Honest comparisons · 7 min read
Best HOA Software for Small Self-Managed HOAs (2026)
For a small self-managed HOA in 2026, the short list is GnomeOwner if you want a free plan and the lowest all-in cost, PayHOA if you want the most established tool with the longest review record, Buildium if your books need property-manager depth, MoneyMinder if you only need bookkeeping, and a spreadsheet plus a bank account if you have about 10 units or fewer with flat annual dues. GnomeOwner usually costs the least all-in at typical dues, because its subscription is lower and its board assistant is included, while PayHOA's Gable AI is a paid add-on after three free months.
I build GnomeOwner and I'm the volunteer president of a small self-managed condo, so weigh this with that in mind. I've tried to write it the way I'd want it at 10pm before a board meeting: real prices, checked on the vendors' own pages, and the places another tool is the better choice.
The short list
- GnomeOwner: best for small boards that want a free plan and the lowest all-in cost. Free forever for the whole board, with a paid plan from $29 a month (the founding rate for our first 150 HOAs, $39 after). Answers from your own bylaws with the section cited, a compliance calendar with the statute behind every deadline, and owner payments straight into the HOA's own bank account.
- PayHOA: best established all-in-one. From $49 a month billed yearly for up to 25 units, a flat $2.45 per bank payment, and hundreds of reviews on Capterra and G2. Its Gable AI assistant is on by default, free for 3 months, then $24.50 a month on that plan.
- Buildium: best when your books need property-manager depth. From $65 a month, built for property managers with a full general ledger and multi-property accounting.
- MoneyMinder: best if you only need bookkeeping. $299 a year for cash-based books built for volunteer treasurers, with a checkout for collecting dues.
- A spreadsheet and a dedicated bank account: best for about 10 units or fewer with flat annual dues and nothing to schedule. Add QuickBooks Online ($38 a month list) if you want real books.
Already have a management company, or 300+ units with staff? You're shopping for firm tools like TownSq, Vantaca or CINC instead, which are built for managers running many communities.
How do they compare?
| GnomeOwner | PayHOA | Buildium | MoneyMinder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small volunteer boards | Established all-in-one | Property-manager books | Bookkeeping only |
| Free plan | Yes, forever, whole board | No (30-day trial) | No | No (30-day trial) |
| Starting price | $29/mo founding, then $39 (up to 25 units) | $49/mo billed yearly (up to 25 units) | $65/mo | $299/yr |
| AI assistant | Included: 25 questions a month free, more on paid | Gable AI add-on, $24.50/mo after 3 free months | Premium tier only | Not published |
| Bank payment fee | 0.75% + Stripe's 0.8%, never more than $10 | $2.45 flat | Varies by plan | Not published |
| Residents ever surcharged | Never | Board chooses who pays | Not published | Not published |
| Where the money goes | Straight to your HOA's bank account | Straight to your HOA's bank account | Not published | Not published |
Prices checked on each vendor's own pricing page on November 8, 2026.
What will it really cost us?
A 25-home HOA collecting the U.S. median $135 a month by bank transfer pays $81.25 a month all-in on GnomeOwner at the founding rate ($91.25 at $39), versus $134.75 on PayHOA with Gable AI. "All-in" means the subscription, every bank fee and the AI assistant. Enter your own numbers below.
- Dues go straight to your HOAInto its own bank account. We never hold funds.
- $29 a month up to 25 homesFounding rate ($39 for boards joining later). $59 up to 100 homes.
- Never more than $10 a paymentOur fee plus Stripe's, on any bank payment.
- A free plan that doesn't expireAssistant, documents and compliance calendar.
- Answers from your own documentsEach answer cites the section it came from.
- A compliance calendar for all 50 statesEach deadline cites its statute or bylaw.
Your board’s monthly cost
Enter your numbers. We start at the U.S. median HOA fee.
GnomeOwner is $53.50 lower a month at these numbers.
