If you found this page because you were searching for parking software and came across ParkMobile, you're in the right place — but ParkMobile may not be what you're looking for.
Here's the key distinction, and why it matters.
What ParkMobile Actually Is
ParkMobile is a consumer app for paying for parking. Drivers use it to pay for metered street parking, short-term garage sessions, or reserved spots in lots that have already partnered with ParkMobile's network. It's available in hundreds of US cities.
ParkMobile is a great product for drivers paying for parking at a spot that's already in their system. For operators, joining the ParkMobile network adds a payment option for transient parkers — but it is not a permit management system.
ParkMobile does not give you a dashboard to manage monthly resident permits. It does not let you set approval workflows, manage enforcement tracking, pull revenue reports, or generate a QR code that residents scan to buy a monthly pass for your private lot.
If you're an apartment community, HOA, church, or self-storage facility trying to manage parking permits and collect recurring or one-time payments from your own residents or customers, ParkMobile isn't the product you need.
What OpenParking Is
OpenParking is a permit management platform built for exactly this use case: you own or manage a parking lot, you want to charge people for parking, and you want to handle everything online without spreadsheets or cash.
You sign up, create your location, define your permit types and pricing, and share your buy link or QR code. Residents or guests pay online. Revenue goes directly to your Stripe account. You see everything in your dashboard.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| OpenParking | ParkMobile | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Sell & manage parking permits | Consumer payment app for transient parking |
| Monthly permit management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Guest / one-time permits | ✓ | ✓ (in-network spots only) |
| Operator dashboard | ✓ | Limited |
| Enforcement tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Revenue reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| QR code at your lot | ✓ | ✗ (requires network integration) |
| HOA / apartment use | ✓ | Not designed for this |
| Self-serve setup | ✓ — live today | Requires network integration |
| Pricing | $50/mo base | Transaction fees (consumer-side) |
| Contract | None | Varies |
The Core Question: Who's Your Customer?
ParkMobile's customer is the driver. You're not in control of the experience, the pricing display, or the buyer relationship.
OpenParking's customer is you — the operator. You control your pricing, your permit types, your buy page, your enforcement, and your reports. Your residents pay directly through your buy page. You see every transaction.
Who Should Use ParkMobile
ParkMobile makes sense if you manage a public transient lot or on-street metered parking in a city that's already in their network and you want to offer an additional payment option for drivers.
Who Should Use OpenParking
OpenParking makes sense if you manage a private lot for an apartment, HOA, church, commercial building, or any other property where you want to control who parks, how long they park, and how much they pay — and you want to handle permits, renewals, and enforcement from a single dashboard.
$50/month. No setup fees. Live the same day.