Roundup Checked November 3, 2026

Best HOA software for self-managed HOAs (2026)

There is no single best HOA software for every self-managed board: PayHOA is strongest on texts and calls, HOA Express on low-cost community websites, HOA Start on done-for-you setup help, and HOAOS on meetings, elections, violations and reserve planning alongside the books. Buildium, AppFolio and Condo Control are built mainly for management companies and larger condo buildings.

7 products compared
Published prices only
Written by the makers of HOAOS

Disclosure: DomoDomu makes HOAOS. We’ve tried to be fair: every competitor detail below comes from that company’s own public pricing, feature or help pages (linked under Sources), we say where something isn’t published, and we list HOAOS’s own gaps. We don’t rank products by fiat; we say which kind of board each one suits. Check the vendors’ sites before you decide, because prices change.

Quick picks

Which HOA software is best for which board?

Start with the job you need done. A board that keeps its own books and runs its own hearings needs something different from a board that mainly wants a website and a way to reach owners.

Best for governance + books

HOAOS

Boards that run meetings, elections, violation hearings and reserve planning themselves, and want them next to dues and a real general ledger, from $50/mo.

Best for reaching owners

PayHOA

Communities where texts and voice calls matter, plus lockbox check processing and 1099 e-filing, from $49/mo paid yearly.

Best low-cost website

HOA Express

Associations that mainly want a community website, announcements and simple payments, with a free plan for up to 50 households.

Best for setup help

HOA Start

Boards that want someone to set the system up, or ongoing concierge help, and a mobile app; price by quote.

Best for amenity-heavy condos

Condo Control

Larger condo buildings with a front desk: amenity booking, packages, visitor parking and security, as add-ons; price by quote.

Best for management companies

Buildium and AppFolio

Firms managing many associations, often alongside rentals. Buildium’s Essential plan also covers small self-managed associations.

At a glance

How do the main HOA software options compare?

Published list prices, trials and owner payment fees, checked on November 3, 2026. “Not published” means we couldn’t find it on the vendor’s public pages.

HOA software for self-managed associations compared: who each suits, published price, trial or free plan, and owner payment fees, checked November 3, 2026
Product	Best for	Published price	Trial / free plan	Owner payment fees
HOAOS	Self-managed boards that want governance and accounting in one plan	$50/mo up to 50 units, $95 up to 200, $195 up to 500; yearly costs 10 months	30-day trial, no card; no free plan	Bank $2.45 (or 0.8%, max $5); card service fee shown at checkout; board chooses who pays
PayHOA	Self-managed boards that want texts, calls and a lockbox	$49–$249/mo paid yearly up to 500 units ($54–$275 monthly); $0.55/unit above 500; AI add-on on by default	30-day trial, no card; no free plan	ACH $2.45; card 3.5% + $0.50
HOA Express	A low-cost community website with simple payments	Inform from $15/mo and Engage from $21/mo, billed yearly (up to 25 households); rises with household count	Free plan up to 50 households; 30-day trial, no card	Card 3.2% + $0.80; bank 1.4%
HOA Start	Boards that want guided setup or concierge help	Not published; quote based on number of homes, billed annually	Trial offered, no card; length not published	Card 3.5% + $0.30; ACH 1% (flat $6.25 above $625)
Condo Control	Larger condos with amenities, packages and security	Not published; quote by unit tier	Not published	Not published
Buildium	Management companies; Essential also fits small self-managed HOAs	Essential $65/mo; Growth from $202/mo; Premium from $420/mo	14-day trial, no card; no free plan	Incoming EFT $2.35 (Essential), $0.99 (Growth), none (Premium); card 2.99%
AppFolio	Management companies with large portfolios	From $1.49/unit/mo (Core), 50-unit minimum and minimum spend; HOA pricing by quote	Demo only; no trial published	Not published

Cost example

What does HOA software cost per year?

On published list prices, paid yearly, the products that publish prices cost from $348 to $4,191 a year at 50 to 400 units, before payment and mail fees. Vendors that only quote can’t be compared this way.

