TrueCap vs Arrived: direct ownership vs fractional shares
By TrueCap · built by a Philadelphia rental investor
Arrived is a real estate investing platform: you buy shares of individual rental homes or of its funds, with a $100 minimum investment, and Arrived selects, manages and eventually sells the properties. TrueCap is the underwriting calculator for investors buying rental properties directly with their own financing. The ownership models are different, and if you are deciding between active and passive real estate you may be weighing both.
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TL;DR
Use TrueCap when
- You want direct ownership and control of the property.
- You want direct-property control and will verify depreciation, interest, and any 1031 eligibility with tax professionals.
- You're willing to do the underwriting + sourcing work yourself.
- You have the capital for a down payment and want to deploy it in one property at a time.
Use Arrived when
- You want passive exposure to rental income without doing the work.
- You want to start with $100 rather than a down payment.
- You're fine without direct control of depreciation or a 1031 exchange.
- You want diversification across multiple properties without buying them.
Feature-by-feature
Side-by-side on every dimension that matters for a comparison-shopping investor.
| Feature | TrueCap | Arrived |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership model | Direct ownership of whole property | Shares of an individual rental property or of an Arrived fund |
| Cap rate / CoC / DSCR analysis | Yes — full engine, free tier | Not applicable: you buy shares, and Arrived selects and manages the property |
| 10-year projection | Pro — rent + expense + appreciation | Each offering has its own financials and offering documents |
| Deal score (0–100) | Free — 0–100 score with factor breakdown | Not applicable |
| Minimum to start | A down payment on a whole property | $100 minimum investment |
| Time commitment | Active — you find, underwrite, close, manage (or hire PM) | Passive: Arrived manages the properties |
| Liquidity | Low — property sale takes months | Meant to be held for the full hold period; after a 6-month hold, property shares can be sold to other Arrived investors and fund shares can be submitted for redemption, subject to availability, approval and program terms |
| Control over property choice | Total — you pick everything | Curated by Arrived; you pick from their listings |
| Cash flow vs growth | You design — fixed-rate mortgage, cash-flow focused | Monthly dividends, plus potential appreciation when a property is sold |
| Tax reporting | Not modeled in TrueCap; direct owners arrange taxpayer-specific reporting | See Arrived's help center for tax questions |
| Pricing / fees | Free core; paid Pro — see live pricing | A one-time sourcing fee in the offering price, plus a quarterly AUM fee that varies by product |
Arrived details were checked against its own pages in October 2026: the minimum investment, the dividend schedule and the fees. See arrived.com for current offerings and risks, and Arrived's help center for tax questions.
When to use which (or both)
- If you want full control → direct ownership. TrueCap helps you underwrite the property; you arrange financing + take ownership.
- If you want passive exposure with minimal effort → Arrived. Pick properties or funds on Arrived, collect monthly dividends once a property is earning income, and let Arrived manage it.
- If you want both → split the portfolio. You can hold direct properties and Arrived shares side by side. TrueCap helps with the direct side; Arrived handles the passive side.
Prefer to underwrite a whole property yourself? The free 1% rule calculator gives you a pass/fail read on a single listing; when you want the cap rate and monthly cash flow behind that screen, the full TrueCap analyzer derives them from an address, the asking price and a bedroom count. Our guide on 60-second underwriting walks through the workflow end-to-end.
Common questions about TrueCap vs Arrived
Quick answers to the questions investors comparison-shopping these tools actually ask.
Is TrueCap an Arrived alternative?
Not really — they're entirely different ownership models. Arrived sells shares of individual rental homes and of its funds (passive). TrueCap is the underwriting calculator for investors buying whole rental properties directly (active). The decision isn't which to use — it's which investing model fits you.
Arrived vs Fundrise — which one?
They work at different levels. On Arrived you buy shares of individual rental homes or of its funds, with a $100 minimum investment. Fundrise offers funds it manages across real estate, private credit and venture capital, and says you can start with as little as $10. TrueCap does not rank them: see arrived.com and Fundrise's how-it-works page for current offerings, fees and risks.
Why would I buy a rental directly when I could use Arrived?
Two reasons: control (you pick the property + market) and cash-flow control. Tradeoff: you do the underwriting + management work (or pay a PM).
Why would I use Arrived instead of buying a rental directly?
Three reasons: a low minimum ($100, against a down payment for a direct purchase), no sourcing or management work (Arrived manages the properties), and diversification (you can spread your capital across several properties without buying each one). Tradeoff: you give up direct control of the property.
Can I use TrueCap to evaluate an Arrived property?
Not directly — Arrived shares aren't an underwriting problem in TrueCap's sense (you're not modeling cap rate, DSCR, or your own financing). TrueCap is for direct ownership where you control the inputs. For Arrived offerings, read the financials and offering documents Arrived publishes for each one, and weigh them against your own goals.
On price, plainly
Tools in this space run from free to well above TrueCap — check Arrived's live pricing for their current number. What TrueCap's price buys is the decision layer, not more calculation: an Offer Ceiling for your targets, Buy Box fit with reasons, the downside stress test, and assumptions that are source-labeled instead of silently defaulted. Whether that workflow justifies the price depends on your volume, verification process, and existing tools.
Screening listings for investor clients? TrueCap for agents keeps a client roster and screens each deal against the Buy Box of the client you assign it to.
Underwrite the next deal — free.
TrueCap free covers cap rate, CoC, DSCR, and monthly cash flow. Your first complete decision also includes the Offer Ceiling. Pro adds 10-year cash-flow and equity projections, sensitivity, the Offer Ceiling, co-branded share links and PDF reports; see live pricing for current terms. No card to start.
About TrueCap
TrueCap is built by one person, a rental investor in Philadelphia. It started as the tool he wanted for his own underwriting — a way to get from an address to a source-labeled first-pass answer — and it's still how he runs the deals he considers.