Best Fleet Maintenance Software Systems

Software that helps with vehicle maintenance is crucial to keeping your fleet on the road. Most fleet management companies offer maintenance tools, but our research has found Verizon Connect is steps above them all.

It has the most comprehensive maintenance features, pairing tracking vehicle maintenance histories and costs with preventative repair alerts – in a simple-to-use package according to our usability testing – so you can catch small issues before they require major repairs.

Still, it does cost more than other US fleet software providers, meaning it won’t be for every business. Plus, other options specialize in different aspects of maintenance, like promoting safe driving habits to reduce vehicle wear and tear. Below we compare our top six picks so you can decide the best option for your team.

1. Verizon Connect Reveal: Best Overall Fleet Maintenance Software

Verizon Connect’s Reveal software very much deserves the ‘best overall‘ title for fleet maintenance. Here’s why, in short, before we discuss its specific maintenance features and potential downsides in detail.

What maintenance features does Verizon Connect Reveal offer?

Verizon Connect will help you schedule maintenance checks regularly to ensure all your vehicles are in tip-top shape before setting off. You simply select the vehicles you want to include in the service and what intervals you want to perform the service (based on time, distance traveled or engine hours).

When an interval is reached, you’ll receive a notification via your smartphone or the web app. The cycle then resets once you mark the service as complete. We think this makes it a great tool for enacting preventative maintenance of your fleet without needing a separate calendar app.

If you ever miss a check-up or scheduled maintenance, it will automatically reflect on your fleet maintenance records. All your records are synced and secure, and you’ll even be suggested nearby maintenance centers, while Verizon’s DVIR compliance saves you from the headache of complying with federal requirements for maintaining your fleet by providing an easy way for drivers to log vehicle inspection reports electronically.

Still, preventative alerts are something you can find on other fleet software, such as Samsara and Spireon. What you can’t get with other providers is the predictive maintenance of Verizon Connect. Using tracking equipment plugged into your vehicle’s OBD-II port, you can send near real-time diagnostic data to Reveal, such as engine health, battery voltage, and other critical metrics.

You’ll get instant alerts when defined parameters for these metrics are breached, as well as for diagnostic trouble codes like engine faults or low batteries. You can also view intuitive dashboards to give you a visual overview of all the data gathered from vehicle diagnostics, as shown below.

For a complete overview of maintenance data, you can also make custom vehicle maintenance reports through the Reports tab of Verizon Connect Reveal.

These reports can cover various timeframes, vehicles, or drivers depending on your preferences, and there are also other prebuilt reports you can run (or schedule) related to maintenance as you can see below, including fuel efficiency reports and harsh driving summaries. Overall, we found Verizon Connect has far more report options than other providers, allowing for great analytical insight into your fleet maintenance and management needs.

When you mark each maintenance task as complete, you can also input any associated costs such as replacement parts or labor costs. This allows you to track vehicle maintenance costs over time and analyze them via reports such as the Cost Analysis Report shown in the image above. This way, you can identify any high-value maintenance expenses or recurring issues with your fleet.

Are there any downsides to Verizon Connect Reveal?

While the extent of these maintenance features beats out all other providers we’ve tested, Verizon Connect isn’t the most cost-effective option. It has a reasonably low entry point at $20 per vehicle, per month, which is cheaper than Samsara which starts at $27 per vehicle, per month, but Verizon’s custom pricing scheme for different packages can mean securing all these features can bring your total to a much higher amount.

Verizon will also tie you into a three-year contract. As such, we don’t recommend Verizon for small fleets that don’t cost a lot to manage or those who’d prefer short-term contracts.

2. Samsara: Best Fleet Maintenance Software for Managing Vehicles

Samsara also fares quite well in our research with an overall score of 4.6/5. In particular, we found it one of the best choices for managing vehicles. Read this quick summary before we get into exactly how Samsara shines.

What maintenance features does Samsara offer?

Armed with automatic maintenance scheduling, real-time vehicle diagnostics and alerts, and fleet maintenance record retention, Samsara has many of the same maintenance tools as Verizon Connect Reveal.

However, something that Samsara does that Verizon Connect doesn’t is its Inventory Report tool. Here, the software aggregates your assets by location for a clear, geographical view of your business if you have a lot of vehicle maintenance records to organize. You can use the search feature of this inventory report to specify a search radius from a specific address, too, allowing you to keep track of assets in specific areas, too.

