HOA software is priced four ways, and the sticker number is rarely the number an association pays. A free tier stops at a unit count. A flat monthly plan steps up in brackets. A per-unit rate hides behind a monthly minimum. And at the top of the market there is no price at all, only a sales call. Here is what each model costs a real association, and the four questions that expose the difference.
The short version
- Free tiers are real but capped, typically at 25 to 50 units, and often strip out the governance tools.
- Flat plans for small associations run about $45 to $55 a month and step up roughly every 50 units.
- Per-unit plans run about $1 to $5 per unit per month, but most carry a $280 to $400 monthly minimum, which is the real price for anything under 200 units.
- The largest platforms publish no price. The rate is negotiated per firm, and no firm knows what the next one pays.
- Ask four questions: the unit cap, the minimum, what is an add-on, and whether the price is published.
In this guide
The four pricing models
The free tier. Several platforms offer a perpetually free plan for very small communities. The published caps run from about 25 to 50 units, and the free plan usually covers a community website, document storage and dues tracking. Board meetings, rule-making, violations and the compliance calendar tend to be where the paid tier begins.
The flat monthly plan. The most common model for self-managed associations. Published entry prices in 2026 cluster around $45 to $55 a month for the smallest bracket, typically up to 25 or 50 units, then step up by bracket: roughly $100 to $110 for 51 to 100 units, $140 to $200 for the next tier, and a floor of $275 or more once an association passes 500 units. Per-unit, the effective rate falls as the association grows, which is the model working as designed.
The per-unit plan with a minimum. Platforms built for management firms price per unit per month, and the published per-unit rates look modest: about $1.25 to $1.50 on one, a category range of roughly $1 to $5, with some as high as $6.50. The number that matters is the minimum. Published monthly minimums of $280 to $400, and on at least one platform a 50-unit floor, mean a 60-unit association pays the minimum whatever the per-unit rate says.
The quote. The largest platforms in the category publish no price. Pricing is described as based on portfolio size and configured to the firm, and it arrives after a demo and a discovery call. Published starting points, where they exist at all, begin around $500 a month. The rate a firm negotiates is confidential, so no firm knows whether the firm across town pays less. The only published figures for these platforms are add-ons: one lists an AI module at $0.54 per door, another prices some seats at $250 per user.
What free usually means
Three things to read before the word.
The cap. A free plan for communities under 25 units excludes most associations that have a board at all. Check the number against your unit count, and check whether the cap is on units, on owners, or on users.
The strip. Free tiers are usually built from the communication features: a website, announcements, a document library. The governance work, notices, comment periods, enforcement, is where the plan turns paid, and it is the part a volunteer board most needs done right.
The trial. "Free" on a pricing page sometimes means a 14- or 30-day trial of the paid plan. A trial is a sales step, not a price. If the page says "free to start", ask what happens on day 31.
The math for three association sizes
Take the published ranges above and apply them.
| Association | Free tier | Flat plan | Per-unit plan with minimum | Effective cost per unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 units, self-managed | Usually over the cap | About $50 a month | $280 to $400 minimum applies | $1.25 on the flat plan; $7 to $10 on a per-unit plan, because of the minimum |
| 200 units, one manager | Over the cap | About $140 to $200 a month | $300 at $1.50 a unit; the minimum no longer binds | $0.70 to $1.50; roundups put the real range at $300 to $600 a month |
| 2,000 units, a firm's book | Not offered | Brackets top out; move to per-unit | $3,000 to $10,000 a month at $1.50 to $5.00 | Whatever the quote says. It is not published. |
Two things the table shows. Below about 200 units, the monthly minimum is the price, and a per-unit plan is the most expensive option per unit by a wide margin. Above it, the per-unit rate is the price, and the spread between $1 and $5 a unit is a factor of five on the same association. A rule of thumb from the 2026 roundups: a 30-unit self-managed community should be paying $30 to $90 a month, and if it pays more it is paying for features it does not use.
The four questions to ask
Where ResLife sits
For completeness, since this is our site: ResLife's operational tools are free to use with no unit cap and no trial, and the only paid service is financials at a published $1.00 per unit per month, the same at any size, with no minimum. An association that collects assessments online through the free tools pays a $0.50 + 0.25% processing add-on per payment on top of Stripe's rates. The full rate card is on the pricing page, and the free plan is described on the free HOA software page. Run the four questions against it the same way you would against anyone else.
Sources: published pricing pages of the platforms described, read in September 2026, and the 2026 category roundups and review listings, including Capterra's HOA software category, Software Connect and Join It's pricing guide. Ranges are rounded; check the current page before relying on any figure.