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Honest comparison

TrueCap vs DealMachine: find leads on the street vs underwrite them at the desk

DealMachine is the heavyweight in mobile-first driving for dollars — snap a photo of a distressed property, get owner contact info instantly, send a postcard or skip-trace from your phone. TrueCap models the economics of an address from user-reviewed assumptions. Different jobs; many active off-market buyers use both.

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Free analyzer: no card or signup

TL;DR

Use TrueCap when

  • You've found an address and want to know if it cash flows.
  • You want a defensible analysis for a lender or partner.
  • You don't drive for dollars — you source on-market or via wholesalers.
  • You want a free tier that covers real underwriting.

Use DealMachine when

  • You actively drive for dollars and want to capture leads on the spot.
  • You need owner phone/email for direct outreach (skip tracing).
  • You're sending postcards and want automation, not a mail house.
  • You're a wholesaler or active off-market buy-and-hold investor.

Feature-by-feature

Side-by-side on every dimension that matters for a comparison-shopping investor.

FeatureTrueCapDealMachine
Primary purpose
Per-deal underwriting calculator
Mobile lead generation + skip-tracing
Cap rate / CoC / DSCR analysis
Yes — full engine, free tier
Not modeled
10-year projection
Pro — rent + expense + appreciation
Not modeled
Secondary Screening Index
Free — 0-100 triage score + factor breakdown
Not applicable
Starting values (rent/rate/tax)
HUD rent + FRED rate + manual local property tax
Property data only
Driving for dollars / mobile lead capture
No
Yes — photo + instant owner lookup
Skip tracing (owner phone/email)
No
Yes — built-in
Direct mail campaigns
No
Yes — automated postcards
Property data + lists
Limited (HUD FMR + FRED)
Yes — 150M+ properties, motivated lists
Mobile-first UX
PWA installable
Native app (built for mobile)
Free tier
Yes — core cap rate, CoC, DSCR, and cash flow
Trial only ($59-99/mo paid)
Pricing (entry tier)
Free core; paid Pro — see live pricing
Starter ~$59/mo, Pro ~$99/mo (as of 2026)
Shareable read-only deal link
Free — read-only public link; Pro adds co-branding
Internal-only data
PDF deal report
Included with Pro
Not the use case

DealMachine details based on publicly available product info as of 2026. See dealmachine.com for their current state.

How active investors use both

  1. Drive for dollars or pull a list in DealMachine. Snap the distressed property; pull owner contact info.
  2. Send direct mail / skip-trace / cold call. DealMachine automates the outreach campaign.
  3. Seller calls back. Now you have an address you might buy.
  4. Underwrite in TrueCap. Paste the address. HUD area rent and the FRED owner-occupied rate can pre-fill as editable benchmarks; property tax remains a manual local input. Review the Offer Ceiling under your selected targets.
  5. Verify, then record your decision. TrueCap's Offer Ceiling solver (Pro) works backward from your target return. It is not a recommended offer.

Pulled a lead off the street and want the math? Run a quick rent-to-price screen with the free 1% rule calculator, then paste the address into the full TrueCap analyzer for cap rate, DSCR, and cash flow. Our guide on 60-second underwriting walks through the workflow end-to-end.

Common questions about TrueCap vs DealMachine

Quick answers to the questions investors comparison-shopping these tools actually ask.

Is TrueCap a DealMachine alternative?
Not really — they solve different problems. DealMachine finds motivated-seller leads via mobile driving for dollars + skip-tracing. TrueCap underwrites a specific property once you have an address. Most active off-market buyers use both.
DealMachine vs PropStream — which one?
DealMachine is more mobile-first and best for driving-for-dollars workflows. PropStream is more data-heavy with deeper public records access and richer list-pull filters. Solo investors who hunt on the road lean DealMachine; teams running large mail campaigns from a desk lean PropStream. Some wholesalers run both.
Is DealMachine worth $59-99/month?
It depends on volume. DealMachine's all-in acquisition workflow may fit frequent driving-for-dollars and direct-mail campaigns. If you buy only a few properties through listed channels, evaluate whether you need that workflow. TrueCap's free and paid underwriting options are listed on its live pricing page.
Does DealMachine do underwriting?
No — it surfaces motivated-seller leads and contact info but doesn't model cap rate, DSCR, or cash flow on those leads. You'd use TrueCap, DealCheck, or a spreadsheet to run the numbers after DealMachine finds you a deal.
Can I use DealMachine + TrueCap on the same property?
One possible workflow is to source a property in DealMachine, then underwrite the entered assumptions in TrueCap. Pro calculates an Offer Ceiling under the selected targets. Verify the material inputs and record your own decision before any transaction step.

Sources & methodology: Feature and pricing rows reflect DealMachine's publicly listed information, last reviewed June 2026. Vendors change features and prices often — verify current details on DealMachine's own site. Where TrueCap claims “sourced defaults,” that refers specifically to an editable HUD area-rent benchmark and the FRED owner-occupied 30-year mortgage-rate benchmark. Property tax is a manual local input with a disclosed generic fallback, not a state-data auto-fill.

On price, plainly

Tools in this space run from free to well above TrueCap — check DealMachine's live pricing for their current number. What TrueCap's price buys is the decision layer, not more calculation: an Offer Ceiling under your selected targets, rule-fit results for your Buy Box 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.

Ready to run a real deal and compare the screening results yourself?

Free 60-second analysis with labeled starting assumptions and no signup. Pro calculates the highest modeled Offer Ceiling that still meets your selected targets under the assumptions shown.

Analyze a property free

Underwrite the next deal — free.

TrueCap free covers cap rate, CoC, DSCR, NCF, and monthly cash flow. Pro adds 10-year cash-flow and equity projections, sensitivity, Offer Ceiling, co-branded share links, and PDF reports with Pro; see live pricing for current terms. No card to start.

See Pro pricingRun a deal now