Samsara also earns brownie points for its vehicle management due to its fuel monitoring system. It will give you a detailed input of your current fuel level, fuel efficiency, estimated fuel costs, engine run time, and idle time. These are all very helpful when it comes to minimizing fuel costs, which every fleet manager needs, as you’ll be able to identify drivers struggling to drive efficiently.

We have to applaud its journey optimization feature too, as it calculates every journey (at a maximum of 20 stops) to provide the most efficient route for your drivers. Verizon Connect and Azuga both have this too, with the latter being our favorite for this, but it highlights how complete Samsara is as an option for aiding ongoing vehicle maintenance.

Lastly, its DVIR compliance report is also top-tier – you can customize your templates, and your drivers can easily navigate or resolve any defects on the vehicles if ever one arises.

Are there any downsides to Samsara?

Unfortunately, Samsara does not allow third-party integrations with satellite navigation (sat nav) devices, which can make journeys easier for your drivers. Plus, it does not offer hardwired devices, which are more difficult to tamper with – albeit, most businesses should like the flexibility provided by the easy installation of its OBD-II port devices.

Samsara’s pricing is another point of weakness. Starting at $27 per vehicle, per month, it comes at a three-year minimum contract since you need to pay upfront. That’s a fairly costly entry point and when we searched its website for fleets of between six and 30 vehicles, we were suggested its Vehicle Gateway device for a total of $1584, which is an even steeper $44/mth. Though Samsara states it provides options for small businesses, these are still fairly sizeable costs for fleets.

3. Azuga: Best Fleet Maintenance Software for Efficient Routes

Azuga, with an overall score of 4.5/5 in our research, is another great contender that ticks the right boxes for fleet maintenance. Here’s a quick overview of what it can offer your fleet operations.

What maintenance features does Azuga offer?

Finding the best fleet GPS tracking systems to optimize your routes will always come in handy for fleet maintenance. It allows you to reduce the wear and tear of your vehicles by minimizing unnecessary mileage, lowering fuel consumption that can strain the engine over time, and avoiding high-risk areas so you can reduce the chance of vehicle accidents.

And the good news is that Azuga proves to be the frontrunner in this category, rising above all other software we’ve researched (just ahead of Verizon Connect and Samsara). With its innovative Web Platform Structure, you can reduce fuel costs and driving time as it automatically chooses the most efficient route for your drivers using its thorough analysis and calculation of journey stops.

Are there any downsides to Azuga?

A potential drawback we’d like to specify is that Azuga’s automatic maintenance scheduling is only available for an additional cost, unlike Verizon Connect Reveal and Samsara, which offer this sans price upgrades. With Azuga’s entry point being set at $25 per vehicle, per month, we reckon Verizon offers better value than Azuga considering the range of features it offers, maintenance-related or otherwise.

4. Teletrac Navman TN360: Best Fleet Maintenance Software for Managing Drivers

When it comes to managing your fleet drivers, and coaching them into behaviors that should mean fewer maintenance issues for your vehicles, Teletrac Navman is an attractive choice that scored 4.5/5 overall in our research. Below is a brief summary as to why that is ahead of our in-depth discussion.

What maintenance features does Teletrac Navman offer?

Driver management is a valuable area to analyze when looking for the best fleet maintenance software. Your drivers contribute to your business, so if they’re driving aggressively, such as through harsh braking or rapid acceleration, you may have to shell out more money to fix mechanical faults – or worse, vehicles that have broken down – that arise more quickly from poor driving habits.

Our research tells us that Teletrac Navman is the top option to keep tabs on these features. It allows you to easily monitor your drivers’ performance, history, and routes, and get alerted if they drive harshly or get into unwanted incidents.

We especially love its easy-to-understand driving reports that highlight any live issues with a driver’s driving, whether critical alerts or simply around productivity. This benefits both fleet managers and drivers as it makes every task easier for them.

Are there any downsides to Teletrac Navman?

Teletrac’s flat tire comes with vehicle diagnostics. To know whether or not you have a faulty system or hardware, you have to do the work yourself as there aren’t automated alerts like with Verizon Connect’s Reveal software. Maintenance scheduling is also manual, so if this is a deal breaker for you, we recommend vying for other suppliers, such as Verizon and Samsara which automate this process.

5. Spireon: Best Fleet Maintenance Software for Fast Updates

With an overall score of 4.1/5 in our research, Spireon isn’t as compelling as the other suppliers we’ve reviewed, but it’s got its own set of perks. Here’s a quick summary before we dive into what features it has to offer and how we feel about them.

What maintenance features does Spireon offer?

