SimplyPermits is a paperless digital parking management platform designed for multifamily communities, condominiums, HOAs, universities, and commercial properties. The platform markets itself as a revenue share pricing option that eliminates out-of-pocket expenses for communities that choose it with no long-term contracts and no hidden costs. SimplyPermits offers a practical solution for small HOAs and apartment communities facing guest pass abuse, featuring a free LPR mobile app and a web-based portal without requiring homeowners to download a third-party app.
Communities explore alternatives when enforcement needs increase to involve repeat resident violations, access to towing company databases, or PMS integration with Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI. This blog reviews the strongest alternatives to SimplyPermits for communities whose parking management needs have grown beyond basic guest parking management, covering what each platform adds, who it fits, and how pricing compares.
When SimplyPermits Is No Longer the Right Fit
SimplyPermits is designed to be a paperless, cloud-based solution that works with in-house property management teams or third-party enforcement companies. It focuses on permit issuance, resident and guest management, and violation tracking rather than full-scale enforcement operations. Another platform is better suited to handle the new requirements if the needs shift beyond that. Four situations consistently lead communities to research alternatives.
Situation 1. Violations beyond guest parking are now recurring. Communities outgrow SimplyPermits once violations move beyond guest parking abuse into repeat resident offenders, unregistered vehicles, or a formal warning-to-tow process. Full enforcement automation, including a live permit database that a towing company can access independently without needing to contact management, becomes the operational requirement at that stage.
Situation 2. The towing company needs live database access. Enforcement typically relies on a tow company or patrol team being able to verify a vehicle against the permit database in real-time, without first calling the management office. Communities with active tow programs find that the workflow creates delays when SimplyPermits’ web-based enforcement model creates a dependency on management for every tow authorization. A platform that provides the tow company or patrol team direct app-based database access at the vehicle location resolves this without changing the enforcement partnership itself.
Situation 3. No PMS integration at move-in and move-out. SimplyPermits does not list confirmed integrations with Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI on its published feature pages or homepage. Permit records must be manually updated separately from occupancy changes for apartment communities running on these property management systems. This manual step becomes the most consistent source of data accuracy problems across the parking record system when move-in and move-out volume increases.
Situation 4. Self-service setup is not producing consistent results. SimplyPermits is marketed as a hands-off setup and configuration model. A platform with a dedicated onboarding specialist and account manager produces better results for communities facing inconsistent self-service setups or limited troubleshooting capacity. This is a model preference, not a quality failure on SimplyPermits’ part.
SimplyPermits Alternatives: Full Reviews
Reliant Parking – Best for Full Enforcement Automation and PMS Integration
Reliant Parking is the strongest upgrade path from SimplyPermits for communities whose parking needs have grown beyond guest passes into full resident permit management and active enforcement.
Key Features:
- The platform supports LPR technology and can integrate with gate access for combined access control or parking management.
- PMS integration with Entrata, Yardi, RealPage, and MRI automatically updates permit records when residents move in or out through the property management system.
- A real-time visual map lets residents and managers see and manage parking spaces spatially.
- Every violation in the Enforcement App is documented with photos, timestamps, and a clear audit trail.
- A dedicated onboarding specialist configures the system before launch. A named account manager conducts monthly performance reviews after go-live.
- 24/7 human support is confirmed, with real team members responding rather than automated answers.
Pricing: The setup fee is $0, and each custom quote is scaled to the size of the community.
Best for: HOA communities and apartment complexes where enforcement has become a recurring issue, where the towing company or patrol team requires real-time database access, or where PMS integration is required to eliminate double-entry at move-in and out.
Pro: The Enforcement App’s direct database access for tow companies resolves the most common operational problem that communities outgrow SimplyPermits for, which is waiting for management to authorize every tow action.
Con: Reliant Parking serves residential properties and does not include municipalities or commercial properties.
Parking Boss – Best for Volunteer HOA Boards Wanting More Community Tools
Parking Boss is part of the Community Boss platform ecosystem and is designed for volunteer HOA boards that want to manage more than parking from a single platform family.
Key Features:
- 24/7 self-service guest registration, no app download required.
- Both mobile and fixed LPR cameras provide flexibility for communities with different patrol structures.
- Digital resident permits, auto-pulled from PMS data
- Field Agent, a mobile app for on-site teams or patrols to search, verify, and enforce, record violations with photos, and issue warnings
- Smart Warning Stickers, QR-linked warning stickers tied to a specific violation record
Pricing: Starting at $195 per month, based on the number of units or homes.
Best for: Volunteer HOA boards that want to consolidate parking management with other community operations under one platform family, and are comfortable with a web-only system similar to SimplyPermits’ existing approach.
Pro: The Community Boss ecosystem adds value for HOAs that want to manage amenities, access control, and community communications with parking. The web-only model matches SimplyPermits’ no-app-download approach, which lowers the transition barrier for homeowners.
Con: Parking Boss requires a fixed monthly subscription, while SimplyPermits also offers a zero-upfront-cost revenue share option. So, Parking Boss is less flexible for communities that want to avoid guaranteed costs.
