Simply Auto is a US-built maintenance and mileage tracker (Android + iOS, freemium, premium ~$5.99/mo) with two standout features: automatic GPS trip tracking and octane-specific fuel economy logging. Strong for US drivers claiming IRS mileage deductions. odo.ie is an Irish-built PWA (free for 3 vehicles, no ads) with Irish Revenue civil service mileage ratesin the Pro tier's trip logbook, plus NCT / motor tax / insurance reminders, .ics calendar sync and 67+ Irish guides. If you drive in the US: Simply Auto. If you drive in Ireland: odo.ie. The IRS-vs-Revenue mileage-rate difference alone makes the decision for most tax-claiming Irish drivers.
What each tool does
Simply Auto
A US-focused maintenance, fuel and mileage tracking app on Android and iOS. Freemium — core fuel / service logging free, premium subscription (typically ~$5.99/month) unlocks automatic GPS mileage tracking for tax-deductible drives, cross-device sync, advanced reporting, and ad removal. Notable features: octane-specific fuel economy logging (unusual — lets you track whether 91-octane or 93-octane gives you better mpg on a given car), GPS-based automatic trip recognition and classification for IRS business-mileage deductions, EV kWh support, multi-vehicle, CSV and PDF reporting tuned for US Form 2106 / Schedule C filing patterns. Popular with US contractors, real-estate agents, and small-business owners claiming the IRS standard mileage deduction.
odo.ie
An Irish-built vehicle-ownership dashboard running as a PWA on any modern browser (installs to iOS / Android / Mac / Windows / Linux home screens). Free for up to 3 vehicles, no ads, no credit card. Core: service tracking, fuel logging (L/100km and kWh/100km for EVs), running-cost analytics, and Ireland-specific compliance (NCT reminders with correct 2-yr / 1-yr cycle logic, motor tax tracking across all three Irish regimes, insurance renewal alerts). Pro tier (€8/mo or €72/yr, launching soon) adds the trip logbook — designed natively for Irish Revenue civil service mileage rates with Business / Commute / Private classification and period- scoped CSV + PDF exports for Irish accountant hand-off. 67+ Irish-specific guides built in, .ics calendar sync, NCT centres map for all 50 Irish centres.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | odo.ie | Simply Auto |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel tracking | L/100km + kWh/100km, station free-text | Strong — octane-specific fuel economy logging |
| Service / maintenance tracking | Preset + custom types, per-vehicle | Service log, reminders, preset categories |
| Mileage rate engine | Irish Revenue civil service (banded by engine & distance) | US IRS standard mileage deduction (flat cents/mile) |
| Trip classification | Business / Commute / Private (Pro) | Business / Personal (GPS auto) |
| GPS auto trip tracking | ❌ (manual logbook in Pro) | ✅ Premium feature |
| NCT reminders | ✅ Auto-rolls on pass, 2-yr / 1-yr (10+) | ❌ Generic reminder only |
| Motor tax tracking | ✅ All 3 Irish regimes | ❌ |
| Insurance renewal alerts | ✅ Irish cycle, 30/14/7/1-day | ❌ Generic |
| .ics calendar sync | ✅ Google / Apple / Outlook | ❌ |
| NCT centres map | ✅ All 50 Irish centres | ❌ |
| Irish guides library | ✅ 67+ built-in | ❌ |
| Cross-device sync | ✅ Free (account-based) | Premium-gated |
| Export formats | JSON, CSV, print-ready PDF (free) | CSV, PDF (premium) |
| Platforms | PWA — any modern browser | Native Android + iOS |
| Price | Free (Pro €8/mo or €72/yr coming) | Free with ads; premium ~$5.99/mo |
| Ads on free tier | None | Yes — removed in premium |
| Country / tax focus | Ireland — Revenue mileage rates | US — IRS mileage deductions |
| Data residency | EU (Netlify + Postgres) | Not explicitly published |
The mileage-rate difference — the deal-breaker for claimants
This is where a US-built tool and an Irish-built tool diverge dramatically. Understanding the difference often decides the tool choice outright.
| Scheme | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| US IRS standard mileage deduction | Flat rate per business mile, set annually by IRS. Applies regardless of vehicle type. ~70¢/mile for 2025. | 10,000 business miles × 70¢ = $7,000 deduction |
| Irish Revenue civil service mileage rates | Three engine-size bands × four distance bands applied cumulatively across the tax year. Unchanged since 1 Sept 2022. | Claim rate changes as you cross 1,500 km, 5,500 km, 25,000 km thresholds across the year |
A tool built for US IRS filing — like Simply Auto — gives you a running "miles × current IRS rate" total. For Irish Revenue, that figure is useless — your accountant needs banded totals across the year to apply the correct rate per band. odo.ie Pro's trip logbook is built explicitly for this — period- scoped Business totals that your accountant then multiplies by the correct banded rate. The full rate table is in our mileage rates Irelandguide, with the engine-size columns and distance-band rows that Simply Auto doesn't know about.
EVs in Ireland claim under the 1201–1500cc column of the civil service rates — not a flat rate. An app that uses a single flat cents-per-km figure for all vehicles will produce a claim number that doesn't match what your Irish accountant will actually file.
