A DealerCenter alternative for new and small used-car dealers
GARAGEBIRDS is dealer management software for independent used-car lots running about 10 to 75 cars. The Free plan is free forever and includes inventory, true profit per vehicle, cash desking, and built-in state forms for all 50 states, with auto-fill. Pro is $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year), or $59 billed monthly. There’s no contract.
DealerCenter’s DMS is $99 a month and includes RouteOne, Dealertrack and CUDL access, which GARAGEBIRDS doesn’t have. A dealer website, buy here pay here and listing feeds are separate monthly modules. If you’ve just been licensed and you sell for cash or the buyer brings their own financing, you can start on GARAGEBIRDS for free and add Pro only when you need it.
GARAGEBIRDS and DealerCenter at a glance
| GARAGEBIRDS | DealerCenter | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Free plan $0. Pro $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year), or $59 billed monthly | $99 a month for the DMS |
| Free plan | Yes. Free forever, no credit card | None listed |
| Trial | 14-day Pro trial with no card, started by an admin from Billing | 30-day free trial (optional) |
| Contract or setup fee | No contract | Not stated on its pricing page |
| How it runs | In a web browser | Web-based, with a mobile app |
| Users | Unlimited users | Unlimited users, with free training and support |
| Forms | Built-in state forms for all 50 states, with auto-fill: over 300 official forms, all on Free. Smart Print Forms: upload and map your own contracts and documents (Pro) | Included in the DMS: contract management with a free forms library |
| Buy here pay here (BHPH) | No | Add-on module, $50 a month |
| Lender access | No. Finance desking (Pro) works out the payment; it does not send a credit application to a lender | Included in the DMS: RouteOne, Dealertrack and CUDL access, and eFax deal submissions to any lender. Credit reports are extra: billed per report, plus a monthly fee for each bureau (Experian: $4.00 a report and $24.99 a month) |
| Dealer website | No | Add-on module: Premium Website $99 a month, or Premium Pro $125 a month |
| Listing syndication | No feeds. Assisted Facebook Marketplace posting (Pro) | Add-on module: Online Ad Post Premium, $50 a month, with direct feeds to any third-party listing site |
| Profit and cost tracking | Yes. Cost tracking with true profit per vehicle, on Free | Add-on modules: Reconditioning ($99 a month) tracks parts, costs and vendor work tied to each unit; Integrated Accounting ($99 a month) offers centralized tracking of all vehicle sales and cost transactions |
Sources. Competitor information from each vendor’s public website, checked October 14, 2026. Prices and features change; see the linked pages for current details.
GARAGEBIRDS details are from our pricing section and features page. DealerCenter is a trademark of its owner; GARAGEBIRDS is not affiliated with it.
Choose DealerCenter if…
- You’ll arrange bank or credit-union financing from day one. DealerCenter’s DMS, at $99 a month, includes credit-application submission and lender decisions through RouteOne and Dealertrack, and unlimited eFax credit applications to any lender. Pulling the buyer’s credit report is extra, billed per report, plus a monthly fee for each bureau (Experian: $4.00 a report and $24.99 a month). GARAGEBIRDS works out the payment, but it does not send a credit application to a lender.
- You run buy here pay here. DealerCenter’s BHPH module is $50 a month. GARAGEBIRDS has no BHPH.
- You want a website and listing feeds from the same vendor. Its Premium Website module is $99 a month, and Online Ad Post Premium, with direct feeds to any third-party listing site, is $50 a month. GARAGEBIRDS has neither.
- You want the books in the same system. Integrated Accounting is a $99 a month module. GARAGEBIRDS has no accounting or general ledger.
Choose GARAGEBIRDS if…
- You’ve just got your dealer license, and you’re selling for cash or the buyer brings their own financing.
- You’d rather start on a free plan than a free trial, and stay on it for as long as it works for you.
- You want your true profit on every car: the purchase price, auction fees, transport and every recon dollar counted against the sale, on the Free plan.
- You want your state’s paperwork filled in from the deal. GARAGEBIRDS has over 300 official forms built in across all 50 states, all on Free; on Pro, your own contracts and documents are mapped once and filled in for every deal after that.
