Habita and Lumos cover the same mandate cycle: client intake, field capture, writing with or without assistance, bilingual report, client portal, invoicing with GST and QST. Both are built in Quebec and structured around the BNQ 3009-500 standard. The differences play out in the execution: the findings bank shipped with the tool, the depth of the templates, the vehicle for field capture, and what surrounds delivery. Here is the comparison, point by point, based on their public site and ours.
you are looking for a lower-priced entry plan where you write yourself and AI is unlocked file by file, paid as you use it, you want a free first month to build your library before paying, and the close onboarding support announced at the start, migration included, appeals to you. According to their site, management, reception, accounting roles, and interns do not occupy a paid seat.
you want to start with a bank of 1,165 bilingual findings already written, qualified under BNQ 3009-500 and linked to their source, a native iOS and Android app for offline capture, a full template editor with customizable severity levels, a compliance review before delivery, and tools that keep working after delivery: consultation tracking, a service request widget, Google review collection.
With Habita, according to their site, the AI turns your notes and photos into findings written in your house style; each text arrives marked for review and only enters the report if you confirm it. On their Essentiel plan, you write yourself and unlock the AI file by file, paid as you go; on their Illimité plan, it has no cap. Their findings library is announced as included and curated; their site does not publish its size and, when we tried the product in August 2026, a new account started with about thirty findings. It then grows with your own texts.
With Lumos, the starting point is different: you begin with 1,165 bilingual findings already written, split into two normative banks, 710 pre-purchase and 455 pre-delivery, each qualified under BNQ 3009-500, apparent defect, deficiency indicator, or safety risk, and linked to its source. Assisted writing produces a draft you read, correct, and approve; it is unlimited on the Pro plan. And you can ignore the AI entirely: bank, keyboard entry, batch photo import, the software is fully functional without it.
| Lumos | Habita | |
|---|---|---|
| Findings bank shipped with the software | 1,165 bilingual: 710 pre-purchase, 455 pre-delivery | Library included; about thirty findings on a new account when we tried it (August 2026) |
| BNQ-qualified findings (apparent defect, deficiency indicator, safety risk) | On every finding | Not announced |
| Findings linked to their source | Traceable in the report | Not announced |
| AI-assisted writing, approved by the inspector | Unlimited on the Pro plan | Yes, texts marked for review, according to their site |
| Using the software without any AI feature | Yes, fully functional | Yes, according to their site: you write yourself and unlock AI file by file |
| Conversational AI assistant on the standards | Unlimited | Not announced |
both frame AI the same way: it proposes, you approve. The difference is upstream, in what greets you on day one: at Habita, a new account started with about thirty findings when we tried it in August 2026, to be enriched with your texts; with Lumos, you start with 1,165 findings qualified under the BNQ and linked to their sources, and you build your own bank on top, starting from the Lumos findings or creating your own, with or without the help of AI.
With Habita, capture happens on your phone and works offline, according to their site: photos organized by section and by room, voice notes, sync when the network returns. Their FAQ specifies that no installation is required and that on mobile, everything goes through the browser.
With Lumos, capture goes through Lumos Capture, a native iOS and Android app, offline-first: dark mode by default, touch targets sized for gloved fingers, photos, audio, and notes stored locally and synced automatically when the signal returns. The Lumos Capture AI analyzes your photos, dictation, and notes together to propose structured findings, ready to review. You can also work the classic way: camera, batch import afterwards, findings bank. One nuance, and we name it: creating a new inspection and the final delivery happen online.
| Lumos | Habita | |
|---|---|---|
| Offline capture in the field | Offline-first, automatic sync | Yes, according to their site |
| Native iOS and Android app | Lumos Capture | Not announced; their FAQ describes browser use, no installation |
| Voice dictation | Hands-free, turned into structured findings | Voice notes, according to their site |
| Batch photo import after the inspection | Yes | Imported photos, according to their site |
| Photo annotations (arrows, frames, text) | Native, linked to the finding | Annotation mentioned on their site, details not published |
| Photos organized and attached | Linked to the finding and the component | By section and by room, according to their site |
both announce offline capture, and good for the trade: that is where the job happens. The difference is the vehicle. An app in the browser depends on browser storage, which the device can purge and which fills up fast as photos pile on; a native app like Lumos Capture stores your captures locally, without depending on an open tab, and its AI turns your photos and notes into precise findings. Try both on a real inspection, in a basement with no signal, and keep the one that holds up.
