Horizon Is Shutting Down on December 15, 2026: Hive Inspect vs Horizon
On July 27, 2026 Carson Dunlop announced that “Horizon is Sunsetting on December 15, 2026” and recommended Spectora, with “no automatic migration.” If you are weighing Horizon alternatives, this page lays out what Carson Dunlop said, the three options they list, and the case for the second one: Hive Inspect imports your templates, clients and agents free, drafts the comment with AI in the house, and Horizon switchers pay $500 for the first year or $50 a month for six months.
Should you choose Hive Inspect or Horizon?
Horizon ends December 15, 2026. It is a good report writer with the best-illustrated library in the industry. Carson Dunlop says Horizon “stays fully operational through December 15, 2026,” there is “no automatic migration,” export tools close at the sunset, and after that the data “will no longer be accessible.” They recommend Spectora and list two other options, one of which is moving to a different platform with your exported data.
Choose Hive Inspect to import your Horizon templates, clients and agents at no cost, on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, and add what Horizon never had: Smart Add and AI Comment Assist, which match what you say or type to your own comments or draft a new one, AI Comment Merge, Context Layer, Spanish and French delivery, an agent portal and pay splits. Horizon switchers pay $50 a month for six months or $500 for the first year, under the endorsed path's $55 and $545.
What you will miss: the Carson Dunlop library, which they sell separately for any report writer.
At a glance
Side by side
| Category | Hive Inspect | Horizon |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Hive Inspect: Actively developed, every AI tool on every plan, with a Sunday email of what shipped. | Horizon: “Horizon is Sunsetting on December 15, 2026,” with “no automatic migration.” Carson Dunlop recommends Spectora. |
| AI comment writing | Hive Inspect: Matches what you say or type to comments in your own template; drafts a new one in your company’s writing prompt when nothing fits. Included in the $99. | Horizon: As of 7 Oct 2026, no AI feature is named on any Carson Dunlop or Horizon page. |
| Merging related defects | Hive Inspect: AI Comment Merge combines related findings into one clean comment, photos and location tags carried across. | Horizon: As of 7 Oct 2026, not on Horizon’s published pages. |
| Market context on defects | Hive Inspect: Context Layer shows your client how common each defect is nationally and in their state, so findings land in proportion. | Horizon: Ballpark costs, life expectancies and implications from the library, credited. No national or state frequency data. |
| Multilingual reports (Spanish, French) | Hive Inspect: Deliver the report in Spanish or French. Other languages on request. | Horizon: As of 7 Oct 2026, not on Horizon’s published pages; both app-store listings list English only, despite a Toronto home. |
| Comment library and illustrations | Hive Inspect: Your own templates and comments come across; new AI drafts follow your company’s writing prompt, so they read like the old ones. | Horizon: “Over 6,000 standard items” and “1,700+ colour illustrations from The Illustrated Home.” Nothing else in the industry has this library. |
| Where the report gets finished | Hive Inspect: In the house, on the phone or tablet you inspect with, delivered before you leave the driveway. | Horizon: Written up after the field in Horizon Web or Laptop; the Report Designer needs Word on Windows 10. |
| Report format | Hive Inspect: An interactive web report and a PDF, with layout, sections and branding customized to you. | Horizon: A polished PDF with Word-based layouts; not an interactive web report. |
| State and industry forms | Hive Inspect: Texas, Florida and NPMA formats built in. | Horizon: TREC, Texas WDI, Florida wind mitigation and 4-point, 30+ ancillary forms, an ASTM commercial set. Credited. |
| Repair request builder | Hive Inspect: Included. Buyers and agents build a repair list straight from the delivered report. | Horizon: The Action List: “Allows agents & buyers to quickly create a list of request items for sellers.” Parity. |
| Back office | Hive Inspect: Online scheduling, agreements, payments, automations, CRM and an agent portal, all included. | Horizon: Booking, online contracts, payments, invoices, email automations and a client and agent database. A real back office, until the sunset. |
