# The Cheapest Way to Get Your Inventory on CarGurus (for Dealers) > Getting cars on CarGurus costs two things: CarGurus' own fee and the feed that sends your inventory. Here's how to keep both low, with prices checked 11/9/26. - Source: https://www.dealervlo.com/blog/cheapest-way-to-list-cars-on-cargurus - Published: 2026-11-09 - Updated: 2026-11-09 - Author: Chris Abouraad - Tags: listings, cargurus, inventory feeds, syndication, pricing --- Every dealer I know who is on CarGurus is paying for it twice and only notices one of the bills. The first bill is CarGurus itself: free, or whatever package your rep sold you. The second is the bill for getting your cars *there*: the feed your DMS or website company sends every night. That one is usually buried as an add-on, a "marketing package", or the reason you're paying for a website you didn't really want. I run a used-car lot and built DealerVLO, the DMS my lot runs on, so read the comparison sections with that in mind. But the math below is from each vendor's own pricing page, and the cheapest setup I know of works with any DMS: start on CarGurus' free tier, and don't pay extra to send it your inventory. ## Getting on CarGurus costs two things CarGurus doesn't have a box where you type in your cars. Its annual report says it gets inventory from the systems dealers already use: inventory management systems, website providers, CRMs and dealer management systems. So "listing on CarGurus" really means two separate things: 1. **A CarGurus dealer account.** Free or paid. That's CarGurus' price. 2. **An inventory feed.** A daily file of your cars (VIN, price, miles, photos, description) sent from your system to CarGurus. That's your vendor's price, and it's the part most dealers never shop. If the term is new, here's [what an inventory feed is](/blog/what-is-a-vehicle-inventory-feed). You can shop both. Most dealers shop neither. ## Bill one: CarGurus itself can be free CarGurus still has a free tier. Its [2025 annual report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1494259/000119312526059435/carg-20251231.htm) calls it Restricted Listings and says dealers can list "for free" with limits: free dealers get capped, anonymous leads. CarGurus' [Restricted welcome page](https://products.cargurus.com/welcome-to-restricted) caps photos at six per car and gives a number to call to connect your inventory feed. The paid packages, listed on [CarGurus' dealer listings page](https://dealers.cargurus.com/listings) as Enhanced, Featured+ and Featured Priority+, lift those limits. CarGurus doesn't publish their prices. Its annual report says pricing depends on your inventory size, region and the return CarGurus expects to deliver, so you'll get a quote from a rep. My advice: get every car on the free tier first and see what comes in. Whether a paid package is worth it is a cost-per-car-sold question, and I wrote up [how to answer it with your own numbers](/blog/is-cargurus-worth-it-for-dealers). You can't answer it until your cars are on the site, so the feed comes first either way. ![Checklist before paying for a CarGurus package: get your cars on the free tier first, price to market, disclose your doc and dealer fees, get six good photos on every car, tag the source of every sale, and get the paid package price and renewal terms in writing](/images/post/cheapest-way-to-list-cars-on-cargurus/3) Two things affect how your free listings do, and neither costs money. CarGurus rates each car against its market value, so an overpriced car sinks. And since July 14, 2026, used listings without disclosed doc and dealer fees show No Rating and move lower in search. With six photos, the first six have to carry the car: [which photos to take](/blog/used-car-listing-photos-that-sell). ## Bill two: the feed, and what vendors charge to send it CarGurus doesn't charge to receive your feed. The cost is whatever your DMS or website vendor charges to send it. Here's what the vendors that publish prices showed on their own pricing pages on November 9, 2026, for a DMS plus listing feeds: ![Published monthly price for a DMS plus listing feeds, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on November 9, 2026: DealerVLO 29 dollars with the website included, Carsforsale.com 99 dollars, DealerCenter 149 dollars (99 DMS plus the 50 dollar Online Ad Post Premium add-on), AutoManager from 158 dollars (88 DMS plus 70 website and marketing), Wayne Reaves 174 dollars (75 Pro DMS Lite plus 99 Website Unlimited), Lot Wizard 209 dollars (Pro Solo bundle)](/images/post/cheapest-way-to-list-cars-on-cargurus/1) How each number is built, so you can check it: - **DealerVLO: $29 a month.