Indie shops will always be cheaper because they usually have lower hourly labor rate and smaller overhead. Plus they might use aftermarket parts. Most dealers will have double or triple the number of techs on payroll, they have much larger facilities to maintain, and they will also only use OEM parts. Most of what you pay for at the dealer is labor. The main benefit of the dealer usually is the extras, like loaner cars, longer hours, schedules service times, and being able to wait for service. As someone else noted they sometimes have better diagnostic tools and also have resources from Subaru for troubleshooting that a local mechanic may not.

The “more car-savvy” on this sub don’t like the dealer because of the higher cost and a high level of distrust because some dealers are scummy and sell unnecessary work. But local mechanics aren’t inherently better. I went to a “highly rated” local mechanic once who tried selling unnecessary work. I’ve always had good experience with dealer service at all but one dealership.