With Habita, the report is built around APCHQ practices and the BNQ 3009-500 standard, according to their site, with several practice standards to choose from and customizable templates: headers, branding, sections, formatting. Their FAQ also announces importing your existing templates from most common formats.
With Lumos, the standard is the structure and you build on top of it: two normative templates included, pre-purchase and pre-delivery, a full editor, sections, subsections, inspection items, automatic findings, customizable severity levels, color, icon, label, definition, a real-time compliance gauge, and a compliance review before delivery. The BNQ qualification is carried by the finding itself, not by the severity level: a normative decision cannot be overwritten by editing a label.
| Lumos | Habita | |
|---|---|---|
| BNQ 3009-500 structure | Native, two normative templates included | Yes, according to their site |
| Ready for the standard REIBH will make mandatory | Yes | Yes, according to their site |
| Template editor (sections, subsections, inspection items, automatic findings) | Full, with version history | Customizable and importable templates, according to their site |
| Customizable severity levels (color, icon, label, definition) | Yes | Not announced |
| BNQ qualification carried by the finding | Yes | Not announced |
| Real-time compliance gauge | Yes | Not announced |
| Automated compliance review before delivery | Yes | Not announced |
on the normative foundation, both announce the same thing. The gap is in the tooling above it: customizable severities, the gauge, the compliance review, and the qualification carried by the finding are not announced at Habita.
With Habita, the administrative cycle is covered, according to their site: calendar with two-way Google Calendar sync, distance and Street View per appointment, agreement, attestation and electronic signature, invoice with Interac payment, GST and QST sales journal, accounting export, and mileage at the CRA rate. Management, reception, accounting roles, and interns do not occupy a paid seat.
With Lumos, the same cycle lives in one place: public intake form, quote and AIBQ, APCHQ, or BNQ agreement signed online, custom agreement templates, calendar sync with Google, Apple, and Outlook, an optimized daily route between visits, invoicing with GST and QST calculation, email templates with variables, team management with roles and permissions, and full project export as a .zip.
| Lumos | Habita | |
|---|---|---|
| Document Center: status and history of every document | By inspection, by status, activity feed | Not announced |
| Document requests to the client, with automatic reminders | Yes | Not announced |
| Public intake form | The client fills it in themselves | Link sent to the client, according to their site |
| AIBQ, APCHQ, and BNQ agreements | Templates, annexes, archiving | Agreement, attestation, and electronic signature, according to their site |
| Calendar sync | Google, Apple, Outlook | Two-way Google Calendar, according to their site |
| Optimized daily route between visits | Yes | Distance and Street View per appointment, according to their site |
| Invoicing with GST and QST calculation | Yes | Yes, with Interac payment and accounting export, according to their site |
| Team management with roles and permissions | Yes | Roles and interns, according to their site |
| Exporting your data | Full project export and import (.zip) | Reports, photos, and data, according to their site |
on administration, it is largely parity, and that should be said. The gaps are narrow: normative agreement templates and per-project .zip export on one side; mileage at the CRA rate and Interac payment announced on the other.
With Habita, your client receives a link to a portal where everything is gathered, according to their site: agreed price, signature, report, and invoice, with an interactive web report and a polished PDF carrying your brand.
With Lumos, your client opens a portal through a secure link, with no account creation: they sign the quote, the agreement and the BNQ prerequisites there — up to two signatories, sealed copy and certificate — upload the documents you asked for, and open their interactive web report with an access code: navigation by section, severity filters, full-screen photos and videos, the signed agreement and the invoice in the same place, a PDF customizable in density, colors, and fonts. And delivery feeds your acquisition: you see when the client viewed their report, and your service request and Google review widgets work for the next mandate.
| Lumos | Habita | |
|---|---|---|
| Client uploads documents, with automatic reminders | Yes | Not announced |
| Client portal without account creation | With an access code | Through a secure link, according to their site |
| Interactive web report | Severity filters, full-screen photos and videos | Yes, according to their site |
| Customizable professional PDF | Density, colors, fonts | Carrying your brand, according to their site |
| Agreement and invoice accessible with the report | Yes | Signature, report, and invoice in one place, according to their site |
| Bilingual FR and EN delivery | Yes | Yes, according to their site |
| Client consultation tracking | Yes | Not announced |
| Service request widget for your website | Yes | Not announced |
| Automated Google review collection | Yes | Not announced |
on delivery itself, both have polished the portal. The difference comes after: consultation tracking, the website widget, and Google review collection are not announced at Habita.
