Hive Inspect vs HomeGauge: Field-Finished AI Reports, or a Desktop Writer Owned by Spectora
HomeGauge describes its own workflow as collect in the field, then “finish and format reports on your desktop”, and its published feature list names no AI. On Hive Inspect, the comment is drafted from what you say or type, related defects are merged, and the report leaves the house with you, in English, Spanish or French. One more fact to weigh: since April 2025, HomeGauge is owned by Spectora, and HomeGauge's own pricing page now sells Spectora beside it.
Should you choose Hive Inspect or HomeGauge?
Choose Hive Inspect to finish the report in the house: AI Comment Assist drafts the comment from what you say or type, AI Comment Merge combines related defects, Context Layer adds market context, and the report goes out in Spanish or French if needed. Customer support is 7 days a week.
Choose HomeGauge if you would rather collect in the field and finish on the desktop. Both write reports, schedule jobs, take payments, and let buyers and agents build a repair list from the report.
The ownership question: Spectora, HomeGauge's owner since April 1, 2025, invites HomeGauge users to switch in its FAQ. If that is where you may end up, read Hive Inspect vs Spectora too.
At a glance
Side by side
| Category | Hive Inspect | HomeGauge |
|---|---|---|
| Where the report gets finished | Hive Inspect: In the house, on the phone or tablet you inspect with, offline if the basement has no signal (the AI tools need internet). A web app is there if you prefer a desk. | HomeGauge: In their words: “Collect data in the field with the Companion app,” then “finish and format reports on your desktop.” |
| AI comment writing | Hive Inspect: Smart Add matches what you say or type to your own template comments; when nothing fits, AI Comment Assist drafts a new one that follows your company’s writing prompt, so it reads like your reports. | HomeGauge: As of 7 Oct 2026, their homepage, software page and pricing page name no AI feature of any kind. |
| Merging related defects | Hive Inspect: AI Comment Merge makes related findings one comment, photos and location tags carried across, so Realtors and clients read it faster. | HomeGauge: Not on their published feature list as of 7 Oct 2026. |
| Market context on defects | Hive Inspect: Context Layer shows your client how common each defect is nationally and in their state. | HomeGauge: Not on their published feature list as of 7 Oct 2026. |
| Multilingual reports (Spanish, French) | Hive Inspect: Deliver the report in Spanish or French. Other languages on request. | HomeGauge: Not on their published feature list as of 7 Oct 2026. |
| Report styles and layout | Hive Inspect: Layout, sections and branding, customized to how you prefer to present. Samples at hiveinspect.com/sample-reports. | HomeGauge: Multiple report styles (“Narrative, Grid, and more”) with your own comment library and templates. Deep formatting control, built up since 2001. |
| Repair request builder | Hive Inspect: Included. Buyers and agents build a repair list straight from the delivered report. | HomeGauge: CRL/Repair Request Builder “lets buyers and agents create a repair list from the inspection report.” Same job, done well on both. |
| Client and agent dashboard | Hive Inspect: A client portal plus an agent portal where agents see their clients’ inspections, no forwarded email chains. | HomeGauge: A buyer/inspector dashboard, per their software page. |
| Customer support | Hive Inspect: 7 days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, by chat, screen share, video call or email, answered by the Hive team. | HomeGauge: Phone, email and chat, U.S.-based, Monday to Friday 9am–8pm ET; 5–8pm is chat and email only. Closed weekends. |
| Migration and onboarding | Hive Inspect: HomeGauge templates import directly; the Hive team moves the rest at no cost, with a one-on-one onboarding call. | HomeGauge: Free training and webinars, per their pricing page. |
| Company and ownership | Hive Inspect: AI home inspection software, independently owned. 2,500+ inspectors and growing. One product, one roadmap. | HomeGauge: Founded 2001 in Asheville, NC. Owned by Spectora since April 1, 2025; their homepage now reads “part of Spectora,” and their pricing page sells Spectora beside HomeGauge. |
| Price | Hive Inspect: $99/mo or $999/yr, every feature and all AI included; $69/mo per added inspector; a $99 ten-report pack for part-timers. Nothing charged per inspection. | HomeGauge: $89/mo after a 30-day free trial, per their pricing page. Optional HomeGauge Protect guarantee at $11 or $22 per inspection, which you can switch off. |
HomeGauge’s price from its pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2026. Features, support hours and ownership from HomeGauge’s own website and support center and from Spectora’s published acquisition FAQ, checked 7 Oct 2026. Their plans change and ours do too. Out of date? Email support@hiveinspect.com and we'll correct it.
