Lead Friendly

Lead Friendly vs CDK

CDK sells dealers the DMS, CRM, service, parts, digital retail, F&I, a cloud phone system and a customer data platform, with an AI assistant built into its CRM, and it publishes no price. Lead Friendly is the AI phone agent inside its own dealer CRM, with inventory, photos, a desk and a website, that sits beside the DMS you already run, at a published price on month-to-month terms.

Everything about CDK below was read from its own website on October 31, 2026, and each row says which side does what. Verify on their site before you buy; vendors change plans without telling anyone.

Where Lead Friendly wins against CDK

It works beside the DMS you have

Lead Friendly sits beside a CDK DMS, or any other, without a migration, and does not write to it. CDK’s AI assistant is described as built into CDK CRM workflows, so it follows the CRM you run on CDK.

The AI answers and calls back

The phone agent answers 24/7 and calls website-form leads back inside legal calling hours when the shopper gave call consent. CDK’s current CRM page lists text and email responses, and calling leads back is not described.

Published price, month to month

Lead Friendly for Dealers is $349 a month plus a one-time $500 setup fee, month to month. CDK publishes no price on the pages we opened.

Bottom line

CDK is the suite: a DMS, service and parts, digital retail, F&I, a phone system with call context and routing, a customer data platform and a network of 1,000+ partners; it publishes no price. Lead Friendly is the AI phone agent that answers and calls back, plus a CRM, and it does not write to a DMS. Pick CDK if you want your DMS, CRM and service lane from one vendor; pick Lead Friendly if you are keeping your DMS and the phone is the problem.

Feature comparison

“Not described” means the pages we opened do not mention it, not that the product cannot do it. Lead Friendly's side is checked against our own product and our integrations page.

CapabilityLead FriendlyCDK
What the product fundamentally is
A dealership store OS: AI phone agent and CRM, plus inventory photos, VIN-to-listing, desking, F&I and a built website included in the dealer plan. Not a DMS.A dealer software suite: DMS, CRM, digital retail, F&I, inventory, parts, service, payments, a cloud phone system, a customer data platform and consulting, with AI added across it.
A DMS from the same vendor
NoInventory moves with DealerCenter by feed; nothing is written back to any DMS
YesYes: a Dealer Management System under Business Office
AI replies to new leads
YesAI Auto Responder by text and email; off until you switch it on
YesAIVA gives “real-time AI-powered text and email responses” with a dealership knowledge bank, built into CDK CRM workflows; its page states no release date or price
AI answering phone calls
YesAnswers 24/7 (sales, service and after-hours), qualifies, books test drives and transfers to your staff. Switch it on per agent and it also takes a caller’s trade-in down and, if they want, texts them a link to send photos; it never invents a value
PartialA 2024 CDK article says AIVA can be deployed “to answer phone calls, respond to text messages”; the August 2026 CRM page lists text and email only, and Voice Connect adds AI call summaries and keyword detection, not an AI that answers
AI calling new leads back
YesA website-form lead is called automatically inside legal calling hours when the shopper gave call consent; marketplace (ADF) leads are called by an automation you switch on and set to run automatically
Not described on the pages we opened
Service lane
PartialThe phone agent books service as well as sales calls; service-due campaigns are drafted for you to switch on; no repair-order or scheduling-system integration
YesService and Parts products, AI summaries for the CRM and service, and predictive service insights (announced January 27, 2026)
Desking, F&I and digital retail
YesFour-square, F&I menu, lender program checks, Reg Z disclosures and an e-signed deal jacket
YesDigital Retail and Finance & Insurance are listed products
Cloud phone system
PartialA softphone per user and transfers to your staff; no IVR menu builder
YesVoice Connect: call pops with purchase and service history, a receptionist console, call routing and an optional managed contact centre
Customer data platform
NoNo customer data platform
YesA Customer Data Platform is listed, and a built-in CDP was announced in January 2026
Partner ecosystem
PartialLeads to any CRM by ADF; inventory from your feed or DMS drop; no two-way DMS sync
Yes“1,000+ integrated partners” (vendor-reported)
Install base
A newer product with a far smaller install base; ask for referencesNo dealership count appears on the pages we opened
TCPA, do-not-call list and quiet-hours enforcement on outbound
YesQuiet hours, your do-not-call list and STOP opt-outs are enforced before any call or text leaves. Consent and National Do Not Call Registry checks stay yours, and federal and state do-not-call scrubbing of any list you upload is your obligation
Not described on the pages we opened
Pricing and term
Published: $349 a month ($279 a month on annual) plus a one-time $500 setup fee, with 1,800 AI voice minutes and 2,500 texts included. Month to month; sales tax is extra. AI photo background work is billed from your wallet at $0.05 a photo.Not published; its phone system is described as a device-as-a-service model with “predictable costs” and no prices

How marketplace leads reach Lead Friendly, and what does and does not run when one lands: CarGurus, Cars.com and ADF/XML lead intake.

