# DealerSocket pricing, explained — what it costs and what to ask for in the quote
> DealerSocket doesn't publish prices for IDMS, its CRM, or DealerFire websites. What its site does say, what to get in writing, and how DealerVLO's $29 compares.
- Source: https://www.dealervlo.com/blog/dealersocket-pricing-explained
- Published: 2026-10-18
- Updated: 2026-10-18
- Author: Chris Abouraad
- Tags: pricing, dealersocket, dealer software
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If you searched for DealerSocket's prices, here's the short version: DealerSocket doesn't publish them. Not for IDMS, its DMS for independent dealers, not for its CRM, and not for DealerFire websites. You get a number after you talk to sales.
That doesn't make it a bad system. It means the work of figuring out what you'd pay is on you, and the quote is the only document that matters. This post covers what DealerSocket's own site says, what to make them put in writing, and how it lines up against DealerVLO's $29 a month.
*Everything below about DealerSocket comes from [dealersocket.com](https://dealersocket.com/) as I checked it on October 18, 2026. Vendors change their sites and their prices; confirm everything with DealerSocket. Full disclosure: I run a used-car lot and built DealerVLO, a competing DMS, so read my comparison sections with that in mind.*
## The short answer: quote only
I went through DealerSocket's site page by page, including the raw page code, looking for a price. Here's what's there:
- **No pricing page.** dealersocket.com/pricing returns a not-found page, and there's no pricing link in the menu.
- **No prices on the product pages.** The IDMS, CRM, independent-dealer CRM, and DealerFire pages describe features and end in a "Speak with an expert" form that asks whether you're a franchise or independent dealer.
- **No published user fees, setup fees, or contract terms.** None of it is on the site, either way.
So anyone who quotes you a DealerSocket price from a blog post or a forum thread is guessing, or passing along one dealer's deal. I won't do that here. The number depends on which products you buy, and only DealerSocket can give it to you.
For comparison, **DealerVLO is $29 a month flat**, published on the [pricing page](/pricing), with unlimited users and no setup fee or contract.
## What DealerSocket sells to an independent lot
DealerSocket, owned by Solera, has a reputation as franchise software, and part of its lineup is (franchise-dealership CRM tools and OEM programs, for one). But it does sell to independents, and it's worth knowing which pieces apply to you, because you'll be quoted per product:
- **IDMS**, the DMS. DealerSocket describes it as built for independent and BHPH dealers: web-based with mobile access, accounting, inventory, deals, reporting, and account management for BHPH, with scheduled auto-pay and automated collections.
- **LenderSocket**, inside IDMS: a credit application from your website creates a deal, and you push the application to lenders without leaving the system.
- **vSignature**, e-signing through an integration with Vision Dealer Solutions, where you place signature boxes on a form once and they're applied on later uses.
- **CRM for independent dealers**, with lead management, a mobile app, and SocketTalk texting.
- **DealerFire**, its website and digital marketing product.
- **More than 50 third-party integrations** listed for IDMS.
That's a real feature set, and some of it DealerVLO doesn't do. The question for a small lot is how many of those boxes you'd be paying for, and what each one costs, which is why the quote has to be itemized.
## How to get a quote you can actually compare
A bundle total tells you nothing when you're comparing systems. Ask for it this way:
1. **List the products you'll use.** If you don't send applications to lenders from the DMS, you may not need LenderSocket. If you already have a website you like, you may not need DealerFire.
2. **Get each product priced monthly, on its own line.** Then you can see what dropping one saves.
3. **Get the one-time fees in writing.** Setup, training, and converting data from your current system.
4. **Ask the contract terms.** How long, whether it auto-renews, how much notice to cancel, and what leaving early costs. DealerSocket's site doesn't publish these, so you need them from the rep.
5. **Add up year one.** Monthly fees times twelve plus every one-time fee. That's the number to compare.
Do the same with DealerVLO and it's one line: $29 a month, $348 a year, nothing one-time. In DealerVLO there's nothing to itemize because there are no modules: the deal jacket, the paperwork, the website, the listing feeds, and BHPH tracking are all in the one plan. If you're already on DealerSocket and thinking about leaving, [switching from DealerSocket](/blog/switching-from-dealersocket) covers the export and the contract questions to settle first.
