Compare
How Househound compares with the software you use now
Short answer
Most home inspection software does the same core job: templates, photos, a report, scheduling and payments. The differences that cost you later are who owns the company, what gets charged on top of the base price, whether the app works with no signal, and how hard it is to leave. Each page below compares Househound with one product on those terms, and says where the other product is the better pick.
Head to head
- Househound vs SpectoraHousehound vs Spectora, checked October 2026: prices at 1, 3 and 10 inspectors, card fees, offline, forms and texting. A fair Spectora alternative review.Read
- Househound vs HomeGaugeHomeGauge's desktop writer needs Windows, Spectora owns it, and Web Writer closed in 2025. A HomeGauge alternative compared on price, platforms and templates.Read
- Househound vs HorizonHorizon shuts down December 15, 2026. A Horizon alternative compared: what Househound does, what it lacks, and what to export from Horizon first.Read
- Househound vs Hive InspectHousehound vs Hive Inspect, checked October 2026. A fair Hive Inspect alternative comparison: team pricing, drafting tools, forms, offline, card fees and terms.Read
- Househound vs ISNHousehound vs ISN (Inspection Support Network), checked October 2026: per-inspection pricing, Porch ownership and data use, offline, texts and integrations.Read
- Househound vs Home Inspector ProHousehound vs Home Inspector Pro, checked October 2026: $89 plan, desktop files, the end of the one-time license, Porch ownership, forms and translation.Read
- Househound vs Palm-TechHousehound vs Palm-Tech, checked October 2026. A fair Palm-Tech alternative comparison: $50 a user, Florida forms, PDF reports, Porch ownership and export.Read
- Househound vs Tap InspectLooking for a Tap Inspect alternative? Prices, card fees, Android, offline work, state forms, texts and reports compared side by side, checked October 27, 2026.Read
- Househound vs ScribeWareWeighing a ScribeWare alternative? Prices, desktop vs phone, offline work, TREC and translated reports, and team costs compared, checked October 27, 2026.Read
- Househound vs Inspector ToolbeltConsidering an Inspector Toolbelt alternative? Price, free tier, state templates, texts, PDFs, offline work and crews compared, checked October 27, 2026.Read
- Househound vs InspectorDataComparing an InspectorData alternative? Price, per-report charges, card fees, Florida and TREC forms, PDFs and crews side by side, checked October 27, 2026.Read
- Househound vs 3D Inspection SystemLooking for a 3D Inspection System alternative? License vs subscription, offline work, state WDO forms, Mac support and delivery, checked October 27, 2026.Read
- Househound vs Binsr InspectWeighing a Binsr alternative? Standard vs Pro pricing, per-inspection fees, card rates, state forms, texts, API access and crews, checked October 27, 2026.Read
Buying guides
- GuideBest home inspection software in 2026: an honest buyer's guideHow to choose home inspection software in 2026, with sourced picks by use case: state forms, part-time, Windows, big teams, offline, crews, price and ownership.Read
- GuideHome inspection software cost in 2026: real monthly totalsWhat home inspection software costs in 2026 at 15, 40, 100 and 300 inspections a month, with card fees on a $450 job and the costs that aren't on the price tag.Read
- GuideCarson Dunlop Horizon shuts down Dec 15, 2026: what to doHorizon shuts down December 15, 2026, and its data is deleted after. The three options, Spectora's offer, what the Export Centre leaves out, and a dated checklist.Read
- GuideHome inspection apps that work offline in 2026Which home inspection apps work with no cell signal, what each needs downloaded first, what stops working offline, and an airplane-mode test to run in a trial.Read
- GuideWho owns home inspection software? The 2026 ownership mapWho owns ISN, Spectora, HomeGauge, Home Inspector Pro, Palm-Tech and the independents, what their filings and policies say about data, and what to ask a vendor.Read
Switching guides
What moves, what you set up fresh, and the order to do it in.
