Skip to main content
OpenSpot - Free Parking Platform

The Metropolis alternative with no per-space fee.

Metropolis prices its Vision garage plan at $15 per space per month. OpenSpot charges the operator $0 at any size, and you stay the operator of your own lot.

Get started free

No credit card required · Live in under 10 minutes · Zero contracts

Pricing

No monthly fee. Here's how that works.

No per-space fee at any size. A 200-space garage pays OpenSpot $0 a month, against $3,000 at Metropolis's published Vision rate.

You set

$10.00

Whatever you want.

Driver pays

$11.00

+10% at checkout.

You keep

$10.00

Same as you set.

Card processing comes out, 2.9% + $0.30, like any card payment.

See full pricing
How it works

Set it up in ten minutes. Start running today.

No plan to pick and no tier to outgrow. Every lot gets the same platform, set up the same way.

  1. 01

    Add one lot

    No card, no minimum, no commitment.

  2. 02

    Set your rate

    Set the same number you charge today.

  3. 03

    Put up your signs

    Go live with printed signs today. Permanent signage follows by mail.

  4. 04

    Take your first payment

    A driver scans and pays. Payouts land monthly.

OpenSpot vs. Metropolis

OpenSpot and Metropolis, side by side

Metropolis publishes a $0 tier, so this is not a free-versus-paid argument and the page should not pretend otherwise. The difference is what happens as you grow: Metropolis's garage tier is priced per space per month, so the bill scales with the size of your asset. OpenSpot charges the operator nothing at any size, and is funded by the driver-side fee instead.

OpenSpot compared with Metropolis, by cost, contract and capability. Figures Metropolis does not publish are marked as not published.
What you are comparingOpenSpotMetropolis
Entry plan for a surface lot$0 per month, unlimited spacesScan: $0 per space per month
Garage plan$0 per month, unlimited spacesVision: $15 per space per month
Cost of a 200-space garage, per month$0$3,000 at the published Vision rate
Advanced tierNo tiers; every operator gets the same platformVision+: custom pricing, contact sales
What the driver paysA 10% convenience fee per transactionNot published
Company shapeSoftware vendor; you remain the operatorTechnology company and parking operator; acquired SP Plus in 2024
Upfront hardware costNone for QR; Enterprise LPR bundles hardware into the subscriptionZero hardware cost, per its pricing page
Who funds the platformThe driver, through a 10% convenience fee per transactionThe operator, through a per-space monthly subscription

Metropolis is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with OpenSpot. Figures above are taken from Metropolis’s own public pages and may have changed since.

Questions

Answers before you sign up

Setup, hardware, pricing, and switching: the questions operators ask before trying a new platform.

It does, and on a small surface lot the two look similar on price. The difference shows up in a garage. Metropolis prices its Vision garage plan at $15 per space per month, so a 200-space garage is $3,000 a month at the published rate, and the bill grows every time the asset does. OpenSpot charges the operator $0 regardless of size, because the platform is funded by a 10% convenience fee charged to the driver per transaction rather than by a fee on your spaces.

No, and that is the more important difference. Metropolis is both a technology company and a parking operator, and took SP Plus private in 2024 to become the largest parking network in North America. OpenSpot sells software and nothing else. You stay the operator of your own lot, you set your own rates, and there is no arrangement under which OpenSpot runs or leases your asset.

Yes. OpenSpot's License Plate Recognition handles gateless entry, exit and enforcement, reading plates at 99%+ accuracy under optimal conditions and keeping a timestamped photo audit trail on every flagged vehicle. It also drives plate-based access control with an existing gate arm or without one. Enterprise LPR bundles hardware, installation and maintenance into a managed monthly subscription with no upfront hardware cost.

At the published Vision rate of $15 per space per month, a 25-space garage is $375 a month, or $4,500 a year. A 100-space garage is $1,500 a month. A 200-space garage is $3,000 a month, and a 500-space garage is $7,500. OpenSpot is $0 at every one of those sizes. Below about 25 spaces the monthly difference is smaller than one busy weekend's takings and probably should not decide anything. Above 100 it is a salary line, and it is worth a spreadsheet. Note that this only applies to garages: Metropolis prices surface lots at $0 per space on its Scan tier.

No, because the two sit on opposite sides of your revenue. Metropolis's Vision fee is billed to you, per space, every month, whether or not a car parks in it. OpenSpot's 10% is added on top of your rate at checkout and paid by the driver, so it scales with transactions rather than with spaces and costs nothing in a month when the lot sits empty. You keep 100% of the rate you set either way, and standard Stripe card processing applies to both.

No hardware required for QR payments. Just printed signage with a QR code. LPR enforcement is optional: if you want automated plate reading, we handle the camera installation. Most operators start with QR only and add LPR later.

LPR cameras read license plates automatically and flag unpaid vehicles in your dashboard with photo evidence and a full audit trail. No kiosks, no gate arms, no paper tickets. For lots without cameras, you can issue citations manually from the dashboard using the same plate-check flow.

Ready to replace your parking platform?

No credit card required