Common ground · Verdict: Tie, and that is the point
Where the two are the same
Both are mature enough to run an inspection business: scheduling, agreements, payments and client delivery; your own templates and comment library; a repair request builder for buyers and agents (Hive’s builder, HomeGauge’s CRL); a dashboard for the people you report to, buyers and agents; automations for agreements and scheduled emails; state and industry forms (TX, FL, NPMA-33), on both. Anyone telling you a competitor lacks the basics is selling you something.
Where the report gets finished · Verdict: In the house, or at a desk
Can you finish the report in the house?
This is the difference an inspector feels on day one. HomeGauge describes its own workflow in two steps, and the second happens at a desk. Hive Inspect was built so there is no second step.
HomeGauge (quoted steps are their own words)
- 1“Collect data in the field with the Companion app.”
- 2Drive back to the office.
- 3“Finish and format reports on your desktop.”
- 4Deliver, usually that evening or the next morning.
A complete desktop toolkit, refined since 2001. A deliberate two-step workflow: the report is finished at a desk, after the inspection, not during it. Its help center also mentions a “Web Writer App for Android”; its homepage and software page describe the desktop finish.
Hive Inspect
- 1Say or type the finding; Smart Add matches your own comment, or AI Comment Assist drafts a new one.
- 2AI Comment Merge folds related callouts into one comment.
- 3Review on the phone or tablet, offline if need be.
- 4Deliver from the driveway, in English, Spanish or French.
A web app is there if you prefer to review at a desk; the point is that you do not have to.
Neither workflow is wrong. But if your evenings belong to report writing, ask HomeGauge when that changes: as of 7 Oct 2026, their published feature list names no AI to change it.
Capability gap · Verdict: Hive
What does Hive Inspect have that HomeGauge doesn't?
Hive Inspect has four capabilities HomeGauge's published feature list does not include (AI Comment Assist, AI Comment Merge, Context Layer and multilingual reports), and all four let the report be finished in the house rather than at a desk.
AI Comment Assist
Drafts the comment from a few words, following your company’s writing prompt, so the output reads like your report, not like software. Type them on the web, or say them into Smart Add in the mobile app.AI Comment Merge
Three roof callouts become one comment instead of three alarming line items, with photos and location tags carried across.Context Layer
Shows your client how common each defect is nationally and in their state, and how easy it usually is to repair. Findings land in proportion.Multilingual reports (Spanish, French)
Write in English, deliver the report in Spanish or French. Other languages on request.
As of 7 Oct 2026, HomeGauge’s published feature list includes none of the four.
Ownership and future · Verdict: Read where their own pages point you
Who owns HomeGauge, and where are they pointing you?
Every fact here is public and none of it is something HomeGauge hides. It is the part of a multi-year decision that a feature list will not tell you.
2001: Founded in Asheville, NC. 2017: Acquired by American Family Insurance. April 1, 2025: Acquired by Spectora.
The timeline in their words, and the FAQ on support
2001: Twenty-five years in the industry. Their homepage: “Your Trusted Home Inspection Software Partner Since 2001.”
2017: More than seven years as a subsidiary of American Family Insurance Mutual Holding Company, from November 15, 2017.
April 1, 2025: Spectora bought HomeGauge from American Family. The HomeGauge homepage now reads “part of Spectora.”
The acquisition FAQ on support: “Customer support will remain strong, with teams from both companies continuing their dedicated service.”
What Spectora’s acquisition FAQ says
- “HomeGauge will continue as its own platform.”