Free forever, not a free trial
DealerCenter offers a 30-day free trial (optional), and its pricing page lists no free plan. GARAGEBIRDS Free has no time limit and needs no credit card. It covers inventory management and listings, VIN decode, cost tracking with true profit per vehicle, cash desking with a per-deal margin view, built-in state forms for all 50 states, with auto-fill, contacts, and unlimited users. Pro adds finance desking, Smart Print Forms for your own contracts and documents, assisted Facebook Marketplace posting, and leads and contact history. Its 14-day trial needs no card, and it starts only when an admin starts it from Billing. The two plans are side by side in the pricing section.
True profit on every car
Sale price minus purchase price isn’t your profit. GARAGEBIRDS keeps the purchase price, auction fees, transport and every reconditioning expense on the car’s record as you spend them, so the gross you see before you close a deal is the real one. Here’s how to know your true profit per vehicle, with a worked example.
Built for a lot that’s just getting started
GARAGEBIRDS is built for independent lots running about 10 to 75 cars, including dealers selling their first ones. The plan you start on is free, so there’s nothing to decide before your first sale. If you’re pricing your first cars, read how to price your first car without losing money. For your state’s title and registration forms, see paperwork by state.
One workflow: Buy, Inventorize, Restore, Display, Sell
Every car goes through the same five stages: Buy, Inventorize, Restore, Display and Sell. Buy and Restore aren’t separate modules. They are the costs you log against the car (what you paid, the fees, transport and recon), and they add up to its true profit. Inventorize keeps one record per car, Display is assisted Facebook Marketplace posting on Pro, and Sell is the deal and its paperwork.
What GARAGEBIRDS doesn’t do
- No lender or credit-application integration. Finance desking computes the figures; it doesn’t submit a deal.
- No buy here pay here.
- No dealer website, and no listing feeds to CarGurus, Autotrader or Cars.com. Facebook Marketplace posting is assisted: GARAGEBIRDS lays out the listing and you post it.
- No e-signatures, no multi-location, and no accounting or general ledger.
Questions
How much does DealerCenter cost?
DealerCenter’s pricing page lists its DMS at $99 a month. Modules cost extra each month: buy here pay here $50 a month, Integrated Accounting $99 a month, Reconditioning $99 a month, CRM Plus $99 a month or CRM Pro $199 a month, a Premium Website $99 a month or Premium Pro Website $125 a month, and Online Ad Post Premium $50 a month. eContract is $3.00 per contract. Credit reports are billed per report, plus a monthly fee for each bureau (Experian: $4.00 a report and $24.99 a month), and Prequal Pro soft pulls are $50 a month. Per-use charges like these are billed monthly, based on usage. Prices change, so check DealerCenter’s pricing page for current figures.
Is there a free alternative to DealerCenter?
GARAGEBIRDS has a Free plan that is free forever, with no credit card: inventory management and listings, cost tracking with true profit per vehicle, VIN decode, cash desking, built-in state forms for all 50 states, with auto-fill, contacts, and unlimited users. It doesn’t include lender access, buy here pay here or a dealer website. Pro is $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year), or $59 billed monthly.
Does GARAGEBIRDS connect to RouteOne, Dealertrack or lenders?
No. Finance desking on Pro works out the payment, with amortization tables and multiple deal structures, but GARAGEBIRDS does not send a credit application to a lender. If you’ll arrange bank financing from day one, DealerCenter’s DMS includes RouteOne, Dealertrack and CUDL access.
Does DealerCenter have a free plan?
Its pricing page lists no free plan. DealerCenter offers a 30-day free trial (optional). GARAGEBIRDS has a Free plan with no time limit, which you can keep for as long as it covers what your lot needs.
Do I need to install anything?
No. GARAGEBIRDS runs in a web browser at app.garagebirds.com. The one optional install is the Posting Assistant, a Chrome or Edge extension used for assisted Facebook Marketplace posting on Pro.
Start free, and see your true profit on the next car
Free forever, no credit card, no contract.