HOA Express vs TownSq for HOA management (2026)

Two communication-first approaches

HOA Express and TownSq both prioritize how boards communicate with residents. HOA Express does it through websites and email. TownSq does it through a resident engagement app with a community feed. The communication approaches differ, but both platforms share the same weakness: financial management is either absent or basic.

HOA Express: the website builder

HOA Express builds community websites. The free tier for up to 50 households includes unlimited pages, file storage, email blasts, and a community calendar. Paid plans start at $15/month and scale to $79/month for communities up to 5,000 households.

The 4.9/5 Capterra rating across 27 reviews reflects what HOA Express does well: simple, functional website building that non-technical board members can maintain. Document storage makes meeting minutes and governing documents accessible. Email blasts keep residents informed.

There is no accounting, no dues collection, no violation tracking, and no financial management of any kind. HOA Express does not pretend to be a management platform.

TownSq: the engagement app

TownSq builds community engagement. The platform centers on a resident-facing app with a community feed, event management, package tracking, and amenity reservations. Basic management features include dues collection, violation tracking, and accounting.

At $90/month for communities up to 300 units, TownSq costs more than HOA Express and provides broader functionality. The tradeoff is that the financial tools are shallow. Reserve fund tracking is only available on the Enterprise tier. The accounting does not offer fund separation or compliance tracking at the standard tier.

The financial gap both share

For a self-managed board with fiduciary obligations, neither platform provides adequate financial tools:

• HOA Express: Zero financial capabilities at any tier
• TownSq: Basic accounting and dues collection, but reserve tracking requires Enterprise, and fund separation is not built-in

Boards in states with mandatory reserve study laws (Florida, California, Washington, Virginia) cannot meet compliance requirements with either platform alone.

Where Gavelhouse fits

We built Gavelhouse for the financial management that communication platforms leave out. Operating and reserve funds are separated structurally, with reserve balance context included at every tier starting at $14.50/mo billed annually with LAUNCH50.

Gavelhouse does not include a public-facing community website like HOA Express or a resident engagement app like TownSq. A board could pair HOA Express (free) with Gavelhouse ($14.50/mo billed annually with LAUNCH50) for a combined $14.50/month billed annually with LAUNCH50 that covers both communication and financial compliance — less than TownSq alone.

Verdict

HOA Express is the better value for boards that only need a website and email blasts. TownSq is stronger for boards that want a resident engagement app with basic management features. Neither handles reserve fund compliance adequately. Gavelhouse ($14.50-$74.50/mo billed annually with LAUNCH50 flat) covers the financial management and reserve compliance gap that both platforms leave open, at a price comparable to TownSq with substantially more financial depth. For self-managed boards evaluating these tools because financial governance is the real gap, Gavelhouse is the stronger fit: it combines fund separation, reserve compliance tracking, and board-operable workflows in one system.