HOA AND CONDO SOFTWARE

HOA Start alternative for self-managed HOAs and condos

HOA Start is a neighborhood website with dues collection and communications attached, sold to self-managed boards and priced by the number of homes.

HOA Start is a neighborhood website with dues collection and a board election attached, published from $39 a month charged annually by number of homes. governance.center is the governance year without the website, from $348 a year for up to 50 members. Pick HOA Start if the board wants a public site and money moving through it; pick governance.center if the board wants the notice, the minutes and the record to survive a challenge.

What we do for self-managed HOAs and condos Call or text (512) 222-8191

WHO WROTE THIS

A vendor making its case, and saying so first.

governance.center is from the team behind vote.direct.

vote.direct is operated by Syft8, Inc. and is 100% owned by its founder, Oday Brahem, with no outside investors. Who owns a voting platform is worth knowing before you trust it with an election, so this one is on the record: the person who owns the company is the person who builds the software and answers (512) 222-8191.

Competitors change their pricing and their features without notice, and these are re-read every quarter. If you work at one of these companies, or you are a customer who finds something here that is out of date or wrong, email [email protected] and it will be corrected.

WHAT HOA START DOES WELL

Read this part first.

Everything below was read off their own pages on the date this page names. Where they are better at something, that is what this section is for.

It collects dues online through Stripe, one time or recurring, in one click for the member.
It gives the neighborhood a public website, which we do not do at all.
Its "Boardroom" runs video sessions for board meetings inside the same product.
It lets members vote for the board of directors in an election.

THE PRICE, WITH ITS SOURCE

What HOA Start publishes

Read on September 1, 2026 from https://www.hoastart.com/pricing. Prices change without notice, so confirm on their page before your board acts. These are re-read every quarter.

WHEN TO BUY THEIRS

Choose HOA Start when this is you.

These are real situations, not straw men. If one of them describes your organization, buy the other product and do not let this page talk you out of it.

You need a public website for the neighborhood. We do not build one, and HOA Start does.
You need dues collected online through Stripe rather than recorded as marks.
Your board meets by video and wants the meeting room in the same product as the roster.

WHEN TO BUY OURS

Choose governance.center when this is you.

You need the record more than the website: the notice with a state lead time, minutes that file themselves into the record, numbered resolutions, and a printable sign-in sheet.
No member of your organization ever creates a password. They get a link and the link opens their own page. The officers who administer the workspace sign in; nobody else does.
One price for the whole organization. $348 a year for up to 50 members, billed once a year, and every band gets every module. We do not charge by the seat and we do not lock a feature behind a tier.
The paper exists. The meeting notice, the agenda, the sign-in sheet with its signature and proxy columns, the approved minutes, the resolution, the dues statement and the dues reminder letter each render as a PDF a board can put in a binder or drop in the mail.
A phone number that a person answers: (512) 222-8191. Send us your roster and we set the community up for you on that call, and there is no charge for it.

WHAT WE CHARGE

One annual price for the whole organization.

Size, not seats. Every band gets every module, and the annual number is the number your board approves.

Up to 50 members$348 a year ($29 a month)

Up to 100 members$588 a year ($49 a month)

Up to 300 members$1,188 a year ($99 a month)

Up to 1,000 members$1,788 a year ($149 a month)

Pay by card, or ask for an invoice and send a check. Many boards cannot put a card on file at all, and that is a normal way to buy this rather than an exception we grudgingly allow.

WHAT WE DO NOT DO

The limits, before you find them.

A comparison page that lists only the other product's gaps is not a comparison. Here are ours.

No payment processing. Dues and assessments are marks in a record. The money moves between the member and the association, never through us, and no bank account is connected to this software.
No violations. There is no violation notice, no fine ladder and no hearing tracker here. If your board needs one, say so on the phone and we will tell you honestly whether it is coming.
No work orders. Maintenance requests, vendors, bids and work orders stay with your management or accounting software. We run the governance year, not the property.
No legal advice. Where we quote a statute we say it is our reading, to support your review, not legal advice, and we tell you to have your attorney confirm it before the board acts. We never tell a board that it is compliant.
No inspector of elections in California. Cal. Civ. Code 5110(b) disqualifies anyone under contract to the association for other compensable services, and the association pays us for the software. California boards get a published directory of independent inspector firms instead, and we take no part of their fee.

Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts. We never tell a board that it is compliant.

HOA START AND GOVERNANCE.CENTER

Answers, before you have to call.

Is governance.center a good alternative to HOA Start?

What does HOA Start cost?

HOA Start publishes three plans, charged annually and priced by the number of homes in the neighborhood: Professional at "Packages Start at $39/mo", Premium starting at $49 a month and White-Glove starting at $149 a month. Read on September 1, 2026 from https://www.hoastart.com/pricing. Prices change without notice, so confirm on their page before your board acts.

What does governance.center cost?

$348 a year for a community of up to 50 members, which is $29 a month, billed once a year. The published ladder runs to $1,788 a year for up to 1,000 members. Every band gets every module, and larger organizations pay more only because they have more members.

Do our members need a login or an app?

No. A member gets a link and the link opens their own page. Nobody creates a password and nobody installs anything. The officers who administer the workspace do sign in.

When should we stay with HOA Start?

You need a public website for the neighborhood. We do not build one, and HOA Start does. You need dues collected online through Stripe rather than recorded as marks. Your board meets by video and wants the meeting room in the same product as the roster.

Who wrote this comparison, and is it independent?

governance.center publishes this comparison and sells one of the products in it, so read it as a vendor making its case rather than as independent research. Every competitor fact on this page was read off that company's own public pages on September 1, 2026, the page says which page each one came from, and where a competitor is the better buy this page says so and says why. Competitors change their pricing and their features without notice, and these are re-read every quarter. If you work at one of these companies, or you are a customer who finds something here that is out of date or wrong, email [email protected] and it will be corrected.

THE SHORTEST WAY IN

Send us your roster. We set it up on the phone.

No form to fill in first, no demo to sit through, and the person who answers is the person who builds the software.

Call or text (512) 222-8191 Set up your organization