“Free HOA software” is one of the most-searched phrases in this industry, and it’s usually a letdown. Most “free” plans turn out to have a subscription hiding a few clicks past the homepage, or a home-count cap that forces an upgrade the moment a community actually needs the tool. So it’s a fair question: is there such a thing as HOA software with no subscription, and if there is, how does it make any money?
Why running HOA software is never actually free
Someone has to pay for the servers, the support team, and, if the software processes online payments, the card network and bank fees on every transaction. That cost is real no matter what the pricing page says. The only question is where it shows up: a monthly subscription, a percentage taken from payments, or a combination of both. A vendor claiming zero cost anywhere is either losing money on every customer or not being upfront about where the cost actually lives.
So what does “no subscription” actually mean at Dometta?
We built Dometta with two ways to pay, and one of them genuinely has no monthly bill:
- No Subscription: $0/month, always. Dometta earns 3% of card payments your HOA collects online, or 2% of bank payments (capped at $5 per bank payment), and that’s our only fee. Standard processing is separate: 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment, or 0.8% per bank payment (capped at $5 per bank payment). Card payments have no cap. We show processing as its own line so you can see exactly what we earn. Nothing is ever invoiced to your HOA; it’s taken automatically from what’s collected. If nobody pays online in a given month, you owe nothing that month.
- Flat Rate: one flat monthly price based on your community size, starting at $39/month for up to 25 homes, or pay yearly and get 2 months free. Only active homes count. Dometta takes 0% from payments; only standard processing applies. Which plan costs less depends on your average dues; reach out and we’ll walk through your numbers.
Most HOA software forces every community into one model. We think that’s backwards. A 10-home association with low dues and a 400-home association with high dues have completely different cost profiles, so the plan that’s cheapest for one is often the most expensive for the other. Instead of guessing which one to offer, we built both and let your board pick.
Is “no subscription” really free, though?
It depends what you mean by free. If you mean “will my HOA ever get an invoice or a recurring subscription charge,” the answer is no. That’s the whole point. If you mean “does collecting dues online cost anything at all,” the answer is yes, and here’s exactly what: on a $50 card payment, Dometta’s 3% is $1.50 and standard card processing is $1.75. The homeowner’s account is credited the full $50. We think showing you that math is better than hiding it in a subscription you pay whether or not anyone uses it.
Both plans and their exact rates are published on our pricing page, no sales call required to see the real numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dometta’s HOA software really free?
Our No Subscription plan never charges your HOA a monthly fee. Dometta’s only fee is a small percentage of what’s collected online, taken automatically, so if there’s no online payment activity in a given month, there’s no bill.
How does a $0/month HOA software make any money?
From a 3% share of the dues your HOA collects online by card (2% on bank payments). That means we only earn when your community gets paid, which keeps us focused on making online payments easy for your homeowners.
Is there a catch?
No hidden catch, but there is a real tradeoff: for communities with higher dues, Flat Rate can end up cheaper, since Dometta takes nothing from payments on that plan. As a rule of thumb, if your dues are over about $100 a month per home and most owners pay online, the flat rate usually wins. Both options are published plainly on our pricing page so you can compare them for your own numbers. Where required, Washington sales tax applies to Dometta’s fee only, never to your dues.
Can I switch plans later?
Yes, at any time, right from your Dometta settings. There’s no contract, so moving between plans as your dues or portfolio size change never means renegotiating anything.
Where Dometta fits
Dometta is one of the few HOA software platforms that let your board choose between no subscription at all and a low flat rate, rather than forcing every community into the same pricing model. See the full breakdown on our Pricing page, or explore the rest of the platform on the Features page. Questions about your specific setup? Reach out, no sales pitch required.