| Multi-inspector operations | Hive Inspect: Pay splits, revenue by inspector and free office-staff logins in the base plan. $69/month per additional inspector. | Horizon: A subscription per inspector, free admin accounts; pay splits by exporting to Excel. |
| Customer Support | Hive Inspect: Customer support 7 days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, by chat, screen share, video call or email, answered by the Hive team. | Horizon: Phone and email, weekdays only. “Sat and Sun: Closed.” Support continues until December 15, 2026. |
| Company | Hive Inspect: AI home inspection software, independently owned. 2,500+ inspectors and growing. | Horizon: Carson Dunlop, Toronto, founded 1978. Owned by The Co-operators, an insurer, since February 2024. |
| Price | Hive Inspect: $99/mo, or $999/yr (about $83/mo). $69/mo per additional inspector. $9.90 per report in a $99 pack of ten. Five free reports, no card. Horizon switchers: $50/mo for six months or $500 for the first year. AI included; template, client and agent import free. | Horizon: $79/mo or $799/yr per inspector, admin accounts free, or credits from $12 down to $4 per inspection, honoured “through to sunset.” The endorsed move to Spectora: $55/mo for six months or $545 for the first year, then $109/mo, if you sign up by January 31, 2027. |
Row by row: the full detail, in Carson Dunlop’s own words
- Status. Hive Inspect: Actively developed, with every AI tool on every plan; new features ship often, with a Sunday email of what shipped. Horizon: “Horizon is Sunsetting on December 15, 2026.” Carson Dunlop: “There is no automatic migration,” export tools until the sunset, and after that “the data will no longer be accessible.” Carson Dunlop recommends Spectora.
- AI comment writing. Horizon: As of 7 Oct 2026, no AI feature is named on any Carson Dunlop or Horizon page. Their sunset FAQ cites “AI-powered tools” as one reason the market moved on. Auto-suggested notes remember your top ten entries per item.
- Market context on defects. Horizon: Ballpark costs, maintenance notes, life-expectancy guidance and “automatically-included implications” from the Carson Dunlop library: a different tool, credited. No national or state frequency data.
- Comment library and illustrations. Horizon: “Over 6,000 standard items,” “1,700+ colour illustrations from The Illustrated Home,” technical articles linked in the report, and a Home Reference eBook with every report. Nothing else in the industry has this library. Credited, and the illustrations are sold separately for any software.
- 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, delivered before you leave the driveway. Horizon: Collected in Horizon Mobile, synced, and written up in Horizon Web or Laptop; a Report Designer theme “does require the Inspector to have Microsoft Word™ and also the Windows 10 Operating System for PC.” Their own help center: “Most inspectors don’t do it on-site because it takes time to tweak and refine it.”
- Report format. Horizon: PDF, with 250+ title pages, Word-based Report Designer layouts, and “180-240 photos” per report. A polished PDF; not an interactive web report.
- State and industry forms. Horizon: TREC REI 7-6, Texas WDI, Florida wind mitigation and 4-point, over 30 ancillary forms (radon, mold, pool, septic, WDO: “generic, non-NPMA”) and an ASTM E2018 commercial set. Credited.
- Back office. Horizon: Scheduler with online booking and conflict alerts, contracts accepted online, Guardian and Authorize.net payments, invoices and receivables, Horizon Marketer email automations set up by their team, a client and agent database, Business at a Glance reports, Google Calendar one-way, ISN one-way. A real back office, until the sunset.
- Multi-inspector operations. Hive Inspect: Each inspector has their own login with per-person permissions, and office staff get logins without taking a seat. Pay splits, several inspectors on one inspection and revenue by inspector are in the base plan. $69/month per additional inspector. Horizon: A subscription per inspector with free admin and customer-service accounts, a “Who’s closest” assignment tool, sales-by-inspector reports, and two inspectors on one job sharing the lead’s login. Pay splits: “Export … to Excel … calculate inspectors’ pay.”
- Customer Support. Horizon: Phone and email, 1:1 onboarding, monthly webinars and a Facebook group, weekdays only, and their pages disagree on the hours (9am–5pm ET on the contact page, 8am–7pm ET in the help-center footer). “Sat and Sun: Closed.” Support continues until December 15, 2026.
