Is Joynt like Pacaso?

We get this question a lot, and it's a great one. While both Joynt and Pacaso are making it easier for people to enjoy the benefits of a second home, our approaches are quite different.

In short, not really. We think Pacaso is an interesting model and certainly a more modern alternative to traditional timeshares. However, Joynt was built on a different philosophy. We offer a more flexible, personal, and affordable system designed to be shared with the people you know and enjoy most.

While both services help people access second homes, our goals and how we operate are fundamentally different. Here’s a breakdown of the key distinctions:

Key Differences Between Joynt and Pacaso

1. Market Freedom & Fair Value

With Joynt: You and your co-owners can purchase any property available on the open market. Whether you find it on Zillow, through a real estate agent, or as a for-sale-by-owner property, you negotiate the price directly. This ensures you are buying at a fair market value that you control. When it's time to sell, you sell your share on the open market, capturing its true market appreciation.
With Pacaso: You purchase a share in a home that Pacaso has already bought, furnished, and packaged. The price of a share includes the cost of the home plus Pacaso’s service fees and other markups. This can mean the initial buy-in price is higher than the property's standalone market value. Selling your share typically requires finding a new buyer within the Pacaso network, which can sometimes impact your final sale price.

2. Own Any Property, Anywhere

With Joynt: Our platform is not tied to a specific network of homes. You can co-own a cabin in the mountains, a condo in the city, or a cottage by the beach—anywhere in the U.S. If you and your group can buy it, you can use Joynt to manage it.
With Pacaso: Your choice is limited to the curated properties available for sale within the Pacaso network and their specific luxury vacation destinations.

3. Choose Your Co-Owners

With Joynt: This is at the heart of what we do. You form your own group of co-owners—whether it's family, friends, or trusted colleagues. You have complete control over who you share your property with, creating a community built on trust and personal relationships.
With Pacaso: You buy a share in a property and are matched with other, often anonymous, buyers who also purchased shares. You don't have control over who your co-owners are or who will be using the property from week to week.

4. Flexible & Fair Scheduling

With Joynt: Our smart and equitable calendaring system gives you and your co-owners the power to decide how scheduling works. Book a spontaneous weekend, reserve a two-week holiday in advance, or even plan a month-long workcation. There are no fixed stay periods. Our tools also make it easy to trade bookings or invite others to join you.
With Pacaso: Access to the property is typically based on a more structured system where stays are allocated in fixed blocks, such as one-week increments. This model is less flexible if you only need the property for a weekend or wish to stay for a longer, non-standard period.

5. Our Business Model: Empowering Owners vs. Selling Property

Joynt: We are a software company. We don't buy or sell real estate. Our business is providing you and your co-owners with the legal framework, financial tools, and management software to make co-owning property easy, safe, and transparent. We succeed when your co-ownership group thrives.
Pacaso: Pacaso is a fractional real estate company. Their business focuses on buying properties and selling shares (or fractions) of them to the public. They remain involved as the property manager, and you are essentially buying a real estate product from them, not just using a tool.

In summary, Joynt provides the framework and tools for you to create a personalized co-ownership experience with people you choose, for any property you want. Pacaso offers a pre-packaged, managed product for purchasing a share in a specific luxury home.