HOA Express runs your website. Hivepoint runs your HOA.
HOA Express is a community website builder — news posts, calendar, member directory, basic document storage. It's well-built for that. What it doesn't do is track dues, log violations, manage ARC requests, or produce financial reports. If you're running those in a spreadsheet alongside HOA Express, that's the gap Hivepoint fills.
Two different jobs
HOA Express describes itself as a “delightfully easy and powerful HOA website builder.” That's an accurate description — it's a tool for building your community's online presence, not for running the internal operations of the association.
Most HOAs using HOA Express also have a spreadsheet — for dues, a Google Doc for meeting minutes, an email thread for violations, and a folder full of PDFs for governing documents. HOA Express doesn't replace any of that. It assumes you already have a way to handle it.
Hivepoint is the management system underneath the website — dues accounting, violation tracking, meeting records, document library with version history, and financial reports. Many HOAs use both: HOA Express for their public-facing community site, Hivepoint for internal operations. Others replace HOA Express entirely with Hivepoint's resident portal and board tools.
Hivepoint vs HOA Express
| Feature / capability | Hivepoint | HOA Express |
|---|---|---|
| Self-managed HOA focus | ||
| HOA dues ledger + aging reports | ||
| Violation tracking with photo log | ||
| ARC / architectural review workflow | ||
| Financial reports (P&L, balance sheet) | ||
| Meeting management + vote logging | ||
| Windows desktop app (offline-capable) | Web only | |
| Online dues payments | Engage plan only | |
| Resident portal at your own domain | Community Edition | Inform plan ($15/mo) |
| Document library | ||
| Community website builder | Via resident portal | |
| Member directory | Via resident portal |
Comparison reflects publicly available information. HOA Express features vary by plan (Free, Inform, Engage).
What HOA Express doesn't cover — and Hivepoint does
- Dues ledger and aging reports →
Track every homeowner's dues balance, payment history, and outstanding amounts. Run aging reports for board meetings. Late fees calculated automatically. HOA Express has no accounting layer.
- Violation tracking and ARC workflow →
Log violations with photo evidence, issue notices, track cure deadlines, and record ARC approvals and denials — all with a full audit trail. HOA Express doesn't include violations or compliance tracking.
- Meeting management and vote records →
Build agendas, record minutes, log how each board member voted on every motion. The record is permanent and attached to the meeting — not in someone's email drafts.
- Financial reports →
P&L, balance sheet, dues aging, late fee summary — the financial picture your treasurer needs for board meetings and your CPA needs for tax time. Built for volunteer treasurers, not accounting professionals.
- Windows desktop app →
Board members work in a native Windows app — not just a browser tab. The app syncs with the cloud and can work offline. HOA Express is entirely web-based.
The honest take on price
HOA Express starts at $252/year. Hivepoint starts at $1,500/year. That's a real difference — and it reflects a real difference in scope.
HOA Express provides a community website. Hivepoint provides an operating system for a self-managed HOA — accounting, violations, compliance, board records. If you're currently using HOA Express plus a spreadsheet for dues, a shared Google Doc for meeting minutes, and email for violations, the cost of that setup isn't just $252. It's $252 plus the hours your board spends maintaining those parallel systems every month.
If your HOA genuinely only needs a community website — HOA Express is a good choice and the price is fair. If you need to actually run the association, the comparison is different.
Common questions
Is HOA Express the same kind of software as Hivepoint?
No. HOA Express is a community website builder — it gives your HOA an online presence with news posts, a calendar, a document library, and a member directory. Hivepoint is HOA management software — it handles dues accounting, violation tracking, meeting records, and financial reporting. Many HOAs use a website tool like HOA Express for their public site while running actual management operations in a spreadsheet. If that spreadsheet is the problem, Hivepoint is the solution.
Can I use both HOA Express and Hivepoint at the same time?
Yes. They serve different purposes. HOA Express manages your community's public online presence. Hivepoint manages the internal operations — dues ledger, violation log, document library, meeting records. Some HOAs choose to replace HOA Express with Hivepoint's resident portal (Community Edition), which provides a resident-facing site at your own domain. Others keep HOA Express for the website and add Hivepoint for operations.
HOA Express is much cheaper — why would we switch?
The price difference reflects a difference in scope, not quality. HOA Express is excellent at what it does — community website — and $252/year is reasonable for that. Hivepoint handles accounting, violations, compliance, board records, and financial reporting. If you're paying $252/year for HOA Express and also spending 10 hours per month managing dues in a spreadsheet, the real cost of your current setup is much higher than the software subscription.
Does Hivepoint include a community website or news page?
Community Edition includes a resident-facing portal at your own domain — community announcements, documents for download, online dues payments, and ARC request submissions. It's built for HOA operations, not a general-purpose website builder. If you need a polished public website with blog posts, photo galleries, and a member directory, HOA Express is genuinely good at that. Hivepoint's portal is designed for the operational resident relationship: pay your dues, submit an ARC, see the board's published minutes.
We're using HOA Express for online dues payments — can Hivepoint replace that?
Yes. Hivepoint's Community Edition includes Stripe-powered online dues payments with a full dues ledger, payment history, aging reports, and resident payment history tracking. Payments through the portal tie directly to the dues accounting record. HOA Express's payment feature is add-on only (Engage plan at $21/month) and is not connected to an accounting system — you'd still need to reconcile payments manually.
What happens to our documents if we move from HOA Express to Hivepoint?
Hivepoint includes a document library with version history and access control — CC&Rs, bylaws, meeting minutes, vendor contracts, and financial reports all in one place. If you have documents in HOA Express, we help you move them during onboarding. The practical difference: Hivepoint's document library is integrated with the board's workflow — a violation notice, meeting minutes, or ARC decision can be filed directly from the module where it was created.
Related comparisons and resources
- HOA dues tracking software →Dues ledger, aging reports, and online payments — what HOA Express doesn't include
- HOA violation tracking software →Photo evidence, notice workflow, ARC decisions — the compliance side of HOA management
- HOA resident portal software →Community Edition portal at your own domain — replaces the HOA Express site for many HOAs
- Self-managed HOA software →Why Hivepoint is built for boards that run their own community
- Buildium alternative →Comparing against property management software instead?
- Comparing HOA software options? →See how Hivepoint compares to PayHOA, HOA Ally, Buildium, and AppFolio
See the management side of your HOA — live demo
Try the Hivepoint demo — dues tracking, violations, meeting records, and financial reports all included. Or tell us your community size and we'll send an exact quote within 24 hours.