- Company. Horizon: Carson Dunlop, Toronto: “the country’s first dedicated home inspection company,” founded 1978, software since 1988, and a career college. Owned by The Co-operators, an insurer, since February 2024. Their words on the sunset: “a training and inspection company first.”
Horizon figures are quoted from Carson Dunlop’s own Horizon sunset page and retirement announcement, its pre-sunset Horizon marketing pages and help center, the Horizon migration FAQ Carson Dunlop published with Spectora, the app stores, and the Co-operators acquisition release, checked 7 Oct 2026, except the ASTM commercial set, the Horizon Facebook group, the partner-page promise, the 2020 FAX Capital stake and the illustrations sold separately, last checked in August 2026. Spectora’s $109/month checked on spectora.com/pricing, 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 Horizon’s basics were solid
Where the two are the same
Horizon's basics were solid and its library is the best in the industry. Both have Texas TREC and WDI, Florida wind mitigation and 4-point forms; a repair request list for buyers and agents; online booking, online contracts, card payments, invoices and automated emails; iOS, Android and web, working offline in the field; a client and agent database; free admin accounts for office staff; and free 1:1 onboarding. Listed so the gaps on this page read as gaps, not marketing, and so you know what transfers.
Sunset · Verdict: December 15, 2026: three options, no automatic migration
What the sunset means, in Carson Dunlop’s own words
On July 27, 2026 Carson Dunlop announced that it is retiring Horizon. Everything below is quoted from their sunset page and the migration FAQ they published; none of it is our characterisation.
“Horizon is Sunsetting on December 15, 2026”
“Horizon stays fully operational through December 15, 2026 / Your data is yours throughout the transition / Your subscription terms continue as agreed through to sunset.” After that date, “the data will no longer be accessible.” Unused months are refunded, prorated to full months.“There is no automatic migration”
Carson Dunlop lists three options: migrate to Spectora, their recommended platform; “Move to a different platform — Export your data and take it with you. Export tools available through December 15, 2026”; or keep using Horizon until the sunset. Whichever you choose, export historical reports, PDFs and photos: the endorsed path does not migrate them either.
Why, in their words
“Inspection reporting software has become a specialty in its own right … Rather than continuing to split our investment, we are bringing in a partner whose company is built around it.” Their FAQ cites “mobile technology, automation, integrations, customer experience expectations, and, more recently, AI-powered tools,” and notes Spectora is paying Carson Dunlop “a one-time administrative fee” for the recommendation.
Option two is the one this page exists for: free import of your templates, clients and agents, every device you own, AI in the house, and $50 a month for six months, five dollars a month under the endorsed path, with the whole business included rather than metered.
How the report gets written · Verdict: Six thousand items and Word, or AI in the house
Two ways to write the same comment
Take a roof with three related defects: lifted shingles, exposed nail heads, a cracked pipe boot. Here is how the comment gets written on each platform, using only what each publishes about itself.
On Horizon
- 1In Horizon Mobile, Speed Write through the Required Items; search the 6,000-item library (“lifted shingles”) with the microphone if you have signal.
- 2Select each item; implications, an Illustrated Home drawing and ballpark cost attach automatically. Three findings, three items.
- 3Sync to Horizon Web or Laptop and write up; the Report Designer layouts need Word on Windows.
- 4Publish the PDF; agents build an Action List from it. Until December 15, 2026.
The best-illustrated library in the industry, assembled item by item and finished at a desk. Every word is Carson Dunlop’s or yours.
On Hive Inspect
- 1Tap the microphone in Smart Add and say the first finding: “lifted shingles on the south slope.”
- 2Smart Add shows up to three of your own template comments that match, each with a match score. Pick one, or let AI Comment Assist draft a new one that follows your company’s writing prompt and files it in the right section.
- 3Repeat for the nail heads and the pipe boot, then AI Comment Merge folds the three into one comment, photos and location tags carried across.
- 4Context Layer adds how common this is in the state; you approve and deliver from the driveway, in Spanish or French if needed.
Every word reviewed and signed by you, in the house. Included in the $99.
Carson Dunlop said it themselves when they retired Horizon: “Inspection reporting software has become a specialty in its own right. The platforms leading the work today are built by teams whose entire focus is that product.” That is the standard Hive was built to.
