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Some links are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do not accept payment for rankings, and we do not invent star ratings.

PickHOA

Listing

SpotHOA

Free-forever self-managed HOA software for small US boards (dues via Stripe, append-only ledger, documents, meetings, votes), with Pro at $29/mo — but the FAQ still says Free caps at 25 units while pricing and Terms say 50.

Self-managed boards Free / freemium 1–100 units Dues/billing only — not fund accounting

SpotHOA (spothoa.com) is self-managed HOA software for small US volunteer boards: dues collection, an append-only community ledger, documents, violations, meetings, votes, and a homeowner feed in one place. JSON-LD on the homepage lists founding in 2026 in Dallas, Texas. The About page names a builder Jeff and says it was built in Dallas. Legal pages use the brand SpotHOA only — Terms (last updated April 25, 2026), Privacy (last updated October 6, 2026), and DMCA all mail to SpotHOA, P.O. Box 140572, Dallas, TX 75214. No LLC, Inc, or other legal-entity string appears on those pages. Contact lines include hello@spothoa.com, legal@spothoa.com, privacy@spothoa.com, dmca@spothoa.com, and phone (380) 268-2046. Terms set Texas law with AAA arbitration in Dallas County, Texas (30-day email opt-out). Version 1 is US HOAs only. Footer: © 2026 SpotHOA · Made in Texas · data hosted in the United States. www.spothoa.com resolves to the apex host.

Audience is self-managed. The product page is explicit that SpotHOA is for small self-managed HOAs and is not rent-roll, commercial property, enterprise CAM, single-family rental tooling, or a tool for paid property managers. The FAQ says communities above roughly 100 units, with commercial amenities, or needing on-site maintenance dispatch are better served by a property manager. Schema range is 1–100 units, matching the published self-serve Pro ceiling on the pricing page; above 100 the same page says Talk to sales for a custom tier.

Pricing (researched October 15, 2026):

  • Free — $0/month. Pricing, free product page, homepage, and Terms: up to 50 active units. Includes ACH and card dues via Stripe Connect, homeowner records and ledger, document vault (500 MB), meeting minutes and votes, community feed, 1,000 emails/month, CSV and PDF export. No credit card to start. Homeowners pay a 2% online payment fee at checkout when they pay dues online.
  • Pro — $29/month flat, billed monthly in advance, one card, no contract, cancel anytime (drops to Free at period end; no prorated refunds). Pricing/FAQ: up to 100 active units, 10 GB storage, 10,000 emails/month, AI-drafted paperwork, Texas compliance pack, priority email support. Homeowners pay 1% online on Pro.
  • Over 100 units: pricing and FAQ say Talk to sales / custom tier. The About page also says there is no enterprise tier and no required sales call — a framing conflict with the sales CTA.

How money moves: dues settle in the HOA’s own Stripe account; SpotHOA says it never holds or pools funds. Stripe’s own processing (vendor cites 2.9% + $0.30 cards; 0.8% capped at $5 ACH) rides on the gross charge. Boards can toggle absorbing Stripe fees. Only money that actually flows through Stripe is fee-bearing; mailed checks recorded manually incur $0 SpotHOA convenience fee.

Conflicts to read before you buy:

  1. Free unit cap: FAQ still says Free is up to 25 active units and walks a 30-unit example as Pro at $29. /pricing, /free-hoa-software, homepage, and Terms §07 say Free up to 50.
  2. Pro unit cap: Terms §07 say Pro is for unlimited units plus AI and state compliance packs. Pricing and FAQ cap Pro at 100 then custom.
  3. Platform fee wording: Terms §05 describe a 1% SpotHOA platform fee on successful Stripe dues (default passed to homeowner; board can absorb). Marketing Free/Pro pages split 2% / 1%.
  4. AI on Free vs Pro: /product/ai argues AI drafting is why to pick SpotHOA over free competitors and leads with Start free; the pricing feature table marks AI-drafted paperwork as Pro-only. Privacy lists Anthropic for opt-in Generate drafts (minutes, violation notices, dues reminders); Terms say AI output is a starting draft, not legal advice, and is not used to train on HOA data.
  5. About vs pricing on enterprise: About says no enterprise tier; pricing still offers Talk to sales above 100 units.

What the product emphasizes beyond dues: an append-only ledger (every payment, vote, violation as a timestamped event; corrections as new entries; content hashes and chain checkpoints; daily integrity check) — see embezzlement / money controls and Trust. Trust also cites trailing 90-day uptime 94.84% across monitored components (vendor figure on that page). Roles are fixed (president, treasurer, secretary, board member, owner, tenant). Mobile guidance is install-to-home-screen / responsive web, not a separate native app store listing. Interactive demo needs no signup.

Accounting depth for schema is dues-only: published strength is dues AR, Stripe collection, and an append-only dues/governance event ledger with exports — not a verified multi-fund general ledger, period locks, or reserve study product like HOAfy or VlgeHOA.

Customer proof is thin on October 15, 2026. Reddit r/HOA search JSON was blocked to our curl (HTML shell only); web search of r/HOA threads did not surface SpotHOA by name. X search for SpotHOA / spothoa.com returned 0 posts. G2 and Capterra URLs returned 403 to our checks and are not linked here.

Honest assessment: SpotHOA is a strong free-forever + live Stripe dues candidate for small self-managed US boards that care about board-turnover continuity and a flat $29 Pro step. Confirm the live Free unit cap and fee schedule in-product (FAQ vs pricing still disagree). Boards that need deeper books should look at HOAfy, VlgeHOA, or DuesIQ. Other free or freemium self-managed options already listed include GnomeOwner, KindHOA, HOA Ally, HOA Express, and the free bylaw concierge at Communities. Paid self-managed peers with published pricing include PayHOA, BoardStack, and Stewardly. Large or professionally managed portfolios still belong on CAM tools such as Buildium or AppFolio.

Sources

Best for

Volunteer boards of small US self-managed HOAs (roughly under 50–100 units) that want a real free forever plan with live Stripe dues and an append-only community ledger, and can live with Texas-centric compliance packaging plus published unit-cap and fee conflicts between FAQ and pricing.

Pricing notes

Official pricing, free, FAQ, and Terms pages researched October 15, 2026. Free: $0/mo up to 50 active units on the pricing page, free page, homepage, and Terms (April 25, 2026) — but the FAQ still says Free is up to 25 active units; Free includes ACH and card dues via Stripe Connect, homeowner records and append-only ledger, document vault (500 MB), meeting minutes and votes, community feed, 1,000 emails/mo, CSV and PDF export; homeowners pay a 2% online payment fee at checkout on Free. Pro: $29/mo flat, billed monthly, no contract; up to 100 active units on pricing/FAQ (Terms §07 say unlimited units plus AI and state compliance packs); 10 GB storage, 10,000 emails/mo, AI-drafted paperwork, Texas compliance pack, priority email support; homeowners pay 1% online on Pro. Over 100 units: Talk to sales / custom tier on pricing and FAQ (About page also says there is no enterprise tier). Stripe processing rides on the gross charge (vendor cites 2.9%+$0.30 cards; 0.8% capped at $5 ACH); dues land in the HOA's own Stripe account. Boards can absorb Stripe fees in billing settings. Terms §05 always describe a 1% SpotHOA platform fee (boards can absorb it) — marketing pages split 2% Free / 1% Pro. Cancel Pro anytime; plan drops to Free at period end; no prorated refunds. US HOAs only (Terms).