We pulled every published pricing page, terms-of-service, Wayback capture, and dealer review we could find for the providers independent dealers actually use — and put them next to ours. Advertised price is the number on the homepage. Realistic all-in is what dealers report paying once the modules they need get added. Every claim links to its source below.
"Starting at" and "request pricing" are where the money hides. Here's the same feature set — website, inventory, leads, Craigslist, pre-qual, edits — priced the way it actually bills.
| Provider | Advertised entry | Realistic all-in for a Growth-equivalent stack | Setup | Contract & refunds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AutoCorner | $29 / $49 / $79 by inventory cap (≤15 / ≤35 / ≤200) | $49–$79 — features are flat, but 8 templates on a legacy CGI backend, 200-car hard cap, no self-serve, no trial. Price cut ~70% since 2022. | $0 (legacy articles still cite $29) | Month-to-month; refunds "case-by-case" |
| Dealer Car Search | Not published (3rd-party "from $75–99"; dealers report ~$250) | ~$250 base + SEO / texting / AI / photo upsells — reviewers describe the bill doubling | Not published | Auto-renewing Order Form; cancel only 30 days before renewal; "In no event will we issue any refund"; remaining-term fees accelerate on breach |
| AutoManager | $70/mo "starting" (WebManager) | $250–$400: PowerSEO $70 + reputation $120 + texting via Selly CRM $140 + hi-res photos $10–50 per lot | Not published; onboarding quoted ~$4.9k in one complaint | "All subscription fees non-cancelable and non-refundable"; price "may change without prior notice" |
| Carsforsale.com | $99/mo flat | $99 — genuinely the best value in the field, and it includes marketplace exposure. But sites are called "dated, generic, restrictive," and BBB complaints cite hard-to-cancel billing and quarterly-only domain releases. | $0 | Month-to-month published; card required up front |
| DealerCenter (site module) | $99/mo site (was $75) | $348–$374: site $99–125 + Deal Driver $50 + Prequal Pro $50 + Ad Post $50 + CRM Plus $99 — on top of the $99 DMS | None listed | Term auto-renew; 30-day price hikes; your data retrievable only 30 days post-term, only if paid in full |
| V12 Software | "Request pricing" (archived $99 / $199 / $299) | $99–$299 + "Power Packs" at $250/week; site outages reported | $0 | Refunds: "Absolutely, Definitely None." Cancel by email only. BBB rating D. |
| Shopframe Growth | $299/mo — published | $299/mo. That's the whole bill. DMS sync, trade-in, pre-qual, AI descriptions, branded email, syndication, Craigslist & Marketplace tools, window stickers, sales ledger, unlimited edits. | $0 (white-glove migration optional at $999, free on annual) | None. Month-to-month. Cancel anytime, keep your domain and your data. |
Terms-of-service language and dealer reviews, quoted directly.
✓ included · $ paid extra · ✗ not offered · ~ partial or manual
| Feature | AutoCorner | Dealer Car Search | AutoManager | Carsforsale | DealerCenter | Shopframe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Published all-in pricing | ✓ | ✗ | ~ "starting at" | ✓ | ~ modular | ✓ |
| No contract, no refund trap | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ~ (published yes; reported no) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Edge-hosted, sub-second load | ✗ CGI backend | ✗ lag reported | ✗ | ✗ slowdowns reported | ✗ "slow" | ✓ Cloudflare edge |
| Non-clone design (per-dealer copy) | 8 templates | ~ "customizing is limited" | $ Web+ | ~ | "cookie-cutter" | ✓ 4 vibes + copy engine |
| Payment calculator / digital retailing | ✓ | $ Payment Genie | ✓ | ✓ | $50/mo Deal Driver | ✓ all plans |
| Soft-pull / pre-qual | ✗ | $ + 700Credit contract | $ credit module | ✓ | $50/mo Prequal Pro | ✓ Growth |
| Trade-in estimator | ✗ | $ | $55–70 KBB/JDP | ✓ | $ | ✓ Growth |
| Craigslist auto-post + scheduler | ✓ $6/ad | ✓ $6/vehicle | ~ Windows-only utility | ~ manual | $50/mo Ad Post | ✓ official API, $5 CL + $1, cost shown first · Pro: at cost |
| Facebook Marketplace | ~ page posts | ✓ | ✓ desktop utility | ~ extension | $ | ✓ listing kit |
| Window stickers | ✓ | $45/100 guides | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ every unit, all plans |
| AI vehicle descriptions | ✓ | $ | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✓ Growth ($19 on Starter) |
| Managed SEO + reporting | ✗ | $ two tiers | $70/lot PowerSEO | ~ | $ | ✓ Pro |
| Reputation / reviews | ✓ free slider | $ | $120/lot | ~ | $ | ✓ reviews on site; $19 GBP autopilot |
| Branded email on your domain | ✓ 5 boxes | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ Growth ($5 on Starter) |
| Sales ledger / gross rollups | ✗ | $ via CRM/DMS | $ DMS | ✓ DMS | $ DMS | ✓ all plans |
| Unlimited edits done for you | ✗ | ✗ "have to call" | $ Web+ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ Growth 48h · Pro same-day |
| Keep your DMS (Frazer, DealerCenter…) | ✓ | ✓ Frazer only | own DMS | ✓ | own DMS | ✓ Growth |
| Two-way texting inbox | ~ tab | $ | $140/mo Selly | ✓ | $99 CRM Plus | coming — leads inbox with alerts today |
| Native mobile app / VIN scan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ VIN decode in Site Manager; app coming |
AutoCorner or Motorcar Marketing ($29–$49) — a 10–15 car lot that needs a web presence and nothing else. Honestly fine. You'll outgrow it the day you want Craigslist automation, pre-qual, or a site that ranks.
Carsforsale ($99) — the marketplace exposure is real. Keep it if it's sending you buyers. Put a real storefront in front of it.
Dealer Car Search / AutoManager / DealerCenter ($250–$500 realistic) — you're paying 2020 prices for a stack that's slower than ours, with contracts written to keep you. This is who Shopframe is for.
Frazer dealers — Frazer has no website product and steers you into a Dealer Car Search contract. Keep Frazer, add Shopframe Growth: $129 + $299 = $428/mo, no lock-in.
Design your site in two minutes, see the whole bill before you commit, and go live today. $0 setup. No contract. Your domain stays yours.
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