Beyond the library · Verdict: Hive, with AI on every plan, every device and the office included
What does Hive Inspect have that Horizon doesn't?
Hive Inspect offers what Horizon's published pages do not: a future past December 15, 2026, AI that drafts the comment, AI Comment Merge, Context Layer, a report finished in the house on any device, multilingual delivery, and free import with a switcher rate.
A platform that is not shutting down
Hive Inspect ships new features often, with every AI tool on every plan. Horizon stops on December 15, 2026. Whatever you choose next, you are choosing it now.AI that writes the comment
AI Comment Assist drafts a new comment in the house from what you say or type, in your company’s writing prompt, after Smart Add has looked for a match in your own template. No AI feature is named on any Horizon page.AI Comment Merge and Context Layer
Merge folds related findings into one write-up; Context Layer shows how common each defect is. Horizon’s library adds implications, ballpark costs and life expectancies, a real strength, but no merge and no frequency data.Finished in the house, on any device
iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, offline too, so the report is finished and delivered from the driveway. Horizon writes up on the web or a Windows laptop, and its Report Designer needs Microsoft Word.Multilingual reports (Spanish, French)
Deliver the report in Spanish or French. Other languages on request. As of 7 Oct 2026, both Horizon app-store listings list English only.Free import, and a cheaper landing
We import your Horizon templates, clients and agents at no cost, with a one-on-one onboarding call, and switchers pay $50 a month for six months or $500 for the first year, under the endorsed path. Export past reports, PDFs and photos before December 15 whichever way you go; we can import those past inspections into Hive too.
Business model · Verdict: An insurer-owned parent; read the policy
Who owns the platform, and what happens to the data?
Carson Dunlop has been owned since February 2024 by The Co-operators, a Canadian insurer, which described the purchase as entering “home services.” Read two sentences of its privacy policy together: “We do not trade, rent or sell your personal information,” and “We may de-identify information collected in the course of our home inspection business … for the purposes of generating commercial insights for insurers and loan providers.” Hive Inspect is independently owned: it does not sell client data, and nothing is marketed into your client’s portal.
- We do not sell client data. Not to lead buyers, not to contractors, not to an insurer.
- No warranty, insurance or security offers in your client’s portal.
- We make money from what you pay for: your plan, and any add-ons you choose, such as a website.
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?
What Carson Dunlop promises, and what an inspector said
Their partner-page promise to inspectors, “we won’t reach out to your clients to sell them anything,” is credited. And for Horizon specifically, the sunset FAQ says that after December 15, 2026, the data “will no longer be accessible” and will be “securely delete[d].”
“Hive also won’t sell your client’s data to 3rd party vendors unlike other platforms.”
Direction · Verdict: Retiring, or AI on every plan
What has each team been building?
Horizon does not publish a changelog we can quote, so we will not guess at their cadence. Here is what each product's own pages say it is made of.
Horizon, from their pages
Help-center “Announcements & Latest News”: newest item “Horizon interface update (October 2020)” · Horizon Mobile 3, last app builds January 2026 (bug fixes) · Report Designer state forms, launched January 2019 · July 27, 2026: retirement announced; Spectora recommended · December 15, 2026: sunset; export tools close
Carson Dunlop explored a next-generation Horizon and chose not to build it: “Rather than spending several years developing a new platform internally.”
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.
The speed that matters is how fast your request becomes a feature. Our inspectors describe it best:
“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.”
Every Sunday, you hear what changed
New features ship often and go into a public changelog. A summary of what shipped goes out by email every Sunday. See the changelog
Support · Verdict: Seven days, or weekdays until the sunset
Who picks up when something breaks
Horizon support (phone and email, weekdays, with 1:1 onboarding, monthly webinars and a Facebook group) continues until December 15, 2026, and Carson Dunlop deserves credit for saying so plainly. Their pages disagree on the hours (9am–5pm Eastern on the contact page, 8am–7pm in the help-center footer) but agree on “Sat and Sun: Closed.”