** The DMS, the dealer website and the feeds to CarGurus, Cars.com, Autotrader and Carfax.com are all in the [$29](/pricing). No per-feed fee, unlimited users. - **[Carsforsale.com](https://dealers.carsforsale.com/pricing-demo/): $99 a month.** Its plan lists exports to 400+ partners, CarGurus among them, and goes to $199 a month at 100+ listings. It's an advertising platform with its own marketplace, which DealerVLO doesn't have. More in [Carsforsale.com pricing, explained](/blog/carsforsale-pricing-explained). - **[DealerCenter](https://www.dealercenter.com/pricing/): $149 a month.** The DMS is $99 a month. Direct feeds to listing sites are in the "Online Ad Post Premium" add-on at $50 a month. The premium website is another $99. See [DealerCenter pricing, explained](/blog/dealercenter-pricing-explained). - **[AutoManager](https://www.automanager.com/pricing/): from $158 a month.** The DMS starts at $88. Export to 250+ marketplaces sits in the website and marketing package, starting at $70. - **[Wayne Reaves](https://www.waynereaves.com/pricing): $174 a month.** Pro DMS Lite is $75. "Distribute to top listing sites" is in Website Unlimited at $99. The $79 starter website doesn't list distribution. - **[Lot Wizard](https://lotwizard.com/pricing/): $209 a month** for the Pro Solo bundle with website and feeds. Lot Wizard also sells feeds on their own, without its DMS, as a [$69-a-month Advertising Package](https://lotwizard.com/feeds-to-advertisers/). These are list prices. Your quote may differ, and every one of these vendors does things DealerVLO doesn't: Carsforsale.com has a marketplace, DealerCenter goes deeper on lender submission, texting and accounting, and Lot Wizard sells feeds without a DMS. If you already pay one of them and love it, keep it. If you're paying $50 to $100 a month on top of your DMS just to get cars onto CarGurus, that's the line worth cutting. [Send your cars to CarGurus from DealerVLO, free for 14 days](https://www.dealervlo.com/signup) ## The cheapest setup: free CarGurus plus a feed you don't pay extra for Put the two bills together and the cheapest way onto CarGurus is CarGurus' free tier plus a DMS that sends the feed at no extra charge. With DealerVLO, that's $29 a month total, and the same $29 also runs your deals, paperwork, website and the feeds to Cars.com, Autotrader and Carfax.com. Here's the setup: ![Five steps to get inventory on CarGurus through DealerVLO: open a CarGurus dealer account, turn on the DealerVLO dealer website, tick CarGurus under Settings, List my cars on other sites, optionally add your CarGurus Dealer ID, then check your listings after the next daily feed](/images/post/cheapest-way-to-list-cars-on-cargurus/2) DealerVLO is set up with CarGurus as a feed provider. It sends one daily file for every enrolled dealer, and CarGurus matches your cars to your account using DealerVLO's ID for your dealership, so you don't have to dig up a feed URL or call anyone to switch it over. Your CarGurus Dealer ID is optional; adding it helps CarGurus match the cars to an account you already have. The feed needs your DealerVLO website turned on, because each car in the feed carries a link to its page on your website. That website is in the $29 too. ## What the feed does and doesn't do The feed is only as good as the car records behind it. In DealerVLO, each car is entered once: the VIN decodes the year, make, model and trim, you add photos and a price, and that same record feeds your website and every listing site. The website and the feeds read the same price (the internet price, or the asking price if none is set). When you mark a car sold, it drops off your website right away and off CarGurus with the next daily feed. What it won't do, so you aren't surprised: - **It runs once a day, not in real time.** A price cut this morning reaches CarGurus with the next feed. - **It doesn't lower CarGurus' prices** or push a car up CarGurus' results. Placement is CarGurus' call, based on price and the package you buy. - **It doesn't pull CarGurus leads into DealerVLO.