What does it actually cost to run your association?
Every board faces the same question, usually at budget time: do we hire this out, or do we do it ourselves? There's a real answer, and it isn't the same for every community. Here's the arithmetic, including when hiring a management company is the right call.
There are really only three ways to do this.
Each one works for somebody. The trick is knowing which one you are.
Hire a management company
Professionals handle the day-to-day — collections, vendors, compliance, and often on-site staff. You get expertise and a phone number to call. You pay for it every month, and some of the control moves with it.
Self-manage with software
Your board does the work, and a platform does the busywork — billing, payments, the portal, documents, notices, records. You keep control and your dues stay in your own account. It asks for volunteer hours.
A spreadsheet and a shared inbox
Free, familiar, and how a great many associations still run. It works until the person holding it all steps down, or a homeowner asks for a record you can't produce.
Sometimes a management company is exactly right.
We build software for self-managed boards, so you'd expect us to argue for it every time. We won't. Professional managers do real work that software cannot replace, and there are communities where hiring one is plainly the better decision.
Hire out if any of these describe you:
- You employ people. On-site staff, a maintenance crew, gate attendants, pool staff — that means payroll, employment law, scheduling, and liability. Get a professional.
- You're in active construction or litigation. A major repair project, a developer transition, a structural claim, an insurance fight. You want someone in the room who has done it before.
- Nobody will serve on the board. If you can't fill the seats, no tool fixes that. A management company is how the association keeps functioning.
- The finances need rescuing. Years of missing records, unfunded reserves, or an audit gone wrong call for expertise, not a subscription.
- You're big enough that it's a job. Past a few hundred doors, the day-to-day genuinely exceeds what volunteers can absorb on evenings and weekends.
If you recognised your association in that list, a good management company will be worth what it charges — and we'd rather tell you that than sell you something that won't help. We're happy to point you toward the questions worth asking one.
What each path costs a 100-home association.
The gap between hiring out and self-managing isn't a few percent. It's an order of magnitude — which is why it's worth a serious look before a contract renews.
| Management company | Self-managed with software | Spreadsheet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical annual cost | $12,000 – $60,000 | $800 – $1,500 | $0 |
| How it's priced | $10–$50 per unit per month, or 5–10% of the budget | Flat rate by community size | — |
| Who does the work | Their staff | Your board, with the busywork automated | One very tired volunteer |
| Volunteer hours needed | Low — governance only | Moderate | High, and rising |
| Survives a board turnover | Yes | Yes — the records live in one place | Rarely |
| Best for | Employees on site, litigation, large or distressed communities | Small to mid-sized communities with willing volunteers | Very small, very informal associations |
Management fee ranges are the figures commonly published by industry guides and vary widely by region, community size, and scope. Ask any company for a written scope of services before comparing prices — what's included differs enormously.
What the software actually costs.
Published subscription rates for the platforms a self-managed board is most likely to shortlist. All three are billed by community size.
| Community size | PayHOA | EasyHOA | SpruceHOA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 units or fewer | $49 / mo | $49 / mo | $12 / mo |
| 13 – 25 units | $49 / mo | $49 / mo | $25 / mo |
| 26 – 50 units | $59 / mo | $69 / mo | $39 / mo |
| 51 – 100 units | $99 / mo | $89 / mo | $59 / mo |
| 101 – 150 units | $129 / mo | $99 / mo | $79 / mo |
| 151 – 250 units | $169 – $199 / mo | Custom | $99 / mo |
| 251 – 500 units | $229 – $249 / mo | Custom | $149 / mo |
| Card payment fee | 3.5% + $0.50 | Not published | None from us — you pay only your processor |
Rates as published by each provider and verified July 2026; PayHOA figures are their annual-commitment rates, which run lower than month-to-month. Pricing changes — check PayHOA, EasyHOA and SpruceHOA directly before deciding. Every one of these platforms is a capable product with features we don't have; compare on what your board actually needs, not on price alone.
The line that's easy to miss
Subscription price is the number everyone compares. It's usually not the biggest one.
Where a platform takes a percentage of dues, that cut can dwarf the subscription. At 3.5% + $0.50 per card payment, a 100-home community collecting $300 a quarter pays roughly $4,200 a year in processing — several times the subscription itself.
SpruceHOA takes no cut of your dues. Payments settle straight into your association's own bank account through Stripe, and the only fee is the one your processor charges you directly. When you compare platforms, ask each one where the money lands first and what they keep.
Five questions that settle it.
- Do we employ anyone, or have anything under construction or in court? If yes, hire a management company. Stop here.
- Can we fill the board? If nobody will serve, software won't help. Hire out.
- How many hours a month can our volunteers really give? Self-managing a mid-sized community is a handful of hours a month with good software — not zero.
- What are we paying now, and what do we get for it? Ask your current manager for a written scope. Some boards find they're paying full freight for collections and a website.
- If our treasurer moved away tomorrow, could the next one pick it up? That question rules out the spreadsheet faster than any feature comparison.
Keep the control. Lose the busywork.
If self-managing is the right fit, SpruceHOA gives your board the tools a management company would use — at a flat annual price, with your dues landing in your own bank account.
Self-managed vs. managed FAQ
How much does an HOA management company cost?
Industry guides commonly cite $10 to $50 per unit per month, or 5 to 10 percent of the annual budget, varying by community size, location, and scope. For a 100-home association that's roughly $12,000 to $60,000 a year. Always ask for a written scope of services — what's covered varies enormously between companies.
When should an HOA hire a management company instead of self-managing?
When the association employs on-site staff, is in active construction or litigation, is large enough that the workload exceeds what volunteers can absorb, is in financial distress, or simply can't fill its board. In those situations professional management earns its fee, and software isn't a substitute for it.
Can a volunteer board really self-manage?
Many do. It works best where the community is small to mid-sized, has no employees, and has volunteers willing to serve. The board still needs software for dues, payments, communication, documents, meetings, and records — but it keeps control of its money and avoids ongoing management fees.
Can we switch back if self-managing doesn't work out?
Yes. Your records are yours — export them and hand them to a management company if the association's needs change. Self-managing isn't a one-way door, and a year of clean, organized records makes any handover easier than it would have been from a spreadsheet.
Spruce up the way you run your community.
Tell us about your association and we'll get you set up with a free trial — no credit card required.
Also for you: self-managed HOAs · small HOAs · condo associations