- “HomeGauge users can switch to Spectora if they choose, but a new subscription is required.”
- “Spectora will continue to develop and release features as planned.”
What it does not say
- Anything about HomeGauge’s own roadmap.
- Whether new features will ship to HomeGauge, to Spectora, or to both.
Checked 7 Oct 2026. If they publish a HomeGauge roadmap, we will link it here.
Where their own pages point a HomeGauge user
HomeGauge’s pricing page sells two products side by side: HomeGauge Software at $89 a month and Spectora Software at $109 a month.
If you may end up on Spectora, compare Hive Inspect to Spectora directly.
Hive Inspect vs SpectoraHomeGauge is not being shut down: their own FAQ says so, and we are not going to suggest otherwise. What their pricing page and FAQ do say is that one company now sells two products, invites HomeGauge users to move to the other on a new subscription, has committed in writing to that product’s roadmap, and is silent on HomeGauge’s. What that means for a five-year decision is yours to weigh.
Business model · Verdict: Both keep your client yours
Who gets your client’s contact details?
Credit where it is due: HomeGauge states plainly that no third parties will contact your customers with promotional offers. Its one optional add-on, HomeGauge Protect, is an inspection guarantee you pay for per inspection and can switch off. That is the right stance, and the same as ours. Hive Inspect charges nothing per inspection on its plans, puts no warranty, insurance or security offers in your client’s portal, and does not sell client data.
Worth asking any platform you are evaluating, and you should ask it of us too: besides my subscription, how do you make money, and who gets my client’s contact details?
Read our data privacy pledgeWhat an inspector said
“Hive also won’t sell your client’s data to 3rd party vendors unlike other platforms.”
Direction · Verdict: A desktop toolkit, or AI on every plan
What has each team been building?
HomeGauge publishes dated release notes in its support center; the newest on 7 Oct 2026 was Desktop Software 5.6.3, released that day. Rather than compare cadence, we compare what each product's own pages say it is made of, and how fast your request becomes a feature.
HomeGauge, feature list from their software page
Narrative and Grid report styles · Comment library and template customization · Online scheduler, agreements and automation · CRL/Repair Request Builder
As of 7 Oct 2026, the list names no AI feature.
Hive, recent releases
One-click repair quotes from your recommended contractors (6 Oct 2026) · A public page for your business (6 Oct 2026) · Smart Add (14 Sep 2026) · Context Layer (16 Aug 2026)
Different problems: AI that helps write and read the report, and new ways for clients to find you and act on it.
“It’s incredible to request quality of life features and see them implemented in a matter of hours.”
More from inspectors, and the Sunday email
“I’m so pleasantly surprised at how quickly these changes are being implemented, nice work!”
“They WANT our input and quickly integrate suggestions.”
New features go into a public changelog, and a summary of what shipped goes out by email every Sunday. See the changelog
Support · Verdict: 7 days a week, or Monday to Friday
Who picks up when something breaks
HomeGauge’s support is a genuine strength: a U.S.-based team on the phone, by email and by chat, Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm Eastern, with the last three hours on chat and email. If your report breaks on a Saturday, you wait for Monday.
Here, a person on the Hive team answers, not a chatbot: customer support 7 days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, by chat, screen share, video call or email, plus a one-on-one onboarding call when you start.
“When there is an issue it is resolved very quickly because you actually talk to a human rather than an AI bubble… When needed, the Hive team will actually get on a video call with you to help resolve issues.”
Report quality · Verdict: Test it yourself
Do not take our word on the AI
HomeGauge’s published feature list names no AI comment writing, so there is no like-for-like test to run. Run this one instead; it takes five minutes:
- 1Pick a defect you have written a hundred times and pull your own comment for it from your HomeGauge library.
- 2Type the same defect into AI Comment Assist on the web, or say it into Smart Add’s microphone in the mobile app, and let Hive draft it.
- 3Read the two side by side: your library comment against the AI draft.
If it does not read like you, do not buy it. That goes for us too.