Choose Lead Friendly if…

  • • You are keeping your DMS, CDK or another, and do not need write-back
  • • You want the AI to answer calls and call new web leads back
  • • You want a published price and month-to-month terms
  • • You want to start this week, without a migration
  • • You want inventory, a desk and a website in the same subscription

Choose CDK if…

  • • You want your DMS, CRM and service lane from one vendor
  • • You want repair-order and service data inside the same system as your AI
  • • You want a phone system with call pops, routing and a managed contact centre
  • • You want a customer data platform in the same suite
  • • You want the partner network around a DMS you already run

Frequently asked questions

Is Lead Friendly a CDK alternative?

For the AI that answers calls and works leads, in part. CDK sells the DMS, CRM, service, parts, digital retail, F&I and a phone system, and has an AI assistant built into its CRM; Lead Friendly is the AI phone agent inside a dealer CRM with inventory, photos, a desk and a website, and it does not write to a DMS. If you are choosing a DMS or want one vendor from desk to service lane, CDK is built for that. If you are keeping your DMS and want the phone answered and leads called back, Lead Friendly is.

How much does CDK cost?

As of October 2026 CDK does not publish a price or contract term on the pages we opened, and no dealership count either. Ask for the monthly total per rooftop for the products you would use, the AI assistant, the phone system and the setup, and for the contract length and notice date. Lead Friendly publishes its dealer price: $349 a month ($279 a month on annual) plus a one-time $500 setup fee, with 1,800 AI voice minutes and 2,500 texts included, month to month.

Does CDK have an AI that answers the phone?

It is not clear from its pages. A 2024 CDK article says its AI virtual assistant, AIVA, can be deployed across the dealership to answer phone calls and respond to text messages, while the August 2026 AIVA page for CDK CRM describes text and email responses only. Its Voice Connect phone system adds AI call summaries and keyword detection to recorded calls. Ask CDK whether an AI answers your inbound calls today, and whether it needs CDK CRM.

Can I use Lead Friendly if I am on a CDK DMS?

Yes, as a layer beside it. Lead Friendly answers overflow and after-hours calls and calls new web leads back, and sends every call and lead to your CRM as an ADF lead. It does not write to CDK, so appointments and call outcomes live in Lead Friendly unless you carry them across through that lead email.

Which one should an independent used-car lot choose?

An independent lot that keeps its DMS for titling and accounting and wants the phone and lead follow-up handled at a price it can see is Lead Friendly’s shape. A franchise store or group that wants its DMS, CRM, service lane and phone system from one vendor, with its AI inside the CRM, is CDK’s.

Measure first: how fast does your store answer a new lead?

Sources

From a customer

“Katie has handled more than 250 real conversations on our Chamber lines since mid-September, including more than 25 outside business hours. When Terry and I catch something, Lead Friendly investigates it, explains what actually happened and fixes the underlying problem. That is rare.”

Lawrence, Chamber Approved
2,100+
calls run through Lead Friendly
2,300+
messages sent and answered
2,900+
contacts in the CRM

Switching from CDK

  1. Start on Lead Friendly for Dealers. The one-time $500 setup is the work: we load your inventory, wire your feeds and your lead sources, and build and tune the agent with you.
  2. Keep your CDK DMS. Forward the store’s number to the AI agent, every call or only when nobody picks up, and import your customer list from a CSV.
  3. Send every Lead Friendly call and lead to your CRM as an ADF lead so your team works one list. Lead Friendly does not write to CDK. Ask CDK for your contract term and notice date in writing before you change anything.

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Try it before anyone quotes you

7 days or 30 AI voice minutes, whichever comes first; no credit card. No demo call — paste your website and your phone rings in the first two minutes.

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Compare Lead Friendly with other tools

See the full comparison overview.