- Switching from SpectoraImport your Spectora templates, comment library and contacts into Househound, upload old report PDFs to the archive, and cancel Spectora at the right time.Read
- Switching from HomeGaugeHomeGauge templates are .ht5 files. Save a report as a PDF to import as a template, bring in your contacts, and upload past report PDFs to the archive.Read
- Switching from HorizonHorizon shuts down December 15, 2026. Export from the Export Centre, save your report PDFs for Househound's archive, and import templates and contacts in time.Read
- Switching from Hive InspectAsk Hive Inspect support for your exports and save report PDFs before you cancel, then import your template, contacts and past report PDFs into Househound.Read
- Switching from ISNLeaving ISN? Import your ISN client and agent CSVs, upload backed-up report PDFs to the archive, and rebuild your template in Househound from a report PDF.Read
- Switching from Home Inspector ProHome Inspector Pro keeps .tpz and .hzf files on your computer. Back them up, import HIP Office contacts and report PDFs, and rebuild templates from a PDF.Read
- Switching from Palm-TechPalm-Tech's only published export is a spreadsheet of inspections. Save it and your report PDFs for Househound's archive, and rebuild your template from a PDF.Read
- Switching from Tap InspectMove from Tap Inspect to Househound: import templates, Saved Comments and your contacts.csv, upload past report PDFs to the archive, and see what stays behind.Read
- Switching from ScribeWareMove from ScribeWare to Househound: rebuild templates from a report PDF, import a contacts CSV from support, archive old report PDFs, and see what won't carry over.Read
- Switching from Inspector ToolbeltMove from Inspector Toolbelt to Househound: rebuild templates from a report PDF, import a contacts CSV, archive your report PDFs, and know what won't carry over.Read
- Switching from InspectorDataMove from InspectorData to Househound: rebuild templates from a report PDF, import clients from a CSV, archive old report PDFs, and see what won't carry over.Read
- Switching from 3D Inspection SystemMove from 3D Inspection System's Windows desktop to Househound: build templates from report PDFs, archive old reports, keep 3D for state WDO forms.Read
- Switching from Word, PDF and paper templatesWriting reports in Word, Google Docs, PDF forms or on paper? How to turn those files into a Househound template and comment library, and what to check after.Read
Compare
Five of these eleven answer to two owners
On October 27, 2026, we checked every list price in the category on the vendor's own page and recorded who owns each company. Every source is linked.
Porch Group
NASDAQ: PRCH – publicly traded
- Inspection Support Network
- Home Inspector Pro
- Palm-Tech
Porch also sells homeowners insurance and home warranties. In its annual report to the SEC it states that it uses home inspection report data to improve its pricing algorithms for homeowners insurance, and to predict a mover's likelihood of switching insurance carriers and the probability and severity of home insurance and home warranty claims.
≈50%of all U.S. home inspections in 2025 ran through Porch's ISN brands, by Porch's own count.
Porch Group 10-K for 2025 (SEC)Porch Group annual report (SEC)Porch Group company story
Spectora
Backed by Radian Capital, a growth-equity firm
- Spectora
- HomeGauge
Spectora acquired HomeGauge on April 1, 2025, and the two now share a pricing page. Carson Dunlop is shutting Horizon down on December 15, 2026 and has named Spectora as the platform to move to; Spectora pays Carson Dunlop a one-time administrative fee for that recommendation.
Apr 1, 2025the day Spectora acquired HomeGauge.
Spectora acquires HomeGaugeRadian Capital portfolioHorizon sunset noticeSpectora: migrating from Horizon FAQ
Househound
Independently owned
The subscription is the whole business. We don't sell inspection data, we don't advertise to your clients, and we never hold your money. Card payments go straight to your own Stripe account.
0investors, parent companies, and exit plans.
Still independent: Inspector Toolbelt, Tap Inspect, InspectorData, ScribeWare and Hive Inspect. Horizon's maker, Carson Dunlop, has been owned since 2024 by The Co-operators, a Canadian insurance group, and is closing the product in December.
What it costs, and what gets added on top
Base price is the easiest number to compare and the least useful. The real differences are what it includes, what gets charged on top, and who ends up with your clients' data.