The biggest difference between the two platforms is not a feature, it is a starting point: what is already written the day you open your account.
Two distinct banks 1,165 bilingual findings split into two normative banks: 710 pre-purchase, 455 pre-delivery. When you do a pre-delivery, you search among 455 findings made for that, not a general library.
The BNQ qualification each finding carries its normative qualification, apparent defect, deficiency indicator, or safety risk, independently of its severity level. Severity says how serious it is; qualification says what it is in the sense of the standard.
Traceability each finding is linked to its source, and it is verifiable in the report. In a document you sign, knowing where a wording comes from is not a luxury.
Your own texts on top of the bank, you create your custom blocks with version history, and your templates are shared across the team. Your method stays yours.
Habita and Lumos both publish their pricing, to their credit as to ours. Here are the Lumos plans.
Habita also publishes its pricing. According to their site (checked August 28, 2026): - Essentiel: $79 per month per inspector, or $790 per year; you write yourself and unlock AI file by file, paid as you use it - Illimité: $149 per month per inspector, or $1,490 per year, generative AI with no cap - Organisation: custom pricing - First month free, no credit card; it starts the day you choose a plan - Management, reception, accounting roles, and interns do not occupy a paid seat - Student program: Essentiel plan free during studies The two trials do not measure the same way: a full first month at Habita, three complete real inspections at Lumos, no credit card on either side. Compare what is included at each tier rather than the numbers alone.
On scope, both cover the full cycle: intake, capture, writing, client portal, invoicing with GST and QST. The difference is in the execution. With Lumos: the bank of 1,165 BNQ-qualified findings, the native iOS and Android app, the template editor with customizable severities, and the compliance review. With Habita, according to their site: a lower-priced entry plan where AI is paid as you use it, and close onboarding support.
Not with Lumos. You start with 1,165 bilingual findings, 710 pre-purchase and 455 pre-delivery, each qualified under BNQ 3009-500 and linked to its source, and you add your own blocks with version history. Habita announces an included, curated library that grows with your texts; their site does not publish its size and, when we tried it in August 2026, a new account started with about thirty findings.
Both announce it, but the vehicle differs. Lumos Capture is a native iOS and Android app: captures are stored locally and sync on their own when the signal returns; creating an inspection and the final delivery happen online. At Habita, according to their FAQ, no installation is required and the tool is used in the browser, including on mobile, with offline capture announced. The simplest test: try both in a basement with no signal.
Yes. Findings bank, keyboard entry, batch photo import, custom templates: the software is fully functional without any AI feature, and it is a supported workflow, not a degraded mode. Habita also offers a plan where you write yourself and unlock AI file by file, according to their site.
Both publish their prices. Lumos: $10 per inspection, the first 3 free, or $110 per month on Pro with unlimited assisted writing and the unlimited AI Assistant. Habita, according to their site: $79 per month on Essentiel, where AI is paid as you use it, and $149 per month on Illimité. Compare what is included at each tier: with Lumos, the BNQ-qualified, source-linked bank is included.
Both platforms announce being structured around BNQ 3009-500, the standard REIBH imposes on certified inspectors, whose certificate becomes mandatory on October 1, 2027. It is the point where the two tools differ the least.
Both have a student program. With Lumos, it is free for the full duration of your program, plus two months after graduation. With Habita, according to their site, the Essentiel plan is free during studies and AI is paid as you use it. The best move is still to do a real school inspection with each and keep the one that keeps up in the field.
Habita and Lumos cover the same cycle and target the same Quebec inspector: offline capture announced on both sides, AI that proposes and an inspector who approves, client portal, invoicing, public pricing. The gap plays out in the execution. Lumos ships a bank of 1,165 findings qualified under the BNQ and linked to their source, a native iOS and Android app, a template editor with customizable severities, a compliance review, and acquisition tools after delivery. Habita bets on a lower-priced entry plan where AI is paid as you use it and on close onboarding support, according to their site. Test both on a real inspection and keep what holds up in your day.
Three complete real inspections, free, no credit card. Your account is ready in minutes.
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Information about Habita comes from their public website at the time of publication. Both platforms' features evolve. If something seems inaccurate, write to us and we will correct it.
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