Yearly software cost at 50, 150 and 400 units on published list prices, paid yearly
Product	50 units	150 units	400 units
HOAOS	$500/yrSmall	$950/yrMedium	$1,950/yrLarge
PayHOA	$708/yrbefore AI add-on	$1,548/yrbefore AI add-on	$2,748/yrbefore AI add-on
HOA Express Engage	$348/yrwebsite + payments	$576/yrwebsite + payments	$732/yrwebsite + payments
Buildium Growth	$2,182/yrprepaid, plus onboarding	$3,305/yrprepaid, plus onboarding	$4,191/yrprepaid, plus onboarding
HOA Start, Condo Control, AppFolio	Quote only; no list price published

Software only, before taxes, one household or door per unit. PayHOA’s Gable AI add-on is on by default after three free months (about 50% of the plan price) and can be turned off. HOA Express Engage doesn’t include accounting, violations or voting, so its price covers a smaller job. The PayHOA 150- and 400-unit tiers, the HOA Express tiers above 25 households and the Buildium figures come from the vendors’ own price calculators as we recorded them on October 29, 2026; their headline prices were re-checked on November 3, 2026.

Product by product

What does each HOA software do well, and where does it fall short?

Best for governance + booksMade by DomoDomu

HOAOS

HOAOS is HOA software for self-managed boards that puts dues, a double-entry general ledger, violations, meetings and owner elections in one plan, with every feature on every plan.

Who it suits: Self-managed HOA and condo boards up to 500 units (per-unit pricing above), and managers who run several communities with one sign-in.
Published price: $50/mo up to 50 units, $95/mo up to 200, $195/mo up to 500. Paid yearly: $500, $950 or $1,950. No contract.
Trial / free plan: 30-day free trial with every feature, no card. No free plan.
Payment fees: Bank payments $2.45, or 0.8% if higher (max $5); card service fee shown at checkout. The board chooses who pays, and money settles to the association’s own bank account.
Standout features: Per-unit ledgers with automatic late fees; bank reconciliation; budgets and reserve funds with a 30-year projection; violations with hearings and fines; meetings with agendas, quorum and minutes; secret elections online, by proxy or on paper.
Drawbacks: Announcements by email only (no texts or voice calls); no native mobile app or public API; no weighted voting or video meeting hosting; email support only.

Best for reaching owners

PayHOA

PayHOA is HOA software for self-managed communities, priced by unit tier with every feature included, that stands out for unlimited email, text and voice-call messaging.

Who it suits: Self-managed boards whose owners respond to texts and calls, and that want lockbox check processing.
Published price: $49/mo (1–25 units) to $249/mo (401–500 units) paid yearly; $54–$275 paid monthly; $0.55 per unit a month above 500.
Trial / free plan: 30-day free trial, no card. No free plan.
Payment fees: ACH $2.45; card 3.5% + $0.50. Mailed letters $1.25 first class, $1.05 standard.
Standout features: Unlimited email, text and voice calls; ballots with proxies, weighting and ranked choice; lockbox with its partner bank; 1099 e-filing.
Drawbacks: The Gable AI add-on is on by default after three free months and adds about half the plan price unless turned off; no meetings or reserve-study module and no violation hearings published.

Best low-cost website

HOA Express

HOA Express is a community website builder for associations, with announcements, texts and simple online payments on its Engage plan and a free plan for small communities.

Who it suits: Associations that mainly need a website and a way to reach owners, while the books are kept elsewhere.
Published price: Free plan (with ads) up to 50 households; Inform from $15/mo and Engage from $21/mo billed yearly for up to 25 households, rising with household count. Yearly billing saves up to 14%.
Trial / free plan: Free plan, plus a 30-day trial with no card and a 30-day money-back guarantee; no setup fee.
Payment fees: US card 3.2% + $0.80; US bank account 1.4%, per its help center. Online payments are on Engage.
Standout features: A full website builder with a custom domain; blast email and text; surveys and polls; custom forms; resident directories.
Drawbacks: No accounting, unit ledgers or violation tracking published; no official owner voting (surveys and polls only); a percentage bank fee with no cap published.

