Gather Commons vs PayHOA
PayHOA is built around HOA accounting, invoicing, and dues collection. If what your community really needs is engagement — events, amenities, and getting neighbors involved — Gather Commons is the community-first alternative.
Start free trialWho this comparison is for
You are on a board or committee for a neighborhood, HOA, or club, and you have realized that the thing your community is short on is not bookkeeping. It is attendance. People do not know what is happening, the pool schedule lives in someone's inbox, and the last three events were organized over text message.
Choose PayHOA if…
- Your primary unsolved problem is dues, invoicing, and financial reporting.
- Your treasurer needs a general ledger and an audit trail more than your members need a calendar.
- You have a management company that owns communications, and the board only touches finances.
Choose Gather Commons if…
- Your amenities — pool, courts, clubhouse, pavilion — are the center of community life and need real scheduling.
- You want members opening an app to RSVP and book, not just to pay a bill.
- You want a public site that makes the neighborhood look like somewhere people want to live.
- You would rather keep your existing accounting and add the engagement layer around it.
How the two are positioned
Differences in what each product is built around — not a feature scorecard.
| PayHOA | Gather Commons | |
|---|---|---|
| What the product is organized around | The ledger — invoices, dues, and financial records | The calendar — events, amenities, and participation |
| Who logs in most often | Board members and the treasurer | Every member, from their phone |
| What a member does on a typical visit | Pays an invoice | RSVPs to something, books a court, reads an announcement |
| Public-facing presence | Secondary to the financial workflow | A branded site on your own domain, treated as a first-class feature |
PayHOA is a HOA accounting & dues managementproduct and may well be the right fit for communities whose main problem lives in that domain. Gather Commons is for communities that lead with engagement. We describe positioning rather than feature lists, because feature claims about other people's software go out of date the week they ship something.
What switching actually involves
Most communities coming from PayHOA do not actually leave it — they keep dues where they are and add Gather Commons for everything members touch. If you do want to consolidate, member records import from a spreadsheet, and payments can run through your own Stripe or Square account so funds land in your community's bank account directly.
Common questions
Do we have to move our accounting to switch?
No. Gather Commons is designed to sit alongside an accounting system rather than replace it. Communities commonly keep their existing bookkeeping and use Gather Commons for events, reservations, the directory, and the public site.
Can we still collect dues in Gather Commons?
Yes. You can collect dues, membership fees, and event payments online, with due dates and autopay. Funds flow through your community's own connected payment account. What we do not try to be is a full general ledger — if you need formal financial statements, keep an accounting tool for that.
Can we use Gather Commons alongside PayHOA?
Yes, and plenty of communities do. Gather Commons handles the community side — events, reservations, the directory, announcements, and a public site — while you keep whatever you already use for bookkeeping or property operations. Nothing about our setup requires you to rip out an existing system.
How long does it take to get set up?
Most communities have a working site and their first event live within an afternoon. Importing a member roster is a spreadsheet upload, branding is colors and a logo, and a custom domain can be connected once DNS propagates.
What does it cost?
Plans start at $149/month with a free trial, billed monthly or annually, and you can cancel yourself from inside the platform at any time. Court and facility reservations and online payments are both included in the base plan — see the pricing page for the full breakdown.
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