Skip the sales call and run a real deal: try DealerVLO free for 14 days
## What $29 a month gets you in DealerVLO
I built DealerVLO to run my own lot in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and it still does. One flat plan, in a browser:
- **Deals:** a deal jacket that computes the totals, trade equity, payment, and front-end and F&I gross as you type.
- **Paperwork:** the FTC Buyers Guide and your state's title and registration paperwork for all 50 states, filled from the deal, with e-signatures built in at no per-signature charge.
- **Inventory:** VIN decode, photos, reconditioning and other costs line by line so every car shows its all-in cost and margin, and days on the lot.
- **Website and feeds:** a dealer website that updates itself from your inventory, plus a daily listing feed to CarGurus, Cars.com, and Autotrader (their own fees apply).
- **Money:** buy-here-pay-here payment tracking with a collections view, a sales report with front- and back-end gross, and a P&L that subtracts your real overhead.
The setup is the part that's most different from a quoted system. You start a trial, paste a VIN or import your inventory from a spreadsheet, and run a deal the same day. [How to choose dealer management software](/blog/how-to-choose-dealer-management-software) goes through what to test in any trial, mine included.
## Where DealerVLO is the better fit
- **You want to know the price before you talk to anyone.** DealerVLO's is on the pricing page.
- **You're a small lot that sells cash and outside-financed cars.** The deal, the paperwork, the website, and the feeds are the whole job, and they're all in the $29.
- **You don't want per-user math.** Every login in DealerVLO is included.
- **You don't want a contract.** DealerVLO is month to month.
## Where DealerSocket is the better fit
I'd rather you pick the right system than mine, so here's where DealerSocket goes further:
- **You send most deals to lenders from the DMS.** LenderSocket does that. DealerVLO doesn't send applications to lenders or pull credit; you keep using RouteOne, Dealertrack, or the lender's portal.
- **You want full dealership accounting in the DMS.** IDMS lists accounting. DealerVLO has a P&L but no general ledger, and it doesn't connect to QuickBooks.
- **You text customers from the CRM.** DealerSocket's CRM lists SocketTalk texting. DealerVLO doesn't text or call.
- **You run more than one rooftop.** DealerVLO is one dealership per account.
- **You carry a large BHPH portfolio and want auto-pay.** IDMS lists scheduled auto-pay. DealerVLO tracks the payments you record and emails you what's due and past due each day, but it doesn't run auto-pay or send reminders to customers.
For the side-by-side, see [DealerVLO vs. DealerSocket](/vs/dealersocket). For vendors that do publish prices, [Frazer pricing, explained](/blog/frazer-pricing-explained) and [DealerCenter pricing, explained](/blog/dealercenter-pricing-explained) lay theirs out, and [flat-fee vs. per-user dealer software](/blog/dealer-software-cost-flat-fee-vs-per-user) covers how the pricing models compare.
Put your inventory into DealerVLO and see the website and paperwork for yourself, free for 14 days
## Frequently asked questions
### How much does DealerSocket cost?
DealerSocket doesn't publish prices. When I checked [dealersocket.com](https://dealersocket.com/) on October 18, 2026, there was no pricing page and no prices on the IDMS, CRM, or DealerFire product pages; every page routes you to a Speak with an expert form or the sales line. You get a number from a sales rep for the products you pick. DealerVLO, a competing DMS, is $29 a month flat for unlimited users and any number of cars.
### Is DealerSocket only for franchise dealers?
No. DealerSocket sells IDMS, a DMS it describes as built for independent and buy-here-pay-here dealers, and a version of its CRM for independent and BHPH stores. It also sells Auto/Mate, a separate DMS, and has franchise-dealership CRM tools and OEM programs.
### What does DealerSocket IDMS include?
DealerSocket's IDMS pages list web-based access with mobile capabilities, accounting, inventory, deals, account management and collections for BHPH, scheduled auto-pay, reporting, LenderSocket for sending credit applications to lenders from inside IDMS, e-signing through an integration with vSignature from Vision Dealer Solutions, and more than 50 third-party integrations. Prices for these aren't listed.