Here, your message reaches a person on the Hive team, not a chatbot: customer support 7 days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, by chat, screen share, video call or email, through the switch and after it, with no end date.
“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
Horizon has no AI to test against, so run this instead. It takes five minutes and the Hive trial is free, five reports, no card:
- 1Pick a defect you have written a hundred times and pull the Horizon library item for it, implications and illustration included.
- 2Describe the same defect to Hive Inspect, out loud or typed, and let Smart Add match it to your own comments, or AI Comment Assist draft a new one.
- 3Read the two side by side and ask which one you would sign, then check the clock.
If it does not read like you, do not buy it. That goes for us too.
See sample reportsTiming and the library · Verdict: Horizon, until the sunset
When Horizon is the better choice
Only until December 15, 2026, and honestly in two places.
- Keep Horizon until the sunset if your season is already booked in it and you would rather switch in the quiet months. Carson Dunlop says that is a legitimate option, and support runs to December 15, 2026.
- If the Illustrated Home library is what you will miss most, Carson Dunlop sells the illustrations separately for use in any report writer.
Those are real considerations, and an honest page says so.
Choose Hive Inspect if
- You are leaving Horizon before December 15, 2026 and want AI on every plan rather than the recommended option.
- You want your templates, clients and agents imported free, a one-on-one onboarding call, and $50 a month for six months.
- You want AI that drafts the comment from what you say or type in the house, in your words.
- You want related defects merged and market context on every finding.
- You want to deliver reports in Spanish or French.
- You want the report shaped to you: layout, sections and branding customized to how you prefer to present.
- You want an agent portal, CRM, pay splits and revenue reports in $99 a month, however many inspections you do.
- You would rather reach a person in chat on a Saturday than wait for Monday.
If you switch, we move it for you, free
Our team moves or rebuilds your Horizon templates and comment libraries, moves the rest (agreements, contacts, services, business profile) and imports the past inspections you export from Horizon, with no migration fee and no hourly onboarding.
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 · Past inspections.
See what switching involves, then keep both subscriptions running until your Hive templates have been through a real inspection.
Hive Inspect and Horizon: 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.
Is Horizon shutting down?
Yes. Carson Dunlop announced on July 27, 2026 that “Horizon is Sunsetting on December 15, 2026” and selected Spectora as its recommended platform. Per their sunset page, Horizon “stays fully operational through December 15, 2026,” subscription terms continue as agreed, export tools are available until the sunset, and after that date the data “will no longer be accessible” and will be securely deleted. Carson Dunlop says “There is no automatic migration” and lists three options: migrate to Spectora, move to a different platform with your exported data, or keep using Horizon until the sunset.
Do I have to move from Horizon to Spectora?
No. Carson Dunlop’s own sunset page lists moving “to a different platform — Export your data and take it with you” as one of three options, and its FAQ notes Spectora is paying Carson Dunlop “a one-time administrative fee” for the recommendation, with “no long-term commercial relationship.” Hive Inspect imports your Horizon templates, clients and agents at no cost, with a one-on-one onboarding call, and Horizon switchers get $50 a month for six months or $500 for the first year, less than the endorsed path’s $55 a month for six months or $545 for the first year.
What does Hive Inspect have that Horizon doesn’t?
A future, first: Horizon stops on December 15, 2026. Then Smart Add and AI Comment Assist, which match what you say or type to your own comments or draft a new one in your words, AI Comment Merge, and Context Layer market context (no AI feature is named on any Horizon page); an interactive web report finished in the house on iPhone, iPad, Android or web rather than a PDF written up on a Windows laptop with Word; multilingual delivery in Spanish and French; an agent portal, email and text automations, pay splits and revenue reports; and customer support 7 days a week. What Horizon has that Hive does not: the Carson Dunlop library, over 6,000 items and 1,700+ Illustrated Home drawings.
How much does Horizon cost compared to Hive Inspect?