Where Simply Auto genuinely wins
- Automatic GPS trip recognition — the app runs in the background, learns your patterns, auto-classifies business vs personal trips. For a US driver filing IRS Schedule C with thousands of trips/year, this is hugely valuable
- Octane-specific fuel economy logging — unusual in the category. Track whether 91-octane or 93-octane (US) / 95 RON or 98 RON (Ireland) gives you better mpg on your specific car. Useful for performance-car enthusiasts
- Mature IRS reporting — export reports tuned for US Form 2106, Schedule C, and other IRS filings. If you're a US taxpayer, this beats trying to format an Irish tool's output
- Native mobile app polish — native iOS and Android apps with OS-level notifications, widgets and background services. Some users prefer native over PWA
- Category-mature for US contractors — long-established in the US small-business market with a stable user base and well-refined reports
- Strong EV support — kWh tracking is well-integrated
Where odo.ie wins for Irish drivers
- Irish Revenue civil service mileage rates — 3-band engine classification × 4-band distance structure, applied cumulatively. Simply Auto has no concept of banded rates
- NCT reminders with Irish logic — 2-yr / 1-yr (10+) cycle, auto-rolls on pass. Simply Auto has generic reminders only
- Motor tax tracking across all 3 Irish regimes — pre-2008 engine-size, 2008–2020 NEDC CO2, 2021+ WLTP CO2. Simply Auto doesn't model any Irish tax structure
- Irish insurance renewal alerts — annual cycle, 30/14/7/1-day advance alerts, driver-number-rule aware since March 2025
- NCT centres map — all 50 Irish test centres with addresses and directions. No Simply Auto equivalent
- 67+ Irish guides built in — NCT, motor tax, insurance strategies, VRT on imports, driving test, EV grants, licence exchange, motorcycle licensing, small-fleet management. Simply Auto has no country-specific content
- .ics calendar sync — subscribe once, every vehicle's deadlines appear in Google / Apple / Outlook alongside normal events. Particularly valuable for households with 2+ cars. Simply Auto has no calendar sync
- Daily morning email digest — only when something needs attention. Simply Auto uses app push notifications instead, which are missable on some devices
- Cross-device sync on the free tier — odo.ie's account-based design means every device is in sync without any premium unlock. Simply Auto gates cross-device sync behind premium
- Full CSV + JSON + PDF export on the free tier — Simply Auto restricts export formats to premium
- Service-history PDF designed for Irish resale — documented service record protects €1,000–€2,000 resale premium on Irish used-car market
- No ads on any tier, ever — Simply Auto free is ad-supported
- EU data residency — Postgres in EU Netlify region. Simply Auto's data location is less publicly documented
- Irish-built, rule-aware — when driver-number rule landed March 2025, or speed limits phased from February 2025, odo.ie updated. Simply Auto doesn't know Irish rules exist
Who should choose which
| Your situation | Best choice |
|---|---|
| US-based driver claiming IRS mileage deduction (Schedule C / Form 2106) | Simply Auto |
| Ireland-based driver / Irish Revenue civil service mileage claim | odo.ie Pro — see our Revenue mileage logbook guide |
| Obsessive performance-car owner wanting to benchmark 95 vs 98 RON consumption | Simply Auto (octane-specific logging) |
| Thousands of business trips per year, can't manually log each | Simply Auto (GPS auto) |
| Drive in Ireland, 1–3 cars, want one tool for NCT / tax / insurance / service | odo.ie |
| Irish SME with CVRT-liable vans | odo.ie — see our small fleet guide |
| New to Ireland — orientation on NCT / motor tax / insurance / VRT | odo.ie — see our new to Ireland guide |
| iPhone user who wants home-screen install without App Store | odo.ie (PWA) |
| Native mobile app UX snob | Simply Auto |
| Ad-averse, don't want a premium upsell | odo.ie (no ads, no upsell friction) |
The verdict
If you file US taxes: Simply Auto is the obvious choice. GPS auto-tracking + IRS mileage report is a proven, mature product for US contractors, real-estate agents, and self-employed small-business owners.
If you file Irish taxes: odo.ie Pro. The banded civil service mileage rate structure is completely different from the US flat-rate model, and a US tool's output won't map onto an Irish Revenue claim. odo.ie Pro is built specifically for Business / Commute / Private categorisation with period-scoped exports for Irish accountants.
For general Irish car ownership (any household, not just claimants): odo.ie's NCT / motor tax / insurance reminder infrastructure is the bigger practical value. A missed NCT costs €60 + 3 penalty points + €200– €500 rushed repairs; a US-focused tracker won't help you avoid that. An Irish-focused tool will.
A specific edge case: a US contractor on a year-long assignment in Ireland. Do you use Simply Auto for the US- filing part and odo.ie for the Irish compliance part? Yes — that's a legitimate two-tool strategy. The workflows don't overlap. Simply Auto handles your US IRS trips; odo.ie handles your Irish NCT / tax / insurance. Both free or low-cost.
US drivers → Simply Auto. Irish drivers → odo.ie.
odo.ie is the only tracker built on Irish Revenue civil service mileage rates, Irish NCT cycles, and Irish motor tax regimes. Free for up to 3 vehicles, no ads, installs to your phone home screen. If you need Revenue-compliant trip logging, odo.ie Pro (€8/mo or €72/yr, launching soon) has the logbook built in.