AppFolio vs Buildium: Which Fits Your Portfolio?

AppFolio and Buildium are two full property management platforms built for management businesses. They price in opposite ways: AppFolio per unit with a minimum, Buildium per plan. This comparison sets their published prices and features side by side and works out what each costs at the sizes where the choice is real. For the full picture of each, read the AppFolio review and Buildium pricing.

AppFolio vs Buildium: features and buying

From AppFolio's and Buildium's pricing pages, read November 2, 2026. AppFolio's Core includes accounting and reports, marketing and leasing, work orders, inspections and its Realm-X assistant (AppFolio); Max adds a Leasing CRM and a read/write API (AppFolio).

AppFolio vs Buildium cost at 50, 100 and 200 units

AppFolio: published starting price per unit x units, before its unpublished minimum spend. Buildium: published monthly starting price, which Buildium does not say how it scales with units. Neither figure is a quote.

At 50 units, AppFolio Core's per-unit price works out to $74.50 a month before the minimum spend, close to Buildium Essential's $65 starting price. Because AppFolio does not publish its minimum spend and Buildium does not publish how its price rises with units, the honest comparison is two quotes for your exact unit count. Ask each for the total including payment and screening fees: Buildium lists screening at $17 and incoming EFT at $2.35 on Essential (Buildium).

Fees beyond the subscription

Buildium publishes per-transaction fees on its pricing page; AppFolio's pricing page lists plans and starting prices and directs you to a quote for the rest. Both read November 2, 2026.

This is the practical difference between the two buying experiences. With Buildium you can model a year's cost before you talk to anyone. With AppFolio, which describes its product as a way to "Run your entire residential portfolio on a single, modern platform" (AppFolio), the transaction costs come with the quote, so ask for them in writing.

Feature checklist

From each company's pricing page, read November 2, 2026.

One year at 50 units, plan by plan

AppFolio: starting price per unit x 50 x 12, before its minimum spend (Plus and Max also say a unit minimum applies, without a number). Buildium: starting monthly price x 12.

Matched by what they add, the plans pair up roughly as Core with Essential, Plus with Growth and Max with Premium. AppFolio's API is read-only on Plus and read/write on Max; Buildium's Open API is on Premium. At 50 units the entry plans cost about the same, and the mid tiers favor AppFolio Plus on published prices, but only a quote settles it.

How the price per unit falls as you grow

AppFolio's per-unit starting price is flat in its published table; Buildium's per-unit figure is its $65 starting price divided by units, a floor rather than a quote, since Buildium does not say how its price rises.

How you buy each one

Cheaper alternatives at 50 units

DoorLoop: $199 or $239 monthly minimum x 12 (50 units x $2.50 or $3.00 is below the minimum); TenantCloud Pro allows 60 leases; RentRedi is unlimited. All from pricing pages read November 2, 2026.

Below a few dozen units, these tools cost a fraction of either platform. What they lack is the depth a management business needs: owner portals and full accounting at scale are where AppFolio and Buildium earn their price.

What about 20 units?

At 20 units AppFolio is off the table, since Core needs at least 50. Buildium Essential's $65 starting price works out to $3.25 a unit a month, before payment and screening fees. For comparison, RentRedi's annual plan is $0.60 a unit a month at the same size, and Stessa's free plan covers the books. Buildium makes sense at 20 units only if you manage for other owners and need its owner portal and accounting, or you expect to keep growing. If you do, run the 14-day trial with your real properties, record a month of rent and one repair, and check how the owner statement reads before you pay. A trial with sample data shows the screens; a trial with your own numbers shows whether the reports answer your questions.

Which is better for a small landlord?

• Under 50 units: AppFolio's Core minimum rules it out, so the choice is Buildium or a landlord app. See the Buildium review for whether its plans fit.
• 50 to 200 units, managing for owners: both fit. AppFolio adds affordable and student housing tools on Plus; Buildium adds association management and a self-serve trial.
• Fewer than 10 units: pick a landlord app instead; free and flat-price tools cover listings, screening and rent for $0 to $144 a year.

Above 5,000 units

Yardi's pricing is not covered on this site. For a small or mid-size portfolio, the published entry prices above are the useful comparison; for anything over Buildium's 5,000-unit line (Buildium), both AppFolio and Buildium price by quote.

Support and extras compared

Buildium gives every customer ticket support; live phone support, Monday to Friday 9 AM to 8 PM EST, starts at Growth, and Priority Support is an add-on on Growth and included on Premium. Premium also includes the first 12 months of incoming bank payments free, 100 free business bank accounts and inspections with all fees included. AppFolio's pricing page lists standard support on Core, enhanced support on Plus and dedicated customer success management on Max, without hours (AppFolio).

AppFolio's Plus and Max say a minimum spend and unit minimum apply without giving numbers, so a 50-unit portfolio may not qualify for them. Ask which plan your unit count actually unlocks before comparing prices.

If you might switch later

Moving a management business between platforms means moving ledgers, leases, tenant balances and owner statements. Buildium's Growth and Premium plans include a required onboarding team that imports existing data; AppFolio's pricing page does not describe its migration. Ask both how they import from the other, and how you would export your data if you leave.

Questions to ask both sales teams

1. What is my total monthly price at my exact unit count, with all required fees?
2. Is there a minimum spend, and how much is it?
3. Is onboarding required, and what does it cost?
4. What do tenants pay per bank and card payment?
5. Can I leave after a year, and how do I export my data?

Alternatives to both

Both list AI features by plan; see AI property management software.