Esntial Commerce vs Clerq
Head-to-head comparison for car dealers evaluating Digital Retailing. Both vendors are in the same subcategory, so the comparison is apples-to-apples.
Esntial Commerce
Cox Automotive's unified commerce platform
Founded—
HQ—
SegmentFRANCHISE
PricingPer rooftop / month
OwnershipPRIVATE
ParentCox Automotive
Employees—
Website—
Clerq
Digital payments and checkout for auto
Founded—
HQ—
SegmentBOTH
Pricing—
OwnershipPRIVATE
ParentIndependent
Employees—
Website—
What each vendor does
Esntial Commerce
Esntial Commerce is Cox Automotive's next-generation digital retailing layer, unifying shopping, deal-making and checkout across its retail product family.
Clerq
Clerq provides a digital payment and checkout platform for automotive retail, enabling dealers to collect deposits and payments online during the buying process.
Integration matrix
| Integration kind | Esntial Commerce | Clerq | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|
| crm | VinSolutions | — | None |
| dms | Dealertrack | — | None |
Only Esntial Commerce (2)
Dealertrack, VinSolutions
Shared integrations (0)
—
Only Clerq (0)
—
Feature checklist
| Feature | Esntial Commerce | Clerq |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile app | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Open API / webhooks | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| SSO / SAML | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Native AI tools | ○ — | ○ — |
| Third-party marketplace | ○ — | ○ — |
| Two-way texting | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Video messaging | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Digital retail workflow | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Desking & payments | ○ — | ○ — |
| Credit prequal / soft pull | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Inventory syndication | ○ — | ○ — |
| Custom reporting dashboards | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Call tracking & recording | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| Spanish-language support | ○ — | ○ — |
| Multi-rooftop management | ● Yes | ● Yes |
Compare more than two?
Build a 2–4 vendor side-by-side and share the URL.
Choose Esntial Commerce vs Clerq
Choose Esntial Commerce if…
- ▸You run franchise rooftops — this product is designed specifically for that segment.
- ▸You want the longer track record in the dealer tech category.
- ▸You need broad DMS connectivity — this vendor lists 1 DMS integration.
Choose Clerq if…
- ▸You need one platform that covers both franchise and independent rooftops.
- ▸You want the longer track record in the dealer tech category.
Quick facts scorecard
| Dimension | Esntial Commerce | Clerq | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Track record | — | — | Tie |
| Scale | — | — | — |
| Segment breadth | FRANCHISE | BOTH | — |
| Integrations listed | 2 | 0 | A |
| DMS connectivity | 1 DMS | 0 DMSes | A |