ParkingPass – Best for Communities Where LPR Patrol Enforcement Is the Priority
ParkingPass is a patrol-based LPR platform suited to communities that want a more structured enforcement workflow than SimplyPermits provides without switching to a full partner-model platform.
Key Features:
- A patrol-based LPR model with a mobile and stationary license plate reader that supports license plate verification during enforcement patrols.
- Revenue generation tools, including a payment gateway and parking revenue system, are included.
- Digital permits for residents, guests, and temporary visitors
- Monitor which spaces are occupied or available and track usage patterns across the property in real time
- Residents can request and issue guest passes with configurable expiration dates
Pricing: Starting at $100 per month. No long-term contract is implied on published pricing pages.
Best for: Communities that specifically want a more structured patrol-based LPR enforcement workflow than SimplyPermits provides, without switching to a full partner-model platform with dedicated account management.
Pro: The published starting price of $100 per month and no-app-download approach make the transition from SimplyPermits lower-friction than switching to a more complex platform, while adding a more structured enforcement workflow.
Con: ParkingPass does not confirm integrations with Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI on its published pages. This is the same PMS connectivity gap that exists in SimplyPermits. Communities switching specifically because of the PMS integration gap will not resolve it with ParkingPass.
Parkade – Best for Properties Prioritizing Parking Revenue Over Enforcement
Parkade is a digital parking platform for apartment communities, focused on guest parking and waitlist management. It lets communities turn spare parking capacity into recurring income by automating monthly billing and reservations for paid resident and guest spaces.
Key Features:
- Digital waitlist instead of a manual paper or spreadsheet list
- Synced to the property management system, residents pick their own long-term spot directly in the app
- Instant, in-app guest parking bookings with shareable payment links
- Self-service violation reporting with automatic temporary spot reassignment
- 24/7 resident support and enforcement handling
Pricing: Per-space monthly pricing. Contact sales for current rates. Month-to-month, no contract required.
Best for: Parkade suits high-demand apartment communities facing parking scarcity, properties prioritizing revenue optimization, waitlist management, and guest parking automation over deep enforcement infrastructure or LPR-based violation tracking.
Pro: Parkade offers the most developed revenue and waitlist tooling among comparable platforms, making it a strong fit where parking demand genuinely exceeds supply.
Con: Pricing is not published (quote-based, per-space), and enforcement relies on resident self-reporting rather than LPR cameras or dedicated patrol tools.
SimplyPermits Alternatives Comparison Table
| Software | Best For | Starting Price | LPR | PMS Integration | Contract |
| SimplyPermits | Small HOAs and apartments with guest pass abuse as the primary problem | Revenue share, per-unit, or hybrid. Not publicly listed | Yes, free mobile LPR app | Not confirmed on published pages | No long-term contracts |
| Reliant Parking | Communities needing full enforcement automation, tow company database access, and PMS integration | $0 setup, custom quote | Yes, Frogparking + Skidata | Entrata, Yardi, RealPage, MRI | No published contract lock-in |
| Parking Boss | HOAs requiring the Community Boss ecosystem and published pricing | $195 per month | Yes, mobile and fixed LPR | Entrata, Yardi, RealPage | Month-to-month available |
| ParkingPass | Communities wanting patrol-based LPR as a next step after SimplyPermits | $100 per month | Yes, mobile app and stationary LPR cameras | Not confirmed | No long-term contract implied |
| Parkade | Properties prioritizing parking revenue over enforcement | Per-space, contact sales | Not confirmed | Entrata, Yardi, RealPage, RentManager | Month-to-month |
The Towing Company Access Gap: From Web Portal to Live Database
The most operationally significant difference between SimplyPermits and the enforcement-focused alternatives is how a tow company or patrol team interacts with the permit database at the vehicle location. SimplyPermits has a web-based enforcement model where patrol can verify vehicles through the platform, but tow authorization requires coordination with management, depending on the specific setup.
A patrol officer or tow driver can directly access the live permit database from any standard smartphone at the vehicle’s location using Reliant Parking’s Enforcement App. A plate scan at the gate entry point gives an immediate authorized or unauthorized result without contacting management. This difference in enforcement workflow is the clearest operational reason to upgrade from a web-portal model to a native enforcement app for communities where tow response speed and management independence matter.
Pricing: Understanding SimplyPermits’ Revenue Share vs Per-Unit vs Alternatives
SimplyPermits offers three pricing structures, revenue share, per-unit, and hybrid, providing more flexibility than other options in this comparison. SimplyPermits earns a percentage of parking permit and guest pass revenue rather than charging a monthly subscription, making the revenue share option an out-of-pocket cost for the community. SimplyPermit has the lowest cost of entry among the platforms reviewed here.
The effective monthly cost also increases as the revenue share model grows with the community’s parking volume. The per-unit pricing option provides a predictable flat cost. Reliant Parking’s setup cost is $0 with a custom-quote model. Parking Boss publishes a fixed starting price of $195 per month. ParkingPass publishes a fixed starting price of $100 per month. Neither Parking Boss nor ParkingPass scales with parking revenue volume.
