Hive Inspect vs Palmtech: A Comment Helper, or AI That Writes the Comment
Palmtech is the cheapest full-featured platform on this site ($50 a user, every feature, seven-day phone hours) and a Porch Group business since 2021. Its AI suggests comments from a starting phrase and drafts comments from photos. Hive Inspect's AI matches what you say or type to your own comments or drafts a new one in the house, merges related defects and adds market context, with an agent portal, text automations and pay splits around it.
Should you choose Hive Inspect or Palmtech?
Choose Hive Inspect for AI that matches what you say or type to your own comments, or drafts a new one in your words, with no usage cap, where Palmtech's AI Comment Helper suggests comments from a typed starting phrase. Hive also has AI Comment Merge, Context Layer, Spanish and French delivery, an agent portal and client portal, text automations, and pay splits with revenue reports by inspector, none of which are on Palmtech's published pages as of August 2026.
Choose Palmtech if price decides it: $50 a user a month, every feature, and we say so. Both write interactive reports, schedule jobs, sign agreements, take payments and send automated emails, both cover TREC and Florida forms, and both have AI in the report writer.
Who gets your client: Palmtech is “a business unit of Porch.com, Inc.,” whose programs share client information for marketing if you opt in; Hive has no such program. Hive Inspect is used by 2,500+ inspectors; Palmtech has been used by inspectors since 1998.
At a glance
Side by side
| Category | Hive Inspect | Palmtech |
|---|---|---|
| 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. No usage cap. | Palmtech: AI Comment Helper: “AI-generated comment suggestions tailored to your inspection findings,” started from a typed Starting Phrase. Nothing on their pages drafts a narrative from voice or field notes. |
| AI on photos | Hive Inspect: No photo AI. Photos you attach first travel to the comment Smart Add matches or drafts. | Palmtech: AI Image Defect Detector (Palmtech 11) “automatically detects issues in photos and drafts detailed comments you can review and add.” Real, and credited. |
| Voice in the field | Hive Inspect: Say the finding into the Smart Add microphone button instead of typing it, and take photos hands-free with Voice Shutter. No voice commands for moving around the report. | Palmtech: Voice commands on mobile, for navigating and inserting. Not dictation into a draft. |
| Merging related defects | Hive Inspect: AI Comment Merge makes related findings one comment, photos and location tags carried across. | Palmtech: Not on Palmtech’s published pages 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. | Palmtech: Not on Palmtech’s published pages as of 7 Oct 2026. |
| Multilingual reports (Spanish, French) | Hive Inspect: Deliver the report in Spanish or French. Other languages on request. | Palmtech: Not on Palmtech’s published pages as of 7 Oct 2026. |
| State and industry forms | Hive Inspect: Texas, Florida and NPMA formats built in. | Palmtech: TREC, the 2026 Florida wind mitigation form and the Citizens 4-point form, auto-populating your inspector details. Credit where due. |
| Repair request builder | Hive Inspect: Included. Buyers and agents build a repair list straight from the delivered report. | Palmtech: Build Request List: clients and agents “request repairs or credits based on your inspection findings,” with credit amounts and notes. Parity. |
| Agent portal and CRM | Hive Inspect: An agent portal listing each agent’s client inspections, a client portal, CRM, and automated emails and texts, all included. | Palmtech: A client and agent database, and portal metrics for top agents by inspections and revenue. Automations are email only; no client portal, agent portal or SMS on their published pages (7 Oct 2026). |
| Back office | Hive Inspect: Online scheduling, agreements, payments, automations, all included. | Palmtech: Since Palmtech 11: scheduling, an embeddable online scheduler, e-signed agreements, Guardian card processing, ten automated emails, metrics and an ISN handoff. A real back office, credited. |
| Multi-inspector operations | Hive Inspect: Per-inspector logins and permissions, office staff logins without taking a seat, pay splits, several inspectors on one inspection and revenue by inspector. $69/month per additional inspector. | Palmtech: Owner, Admin and Inspector roles, simultaneous co-editing, colour flagging, $50 per user. No pay splits or per-inspector revenue analytics on their published pages (August 2026). |
| 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. | Palmtech: “You’ll get a live person between the hours of 6AM – 5PM PT, M-F and 6AM – 3PM PT on Saturday and Sunday,” plus email and portal chat. Seven-day phone support, credited. |
| Who gets your client | Hive Inspect: No client data sold; no warranty, insurance or security offers in your client’s portal. | Palmtech: Client information goes to Porch companies for marketing only if you join a Porch program such as Porch Gold; their data page says they do not sell or share inspection data. Opt-in, and worth reading before you opt in. |
| Company | Hive Inspect: AI home inspection software, independently owned. 2,500+ inspectors and growing. | Palmtech: Founded by Will Singer in 1998; “a business unit of Porch.com, Inc.” since January 2021, alongside ISN, Home Inspector Pro and Guardian Inspection Payments. Palmtech 11, the web-and-mobile rebuild, shipped February 17, 2026. “Used by 1000s of home inspectors.” |
| 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; new inspectors $39 → $59 → $79, then $99. Five free reports, no card. AI and a one-on-one onboarding call included. | Palmtech: “$50 a user per month” or “$500 a user per year,” every feature, unlimited reports, no contracts; an introductory year at $199 up front plus $20 a month. Five free published inspections, no card. The cheapest full-featured platform on this site. |
Palmtech figures are quoted from Palmtech’s own homepage, pricing, features and Palmtech 11 pages, its help center, its privacy policy and terms, Porch Group press releases, and its App Store and Google Play listings, 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 Palmtech covers the basics
Where the two are the same
The common ground is wide and Palmtech covers the basics well for its price: Texas TREC, Florida wind mitigation and Citizens 4-point forms; a repair request builder for buyers and agents; online scheduling, agreements with e-signature, card payments and automated emails; iOS, Android and web, working offline in the field; interactive HTML reports with PDF; team roles and several inspectors on one inspection; seven-day support hours; five free inspections to start, no card, on both. It is listed so the gaps read as gaps rather than as marketing.
