ParkM is a web-based virtual parking permit platform for multifamily communities, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Residents and guests purchase digital permits online; a towing or booting partner then enforces using ParkM's license-plate-recognition tools. The platform is marketed as free to the property because it runs on a revenue-share model — ParkM and/or the enforcement partner take a portion of the parking revenue collected from residents and guests.

Is ParkM free for apartments?

ParkM describes its platform as 'completely free of charge for the property' on its website. In practice, the platform operates on a revenue-share model — the property receives parking income from residents and guests, and a portion of that revenue funds the service. There is no publicly listed price; exact revenue-share percentages are disclosed during a sales demo.

How does ParkM towing enforcement work?

ParkM does not tow vehicles itself. According to its website, enforcement is carried out by 'your preferred towing or booting partner' using ParkM's built-in 2-factor permit checks and web-based license-plate recognition tools. Property managers can connect their own enforcement partner or use a vendor from ParkM's preferred list.

What do ParkM residents complain about?

The most common themes in public reviews on the BBB and Trustpilot (as of mid-2026) involve towing disputes — some residents report having active permits and being towed anyway — continued billing after cancellation, no phone support (email only), and in some cases parking unavailability despite paying monthly fees. Property managers on Capterra generally give more positive ratings, citing ease of use and fast support.

How do I cancel ParkM?

ParkM accounts are generally cancelled through the account dashboard or by contacting ParkM support. Notice periods and refund rules are governed by the agreement the property or resident signs, so review those terms directly. Several public reviews on the BBB report billing continuing after cancellation; if that happens, keep written confirmation of the cancellation and follow up with ParkM in writing.

ParkM is a real, operating company founded in 2017. It is not BBB Accredited, and its BBB profile shows unresolved customer complaints (12 logged and unanswered by the company as of mid-2026), with negative feedback concentrated among residents rather than property managers. Property manager reviews on Capterra are generally positive. As with any parking vendor, the experience largely depends on how the individual property sets up and enforces the program. Check the live BBB profile for current figures.

What are the alternatives to ParkM for apartment parking?

Alternatives depend on what the property needs. Other software platforms include Parkade, Wayleadr, Online Parking Permits, Reliant Parking, and ParkingPass.com. For a full-service managed option (where the parking company handles enforcement, resident support, and operations), 5280 Parking offers a zero-out-of-pocket revenue-share program similar in structure to ParkM. Their OpenParking software is a flat-fee alternative ($50/month) where the property keeps 100% of parking revenue.

Due Diligence

ParkM parking: what to know before you sign

A balanced resource for property managers and residents doing due diligence · Updated June 2026

In short: ParkM is a real, established virtual-permit platform for multifamily parking (founded 2017, Greenwood Village, CO). Its model is marketed as “free to the property” via a revenue share. Enforcement is handled by a third-party towing or booting partner, not ParkM directly. Property manager reviews on Capterra skew positive; resident reviews on the BBB skew very negative, with recurring themes around towing disputes, billing after cancellation, and email-only support. This page summarizes what those public sources actually say and lists the questions worth asking before signing.

What ParkM is

ParkM is a web-based parking permit management platform built for apartment communities and HOAs. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, the company has been operating for roughly eight years and has a national presence.

The platform lets residents and guests purchase digital permits online (by license plate). Property managers get a real-time dashboard showing active permits, enforcement activity, and revenue. When a vehicle doesn’t have a valid permit, enforcement is carried out by a third-party towing or booting company — not ParkM itself.

ParkM is not BBB Accredited. Its pricing is not published publicly; exact terms are disclosed during a sales demo.

Source: parkm.com/how-parkm-works, parkm.com/about, BBB Business Profile

How the business model works

ParkM describes its platform as “completely free of charge for the property.” The way this works in practice is a revenue-share model: residents and guests pay for permits, and a portion of that revenue funds the service. The property receives the remaining share. The exact split is not disclosed on ParkM’s website; it is negotiated during the sales process.

This means the platform has zero out-of-pocket cost to the property, but the property does give up a portion of its parking income for as long as the contract runs. For properties where parking revenue is material, the cumulative cost over a multi-year agreement can be significant. Running the math on your expected permit volume before signing is worthwhile.

Enforcement is operated separately: ParkM works with a preferred list of towing or booting partners, and the enforcement company typically operates under its own agreement with the property.

Source: parkm.com/how-parkm-works, parkm.com/property-managers

What public reviews say

It’s important to understand who is reviewing ParkM before drawing conclusions. The review landscape is split: property managers rate the product very differently than residents do.

