, no fees
From $149 a month, month to month, with no setup or migration fee and a locked price.
Who should choose which
Choose Shop-Ware if
- You want a full cloud shop system with labor data and parts in the estimate.
- Your team is large and you want unlimited users.
- You want the AI receptionist booking straight into your shop system.
Choose BayRobin if
- Answering and booking calls is the main problem you're solving.
- You'd rather pay one published price with booking and reminders included.
- Canned jobs at your labor rate cover most of your estimates.
- Or you're keeping Shop-Ware and only want calls covered while you decide on its receptionist.
Using BayRobin alongside Shop-Ware
Forward the calls you can't answer to BayRobin and keep Shop-Ware for the shop floor. Each booking is texted to you with the vehicle and the recording, and you add it to Shop-Ware; there's no sync between them.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shop-Ware have an AI receptionist?
Yes. As of October 2026 its AI Receptionist answers calls during busy times and after hours, handles booking requests inside Shop-Ware and escalates to a person. Its price isn't published.
How much does Shop-Ware cost?
$279, $389, $499 or $999 a month for Startup, Pro, Master and Ultimate+, or $251, $350, $449 and $899 billed yearly, per location with unlimited users.
Which is cheaper?
BayRobin, from $149 a month against $279. Shop-Ware includes unlimited users and, from Pro, labor data and a parts catalog that BayRobin doesn't have.
Can I move from Shop-Ware to BayRobin?
Customers, jobs and invoices can be imported from CSV or Excel exports with a preview and undo. Vehicles aren't imported.
Try it on your own shop's phone
Call your own shop line after hours and hear what BayRobin does with it. Set up your services and hours, make a test call about a real car, and listen to how it handles it. BayRobin is free until your first 10 booked jobs, no card up front. Start free or see pricing.
Related: how BayRobin handles the AI receptionist, missed-call text-back, inspections, estimates and invoices and Ready for pickup texts, or how it works for general repair shops.
Sources
Competitor details in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products and prices change, so confirm with each vendor before you decide.