How the report gets written · Verdict: A starting phrase and a helper, or the whole comment
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 each platform writes it, using only what each publishes about itself.
On Palmtech 11
- 1Say “Go to Roof” and “Take a picture of the shingles”; the AI Image Defect Detector drafts a comment per uploaded photo.
- 2Or click New Comment, type a Starting Phrase (“lifted shingles”), and the AI Comment Helper suggests a comment; tick Longer or Include Recommendation.
- 3Keep, edit or delete each suggestion; three findings stay three comments.
- 4Mark complete; the interactive report and PDF go out, with the Build Request List for the agent.
Real AI, credited: a helper and a detector inside a rebuilt 1998 report writer, documented in the web Report Writer.
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, with no usage cap.
Palmtech’s own blog puts it well: the AI Comment Helper “generates comment suggestions based on your findings. You review them, edit them, and decide what makes it into the report.” The difference is how much of the comment exists before you start reviewing.
Beyond the helper · Verdict: Hive: AI that writes, and the office around it
What does Hive Inspect have that Palmtech doesn't?
Hive Inspect includes what Palmtech's published pages do not as of August 2026: AI that drafts the whole comment with no usage cap, AI Comment Merge, Context Layer, multilingual delivery, an agent portal with a client portal and text automations, and pay splits with revenue reports by inspector.
AI that writes the whole comment, not a suggestion
Smart Add looks for a match in your own template first; when nothing fits, AI Comment Assist drafts a new comment in the house, following your company’s writing prompt. Included in the $99, with no usage cap.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.Agent portal, client portal and text automations
Agents see their clients’ inspections in the agent portal, with a client portal, CRM, and automated emails and texts included in the $99. Palmtech has a client and agent database and ten automated emails.Pay splits and revenue by inspector
Per-inspector logins and permissions, office staff logins, pay splits, several inspectors on one inspection and revenue reports by inspector, all in the base plan. Palmtech has Owner, Admin and Inspector roles and simultaneous co-editing, credit where due.
As of August 2026, none of the six is on Palmtech’s published pages, and its AI Comment Helper is documented only in the web Report Writer.
Business model · Verdict: Read the Porch program terms, then decide
Who gets your client after the report?
Palmtech is “a business unit of Porch.com, Inc.” Its data-protection page: “Palmtech does not sell or share any inspection data with third parties.” Its privacy policy: client information is shared with the Porch Family Companies for marketing “if you choose to participate in Porch programs, such as Porch Gold.” So the honest summary is: opt-in, and read the opt-in. Hive Inspect has no such program to opt into: no offers in your client’s portal, and Hive does not sell client data.
- We do not sell client data. Not to lead buyers, not to contractors, not to a parent company.
- 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 Porch said, Porch Gold, and what an inspector said
Porch said in the 2021 acquisition announcement that it expected to give Palmtech “the ability to help its consumers with key move-related transactions such as insurance.”
The data-protection page goes on: “We also do not share your contact information, or your client’s contact information, unless you and your client give us permission to do so.”
Porch Gold is the program in which Porch’s concierge contacts homebuyers about insurance, moving and home services.
“Hive also won’t sell your client’s data to 3rd party vendors unlike other platforms.”
Direction · Verdict: A 1998 writer rebuilt in 2026, or AI on every plan
What has each team been building?