A closer look at Spireon’s vehicle maintenance features shows it has some useful tools, such as automatic vehicle diagnostics. So, whenever an engine system lights up and indicates damages, it automatically syncs it to your fleet maintenance records.

Speaking of, Spireon lets you track preventative maintenance routines and other ongoing maintenance such as oil changes, tire rotations, warranty expirations, and license renewals, all on your fleet records. It also supports DVIR and will alert you when it’s time for a maintenance check, usually set manually or when a fault lights up.

Our favorite Spireon perk is its super fast data refresh, which is every 15 to 60 seconds across all packages. You can choose whichever you want between this time range, and that 15-second speed is by far the fastest option on the page; Azuga, Verizon, and Samsara all have a 30-second refresh rate peak while Linxup and Teletrac have a one-minute peak. This way, you can get the information you need about your fleet vehicles quicker and make decisions on maintenance that jot faster than other providers.

Are there any downsides to Spireon?

However, our research highlights some of Spireon’s drawbacks, such as its pricing and support features. Users can only reach Spireon through its customer support email address and hotline number, however, it isn’t available 24/7. That might not be ideal for fleet businesses working round the clock and driving into the night.

Spireon may not be the best value for money either. Like Verizon, its bespoke pricing plans and three-year contract commitments mean prices aren’t transparent and could raise costs above other providers depending on your fleet size, contract length, and features.

6. Linxup: Best Fleet Maintenance Software for Minimizing Downtime

With an overall score of 4/5 in our independent research, Linxup isn’t as sophisticated as the other software options we’ve researched. However, that’s not to say it’s without its charm.

What maintenance features does Linxup offer?

For starters, Linxup provides automatic vehicle diagnostics, DVIR compliance, and retains your fleet maintenance records.

You get maintenance scheduling as well, allowing you to input service checks and events for each vehicle and helping minimize the downtime of your vehicles in the process.

Since vehicle downtime is often due to irregular maintenance, which amps up the wear and tear of your fleet, this is an important consideration of fleet maintenance management. This super efficient maintenance scheduling feature from Linxup should save you from this hassle.

Are there any downsides to Linxup?

Though its features are less powerful than the previous suppliers on this list, it is an excellent choice for small businesses. We also commend its clean, minimalist dashboard that clears out all the confusion with analytics. Another plus is that its mobile app makes driver dispatching and messaging feel like a walk (or, in this case, a drive) in the park.

How to Choose the Best Fleet Maintenance Software for Your Business

Now you know the top picks, based on our expert research. However, with quite a lot of overlap between what features each provider offers, that doesn’t necessarily mean picking one for your business is an easy answer.

Here are some ideas about what to consider before you take the plunge and purchase a particular software for your fleet operations and vehicle maintenance management:

1. Assess Your Business Needs: Evaluating your fleet size, vehicle types, and specific maintenance requirements is a good place to start. Determine whether you need basic features like maintenance scheduling and tracking (available on most fleet management software), or more advanced functionalities such as predictive maintenance, real-time diagnostics, and parts inventory management (offered by the likes of Verizon and Samsara). That way, you should have a narrower pool to choose from.
2. Ease of Use and Integration: Choose software that is user-friendly and easy to implement across your organization based on what tools you already use. It should also integrate seamlessly with your existing systems, such as GPS tracking, fuel management, and accounting software, to provide a unified platform for fleet management. On the other hand, you can go all in on one provider should it do enough to cover all bases of your operations like Verizon Connect Reveal.
3. Scalability: Ensure the software can grow with your business. As your fleet expands, the software should be able to handle additional vehicles, users, and data without a drop in performance or requiring a complex upgrade process.
4. Customizable Reporting and Analytics: Choose a platform that offers customizable reports and analytics. This allows you to gain insights into maintenance costs, vehicle performance, and operational efficiency that can help you make data-driven decisions about your fleet. Even within a single provider, this can vary depending on the plan you choose, so do be careful to read the terms of your agreement before purchasing.
5. Support and Training: Opt for a software provider that offers excellent customer support and training resources, especially if you are a small fleet business with little experience in the sector. Good vendor support ensures that your team can quickly resolve any issues and make the most of the software’s features.
6. Total Cost: Of course, perhaps the ultimate determining factor will be each software’s price tag. It’s worth considering what sort of package or bundle deals you can get when purchasing hardware and software together, certain plans or contract lengths, as you may get a better deal.

How Did We Compare The Best Fleet Maintenance Software?

FAQs