### Does DealerSocket charge per user or require a contract?
DealerSocket's site doesn't say. User fees, setup fees, and contract length aren't published, so ask for each in writing before you sign. DealerVLO has no per-user fees, no setup fee, and no contract; it's month to month.
### What does DealerVLO include for $29 a month?
A full dealer management system on one plan: unlimited users and any inventory size; a deal jacket with live deal math; the FTC Buyers Guide and state title and registration paperwork for all 50 states filled from each deal; e-signatures; inventory with VIN decoding, per-car reconditioning costs, and aging; a dealer website with listing feeds to CarGurus, Cars.com, and Autotrader; buy-here-pay-here payment tracking; and sales, aging, and profit-and-loss reports. It runs in a browser, with no setup fee and no contract.
### When is DealerSocket a better fit than DealerVLO?
When you need what DealerVLO doesn't do: sending credit applications to lenders from the DMS, a full accounting ledger, texting customers from the CRM, or several rooftops under one login. DealerSocket lists all of those. DealerVLO doesn't send applications to lenders, doesn't text, doesn't connect to outside accounting software, and runs one dealership per account. I built DealerVLO, so weigh the comparison accordingly.
## Bottom line
DealerSocket is quote-only, and its site doesn't publish user fees, setup fees, or contract terms either. If its lender submission, accounting, texting, or multi-rooftop tools are what your store runs on, get an itemized quote and the contract terms in writing, and compare year one.
If you want the deal, your state's paperwork, a website, and listing feeds at a price you can read today, DealerVLO is $29 a month with no contract. [Start a free DealerVLO trial](/signup) and run a real deal through it.
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## FAQ
### How much does DealerSocket cost?
DealerSocket doesn't publish prices. When I checked dealersocket.com on October 18, 2026, there was no pricing page and no prices on the IDMS, CRM, or DealerFire product pages; every page routes you to a Speak with an expert form or the sales line. You get a number from a sales rep for the products you pick. DealerVLO, a competing DMS, is $29 a month flat for unlimited users and any number of cars.
### Is DealerSocket only for franchise dealers?
No. DealerSocket sells IDMS, a DMS it describes as built for independent and buy-here-pay-here dealers, and a version of its CRM for independent and BHPH stores. It also sells Auto/Mate, a separate DMS, and has franchise-dealership CRM tools and OEM programs.
### What does DealerSocket IDMS include?
DealerSocket's IDMS pages list web-based access with mobile capabilities, accounting, inventory, deals, account management and collections for BHPH, scheduled auto-pay, reporting, LenderSocket for sending credit applications to lenders from inside IDMS, e-signing through an integration with vSignature from Vision Dealer Solutions, and more than 50 third-party integrations. Prices for these aren't listed.
### Does DealerSocket charge per user or require a contract?
DealerSocket's site doesn't say. User fees, setup fees, and contract length aren't published, so ask for each in writing before you sign. DealerVLO has no per-user fees, no setup fee, and no contract; it's month to month.
### What does DealerVLO include for $29 a month?
A full dealer management system on one plan: unlimited users and any inventory size; a deal jacket with live deal math; the FTC Buyers Guide and state title and registration paperwork for all 50 states filled from each deal; e-signatures; inventory with VIN decoding, per-car reconditioning costs, and aging; a dealer website with listing feeds to CarGurus, Cars.com, and Autotrader; buy-here-pay-here payment tracking; and sales, aging, and profit-and-loss reports. It runs in a browser, with no setup fee and no contract.
### When is DealerSocket a better fit than DealerVLO?
When you need what DealerVLO doesn't do: sending credit applications to lenders from the DMS, a full accounting ledger, texting customers from the CRM, or several rooftops under one login. DealerSocket lists all of those. DealerVLO doesn't send applications to lenders, doesn't text, doesn't connect to outside accounting software, and runs one dealership per account. I built DealerVLO, so weigh the comparison accordingly.