Palmtech publishes dated release notes in its help center; the newest we found on 7 Oct 2026 was a minor Palmtech 11 release dated 30 Jul 2026. 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.
Palmtech, from their release posts
AI Comment Helper (December 2024) · Palmtech 11: web and mobile rebuild, AI Image Defect Detector (February 2026) · Global Ratings and Global Lists (March 2026) · Online Scheduler (June 2026); category imports (July 2026) · Chris Schuld returns to lead engineering across Palmtech, ISN and HIP (July 2026)
A 1998 report writer rebuilt for the web in 2026, with the same AI helper as its sister brand ISN. Shipping steadily.
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: Both seven days; chat and video here, phones there
Who picks up when something breaks
Credit first: Palmtech publishes seven-day phone hours (6am to 5pm Pacific on weekdays, 6am to 3pm at weekends) with email, portal chat and free onboarding sessions, now through the same inspector-success team as ISN. That is genuinely good. The difference is the channel: Palmtech answers by phone; Hive offers customer support 7 days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, by chat, screen share, video call or email.
Answered by a person on the Hive team, not a chatbot, 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
Both platforms have AI in the report writer and both trials are free: five inspections each, no card on either. So run the like-for-like test:
- 1Pick a defect you have written a hundred times.
- 2On Palmtech, click New Comment, type its Starting Phrase into the AI Comment Helper and take the suggestion. On Hive, say the finding into Smart Add’s microphone in the mobile app, or type it into AI Comment Assist on the web, on one of your own templates.
- 3Read the two results beside your library comment and ask which one you would sign, and which one you had to finish yourself.
If it does not read like you, do not buy it. That goes for us too.
The report itself is yours to shape: layout, sections and branding, customized to how you prefer to present.
See sample reportsPrice and phone hours · Verdict: Palmtech, at $50 a seat with seven-day phones
When Palmtech is the better choice
An honest page says this first: Palmtech is the lowest-priced full-featured platform on this site, and you can get a person on the phone seven days a week.
$50 a seat to our $99 and $69
Every feature included, unlimited reports, no contracts, and an introductory year at $199 up front plus $20 a month. Solo, that is roughly half of Hive; at three inspectors, $150 against $237.A live person, seven days
A live person on the phone seven days a week, plus email, portal chat and free onboarding sessions. Few platforms publish weekend phone hours; Palmtech does. Choose it if phone hours matter more to you than who answers.Twenty-eight years of templates
Used by inspectors since 1998, with pre-loaded templates, “thousands of comments,” TREC and Florida forms, a shared template library, an ISN handoff, and, new in 2026, Global Lists and Global Ratings so one edit updates every template.
What the difference buys on Hive is the rest of this page. If you do not need it, Palmtech is the better deal, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
Choose Hive Inspect if
- You want the AI to write the whole comment from what you say or type, in your words, with no usage cap.
- You want related defects merged and market context on every finding.
- You want to deliver reports in Spanish or French.
- You want an agent portal, client portal and text automations, not an agent database and email only.
- You run a firm and need pay splits and revenue reports by inspector, included.
- You want your client to hear from you and nobody else, with no Porch program to opt into or out of.
- You want new features often, with a Sunday email of what shipped.
If you switch, we move it for you, free
Since 6 Oct 2026 Hive imports your Palmtech template, with its sections, items, dropdown options, canned comments and ratings: ask in the chat bubble and we run the import. Our team moves the rest (agreements, contacts, services, business profile), 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.
See what switching involves, then keep both subscriptions running until your Hive templates have been through a real inspection.
Hive Inspect and Palmtech: 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 Palmtech doesn’t?
AI that matches what you say or type to your own comments, or drafts a new one in your words, in the house, with no usage cap (Palmtech’s AI Comment Helper suggests comments from a typed Starting Phrase); AI Comment Merge; Context Layer market context; Spanish and French delivery; an agent portal and client portal; text automations; pay splits and revenue reports by inspector; and a client relationship with no Porch program attached. As of August 2026, none of these are on Palmtech’s published pages. Both have TREC and Florida forms, a repair request builder, scheduling, agreements, payments, email automations, team roles and seven-day support.
How much does Palmtech cost compared to Hive Inspect?
Palmtech is cheaper: “$50 a user per month” or “$500 a user per year,” every feature included, unlimited reports, free support and no contracts, with an introductory year at $199 up front plus $20 a month; five published inspections are free, no card. 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, five free reports and a $39/$59/$79 ramp for new inspectors. Solo, Hive is $49 a month more; at three inspectors, $237 against $150.
Does Palmtech have AI?
