HOA AND CONDO SOFTWARE
PayHOA alternative for self-managed HOAs and condos
PayHOA is dues and accounting software for self-managed associations. Its job is the money: invoices, online payments, the bank connection and the ledger.
PayHOA and governance.center solve different halves of a self-managed association. PayHOA collects the money, publishing a unit-count ladder from $49 a month billed yearly. governance.center runs the governance year, from $348 a year for up to 50 members: the notice, the meeting, the minutes, the resolution, the record and the election. Boards that need both commonly run both, and we never ask you to move your accounting.
WHO WROTE THIS
A vendor making its case, and saying so first.
governance.center is from the team behind vote.direct.
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.
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 If you work at one of these companies, or you are a customer who finds something here that is out of date or wrong, email [email protected] and it will be corrected.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 PAYHOA 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 the dues. Online payments, a bank connection and syncing, incoming ACH at $2.45 and incoming card payments at 3.5% plus $0.50 are all listed on its own pricing page.
- It publishes its whole price ladder by unit count, so a treasurer can read the number before calling anyone.
- It lists "Voting & Surveys" among its features, so a simple poll does not need a second product.
THE PRICE, WITH ITS SOURCE
What PayHOA publishes
PayHOA publishes its price by unit count, billed yearly: $49 a month for 0 to 25 units, $59 for 26 to 50, $99 for 51 to 100, $129 for 101 to 150, $169 for 151 to 200, $199 for 201 to 300, $229 for 301 to 400 and $249 for 401 to 500. Above 500 units it is $0.55 per unit per month with a $275 monthly minimum.
Read on September 1, 2026 from https://payhoa.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 PayHOA 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 the dues actually collected. PayHOA takes ACH and card payments and syncs to your bank. We record marks in a register and never touch the money, so if collection is the problem, buy PayHOA.
- You want the ledger, the invoices and the payment history in the same product as the owner list.
- Your board wants one bill for accounting and communications rather than two products, and is content to run the annual meeting on paper.
WHEN TO BUY OURS
Choose governance.center when this is you.
- Your problem is the annual meeting, not the ledger. The notice with its state lead time, the agenda, the sign-in sheet, the minutes, the resolution and the board election are the rooms we built.
- 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.
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.
PAYHOA AND GOVERNANCE.CENTER
Answers, before you have to call.
Is governance.center a good alternative to PayHOA?
PayHOA and governance.center solve different halves of a self-managed association. PayHOA collects the money, publishing a unit-count ladder from $49 a month billed yearly. governance.center runs the governance year, from $348 a year for up to 50 members: the notice, the meeting, the minutes, the resolution, the record and the election. Boards that need both commonly run both, and we never ask you to move your accounting.
What does PayHOA cost?
PayHOA publishes its price by unit count, billed yearly: $49 a month for 0 to 25 units, $59 for 26 to 50, $99 for 51 to 100, $129 for 101 to 150, $169 for 151 to 200, $199 for 201 to 300, $229 for 301 to 400 and $249 for 401 to 500. Above 500 units it is $0.55 per unit per month with a $275 monthly minimum. Read on September 1, 2026 from https://payhoa.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 PayHOA?
You need the dues actually collected. PayHOA takes ACH and card payments and syncs to your bank. We record marks in a register and never touch the money, so if collection is the problem, buy PayHOA. You want the ledger, the invoices and the payment history in the same product as the owner list. Your board wants one bill for accounting and communications rather than two products, and is content to run the annual meeting on paper.
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.
NEXT
Where to go from here.
What governance.center is for self-managed HOAs and condos
The whole governance year, in the words of the organization you actually run.
Read the page
Read the price
The whole ladder, the annual number first, and what sits outside it.
See every band
Every alternative
The twelve products a board, a club or a congregation gets recommended, and who each one is for.
Back to the shelf
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.