DealerBuilt vs Tekion

Head-to-head comparison for car dealers evaluating Core Systems. Both vendors are in the same subcategory, so the comparison is apples-to-apples.

DealerBuilt
Flexible DMS for dealer groups
Founded
HQGrinnell IA
SegmentFRANCHISE
PricingPer rooftop / month
OwnershipPRIVATE
ParentIndependent
Employees
Tekion
Cloud-native automotive retail platform
Founded2016
HQPleasanton CA
SegmentFRANCHISE
PricingPer rooftop / month
OwnershipPRIVATE
ParentIndependent
Employees
Websitetekion.com

What each vendor does

DealerBuilt

DealerBuilt's LightYear DMS offers customizable accounting and operations software with open integration, serving mid-size and large franchise groups.

Tekion

Tekion's Automotive Retail Cloud is a born-in-the-cloud DMS with modern APIs, connecting sales, service, accounting and CRM on a single platform.

Integration matrix

Integration kindDealerBuiltTekionOverlap
dmsSelfNone
Only DealerBuilt (0)
Shared integrations (0)
Only Tekion (1)
Self

Feature checklist

FeatureDealerBuiltTekion
Mobile app● Yes● Yes
Open API / webhooks● Yes● Yes
SSO / SAML● Yes● Yes
Native AI tools○ —○ —
Third-party marketplace○ —○ —
Two-way texting○ —○ —
Video messaging○ —○ —
Digital retail workflow○ —○ —
Desking & payments○ —○ —
Credit prequal / soft pull○ —○ —
Inventory syndication○ —○ —
Custom reporting dashboards● Yes● Yes
Call tracking & recording○ —○ —
Spanish-language support○ —○ —
Multi-rooftop management● Yes● Yes
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Choose DealerBuilt vs Tekion

Choose DealerBuilt if…
  • You want the longer track record in the dealer tech category.
Choose Tekion if…
  • You want the longer track record in the dealer tech category.
  • You need broad DMS connectivity — this vendor lists 1 DMS integration.

Quick facts scorecard

DimensionDealerBuiltTekionEdge
Track record2016B
Scale
Segment breadthFRANCHISEFRANCHISE
Integrations listed01B
DMS connectivity0 DMSes1 DMSB