Hubtiger is a good service and rental software, used by shops worldwide. CrankPal is something else: a complete workshop platform plus a network that brings you customers, with checkout, invoicing and customer messaging built in. Here are the real differences, from public sources, with no spin.
Service/repair and rental software born in the bike world: digital job cards, calendar, automated SMS and online bookings. For point of sale and inventory it relies on external integrations (Lightspeed, Shopify, Square…).
A complete platform for bike workshops — calendar, job sheets with AI diagnosis, multichannel inbox, SoftPOS checkout and compliant invoicing built in — plus the CrankPal network: cyclists on the app find you on the map and book with you.
Neither product wins at everything: below you'll also find where Hubtiger is better equipped. “Not advertised” means the feature does not appear in the vendor's public documentation as of July 2026.
| Feature | CrankPal | Hubtiger |
|---|---|---|
| Day-to-day work | ||
| Online bookings | ✓Calendar + bookings from cyclists on the CrankPal app | ✓Booking widgets for website and social media |
| Job sheets | ✓With AI diagnosis and live team collaboration | ✓Digital job cards with checklists and history |
| Customer messaging | ✓Multichannel Master Inbox: WhatsApp, email and social in one place | ✓Automated SMS and 2-way messaging; WhatsApp as an add-on |
| Home-visit services | ✓Home-visit rounds with optimised routing | Not advertised |
| Checkout and tax compliance | ||
| Checkout and payments | ✓Built in: fast checkout and contactless SoftPOS, no hardware | Through external integrations (Lightspeed, Shopify, Square…) |
| E-invoice and e-receipt (Italy) | ✓Compliant, included in the platform | Not advertised |
| Network and growth | ||
| New customers from the network | ✓You're on the CrankPal app map: cyclists find you and book | Not advertised |
| B2B network (specialised repairers and warranties) | ✓Hand-offs, quotes and warranties in one tracked flow | Not advertised |
| Rental and demo bikes | — | ✓Dedicated rental product, with waivers and online payments |
| External POS/e-commerce integrations | Checkout and invoicing are built in: no external POS needed | ✓Wide catalogue: Lightspeed, Shopify, Square, Xero and more |
| Platform | ||
| Interface languages | ✓35 languages + 12 regional variants | 13 languages (source: GetApp listing) |
| Free to start | ✓Free plan forever, no card required | Free trial; no permanent free plan advertised |
Comparison prepared by CrankPal from the two products' websites, public documentation and industry listings, updated July 2026. “Not advertised” means the feature does not appear in the vendor's public documentation. Hubtiger is a trademark of its respective owner; CrankPal is not affiliated with Hubtiger. Spotted an inaccuracy? Write to hello [at] crankpal.com and we'll fix it.
The biggest difference isn't a table row: it's the model. Service software organises the work you already have; CrankPal organises your work and brings you new work too.
Rental or demo bikes are a big part of your business, or your shop is already built around a POS like Lightspeed or Shopify and you just want to add service on top.
You want one tool for everything — bookings, job sheets, WhatsApp, checkout and compliant invoicing — and a network that brings you new customers instead of only managing the ones you have.
Try it. CrankPal's Free plan is free forever and takes minutes to activate, no credit card: compare the two products on your real work, not on brochures.
CrankPal wrote it, so read it for what it is. That said, we only use public, verifiable information, we state the update date, and we also point out where Hubtiger is better equipped (rental, POS integrations). If you find an error, write to us and we'll fix it.
Yes: the Free plan is free forever (owner only, up to 100 orders per month), no credit card required. And as soon as you activate your account, your workshop appears on the CrankPal app map.
Yes. You can activate the Free plan and use it alongside your current software, starting with bookings and new job sheets, and complete the switch when you're ready.
No: with SoftPOS you take contactless payments on your smartphone and e-receipts are issued from the platform, with no cash register or external POS.
No. Hubtiger is a trademark of its respective owner, mentioned here for comparison purposes only. Information comes from the vendor's website and public documentation, updated July 2026.
Activate the Free plan in minutes: free forever, no credit card.
