Carstio

Overview

Carstio is a self-hosted management system for independent automotive workshops. It is best for a small shop that wants customer, vehicle, job and payment records under its own control. The zero-cost plan is unusually open on users and features, but the shop must host it and accept a deliberately narrow operational scope.

Key features

Carstio connects client and vehicle records with estimates, work orders, repair status and payment tracking. Estimate approvals and a scheduled-work calendar support the path from quote to completed job, while revenue and workload statistics and parts-margin tracking give owners a view of shop activity. Admin and mechanic roles provide a basic distinction between management and workshop access.

Branded estimate and work-order PDFs can be emailed to customers using SMTP credentials configured in Settings. Payment records can include partial amounts and outstanding balances for cash, card and bank transfers, which is useful when a job is paid in stages rather than all at once.

The interface is available in English, Bulgarian, German, Spanish and French, and supports multiple currencies. The maker says client, vehicle, invoice and attachment data stays on the user's machine without a cloud account. Repository-described safeguards include login throttling, CSRF-protected logout and authenticated routes for attachments. Those safeguards are relevant, but self-hosting means the workshop remains responsible for installation and securing its own environment.

Pricing

Carstio's Free plan costs free, billed €0/ month forever. It includes unlimited users, clients and cars, all features, self-hosting on a computer or server, and free community updates. There is no free trial because the plan itself is free.

There is no seat cap or feature-based reason to move to a higher plan in the stated offer, making it a practical fit for a small shop that can operate its own installation. The trade-off is not a cheaper tier's restrictions but the work of hosting and maintaining the software. Community updates are included; the maker invites workshop owners to submit questions and feature requests and points them to the GitHub project for questions.

Platforms

Carstio is web software designed to be self-hosted. The maker offers Docker setup and native installation instructions; native installation requires PHP 8.4 or newer and MariaDB 11 or MySQL 8. A shop without someone able to manage that stack may prefer hosted software. There is no mobile app, so Carstio is a weaker fit for teams that need a dedicated phone app in the workshop.

Who it's for

Carstio suits independent services and small repair shops that want a no-cost, self-hosted way to manage estimates, work orders, repair progress and payments, with unlimited users and customer and vehicle records. Its supported languages and currencies also accommodate shops working across different language or currency settings.

It is not a fit for businesses that need warehouse stock movements, separate invoicing documents, multi-location or multi-tenant support, or a mobile app. Parts inventory is not included, despite the parts-margin feature; shops needing inventory control should choose a system built for that workflow.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The free plan includes all features and unlimited users, clients and cars, avoiding per-seat constraints for a small shop.
• Pros: Estimates, approvals, work orders, repair status and partial-payment tracking cover the core job lifecycle in one system.
• Pros: Self-hosting keeps customer and vehicle data on the user's machine, without a cloud account.
• Cons: The shop must install and operate its own server or computer setup, including the required PHP and database stack for native installation.
• Cons: No parts inventory, warehouse movements, separate invoicing documents, multi-location support or mobile app limits its reach beyond a basic single-site workflow.

Alternatives

Automotive Repair Software is the broader category directory for comparing options.

• LxCars is another free, self-hosted option with a Linux, web and self-hosted platform footprint; its Community plan is full software under the MIT license, while Enterprise offers dedicated-server and individual-configuration options.
• Bay-Master is a paid alternative spanning Android, iOS, web and Windows, with listed scheduling, inventory, reporting, digital inspections, QuickBooks integration and marketing features.
• ARI may suit a shop seeking a paid, cross-platform package: it has a free plan and trial, while ARI Pro costs $39.99 a month and includes invoicing, inspections, inventory, accounting, appointments, reminders, time tracking and payments.
• CCC ONE Repair Workflow is a paid option for shops considering Android, iOS, web or Windows software.
• Mitchell RepairCenter is a paid alternative available for Android, API, iOS and Windows.
• GEM-CAR is a paid, cross-platform choice with a free trial; its I Standard plan costs $149 a month and includes 100 GB storage and two users.
• OpenAuto is free and open source for Windows, with a free core application and optional integrations and services.
• Shop OS is a free web option for shops under 10 jobs per month.

Verdict

Choose Carstio if you run a small independent workshop, can host your own software, and want unlimited users and core job and payment management without a subscription. Its main advantage is the combination of full-feature access and local control at no cost. Look elsewhere if inventory movements, separate invoices, multiple locations or a mobile app are essential, or if you do not want to maintain the hosting yourself.