Hoist vs SAM / Auxo

NZ's long-standing incumbent vs the independent challenger. SAM has been New Zealand's incumbent workshop software for decades, and its owner Auxo (part of the MTA since 2020) now sells webSAM and Auxo Workshop alongside it. Hoist is the independent, cloud-native alternative: one published plan with every feature on, three users included, and no tier to climb as the team grows. Whichever direction you're heading, moving off desktop SAM means learning a new system, so it is worth comparing the whole market rather than taking the upgrade in front of you. Every Auxo row below comes from their own product pages rather than a guess, including the ones that go their way.

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A Hoist work order: the customer, their Hilux with its WoF expired, and a pending front brake job with its labour and parts

Feature comparison

FeatureHoistSAM / Auxo
Two-way customer textingIncluded. Replies land in a thread against the customerOutbound reminders only. Inbound replies are not in their published feature list
Connected mailboxIncluded. The email about a job lands beside the job. One mailbox is in the plan, then $10/month each afterNot in their published feature list
Deferred work trackingDeclined work stays on the vehicle, ready to quote next visitNo. The nearest is an outstanding-estimate prompt, on Pro and above
Support channelsLive chat, phone and email for every customer, from our own team in Upper Hutt on NZ timeChat, per their feature list. Auckland HQ, staff in NZ and AU
Estimates customers approve onlineCustomers approve from a link, no login, and it becomes the jobAuxo Workshop: listed as coming soon, Elite only. webSAM: yes
Digital inspectionsYour own templates, with photos, on the one planAuxo Workshop: digital checksheets listed as coming soon, Elite only
Online bookings, stock and purchase ordersAll on the one planPro ($199) and above. Not on Essentials
TrainingHelp getting set up is included, and we do the migration for youOnline courses and group webinars free. One-to-one sessions $215 + GST an hour
Data migrationWe do it for you. Customers, vehicles and service history
Product lineageCloud-native, built for the browserDesktop SAM, webSAM (browser-based), Auxo Workshop (cloud)
Users included3 on the one plan, +$10/month eachwebSAM 1 user, +$19/month each. Auxo Workshop 2 or 5 by tier (a 7-user tier is coming soon)
Pricing structureOne plan, every feature, publishedwebSAM & Auxo Workshop published by tier; desktop SAM quote-only
Vehicle Rego Lookups5c cached / 24c live, published20c per lookup, on their pricing page
Xero IntegrationTwo-way sync: customers, invoices, payments and credit notes
Service RemindersYes, plus custom reminders you set yourself, by SMS and email
SMS12c per message sentAuxo Workshop 10c, under ours. webSAM from $12/month for 45 texts, about 27c each
Technician schedulingBays and techs on one calendar, drag to reschedule
Job cardsThe card becomes the GST invoice in one click
Customer and vehicle historyEvery visit, spend and balance on one file, with WoF and CoF dates per vehicle
WoF/CoF remindersThe WoF date comes back with the rego lookup, the CoF date is entered when it is renewed, then the reminder goes out on its own
Mobile AccessHoist mobile app for iOS and Android, plus the browser, on the one planTech mobile app, out now, but not on the Essentials tier
OwnershipIndependent, NZ-builtAuxo Software (MTA-owned)
Free Trial14-day free trial, every feature onAuxo Workshop free trial; webSAM 7 days
  • Included
  • Partly
  • Not offered
  • Not published

Questions worth asking any vendor

What will I pay for my whole team, with everything I use switched on?
Hoist: $140 + GST a month with 3 users, then $10 a month for each extra person. Every feature is on, so there is no tier to climb.
When a customer replies to a text, where does the reply go?
Hoist: Into a thread against that customer in Hoist, not onto somebody’s personal phone.
Where does the email about a job end up?
Hoist: Beside the job. One connected mailbox is included, then $10 a month for each one after.
What happens to the work a customer says no to?
Hoist: It stays on the vehicle as deferred work, already priced, and comes up next time it is in the bay.
What does a rego lookup cost, and does the WoF date come back with it?
Hoist: 5c cached or 24c live, published. The WoF date comes back on the lookup; the CoF date is entered when it is renewed.
Who moves my data across?
Hoist: We do it for you: customers, vehicles and service history.
Who picks up when I need help, and where are they?
Hoist: Our own team in Upper Hutt, by live chat, phone or email, on New Zealand time.
Can my techs use it on their phones, on the plan I am buying?
Hoist: Yes. The Hoist mobile app for iOS and Android is on the one plan.