Best for setup help

HOA Start

HOA Start is HOA management software with a mobile app, sold as a do-it-yourself plan or with paid guided onboarding and ongoing concierge services.

Who it suits: Boards that want help getting set up, or someone to handle newsletters, imports and invoice scheduling for them.
Published price: Not published. Price is quoted by the number of homes or units; plans are billed annually, with no long-term contract.
Trial / free plan: A trial is offered with no card; its length isn’t published. No free plan published.
Payment fees: Card 3.5% + $0.30; ACH 1% for items up to $625 and $6.25 above, per its help center. The board chooses whether owners pay the fee.
Standout features: Mobile app included; email and text blasts; online voting and polls; violations, ARC requests and work orders; amenity reservations; accounting and budgeting.
Drawbacks: No published price, so you can’t compare cost without a sales call; trial length not published; onboarding and concierge are add-ons.

Best for amenity-heavy condos

Condo Control

Condo Control is condo and HOA software “built for property management companies and self-managed condos and HOAs,” with building-operations add-ons such as packages and visitor parking.

Who it suits: Larger condominiums with amenities, a front desk or security staff, and the management companies that run them.
Published price: Not published. Three plans (Standard, Modern and Premium Living) are quoted by unit tier, from 0–49 units up to 5,000+.
Trial / free plan: Not published.
Payment fees: Not published.
Standout features: Accounting; resident portal and white-labelled app; e-voting, proxy voting and virtual meetings; agendas and minutes; add-ons for amenity booking, packages, visitor parking, voice and text, and an AI assistant.
Drawbacks: Quote-only pricing; several features are add-ons; more than a small self-managed HOA is likely to need.

Best for management companies

Buildium

Buildium is property and association management software designed for management companies, whose Essential plan also covers small self-managed associations.

Who it suits: Management companies running many associations and rentals; small self-managed associations on Essential (its association page says 40 units and under, though one part of the page says 150).
Published price: Essential $65/mo; Growth from $202/mo; Premium from $420/mo; 10% off paid annually. Its general pricing page asks associations to call for a quote.
Trial / free plan: 14-day free trial, no card. Onboarding is required on Growth and Premium; its fee isn’t published.
Payment fees: Incoming EFT $2.35 on Essential, $0.99 on Growth, no cost on Premium; card 2.99%; ePay setup $99 per bank account on Essential. Billed to the Buildium account.
Standout features: Board and committee portals; ARC requests with committee voting; resident and manager apps; association bank sync and an open API on Premium.
Drawbacks: Several times the price of self-managed tools above 40 units; required onboarding on larger plans; no owner elections, meetings or reserves module published.

Best for management companies

AppFolio

AppFolio is property management software for management companies, including community-association managers; its pages don’t address self-managed boards as buyers.

Who it suits: Management companies with large portfolios that want one system for associations and other property types.
Published price: Core from $1.49 per unit a month, Plus from $3.20, Max from $5.00, with a minimum spend and a 50-unit minimum on Core. Association pricing isn’t published.
Trial / free plan: No trial published; demo only.
Payment fees: Not published.
Standout features: Text and email; ARC requests; online payments; mobile violation tracking for field staff; AI-assisted invoice processing; HOA loan options.
Drawbacks: Built for professional managers, with minimums a volunteer board is unlikely to meet; quote-only for associations.

How should a self-managed board choose HOA software?

Choose by the work your board actually does, then compare the total yearly cost, including what owners or the association pay per online payment. A board that keeps its own books needs ledgers and reconciliation; a board with a manager or accountant may only need a website and messaging.