How to Choose a SimplyPermits Alternative
1. Identify whether your parking problem has grown beyond guest passes. The community has outgrown the original guest-pass-first platform’s scope, as unauthorized vehicles, repeated resident violations, and unregistered vehicles now add to the enforcement workload alongside guest pass abuse.
2. Ask whether your towing company or patrol team needs to access the permit database without calling management. Look specifically for platforms with a native enforcement app if the answer is yes, that provides the tow team direct database access at the vehicle location.
3. Confirm whether your community uses Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI. PMS integration is the clearest operational upgrade available if your community uses Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI, and move-in and move-out permit records are currently updated manually in a separate parking system.
4. Compare the total effective cost of SimplyPermits’ revenue share model against a fixed-cost alternative at your current and projected parking revenue volume. The out-of-pocket cost of revenue share becomes a recurring percentage as permit and guest revenue grow.
5. Request a live demo from the top alternative configured for your specific enforcement situation before deciding. A demo scoped to your enforcement workflow will surface operational fit issues that a feature list comparison will not.
What Is the Best Alternative to SimplyPermits?
Reliant Parking is the strongest overall alternative for HOA and apartment communities that have grown beyond the guest-pass threshold and prefer full enforcement automation, live permit database access for towing companies. Reliant Parking also includes PMS integration with Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI.
Is SimplyPermits Good for HOA Communities?
SimplyPermits is a practical starting point for small HOAs where guest pass abuse is the primary parking problem and a low-friction, no-contract setup is the priority. Its revenue share option can cost the community nothing upfront, and its free LPR mobile app and easy-to-use web portal make it accessible for volunteer boards managing parking with limited resources. Reliant Parking also fits small HOAs well, with $0 setup costs and pricing that scales to community size.
Does SimplyPermits Integrate with Yardi or Entrata?
SimplyPermits does not list confirmed integrations with Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI on its published feature pages or homepage. Apartment communities using these property management systems must update parking permit records separately from lease records when residents move in or out. Reliant Parking’s PMS integration connects directly with Entrata, Yardi, RealPage, and MRI, automatically syncing lease events to parking records.
How Much Does SimplyPermits Cost Compared to Alternatives?
SimplyPermits offers three pricing options, which include a revenue-share model with no upfront cost (SimplyPermits takes a percentage of parking revenue), a per-unit pricing model, and a hybrid of the two. The revenue-share model has the lowest entry cost but scales up monthly as revenue grows. Parking Boss starts at $195 monthly, and ParkingPass starts at $100 monthly. Reliant Parking has no setup fee and offers custom quotes based on community size.
When Should an HOA Upgrade From SimplyPermits to a Full Enforcement Platform?
Clear signs an HOA has outgrown SimplyPermits include frequent parking violations at board meetings and the towing company requiring direct access to the permit database. Other situations involve an increase in resident permit registrations and violations that demand more staff time than a managed platform would require. Reliant Parking’s Enforcement App lets staff and patrol teams quickly access permits and violations, keeping enforcement consistent for the management team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to SimplyPermits?
Reliant Parking is the strongest overall alternative for HOA and apartment communities that have grown beyond the guest-pass threshold and prefer full enforcement automation and live permit database access for towing companies. Reliant Parking also includes PMS integration with Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI.
Is SimplyPermits good for HOA communities?
SimplyPermits is a practical starting point for small HOAs where guest pass abuse is the primary parking problem and a low-friction, no-contract setup is the priority. Its revenue share option can cost the community nothing upfront, and its free LPR mobile app makes it accessible for volunteer boards managing parking with limited resources. Reliant Parking also fits small HOAs well, with $0 setup costs and pricing that scales to community size.
Does SimplyPermits integrate with Yardi or Entrata?
SimplyPermits does not list confirmed integrations with Yardi, Entrata, RealPage, or MRI on its published feature pages. Apartment communities using these property management systems must update parking permit records separately from lease records at move-in and move-out. Reliant Parking’s PMS integration connects directly with Entrata, Yardi, RealPage, and MRI, automatically syncing lease events to parking records.
How much does SimplyPermits cost compared to alternatives?
SimplyPermits offers a revenue-share model with no upfront cost, a per-unit pricing model, and a hybrid of the two. The revenue-share model has the lowest entry cost but scales up monthly as revenue grows. Parking Boss starts at $195 monthly, and ParkingPass starts at $100 monthly. Reliant Parking has no setup fee and offers custom quotes based on community size.
When should an HOA upgrade from SimplyPermits to a full enforcement platform?
Clear signs an HOA has outgrown SimplyPermits include frequent parking violations at board meetings and the towing company requiring direct access to the permit database. Other signs involve rising resident permit registrations and violations that demand more staff time than a managed platform would require. Reliant Parking’s Enforcement App lets staff and patrol teams quickly access permits and violations, keeping enforcement consistent.