Residents pay by bank transfer each month. Totals include the plan and every bank fee. PayHOA’s annual-billed price and $2.45 fee, checked 2026-10-08, plus its Gable AI add-on from $24.50 a month after 3 free months (our assistant is included). Starting point: $135, the 2024 U.S. median (Census).
Collecting once a year lowers fees for both.
Bigger community? 50 to 300 homes
Monthly cost with residents paying monthly by bank transfer. PayHOA includes its Gable AI add-on at its lowest published price.
| Homes | Dues | GnomeOwner | PayHOA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $135 | $163.50 | $206.00 |
| 50 | $200 | $214.00 | $206.00 |
| 100 | $135 | $268.00 | $368.50 |
| 100 | $200 | $369.00 | $368.50 |
| 300 | $135 | $826.00 | $958.50 |
| 300 | $200 | $1,129.00 | $958.50 |
PayHOA costs less once dues pass about $190 a payment at 50 homes, $200 at 100, and $164 at 300.
Pros and cons
GnomeOwner
- Dues go straight to your HOA’s own bank account
- $29 a month up to 25 homes (founding rate)
- Free plan with the assistant and compliance calendar
- Answers cite the section of your own documents
- Never more than $10 per bank payment
- Bank-payment fees are a percentage (never more than $10 a payment), so on dues above about $158 a payment, PayHOA’s flat $2.45 is lower
- Newer, with far fewer public reviews
- Owners paying online needs a paid plan
- No phone app or member voting yet
PayHOA
- Flat $2.45 per bank payment, at any amount
- Long track record: 280 G2 and 720 Capterra reviews
- 30-day trial, no card required
- No free plan
- Boards can charge homeowners a fee to cover payment costs
- Starts at $49 a month, billed yearly
PayHOA facts from its pricing page and its help center’s Payment fees article (updated 2026-07-17), checked 2026-10-08. Review counts seen 2026-09-19.
At the same $135 dues, here's how it looks at a few sizes:
| Homes | GnomeOwner (founding / $39 rate) | PayHOA with Gable AI |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $49.90 / $59.90 | $98.00 |
| 25 | $81.25 / $91.25 | $134.75 |
| 50 | $163.50 | $206.00 |
PayHOA publishes Gable's price only for its smallest plan ($24.50 billed yearly) and says it grows with community size, so above 25 homes these PayHOA figures are a minimum. A board that turns Gable off pays $24.50 less.
Where is PayHOA the better pick?
On big individual payments. PayHOA charges a flat $2.45 per bank payment. Our fee is a percentage (0.75% plus Stripe's 0.8%, both capped), so once a single payment passes about $158, each payment costs less on PayHOA. That matters for a board with high monthly dues or a large special assessment. PayHOA has the scale to negotiate better processing rates than we can yet, and the flat fee is the result.
Counting every fee and the AI add-on, PayHOA becomes the cheaper option overall once dues pass about $273 a month at 25 homes on our founding rate ($247 at $39), $190 at 50 homes, and $200 at 100 homes.
PayHOA also has a much longer review record, every core feature on every plan, and storage it publishes as unlimited. If those matter more to your board than a free plan and included AI, it's a solid choice.
Can it answer questions from our bylaws, and show the source?
Test this before you buy. Upload your real declaration and bylaws and ask something you already know the answer to. Check three things: does the answer cite the specific section, does it say "not in your documents" instead of guessing, and does it notice when a later amendment changed the rule? An answer that cites the original declaration while an amendment changed it is a wrong answer with a citation attached. We wrote up a full 12-question test you can run on any tool, including ours. GnomeOwner's Board Assistant is included on every plan: 25 questions a month on the free plan, and many more on paid plans.
How do residents pay, and what do they see?
On GnomeOwner's paid plans, residents pay by bank transfer or card through Stripe, see their balance and history in a portal, and pay exactly their dues: no surcharge or convenience fee, ever. Bank transfer is always free for residents; if the board accepts cards, the HOA covers that cost. On the free plan you can still bill every unit and record check or Zelle payments in your books yourself; paid plans let owners pay online, and every payment records itself. Whatever you evaluate, ask each vendor in writing whether residents are ever charged anything beyond their dues.