List the jobs first. Dues and late fees, the books, violations, architectural requests, meetings, elections, reserves, a website, messaging. Rule out anything that doesn’t cover the jobs you can’t do elsewhere.
Price the whole year. Add the subscription, any add-ons that are on by default, onboarding, and payment fees. On a $300 dues payment by bank, a flat $2.45 fee and a 1.4% fee ($4.20) differ by almost $2 a payment, every payment.
Check where the money goes. Ask whether owner payments settle straight to the association’s bank account or sit with the vendor first, and how long payouts take.
Match your governing documents. Your state’s law and your association’s bylaws and declaration set how meetings are noticed, how votes and proxies work, which records owners can see and how long you keep them. Make sure the software can do what your documents require, such as paper ballots or weighted votes.
Think about owners, not just the board. If many owners don’t read email, texts or mailed letters may matter more than any accounting feature.
Plan for turnover. Volunteer boards change. Prefer software where roles, history and documents stay with the association, and where you can export your data.
Trial with real data. Import your units, post one month of dues and run one meeting or notice before you commit.

Related reading: HOAOS vs PayHOA, HOAOS vs HOA Express, HOAOS vs Buildium and our free HOA budget template.

FAQ

Common questions

What is the best HOA software for a self-managed HOA?+

It depends on what the board does itself. PayHOA suits boards that want texts and calls, HOA Express suits boards that mainly want a low-cost website, HOA Start suits boards that want setup help, and HOAOS suits boards that run meetings, elections, violations and reserve planning alongside their own books. Buildium and AppFolio are built mainly for management companies.

Is there free HOA software?+

Yes, with limits. HOA Express has a free plan, with ads, for up to 50 households, covering a community website, documents and calendar but not online payments. PayHOA and HOAOS offer 30-day free trials instead of free plans, and Buildium offers a 14-day trial.

How much does HOA software cost for a self-managed association?+

On published list prices, a 150-unit association pays about $576 a year for HOA Express Engage, $950 for HOAOS Medium and $1,548 for PayHOA, paid yearly, before payment fees. Buildium Growth costs about $3,305 a year at that size, and HOA Start, Condo Control and AppFolio quote prices individually.

Who pays the online payment fees for HOA dues?+

Usually the board decides. HOAOS, PayHOA, HOA Express and HOA Start all let the association either absorb the processing fee or pass it on to the owner who pays, while Buildium bills ePay fees to the association’s Buildium account by default.

Can a self-managed HOA use Buildium or AppFolio?+

Buildium’s Essential plan, at $65 a month, is aimed at small self-managed associations (its association page says 40 units and under). AppFolio is built for management companies, with a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend on its Core plan, and its association pages don’t address self-managed boards.

Does DomoDomu make HOAOS?+

Yes. DomoDomu makes HOAOS, which is why this roundup cites every competitor fact to the vendor’s own public pages, lists HOAOS’s own drawbacks, and describes which board each product suits rather than ranking them.

Sources

Competitor prices, trials and fees checked on November 3, 2026 from each company’s public website. Pricing and features change; check each vendor for current details. Some feature details for PayHOA, HOA Express and Buildium come from our individual comparisons, checked October 29, 2026.

payhoa.com/pricing — tiers, AI add-on, trial, payment and mail fees
payhoa.com/features — email, text and calls
payhoa.com/features — voting
hoa-express.com/pricing — plans, household tiers, features, trial
help.hoa-express.com — online payment fees
hoastart.com/pricing — plans, services, billing, features
hoastart.com/trial — trial terms
help.hoastart.com — payment fees
condocontrol.com — audience and features
condocontrol.com/pricing — plans, unit tiers, add-ons
buildium.com/portfolios/association-management-software — association plans, calculator, ePay fees
buildium.com/pricing — plans, trial, onboarding
appfolio.com/pricing — plans, per-unit prices, minimums
appfolio.com/community-associations — audience and features

PayHOA, HOA Express, HOA Start, Condo Control, Buildium and AppFolio are trademarks of their respective owners. All trademarks belong to their respective owners; DomoDomu is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies. This page compares published information and isn’t an assessment of any company.

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