Househound
Independently owned
- Base price
- $99 / month · $990 / year
- Each extra inspector
- $69 / month · $690 / year
- Per report
- None. Unlimited reports, clients, and storage
- Charged on top
- 3.25% + $0.40 on client card payments, processing included, only if you take cards
- Free to start
- First 3 reports, no card
SpectoraRadian Capital–backed$109 / month · $1,090 / year
- Each extra inspector
- $99 / month · $999 / year
- Per report
- $4 per inspection on the Advanced add-on
- Charged on top
- Websites $699–$1,599 / year plus $499–$799 setup · card payments 3.25% + $0.40
- Free to start
- 2 inspections, no card
Inspection Support NetworkPorch Group (NASDAQ: PRCH)A monthly minimum applies. Amount not published
- Each extra inspector
- Not published
- Per report
- $7.25 for the first 50 · $5.50 to 100 · $3.75 to 150 · above that, contact sales
- Charged on top
- Card rate not published
- Free to start
- 30 days, no card
HomeGaugeSpectora · Radian Capital–backed$89 / month
- Each extra inspector
- Not published
- Per report
- None
- Charged on top
- Websites $699–$1,599 / year plus setup · card rate not published
- Free to start
- 30 days
Home Inspector ProPorch Group (NASDAQ: PRCH)$89 / month
- Each extra inspector
- $5 off per inspector after your first five
- Per report
- None
- Charged on top
- Payments handled by a third party · annual price by phone
- Free to start
- 30 days
Palm-TechPorch Group (NASDAQ: PRCH)$50 / user / month · $500 / user / year
- Each extra inspector
- $50 / month · $500 / year
- Per report
- None
- Charged on top
- Card payments from 2.75%
- Free to start
- 5 published inspections
HorizonCarson Dunlop · owned by The Co-operators, a Canadian insurerShutting down December 15, 2026. Pricing removed from the site; last published $79 / month
- Each extra inspector
- —
- Per report
- —
- Charged on top
- —
- Free to start
- —
Inspector ToolbeltFull View Marketing – independent$79 / month
- Each extra inspector
- $35 / month as of August 2026; couldn't re-check in October
- Per report
- None
- Charged on top
- Card rate not published
- Free to start
- 5 reports, no card
Tap InspectIndependent$90 / month unlimited, or $7.50 per job in blocks of 20
- Each extra inspector
- $45 / month
- Per report
- $7.50 on the pay-as-you-go plan
- Charged on top
- Card payments 2.9% + $0.30, plus a $5 / month account fee and $0.15 per deposit · iOS only
- Free to start
- 5 inspections
InspectorDataIndependent$79 / month
- Each extra inspector
- $54 / month
- Per report
- None on the monthly plan · $15 per report pay-as-you-go
- Charged on top
- Card payments 3.35% + $0.40
- Free to start
- 30 days
ScribeWareIndependent$99 / month · $89 / month billed annually
- Each extra inspector
- $69 / month
- Per report
- $12 à la carte
- Charged on top
- Card payments through Payfactory · rate not published
- Free to start
- 3 reports, no card
Hive InspectSynapse Mobility – independent$99 / month · $999 / year
- Each extra inspector
- $69 / month · $599 / year
- Per report
- None. A 10-report pack for $99 for part-timers
- Charged on top
- Websites $249–$999 / year plus $299 setup · card rate not published
- Free to start
- 5 reports, no card
Money anyone charges (including ours) is set in black. Tap a platform for the rest of its fees.
Two things to know before you choose
We charge 3.25% + $0.40 on card payments.
That's the whole fee. Stripe's processing comes out of it, so nothing else is deducted from what you take home. It's in the table above and in our Terms, and it's the only thing we charge beyond the seat. Card payments are optional, and the money goes to your own Stripe account.
We don't send text messages.
Clients and agents hear from you by email: confirmations, reminders, agreements, invoices and the report, which arrives as a link with a PDF download. If your clients expect texts, that's a reason to pick other software.
How we checked · October 27, 2026
Every figure above is the vendor's own published list price, read off the page linked beside their name on October 27, 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a number, the table says that rather than guessing, and we have not filled in a payment processor's rate as though it were the vendor's own.
Ownership is taken from company filings and the companies' own announcements. Radian Capital lists Spectora in its portfolio; the stake is a minority growth investment, which is why this page says Spectora is backed by Radian rather than owned by it. The Porch Group description of how inspection data is used is quoted from Porch's own annual report to the SEC.
List prices change without notice, and some vendors quote by phone. Check before you decide anything. Company and product names belong to their owners; naming them here does not imply any affiliation.
Questions
What should I compare besides the monthly price?
Four things: what is charged on top (per-report fees, payment fees, website fees), whether the field app works offline, who owns the company and what they do with inspection data, and what you can export if you leave. The base price is the easiest number to compare and usually the least useful.
Which home inspection software companies share an owner?
Porch Group (NASDAQ: PRCH) owns ISN, Home Inspector Pro and Palm-Tech. Spectora acquired HomeGauge on April 1, 2025, and is backed by Radian Capital. Carson Dunlop is closing Horizon on December 15, 2026. Househound is independently owned. Sources are on each comparison page.
How long does switching inspection software take?
Templates and your comment library are usually the long pole. With a Spectora export, Househound imports them directly; from other tools, Househound reads exported files and builds a template you review. Plan on an afternoon of setup and one or two real inspections run in both systems before you cancel the old one. Each switching guide has the steps for that product.
Is Househound the cheapest option?
No. At $99 a month for the first inspector, Househound sits at the upper end of list prices for a solo inspector; each added inspector is $69, and annual billing is $990 for the first and $690 for each added one. What you get for it is every feature, unlimited reports and storage, no per-report fee, and an independent company. The cost guide works through the totals at different volumes.