See sample reportsDesktop finishing and phone hours · Verdict: HomeGauge
When HomeGauge is the better choice
Choose HomeGauge instead if these matter more to you than finishing the report in the house, AI in the report, Spanish and French delivery, 7-day support and a single-product roadmap. It is also $10 a month cheaper on sticker.
- You want to finish and format reports on a desktop, with twenty-five years of formatting control behind it and Narrative and Grid styles.
- You want a U.S. phone line you can call Monday to Friday.
- You are comfortable with where Spectora has said its roadmap goes.
Those are real advantages, and plenty of good inspectors weigh them first.
Choose Hive Inspect if
- You would rather finish the report in the house than at a desk afterwards.
- You want AI in the report (comments drafted from what you say, related defects merged, market context on findings), and HomeGauge’s published feature list names none of it.
- You want to deliver reports in Spanish or French.
- You want to know whose roadmap your software is on before you commit for another five years, and would rather your own vendor did not invite you to switch products.
- You would rather reach a person on a Saturday than wait for Monday.
- You want new features often, with a Sunday email of what shipped.
If you switch, we move it for you, free
HomeGauge templates import directly into Hive Inspect, and our team moves the rest (comment libraries, agreements, contacts, services, business profile), with no migration fee and no onboarding package to buy.
What moves, and how to switch safely
Templates · Comment libraries · Rating and severity choices · Contacts · Agreements · Services, add-ons & fees · Automations, where available · Discount codes, where available · Location tags · Team members & signatures · Business info & hours.
See what switching involves, then keep both subscriptions running until your Hive templates have been through a real inspection.
Hive Inspect and HomeGauge: common questions
Something else? Ask customer support, 7 days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, by chat, screen share, video call or email.
What is Hive Inspect?
Hive Inspect is AI home inspection software. Its AI matches what you say or type to comments in your own template, and drafts a new one only when nothing fits. One subscription covers scheduling, agreements, payments, automations, CRM and a client and agent portal. It runs on iOS, Android and web, works offline (the AI tools need internet), and costs $99/month or $999/year however many inspections you do, every feature and AI tool included.
What does Hive Inspect have that HomeGauge doesn’t?
Four capabilities not on HomeGauge’s published feature list as of 7 Oct 2026: AI Comment Assist, which drafts comments from a few typed words (or from what you say into Smart Add in the mobile app), following your company’s writing prompt; AI Comment Merge, which combines related defects into one comment with photos and location tags carried across; Context Layer, which shows the client how common each defect is nationally and in their state; and multilingual reports, so a report written in English can be delivered in Spanish or French. Underneath is a workflow difference: Hive finishes the report in the house, on the device you inspect with, while HomeGauge describes collecting in the field and then finishing on the desktop.
Can you finish a HomeGauge report in the field?
HomeGauge’s own description of its workflow is two steps: “Collect data in the field with the Companion app,” then “finish and format reports on your desktop.” The Companion app gathers data on site; the report is finished at a desk afterwards. Its help center also mentions a “Web Writer App for Android” (in an article about beta testing), which its homepage and software page do not describe. Hive Inspect is built the other way round: Smart Add matches what you say or type to your own comments, AI Comment Assist drafts one when nothing fits, AI Comment Merge combines related findings, and you review and deliver from the phone or tablet in the house (photos, writing and editing work offline; the AI tools need internet), with a web app if you prefer a desk.
Does HomeGauge have AI features?
As of 7 Oct 2026, HomeGauge’s homepage, software page and pricing page name no AI feature of any kind. Its report writer is built around your own comment library and templates, edited on the desktop. On Hive Inspect, AI Comment Assist, AI Comment Merge and Context Layer are included in the $99 plan. If HomeGauge publishes an AI feature, email support@hiveinspect.com and we will update this page.
Who owns HomeGauge?
Spectora. HomeGauge was founded in 2001 in Asheville, North Carolina, was a subsidiary of American Family Insurance Mutual Holding Company from 2017, and was acquired by Spectora on April 1, 2025. Its homepage now describes it as “part of Spectora,” and its pricing page sells HomeGauge Software at $89 a month and Spectora Software at $109 a month side by side.
