Search free society management app India and you will get directories, “lifetime free” landing pages, and WhatsApp groups posing as products. This page is the opposite: what is actually free, what is cheap, and what DGate charges after the trial.
What “free” usually means in this category
A resident can often download an app at no cost. The society cannot run a gate and a dues ledger on hope. Someone pays: the builder, the RWA, or a vendor who will bill you later for modules.
Treat “free forever” as a yellow flag unless the vendor publishes what is excluded — extra guard licences, accounting, payment gateway, or a forced annual contract.
DGate’s actual offer (not forever free)
Every society starts with 1 month free. After that DGate is a whole-society subscription billed per registered flat: ₹30 down to ₹20 as you grow, with a ₹999/month minimum base bill for compact societies (covers up to 33 flats). GST extra. Pay 11 months, get the 12th free.
That price is the product: visitor management, guard desk, SOS, notices, complaints, directory, marketplace, and operational maintenance accounting. No add-on SKU for “unlocking dues.”
When a cheap plan is the wrong buy
If you need a full statutory ERP and decade-long Tally migration, a compact per-flat OS is not a substitute. If you need the gate fixed and dues collected without a second vendor, paying ₹999–₹1,500 a month for a 40–50 flat society is usually cheaper than a treasurer’s weekend plus a forgotten cash receipt.
- Compare one-year totals including GST, not the per-flat headline
- Ask what happens when the treasurer’s term ends
- Do not trade a free year for an unpublished renewal rate
How to trial without painting the gate into a corner
Use the free month on the guard flow and one maintenance generate — not on decorating the resident app. If the least confident night-shift guard will not use it, the price is irrelevant. Onboarding is remote over call and video; there is no dedicated onboarding manager bundled as a luxury SKU.
Common questions
Is DGate free?
The first month is free. After that it is a published per-flat subscription with a ₹999/month minimum for small societies. It is not a forever-free consumer app.
Is the resident app free if the society pays?
Residents, family members, and guards are included in the society subscription. DGate is billed on registered flats, not per app user.
Can we stay on WhatsApp and Excel to keep cost at zero?
Yes, until the first incident or the first messy AGM. Zero rupees is a real option for a tiny society with a trusted long-term guard. It is a poor option once you cannot search last month’s visitors or last quarter’s cash.
Where are the numbers?
On /pricing. This article does not re-price the product. GST extra; Razorpay’s gateway fees are the gateway’s.
Related DGate pages
If you are evaluating DGate against other society apps, these pages are the source of truth — not a recycled footer.
- Published DGate pricing
- What the one plan includes
- Maintenance billing in the same plan
- How the main India platforms differ
- Full DGate feature list (gate + maintenance accounting, one plan)
- Published per-flat pricing, 1 month free, ₹999 compact minimum
Ready to try it with your committee? Start onboarding (remote setup and guard training over call/video) or download the app.
One plan for the gate and the books
DGate is society management software for India: visitor management, maintenance dues and ledgers, notices, SOS — in one published subscription. 1 month free, then per-flat bands with a ₹999/month compact minimum. Remote onboarding. Not forever free, not a module store.