Frontsteps Pricing (2026): What HOA Boards Actually Pay

Frontsteps Pricing Tiers

Hidden Costs You Won't See on the Pricing Page

• ⚠ Per-unit pricing scales with community size: a 200-unit community at $0.60/unit/month pays $120/month, a 400-unit community pays $240/month
• ⚠ Gate access management is a separate add-on module: boards that need vehicle credential management pay more per unit
• ⚠ Amenity reservations and package tracking are separate modules: activating each one adds to the per-unit monthly rate
• ⚠ Pricing is not publicly listed on the Frontsteps website: an exact quote requires a sales conversation
• ⚠ Reserve fund compliance tools, fund separation enforcement, and reserve study target tracking are not described in Frontsteps published feature set
• ⚠ Implementation and onboarding support costs may apply depending on contract terms

Frontsteps does not publish pricing

Frontsteps does not list prices on its website. Getting an exact number requires a sales conversation. Based on industry reports and community forum data, Frontsteps charges on a per-unit, per-month basis, with estimates ranging from $0.40 to $0.80 per unit per month for core community management features. Gate access management and amenity reservations carry additional per-unit costs.

For a 100-unit community, that translates to roughly $40–$80/month for core access. Add gate management and the range climbs to $60–$120/month. Add amenities, packages, and work orders, and the total may reach $90–$120/month before any implementation costs.

Per-unit pricing means these numbers grow proportionally with community size. A 300-unit community pays three times what a 100-unit community pays for the same modules.

What Frontsteps is designed to do

Frontsteps is built around community access control. The platform’s distinguishing capability is gate management: vehicle credentials, visitor logging, entry and exit tracking, and integration with physical gate systems. That access layer sits on top of standard HOA software features, resident portals, violation tracking, online dues collection, and document management.

This combination makes Frontsteps a reasonable fit for gated communities where physical access management is a genuine operational challenge. If credentialing residents, tracking visitor entries, and managing gate hardware requires a dedicated system, Frontsteps addresses that need.

For communities without physical gates, that access management layer adds cost without adding applicable capability.

The gate access add-on cost

Gate access management is not included in Frontsteps’ base per-unit rate. It is a separate module with its own pricing layer. Boards that need vehicle and credential management, visitor tracking, and gate integration activate this module on top of core community management.

The result is a modular pricing structure where each capability added increases the per-unit monthly rate. A board that activates core management, gate access, and amenity reservations ends up paying for three stacked modules, each contributing to the per-unit total.

Before signing a Frontsteps contract, boards should request an itemized quote that shows the per-unit rate for each module they plan to use, and the total monthly cost at their community’s unit count. The difference between a core-only quote and a fully-loaded quote can be significant.

What Frontsteps does not cover for reserve compliance

Frontsteps published feature descriptions do not include reserve fund tracking, fund separation enforcement, or reserve study target management. For boards in states with mandatory reserve fund laws, California, Florida, Washington, and others, these are not optional features. They are the documentation mechanism that demonstrates compliance and limits personal liability for board directors.

A platform that tracks who drives through the gate but cannot show whether the reserve fund is on track to meet a state-mandated threshold creates a specific gap for boards with statutory obligations. Managing that compliance through a separate spreadsheet while paying per-unit fees for gate access is a workable but inefficient arrangement.

Per-unit pricing versus flat-rate tools

The per-unit model means your software cost is a function of how many homes are in the community and which modules are active. As your community adds units or your board activates more features, the monthly line item grows.

Flat-rate tools price by community size bracket, not by counting units. BoardStack charges $20/month for communities up to 50 homes, $49/month for 51–200 homes, and $99/month for 201–500 homes. A 180-unit community pays $49/month regardless of whether it uses every feature in the platform. A 200-unit community on Frontsteps with gate access activated might pay $120–$160/month for similar core functionality.

BoardStack versus Frontsteps for self-managed boards

We built BoardStack for the board treasurer managing reserve fund compliance and fiduciary obligations, not for the gated community operations manager tracking vehicle credentials. If your community has gates and physical access infrastructure that needs a dedicated management system, Frontsteps addresses that specific need. If your board is primarily concerned with reserve fund compliance, financial reporting, and keeping the community operationally current, you are paying for Frontsteps’ gate infrastructure whether you use it or not.

For the self-managed volunteer board that needs reserve compliance and financial documentation, the per-unit model with Frontsteps adds cost without the compliance depth that limits personal liability exposure for directors.