Overview

SpotHOA focuses on the administrative work handled by volunteer board members: collecting dues, keeping association records, managing violations, and organizing meetings and votes. A permanent, timestamped ledger records dues, votes and violations as append-only events, giving a board a consistent history of those activities. That emphasis suits communities that want an auditable record without adopting software aimed at professional property managers.

The scope is deliberately specific. SpotHOA is not designed for paid property managers, landlords, enterprise property management or rental operations. Version 1 supports US-based HOAs only, and account creators must be at least 18 and located in the United States.

Key features

The document vault stores governing documents, meeting minutes and financial records, with tags, categories and role-based access. That structure can help volunteer officers keep shared records organized while limiting access by role. Card and ACH dues collection runs through Stripe Connect Standard; boards can also record check and cash payments manually. Dues flow through the HOA’s own Stripe account, and SpotHOA does not hold, pool or route the funds.

AI can draft violation letters, meeting summaries and dues reminders. These tools may reduce routine writing for volunteer officers, though the board remains responsible for reviewing communications before sending them. An in-app community feed, messages with replies and a daily email digest give residents and board members several ways to follow association updates.

Data is partitioned by HOA, with isolation enforced by automated tests; data is encrypted in transit with TLS and hosted in the United States. Support access is read-only, and each support session is logged. SpotHOA says it does not sell data, use advertising or retargeting cookies, or train machine-learning models on HOA data. Free and Pro users can export ledger, vault, member and meeting records as CSV and PDF; account deletion has a 14-day grace period. Those controls give boards useful safeguards and an exit path, though they do not replace a board’s own recordkeeping policies.

Pricing

SpotHOA has a free plan and one paid plan, with no free trial. The choice is straightforward: Free covers basic administration for smaller associations, while Pro raises the storage, email and unit ceilings and adds AI drafting, a Texas compliance pack and priority email support.

Plan	Price	What it includes	Best fit
Free	Free (billed $0 / month)	Up to 50 active units, 500 MB document storage, 1,000 emails / month, ACH and card dues collection, homeowner records and ledger, meeting minutes and votes.	New or small volunteer boards that can stay within the unit, storage and email caps.
Pro	29.00 USD per month (billed $29 / month, billed monthly)	Up to 100 active units, 10 GB document storage, 10,000 emails / month, AI-drafted paperwork, Texas compliance pack and priority email support.	Boards with greater record or email needs, or those that want the drafting tools and Texas materials.

The free plan includes core collection and recordkeeping, but its 50-unit, 500 MB and monthly email limits can constrain a growing or communication-heavy association. Pro doubles the unit ceiling and substantially expands storage and email capacity for $29 per month, but still stops at 100 active units. The Texas compliance pack is a specific addition, not a general-purpose compliance offering.

Platforms

SpotHOA runs on the web and supports Android and iOS access, but it has no mobile app. The web app can be installed to an Android home screen through Chrome or Edge, or to an iPhone or iPad home screen through Safari. That provides a home-screen shortcut, not a dedicated app; boards that require a native mobile app should weigh that distinction.

Who it's for

SpotHOA is a sensible fit for US volunteer boards that handle their own association administration and want a shared ledger, document vault, dues collection and communications. The free plan is especially relevant to communities with no more than 50 active units and modest storage and email needs. Pro suits boards that need more headroom up to 100 units, want AI-assisted paperwork, or can use its Texas compliance pack.

It is not the right choice for communities outside the United States, account creators under 18 or outside the US, or organizations looking for rental, landlord, enterprise property-management or paid-manager tooling. Boards exceeding 100 units will also need another option.

Pros and cons

Pros: The free plan includes dues collection, homeowner records, a ledger, meeting minutes and votes, giving small boards a usable administrative foundation without a monthly software charge.
Pros: Timestamped append-only records for dues, votes and violations provide a durable activity history, while CSV and PDF exports give Free and Pro users a way to take key records with them.
Pros: Online card and ACH collection can coexist with manual check and cash recording, and payments flow through the HOA’s own Stripe account rather than being held by SpotHOA.
Cons: The service is limited to US-based HOAs, and account creators must be US-located adults, excluding otherwise suitable communities beyond that scope.
Cons: There is no mobile app; home-screen installation uses the web app rather than a native application.
Cons: Free has tight storage and email ceilings, and Pro tops out at 100 active units, limiting its usefulness as a community grows.

Alternatives

For a board focused on violation workflows, ViolationFlow offers a free tier for 10 lots, five active cases and one member seat, with a full workflow; its $15 monthly Starter plan covers up to 50 lots and five seats. That narrower case-and-seat framing may be a better match when violations are the priority rather than broader HOA records and communications.

HOA Messenger is another freemium option, with a free plan for unlimited HOAs and residents and 90-day visibility, plus Android, iOS and web platforms. Consider it when broad resident messaging and mobile app availability matter more than SpotHOA’s ledger and dues capabilities.

For comparing a wider set of products, browse HOA Management Software or HOA Violation Management Software. Other alternatives include HOACart.AI, CommonGround, CINC, Communitrak, Herald Shield and Effortless HOA.

Verdict

Choose SpotHOA if you run a small, self-managed US HOA and want dues, documents, communications and a permanent activity ledger together, with a free starting tier. Look elsewhere if you need native mobile apps, serve a community outside the US, exceed 100 units, or need software for paid management or rental operations.

	SpotHOA	StratusBoard
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	$29/mo	$29/mo
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	29 /mo	29 /mo
Mobile app	No
Photo attachments	Yes	Yes
Unit limit	100 units	50 units
Owner portal		Yes
Fine tracking		Yes

SpotHOA vs StratusBoard

SpotHOA

StratusBoard