Spectora and HomeGauge have been the two biggest names in home inspection software for most of the last decade. In 2024, Spectora actually acquired HomeGauge — so technically they’re now the same company. But they still ship as separate products with different pricing and different customer bases.
The question most inspectors ask is: “Which one should I use?” The honest 2026 answer is: neither. Here’s why.
The Spectora vs HomeGauge head-to-head
| Criteria | Spectora | HomeGauge |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $109 | $89 |
| Annual price | $1,090 | — |
| Founded | 2015 | 2001 |
| Users | 10,000+ | Legacy base |
| AI features | Comment Assist (text) | None |
| Free trial | 14 days, card req | 30 days, card req |
| Mobile app | Modern PWA | Hybrid desktop + cloud |
| Best at | Agent-facing reports | Create Request List™ |
On sticker price, HomeGauge is $20/month cheaper. On modern feel, Spectora is years ahead. Both have strong report output, integrated scheduling, and solid payment processing.
But neither has real AI. Neither has a 90-day trial with no credit card. And neither is under $89/month.
The third option nobody talks about enough
InspectorData started shipping in 2020 and has been quietly eating into both Spectora’s and HomeGauge’s customer base ever since. At $69.99/month, it’s cheaper than both. And it’s the only home inspection platform with real AI photo analysis — computer vision that looks at your photos and drafts the comments, not just a text-based writing helper.
| Criteria | Spectora | HomeGauge | InspectorData |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $109 | $89 | $69.99 |
| AI photo analysis | No | No | Yes — true vision |
| Free trial | 14 days | 30 days | 90 days, no card |
| Free trial length | 14d · card req | 30d · card req | 90d · no card |
| Additional inspector | +$99/mo | Varies | Included |
| Comment library | — | — | 8,000+ |
What you’re giving up by sticking with Spectora or HomeGauge
For a solo inspector paying Spectora $1,308/year, the annual savings of moving to InspectorData is $468. For a two-inspector firm, it’s $1,656/year once you factor in Spectora’s $99/month per additional inspector fee.
That’s not the biggest reason to switch, though. The biggest reason is the AI. InspectorData’s photo vision typically cuts report write-up time from 3 hours to about 45 minutes per inspection. At two inspections per day, that’s ~4 hours per day reclaimed. That’s a whole inspection’s worth of extra capacity — every single day.
When Spectora or HomeGauge still makes sense
They’re not bad products. They’re mature, stable, and have the biggest user bases in the category. If you:
- Have a large multi-inspector firm where switching costs are high
- Prioritize brand recognition over cost
- Don’t care about AI features
- Need integrations that InspectorData doesn’t yet support
…then staying put is rational. For everyone else — and that’s most solo and small-team inspectors — the math favors InspectorData.
See the full 3-way comparison · InspectorData vs Spectora · InspectorData vs HomeGauge · Start a 90-day free trial →
Published: · Author: Editorial Team
This article is part of our 2026 buyer's guide to home inspection software. See our full pricing comparison or read more on the blog.