Pricing comparison

Hoist

$140/month + GST

  • One flat rate, no tiers and no per-feature upsells
  • Every feature included, 3 users included
  • Additional users $10/month; SMS 12c; lookups 5c cached / 24c live

See Hoist pricing

SAM / Auxo

$99+/month NZD

  • webSAM: $99/month for 1 user, +$19/user (Auxo site, Oct 2026)
  • Auxo Workshop texts 10c and vehicle lookups 20c; one-to-one training $215 + GST an hour
  • Auxo Workshop: Essentials $99 + GST (2 users), Pro $199 + GST (5 users)
  • Elite $299 + GST (7 users) is marked coming soon on their site
  • Desktop SAM: quote-only, no public pricing
  • Confirm current pricing and GST treatment with Auxo

Key highlights

Hoist

  • One plan with 3 users included, and nothing switched off on the cheap tier
  • Two-way texting, a connected mailbox and deferred work, none of them on their list
  • Estimates customers approve from a link, and digital inspections, on the one plan
  • We migrate your SAM data across for you, and support is live chat, phone and email from NZ

SAM / Auxo

  • NZ's most established workshop software
  • Backed by the MTA
  • Large NZ install base
  • Familiar workflow for existing SAM users
  • Texts at 10c and lookups at 20c, both under our live rates, plus parts ordering from Pro

In their words

Automotive businesses across New Zealand run their day on Hoist. This is what they say about it.

  • Highly recommend Hoist Software. We find Hoist much better suited to our business, with customer information centralised. Speed is incredible. Invoicing is extremely easy and FAST. Templates are easy to make up, and not through an add-on. Alex and Jess have both been incredible to deal with and made the transfer so easy. Hoist are also willing to listen to any thoughts regarding improvements. Definitely a 5 ⭐️ review from us at Gray Mechanical Limited!
    Amy GrayGray Mechanical

Frequently asked questions

Is desktop SAM being discontinued?
Auxo hasn't announced an end-of-life date for desktop SAM. It does sell two cloud products alongside it - webSAM and Auxo Workshop - and Auxo's CEO has said existing SAM customers can begin migrating to Auxo Workshop. Whichever way you go, moving off desktop SAM is a system change, so it's worth comparing the whole market before you commit.
Can I migrate my SAM data to Hoist?
Yes. Customers, vehicles and service history come across, and we do the migration for you rather than handing you an import template. Get in touch early so there’s time to take a clean export from your system.
How does the pricing compare?
Hoist is one plan at $140/month + GST with every feature and 3 users included, then $10/month per extra user. Two things move the real number. First, seats: at five users Hoist is $160, Auxo Workshop Essentials $156 ($99 plus three at $19), Pro $199, and webSAM $175 ($99 plus four at $19). Extra seats are $19 there against $10 here. Second, and this is the bigger one, check what the entry tier actually includes. Their own feature list has online bookings, stock and supplier management, parts integrations, purchase orders, time clocking, photos on jobs, basic estimates, split invoices and the technician mobile app all off on Essentials at $99, and lists digital estimates and digital checksheets as coming soon on Elite only. Every one of those is on from day one here. So yes, $99 is less than $140, and at one or two users it is genuinely cheaper - just make sure you are comparing what you would actually be using. Desktop SAM is quote-only, so you will have to ask.
What does Hoist include that I should price separately elsewhere?
Five things. Two-way customer texting, with replies threaded against the customer: Auxo advertises outbound reminders and a text when the job is done, not inbound replies. A connected mailbox, so the email about a job sits beside the job. Deferred work, so the job a customer declined in March is waiting on the vehicle in September; Auxo Workshop’s nearest is an outstanding-estimate prompt on Pro and above. Estimates customers approve from a link, which Auxo Workshop lists as coming soon on Elite. And getting started: we do the migration for you and help you set up, where Auxo lists one-to-one training at $215 + GST an hour.
Should I just move to webSAM or Auxo Workshop instead?
Maybe - staying in the SAM family means a familiar workflow, and that's a legitimate reason. The point of this page is that it shouldn't happen by default: any move off desktop SAM is a new system to learn, so compare features, per-user costs and migration support before signing on for the next decade.

Related resources

Other comparisons

SAM / Auxo pricing and features were checked against their own published material, October 2026. Rates and plans change, so confirm anything that matters directly with them. If you notice an inaccuracy, please contact us and we'll correct it.

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