Capterra — property managers: generally positive

On Capterra, where reviewers are typically property managers and staff, ParkM receives high marks. Common praise includes ease of setup, a responsive support team, and the convenience of letting residents self-register without coming to the leasing office. Some reviewers note that older residents sometimes struggle with the web-based interface and that a native mobile app would be welcome.

As with most software directories, Capterra reviews reflect the experience of paying customers — property managers and staff — rather than residents, which helps explain the gap with the resident-driven reviews below.

BBB — residents: predominantly negative

ParkM is not BBB Accredited, and its BBB profile shows unresolved complaints — 12 logged and unanswered by the company as of mid-2026. Its customer-review page skews strongly negative, and most reviewers appear to be residents rather than property managers. (Check the live BBB profile for current figures.) Several recurring themes appear across multiple reviews:

Towing despite an active permit. Multiple reviewers describe paying for a permit and having their vehicle towed anyway, then struggling to get the impound fees reimbursed.
Continued billing after cancellation. Some residents report being charged for months after cancelling their permit, in some cases after removing their payment and vehicle details from the account.
No phone support. Reviewers note that ParkM offers email-only support, and describe slow or no response when disputing charges or towing incidents.
Parking unavailability while paying monthly. Some residents report being required to pay for monthly permits at communities where open spaces are rarely available.

As with any public review platform, BBB reviews represent a self-selected sample of people motivated to write. They do not represent the full range of customer experience. However, the specificity and consistency of the above themes across independent reviews make them worth factoring into a due-diligence process.

Trustpilot

ParkM’s Trustpilot page is also predominantly negative, with themes similar to the BBB: some residents describe paying for guest permits and having vehicles towed anyway, and note difficulty reaching anyone by phone.

Cancellation: what to check

ParkM accounts are generally cancelled through the account dashboard or by contacting ParkM support. The specific notice period, auto-renewal, and refund rules are set by the agreement the property or resident signs — review those terms directly and confirm them with ParkM rather than relying on third-party summaries.

Because several public reviews report billing continuing after cancellation, keep a written confirmation of any cancellation and follow up in writing if charges persist. That documentation is what resolves these disputes.

Questions to ask before signing

Whether you’re evaluating ParkM or any parking management vendor, these questions are worth getting answered in writing before you commit:

What percentage of parking revenue does the vendor keep, and for how long? Run the math on your estimated permit volume over the full contract term, not just per month.
Who is legally responsible when a vehicle is towed that had a valid permit? Is it ParkM, the enforcement partner, or the property? What is the reimbursement process and timeline?
Is there a resident phone number they can call when something goes wrong? Or is support email-only? What is the typical response time?
What happens to resident payment and vehicle data if the contract ends? How is data deleted, and within what timeframe?
What are the contract length and early-termination terms? Can you exit without penalty if enforcement performance falls below a defined threshold?
How is the enforcement partner selected and overseen? What recourse does the property have if towing complaints spike?
Does the platform cap the number of active permits relative to available spaces? If not, what prevents overselling parking to more residents than there are spaces?

Alternatives worth considering

ParkM is one of several parking management options for multifamily properties. The right choice depends on whether you want a software-only tool, a full-service managed program, or something in between.

Other software platforms: Parkade, Wayleadr, Online Parking Permits, Reliant Parking, and ParkingPass.com are all web-based permit and enforcement platforms. Most operate on a revenue-share or subscription model, with pricing typically disclosed after a demo.

Full-service managed parking: 5280 Parking (Denver-based operator) runs the entire parking program for you — signage, permits, resident support, and enforcement — on a zero-out-of-pocket revenue-share basis, similar in structure to ParkM. The key difference is that 5280 operates enforcement in-house rather than through a third-party tow company, so resident disputes are handled by the same organization managing the property relationship.

Self-serve software (flat fee): OpenParking is a $50/month flat-fee software plan. The property retains 100% of parking revenue, because there is no revenue share. The property manages enforcement and resident support itself. This model makes sense for management teams who want full control and prefer a predictable monthly cost over a revenue cut.

See the full comparison of full-service vs. software if you’re deciding between models.

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About this article: This page was written by the team at 5280 Parking / multifamilyparking.com, a competitor to ParkM. We have done our best to represent ParkM accurately and attribute all claims to public sources. ParkM claims are drawn from parkm.com and public review platforms (BBB, Trustpilot, Capterra); nothing here is fabricated. If you work at ParkM and believe anything here is factually incorrect, please contact us and we will correct it promptly.