Property tax appeal comparison · 2026
Ownwell vs AppealMyTax
Ownwell keeps 25-35% of your savings every year. We charge $49 flat, one time. You keep 100%. You do the math.
What 5 years of protests costs you
Drag to your annual tax savings. Contingency firms charge a cut of your savings every single year. We charge a flat fee and you keep all of it.
Assumes you protest every year for 5 years: our $49 protest kit each year, Ownwell at a contingency fee starting at 25% of savings per year (ownwell.com pricing example, retrieved June 2026), and O'Connor at 50% of current year savings per their published residential terms (poconnor.com, retrieved June 2026). Ownwell's rate varies by region, so we use their own 25% example as the conservative case.
Them
Ownwell
Contingency: 25% of savings in TX/IL, 35% in CA/NY/FL
$194-$271 per year
25% × $774 average annual savings = $194 (TX) or 35% × $774 = $271 (FL/CA/NY). Every year. Forever.
Coverage
TX, FL, CA, NY, IL, GA (Ownwell). Texas, 14 county appraisal districts (us).
Us
AppealMyTax
Flat-fee packet, no contingency, no recurring cut.
$49 flat
One time. You keep 100% of your savings every year. Ownwell keeps 25-35%, O'Connor keeps half. See your exact overpayment free first, no signup.
Coverage
Texas, 14 county appraisal districts (HCAD plus 13 others), with Harris County (Houston) live
Feature by feature
An honest side by side. Both get you a real protest, the difference is what it costs and what you see along the way.
Price
Us:$49 flat per packet per year
Ownwell:Contingency fee from 25% of your savings (ownwell.com/pricing, retrieved June 2026)
Your savings
Us:You keep 100% of your savings
Ownwell:You pay a cut of your savings every year the service renews
Speed
Us:Instant packet, ready in minutes
Ownwell:Weeks of waiting through the protest season
Transparency
Us:You see the evidence, including the real comp count, before paying
Ownwell:You see results after the fact
Contract
Us:No auto-renewing contract, you buy one packet at a time
Ownwell:Stays enrolled for future protest seasons until you cancel
Real-world cost comparison
Typical Texas homeowner, $50K overassessment, $1,155/yr savings
Annual savings on appeal
$1,155
Ownwell cost
$289 (25% × $1,155)
$866/yr after their cut, repeating
AppealMyTax cost
$49 one-time
$1,155/yr, every year
Multi-year math
10-year math: Ownwell takes roughly $2,800 in contingency fees over a decade (assuming flat savings). Our $49 one-time fee captures the same reduction. Because Texas reassesses every year, you re-run the protest each cycle and still keep 100%, so the gap widens the longer you hold the lower value.
Ownwell: pros & cons
Strengths
- ✓ Hands-off: they handle the protest filing and hearing for you
- ✓ $50M Series B funding (Feb 2026), 500K+ clients, proven 86% success rate
- ✓ Coverage in TX, FL, CA, NY, IL, GA, expanding nationally
Limitations
- ✗ Takes a percentage of YOUR savings every year (compounds against you)
- ✗ Their cut is charged every single year, the more you save the more they take
- ✗ Hard to escalate if they don't pursue your case aggressively
- ✗ No transparency on which comparables they used or how they argued the case
Why AppealMyTax wins
- ★ Flat $49, one time. You keep 100% of the savings, every year. Ownwell keeps 25-35% every year. O'Connor keeps half.
- ★ You own the filing record and can escalate to the ARB, binding arbitration, or district court yourself
- ★ See your exact overpayment free in 30 seconds (no signup, no email), then keep 100% of it
- ★ Texas reassesses every year, so a one-time $49 packet that wins a lower value pays off again each cycle you hold it
Where Ownwell genuinely wins
We would rather concede real points than pretend they do not exist. Ownwell covers multiple states, provides full hearing representation at scale so you never attend anything yourself, and has thousands of customer reviews behind it. If you want a fully hands-off service and you are comfortable paying a contingency fee on your savings each year, Ownwell is a legitimate choice.
Our case is narrower and cheaper: if you can spend about 10 minutes filing online, a $49 flat packet with the same class of comparable evidence keeps every dollar of the savings in your pocket.
Ownwell vs AppealMyTax: common questions
Is AppealMyTax cheaper than Ownwell?
For most Texas homeowners, yes, and the gap grows every year. AppealMyTax is $49 flat per packet per year and you keep 100% of your savings. Ownwell charges a contingency fee that starts at 25% of your savings in its own pricing example (ownwell.com/pricing, retrieved June 2026). On $1,000 of annual savings, that is $250 to Ownwell versus $49 to us, and Ownwell's fee applies again every year the service wins a reduction.
Does Ownwell take a percentage every year?
Yes. Ownwell's fee is a contingency charged on the savings it wins for you, and the service stays enrolled for future protest seasons until you cancel, so the fee applies each year it reduces your assessment (ownwell.com/pricing, retrieved June 2026). With AppealMyTax you buy a $49 packet only in the years you choose to protest, and there is nothing to cancel.
Can I switch from Ownwell to AppealMyTax?
Yes. In Texas you can file your own protest in any year, even if a firm filed for you in a prior year. Cancel Ownwell through your Ownwell account, then run our free check the next season to see your current over-assessment and the actual comps before you spend anything.
What does Ownwell do that AppealMyTax does not?
Ownwell handles the whole protest for you, including hearing representation, operates in multiple states, and has thousands of customer reviews. AppealMyTax has the deepest data in Texas (14 counties) and is expanding to more states, and you file the packet yourself, which takes about 10 minutes through your county's online portal. You trade a small amount of effort for a flat $49 and keeping 100% of your savings.
How does O'Connor & Associates compare?
O'Connor charges a contingency fee of 50 percent of the current year's property taxes saved, per its published residential service terms (poconnor.com service terms and FAQ, retrieved June 2026). That is the largest cut among the major Texas options. AppealMyTax is $49 flat and you keep all of the savings.
Try it free
Search your address. Get your specific overassessment estimate in 30 seconds. No credit card.
Check my address · FreeThe free check is genuinely free: no signup, no email. Optional $49 packet only if you want a pre-filled iFile-ready protest letter, and you keep 100% of your savings.