Yes, two features included in the subscription. The AI Comment Helper, announced in December 2024, is described as “suggesting spot-on, accurate comments based on your inspection notes”; it works from a typed Starting Phrase. The AI Image Defect Detector, part of Palmtech 11 in February 2026, scans uploaded photos and drafts a comment per image. Both are documented in the web Report Writer. The AI Image Defect Detector “automatically detects issues in photos and drafts detailed comments you can review and add.” Voice on Palmtech is navigation commands on mobile (“Go to Exterior”, “Add a comment to Exterior Windows”, “Take a picture of Sub panel”), not dictation into a draft. On Hive Inspect, Smart Add matches what you say or type to your own template comments and AI Comment Assist drafts a new one that follows your company’s writing prompt, with no usage cap; AI Comment Merge and Context Layer are included.
Who owns Palmtech?
Porch Group. Will Singer created Palmtech in 1998, and Porch announced its acquisition on January 14, 2021. Palmtech’s privacy policy and terms call it “a business unit of Porch.com, Inc.,” alongside ISN, Home Inspector Pro, Guardian Inspection Payments and America’s Call Center. Porch’s FY2025 annual report says its inspection brands together represent roughly half of all U.S. home inspections. Hive Inspect is independently owned.
Does Palmtech share my clients’ information with Porch?
Conditionally, by their own account. Palmtech’s data-protection page says “Palmtech does not sell or share any inspection data with third parties” and does not share your or your client’s contact information “unless you and your client give us permission to do so.” Its privacy policy shares client information with the Porch Family Companies for marketing “if you choose to participate in Porch programs, such as Porch Gold,” under which Porch’s concierge contacts homebuyers about insurance, moving and home services. So it is opt-in, and the opt-in is worth reading before you take the sponsored benefits. Hive Inspect has no equivalent program and does not sell client data.
Does Palmtech have Texas TREC and Florida forms?
Yes. Palmtech publishes a TREC sample that “meets all Texas Real Estate Commission reporting requirements right out of the box,” plus the 2026 Florida wind mitigation form and the Citizens 4-point form, both auto-populating your inspector details. Hive Inspect includes Texas, Florida and NPMA formats. This is a parity feature.
Does Palmtech have a back office?
Yes, since Palmtech 11: a web portal with calendar, scheduling, services and metrics, an online scheduler you can embed on your website (June 2026), agreements with e-signature, Guardian card processing “as low as 2.75%,” ten automated emails, a client and agent database, and an ISN handoff. Not on their published pages as of 7 Oct 2026: a client portal, an agent or Realtor portal, SMS automations, pay splits, Google Calendar, QuickBooks or Zapier; per-inspector analytics were not on them as of August 2026. Hive Inspect includes an agent portal, client portal, CRM, email and text automations, pay splits and revenue reports in the $99 plan.
Does Palmtech support multi-inspector companies?
Yes, with Owner, Admin and Inspector roles, several inspectors working on one inspection simultaneously online, colour-coded inspector flagging, and $50 per user. Their help center notes that inspectors “can only be added to an inspection when it is first created.” Pay splits and per-inspector revenue analytics are not on their published pages as of August 2026. Hive Inspect gives each inspector their own login with per-person permissions, with pay splits, several inspectors on one inspection and revenue reports by inspector in the base plan, at $69/month per additional inspector.
Who answers support at Hive Inspect and at Palmtech?
Palmtech publishes seven-day phone hours (“6AM – 5PM PT, M-F and 6AM – 3PM PT on Saturday and Sunday”) plus email, portal chat and free onboarding sessions, through the inspector-success team it shares with ISN. 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, multilingual delivery is not on Palmtech’s published pages.
Can I import my Palmtech templates into Hive Inspect?
Yes. Since 6 Oct 2026 Hive imports your Palmtech template, including its sections, items, dropdown options, canned comments and ratings: ask in the chat bubble and the Hive team runs the import for you. The team also moves the rest (contacts, agreements, services, add-ons and fees, automations where available, team members and signatures, business info and hours) at no cost, with a one-on-one onboarding call. Palmtech’s data page confirms “you own your Palmtech data.” Do not cancel first: keep both running until your Hive templates have been through a real inspection.
Where is Palmtech the better choice?
Three places. If price decides it, Palmtech is $50 a user a month with every feature, against Hive’s $99 and $69 a seat. If seven-day phone hours matter more to you than who answers, Palmtech publishes them. And if you want a report writer with twenty-eight years of templates, TREC and Florida forms, and a handoff to ISN, it has all three. If those matter more than AI that writes the whole comment, merge, market context, Spanish and French, an agent portal, text automations, pay splits and a client with no Porch program attached, Palmtech is the better buy.
Last reviewed: 7 Oct 2026. We revisit this page when either product changes. 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, Home Inspector Pro, 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
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