Horizon is $79 a month or $799 a year per inspector with free admin accounts, or inspection credits from $12 each in blocks of 25 down to $4 each in blocks of 500, honoured through the December 15, 2026 sunset with prorated refunds for unused months. Hive Inspect is $99 a month or $999 a year (about $83 a month), $69 per additional inspector, with a $9.90-per-report pack of ten and five free reports. Horizon switchers pay $50 a month for six months or $500 for the first year, with templates, clients and agents imported free. For comparison, Carson Dunlop’s endorsed move to Spectora is $55 a month for six months or $545 for the first year, then $109 a month.
Does Horizon have AI?
No. No AI feature is named on any Carson Dunlop or Horizon page, help-center article or app-store listing as of 7 Oct 2026. Horizon offers a voice search that needs an internet connection, auto-suggested notes that remember your ten most-used entries per item, and a library that attaches implications, illustrations and ballpark costs automatically. Carson Dunlop’s own sunset FAQ names “AI-powered tools” among the reasons inspection software moved past Horizon. Hive Inspect’s AI Comment Assist, AI Comment Merge and Context Layer are built in and included.
What happens to my Horizon reports and photos after December 15, 2026?
Per Carson Dunlop’s migration FAQ, the data “will no longer be accessible” after the sunset and will be securely deleted. Export tools (clients, agents, bookings, templates, dashboard and tax data) are available until then, with download links that expire after 14 days. The same FAQ says historical inspection reports, work-order data, inspection photos and attachments do not migrate to Spectora. Whichever platform you choose, export your report PDFs and photos before December 15, 2026. The Hive team imports your templates, clients and agents, and since 30 Aug 2026 it can import your exported past Horizon inspections too, so you can send a client their old report PDF from Hive.
Who owns Carson Dunlop, and who owns Hive Inspect?
Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, founded in 1978 as “the country’s first dedicated home inspection company,” has been a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operators, a Canadian insurer, since February 2024; earlier, FAX Capital took a controlling interest in 2020. Its privacy policy says it does not trade, rent or sell personal information and that de-identified inspection data may be used to generate commercial insights for insurers and loan providers. Hive Inspect is independently owned AI home inspection software, used by 2,500+ inspectors.
Does Horizon have Texas TREC and Florida forms?
Yes: the Classic TREC REI 7-6 report, a Texas WDI report, Florida wind mitigation and 4-point forms, over 30 free ancillary forms including radon, mold, pool, septic and a generic WDO form, and an ASTM E2018 commercial set. Hive Inspect includes Texas, Florida and NPMA formats. This was a parity feature; after December 15, 2026 it is a Hive feature.
Who answers support at Hive Inspect and at Horizon?
Horizon offers phone and email support on weekdays (9am–5pm Eastern per the contact page, 8am–7pm per the help-center footer, closed Saturday and Sunday) with 1:1 onboarding, monthly webinars and a Facebook group, continuing until the December 15, 2026 sunset. 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, both Horizon app-store listings list English only.
How do I move from Horizon to Hive Inspect?
Start a free Hive account, hand us your Horizon templates, client list and agent contacts, and we import them at no cost; run a practice inspection, then one real job in parallel while Horizon is still there as your safety net; then point new bookings at Hive. You get a one-on-one onboarding call, and Horizon switchers pay $50 a month for six months or $500 for the first year. The step-by-step guide is at hiveinspect.com/migrating-from-horizon.
Where is Horizon the better choice?
Only until December 15, 2026, and honestly in two places. If your season is booked in Horizon and you would rather switch in the quiet months, Carson Dunlop says keeping Horizon to the sunset is a legitimate option and support continues. And the Carson Dunlop library (over 6,000 items with 1,700+ Illustrated Home drawings, implications and ballpark costs) has no equal; if it is what you will miss, Carson Dunlop sells the illustrations separately for use in any report writer. After the sunset, there is no Horizon to choose.
Last reviewed: 7 Oct 2026. We revisit this page when our own capabilities change and when Horizon updates 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, HomeGauge, ISN, Palmtech, and others.
- Switching to HiveWhat migration involves, and what we move for you at no cost.
- PricingEvery plan, including the part-time and new-inspector options.
- AI Comment AssistHow new comments get drafted to your company’s writing prompt.
Run five real reports before you decide
Start with 5 free reports, no credit card. We move your templates, agreements, services, contacts and settings, and set up your account so it’s ready to run your business, free.