Is Spectora moving HomeGauge users to Spectora?
Spectora has not said that, and we will not say it for them. Its acquisition FAQ does say that “HomeGauge users can switch to Spectora if they choose, but a new subscription is required,” and that “Spectora will continue to develop and release features as planned.” It makes no statement about HomeGauge’s own roadmap, and HomeGauge’s pricing page now sells Spectora beside HomeGauge. If the platform you may end up on is Spectora, read our Hive Inspect vs Spectora comparison as well.
Is HomeGauge being discontinued?
No, not according to its owner. Spectora’s acquisition FAQ says “HomeGauge will continue as its own platform” and that “HomeGauge users can switch to Spectora if they choose, but a new subscription is required.” The same FAQ says “Spectora will continue to develop and release features as planned” and does not mention HomeGauge’s own roadmap. We are not reading more into that than it says, only pointing out that it is worth reading before a multi-year commitment.
How much does HomeGauge cost compared to Hive Inspect?
HomeGauge is $89 a month after a 30-day free trial, per their pricing page, with an optional HomeGauge Protect guarantee at $11 or $22 per inspection if you switch it on. Hive Inspect is $99 a month or $999 a year, every feature and all AI included, with additional inspectors at $69 a month, a $99 ten-report pack for part-time inspectors, and nothing charged per inspection.
Does Hive Inspect have a repair request builder like HomeGauge’s CRL?
Yes. Buyers and agents build a repair list straight from the delivered Hive Inspect report, the same job HomeGauge’s CRL/Repair Request Builder does. This is a parity feature, not a difference: both platforms handle it.
Can I import my HomeGauge templates into Hive Inspect?
Yes. HomeGauge templates import directly, and the Hive team moves the rest (comment libraries, rating and severity choices, contacts, agreements, services, add-ons and fees, automations and discount codes where available, location tags, team members and signatures, business info and hours) at no cost, with a one-on-one onboarding call. Do not cancel HomeGauge first: keep both running until your Hive templates have been through a real inspection.
Who answers support at Hive Inspect and at HomeGauge?
HomeGauge publishes U.S.-based phone, email and chat support Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm Eastern, with 5pm to 8pm on chat and email only, and no weekend hours. On Hive Inspect, customer support is 7 days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, by chat, screen share, video call or email, and your message reaches a person on the Hive team.
Does Hive Inspect support Spanish and French inspection reports?
Yes. Deliver the report in Spanish or French. Other languages on request. As of 7 Oct 2026, HomeGauge’s published feature list does not include multilingual delivery.
Can I write reports on a desktop in Hive Inspect, like HomeGauge?
Yes. Hive Inspect runs on iOS, Android and the web, so you can finish a report at a desk on a large screen if that is how you work. The difference is that you do not have to: the same report can be completed in the house on the phone or tablet you inspect with, offline if needed, and delivered before you leave.
Where is HomeGauge the better choice?
If you want to finish and format reports on a desktop, HomeGauge’s editor has twenty-five years of formatting control behind it, with Narrative and Grid styles. If you want a U.S. phone line to call, HomeGauge staffs one Monday to Friday. And it is $10 a month cheaper on sticker. If those matter more to you than finishing the report in the house, AI comment writing, comment merging, market context, Spanish and French delivery, 7-day support and a single-product roadmap, HomeGauge is the better buy.
Last reviewed: 7 Oct 2026. We revisit this page when our own capabilities change and when HomeGauge or Spectora update theirs. Verify competitor details with them too, since their plans move on their schedule, not ours. Comparing more than two? See the 2026 roundup of 11 tools.
Keep reading
If you are still working out which platform fits, these go deeper on the parts this page only summarises.
- All comparisonsHive Inspect against Spectora, Home Inspector Pro, ScribeWare, ISN, Palm-Tech, and others.
- Switching to HiveWhat migration involves, and what we move for you at no cost.
- Hive Inspect vs SpectoraThe product HomeGauge’s owner sells beside it, compared directly.
- AI Comment AssistHow a comment gets drafted from what you say or type.
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