What happens at board turnover?
Turnover is the biggest reason records get lost. Before you sign up anywhere, ask: can every board member export everything, at any time, without contacting support? Does the account belong to the association or to whoever set it up? Does every board member get their own login? On GnomeOwner, export is never behind a paid plan and every board member gets their own login. If you're already missing records, see what to do when a board member leaves with them.
What does onboarding and support look like?
The bar for a volunteer board is no consultant and no data-entry weekend. Look for a tool that reads a scanned PDF of your governing documents directly instead of making you retype them, and ask what's ready on day one. Check that pricing is published on the site rather than behind "contact us." GnomeOwner has published pricing, a 45-day full trial with no card, and a real support email.
What does GnomeOwner not do yet?
Every tool has a gap list, and you should see ours before signing up:
- No member voting or election certification yet. It's on the roadmap, state by state.
- No native mobile app. The portal works in a phone browser.
- Not a law firm or CPA. The compliance calendar cites the statute behind each deadline, but it's a reminder with a citation, not legal advice.
- No general architectural-review workflow beyond leasing permits today.
- A short review record. We're new, and PayHOA has years of reviews.
FAQ
What is the best HOA software for a small self-managed HOA? For most small volunteer boards, GnomeOwner or PayHOA. GnomeOwner has a free plan, includes its assistant and costs less all-in at typical dues; PayHOA is more established and costs less per payment when individual payments are large.
Is a spreadsheet and a bank account enough for a small HOA? For about 10 units or fewer, flat annual dues and nothing to schedule, yes. Software earns its keep once dues are monthly, questions repeat, or a deadline gets missed.
What does HOA software cost a 25-unit community? At the U.S. median $135 a month per home, paid by bank transfer: $81.25 a month all-in on GnomeOwner at the founding rate, $91.25 at $39, and $134.75 on PayHOA with its Gable AI add-on ($110.25 without it).
Does any HOA software have a real free plan? GnomeOwner's free plan is free forever for the whole board: records, the compliance calendar, meetings and minutes, dues billing with payments you record yourself (check or Zelle), 5 GB of storage, and 25 assistant questions a month. PayHOA, Buildium and MoneyMinder offer trials, not free plans.
Can the assistant misread our governing documents? Any assistant can be wrong, which is why the citation matters more than the answer. Check the cited section yourself, and treat a tool that won't show its source as a red flag.
What happens to our records if we switch later? They should be exportable in full, at any time, by any board member, for free. Ask before you sign up.
For line-by-line pricing kept current, see our comparison page, GnomeOwner vs PayHOA, vs Buildium, PayHOA alternatives, and what HOA software actually costs. New to the role? Start with how to run a self-managed HOA.
Start free at gnomeowner.com: 45 days with every feature unlocked, no card, no sales call.
Travis Sawyer
Founder of GnomeOwner and volunteer board president of a small self-managed condo association, which is where every one of these guides starts.
More guides
- HOA Annual Meeting Requirements: Notice, Quorum and Proxies by StateAn HOA annual meeting is an owners' meeting your state and bylaws require each year. See notice windows, quorum and proxy rules for 10 states.
- How to Test an HOA Bylaws Q&A Tool Before Relying on ItTest an HOA bylaws Q&A tool with 12 questions you already know the answers to. Open every citation and re-test after each amendment.
- How to Leave Your HOA Management Company and Self-Manage: A 90-Day PlanLeaving an HOA management company takes about 90 days: read the contract, assign the jobs, give written notice, then move the records, money and vendors.
- Form 1120-H vs Form 1120: Which Tax Return Should Your HOA File?Most small HOAs file Form 1120-H: member dues stay untaxed and other income is taxed at 30%. Who qualifies, when Form 1120 can cost less, and the deadline.