** CarGurus sends its leads to you directly; log the ones that matter in the lead inbox so you can [track which source sells cars](/blog/car-dealership-lead-source-tracking). If a car doesn't show up after a feed, it's almost always the record: a missing price, no photos, or a car still marked unavailable. Here's the [checklist for cars that don't show on listing sites](/blog/why-cars-not-showing-on-listing-sites). [Put your inventory on CarGurus, Cars.com, Autotrader and Carfax.com for $29 a month: try DealerVLO free](https://www.dealervlo.com/signup) ## Frequently asked questions ### How do dealers get their inventory on CarGurus? Through an inventory feed. CarGurus pulls dealer inventory from the systems dealers already use: inventory management systems, dealer website providers and dealer management systems. You open a CarGurus dealer account, then the company that holds your inventory sends CarGurus a file of your cars every day. In DealerVLO you tick CarGurus under Settings → List my cars on other sites and DealerVLO sends the file daily. ### Can a dealer list on CarGurus for free? Yes. CarGurus' latest annual report calls its Restricted Listings tier free, with limits: capped, anonymous leads, and up to six photos per car per CarGurus' own welcome page. Paid packages (Enhanced, Featured+ and Featured Priority+) remove those limits, but CarGurus doesn't publish their prices, so the number comes from a rep quote. ### How much does it cost to send an inventory feed to CarGurus? CarGurus doesn't charge for receiving your feed. The cost is whatever your DMS or website vendor charges to send it. As listed on vendors' pricing pages on November 9, 2026, that ranges from included in the base price to a separate monthly add-on. DealerVLO includes the CarGurus feed in its $29 a month, with the DMS and dealer website. ### Do I need a CarGurus Dealer ID to send a feed from DealerVLO? No. CarGurus asks feed providers for the dealer ID their own system uses and matches it to your CarGurus account on its side. You can add your CarGurus Dealer ID in DealerVLO to make that match easier, but the feed goes out without it. ### How often does the DealerVLO feed update CarGurus? Once a day. New cars, price changes and cars you mark sold reach CarGurus with the next daily feed. It is not real time. ### Does DealerVLO lower what CarGurus charges me? No. DealerVLO removes the cost and the data entry of getting your cars to CarGurus. Whatever package you buy from CarGurus, if any, is between you and CarGurus. ## Bottom line Getting on CarGurus has two prices, and you control both. CarGurus' own price can be zero on the Restricted tier while you find out whether its shoppers buy your cars. The feed price should be zero too: it's a daily file, not a product worth $50 to $100 a month on top of your DMS. Of the vendors that publish prices, DealerVLO is the lowest I found for a DMS that sends the CarGurus feed: $29 a month flat, with the website and the Cars.com, Autotrader and Carfax.com feeds included. If CarGurus earns a paid package later, spend the money there, where it buys shoppers. Want your cars on CarGurus this week? [Start the 14-day free DealerVLO trial](/signup), tick CarGurus in Settings, and check your listings after the next feed. --- ## FAQ ### How do dealers get their inventory on CarGurus? Through an inventory feed. CarGurus pulls dealer inventory from the systems dealers already use: inventory management systems, dealer website providers and dealer management systems. You open a CarGurus dealer account, then the company that holds your inventory sends CarGurus a file of your cars every day. In DealerVLO you tick CarGurus under Settings → List my cars on other sites and DealerVLO sends the file daily. ### Can a dealer list on CarGurus for free? Yes. CarGurus' latest annual report calls its Restricted Listings tier free, with limits: capped, anonymous leads, and up to six photos per car per CarGurus' own welcome page. Paid packages (Enhanced, Featured+ and Featured Priority+) remove those limits, but CarGurus doesn't publish their prices, so the number comes from a rep quote. ### How much does it cost to send an inventory feed to CarGurus? CarGurus doesn't charge for receiving your feed. The cost is whatever your DMS or website vendor charges to send it. As listed on vendors' pricing pages on November 9, 2026, that ranges from included in the base price to a separate monthly add-on. DealerVLO includes the CarGurus feed in its $29 a month, with the DMS and dealer website. ### Do I need a CarGurus Dealer ID to send a feed from DealerVLO? No. CarGurus asks feed providers for the dealer ID their own system uses and matches it to your CarGurus account on its side. You can add your CarGurus Dealer ID in DealerVLO to make that match easier, but the feed goes out without it. ### How often does the DealerVLO feed update CarGurus? Once a day. New cars, price changes and cars you mark sold reach CarGurus with the next daily feed. It is not real time. ### Does DealerVLO lower what CarGurus charges me? No. DealerVLO removes the cost and the data entry of getting your cars to CarGurus. Whatever package you buy from CarGurus, if any, is between you and CarGurus.