The typical searcher is a landlord or small management company that started on Buildium's entry plan and then ran into the tier structure: phone support, the open API and cheaper payments sit higher up, and the two upper plans come with a compulsory onboarding service. They move to a per-unit platform with unlimited users, to a flat-fee tool for a handful of leases, or to a system built for their own country.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: The first three alternatives to Buildium in our property management ranking are DoorLoop, AppFolio and Rent Manager. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. Choose DoorLoop if you want one per-unit price with the API and unlimited users included. All 12 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Property Management Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Buildium.
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Buildium lists Essential from $62 a month, Growth from $192 and Premium from $400, with a 14-day trial. Live phone support starts on Growth, the open API is listed on Premium, and the free eSignature and inspection allowances arrive on the upper plans. A team that needs one item from a higher tier pays for the whole tier.
The pricing page itemises extras per use: tenant screening at $17 per screening, card payments at 2.99% on every plan, a $99 setup charge per bank account on Essential, and $5 per eSigned document on Essential. None of these is unusual, but together they mean the headline price understates the bill for a busy portfolio.
Growth and Premium customers must use Buildium's customised onboarding service, which imports existing data and builds a training plan. For a manager who has already moved data between systems before, that is a dependency they cannot decline. Buildium also states it is now a RealPage company, so product direction answers to a larger owner.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing | Key difference | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DoorLoop | United States | No free tier | Per unit per month, published; annual billing discount | Per-unit pricing you can read before you talk to sales | you want one per-unit price with the API and unlimited users included | #1 |
| AppFolio | United States | No free tier | Quoted; minimum spend and a 50-unit minimum on Core | Quoted, with a minimum spend that assumes a real agency | you manage a large portfolio and accept a quote and a minimum spend | #12 |
| Rent Manager | United States | No free tier | Quoted by unit count and plan; implementation services priced separately | Independent American property software with deep accounting and reporting | you want deep customisation and an API, and can budget for an implementation project | #10 |
| Rentec Direct | United States | No free tier | Per unit per month, published; monthly minimum | Rent roll and trust accounting without the upsell ladder | you want trust accounting and a month-to-month contract without an onboarding service | #4 |
| Yardi Breeze | United States | No free tier | Per unit per month, published; monthly minimum | Yardi's small portfolio product, sold at a published rate | you want the lowest published per-unit rate and are happy with an annual agreement | #11 |
| Hemlane | United States | Yes | Free plan for listings and screening; paid plans per unit plus a $28 platform fee, published; tenant placement from $695 | Software with a free entry plan, plus optional local help for repairs and leasing | you are an owner who wants repairs and tenant placement done for you | #7 |
| Innago | United States | Yes | Free to landlords; card and bank transfer fees charged to tenants | Free for the landlord because the tenant pays the fee | you self-manage and the monthly fee is the problem | #3 |
| TenantCloud | United States | No free tier | 14-day trial; flat monthly plans by active lease count from $15, published | Flat monthly plans capped by active leases, not by units | you have fewer than 60 leases and prefer a flat monthly plan to per-unit billing | #6 |
| Arthur Online | United Kingdom | No free tier | Per unit per month, published, with a minimum spend covering 55 to 70 units; annual billing | British lettings workflow and compliance tracking in one system | you manage UK lettings and need compliance tracking in pounds | #2 |
| Re-Leased | New Zealand | No free tier | Quoted per portfolio | Commercial leases, rent reviews and service charges, not flats | your portfolio is commercial leases and you keep your own accounting package | #8 |
| Aareon | Germany | No free tier | Quoted per organisation; implementation priced separately | European housing association software, bought as a project | you run a housing organisation in Europe and want a vendor there | #13 |
| casavi | Germany | No free tier | Published tiers by managed-unit band from €219 a month plus VAT; quoted above 4,000 units | The communication and portal layer German property managers were missing | your problem is tenant communication and tickets, not accounting | #9 |
United States · Per unit per month, published; annual billing discount
Charges per unit ($2.50 on the One plan, $1.50 per unit above 100, with a $199 monthly minimum) instead of by tier. Unlimited users and full API access are listed on every plan. Its upper plans add AI agents, a feature set Buildium does not sell in this form, and the monthly minimum rules out the very smallest portfolios.
Switch from Buildium if you want one per-unit price with the API and unlimited users included.
United States · Quoted; minimum spend and a 50-unit minimum on Core
Quoted, not self-serve: the three published starting rates are $1.49, $3.20 and $5.00 per unit per month, each with minimum spend. A read-only API appears on the middle plan and read/write on the top one. It targets larger operators and gives smaller landlords no way to buy by card.
Switch from Buildium if you manage a large portfolio and accept a quote and a minimum spend.
United States · Quoted by unit count and plan; implementation services priced separately
Sold by quote from LCS in Cincinnati, with Basic and higher editions and an open-access API listed on the product pages. It is a customisable system with onboarding, implementation and data migration as separate services, which makes it heavier to start than Buildium's trial.
Switch from Buildium if you want deep customisation and an API, and can budget for an implementation project.
Rent Manager, #10 of 13 in our property management ranking →
United States · Per unit per month, published; monthly minimum
Starter is a flat $25 a month for up to ten properties, and Pro and PM start at $50 a month and grow with units. The PM edition adds trust account management and ACH payouts to owners. The vendor states no setup fees, no term commitments and no training costs, which Buildium's compulsory onboarding does not match.
Switch from Buildium if you want trust accounting and a month-to-month contract without an onboarding service.
Rentec Direct, #4 of 13 in our property management ranking →
United States · Per unit per month, published; monthly minimum
Published per-unit pricing from $1 per unit per month with a $100 monthly minimum on an annual agreement, and the vendor lists no onboarding, training or support fees. It is a product of Yardi Systems, and the Premier edition adds corporate accounting and job costing that Buildium does not list.
Switch from Buildium if you want the lowest published per-unit rate and are happy with an annual agreement.
Yardi Breeze, #11 of 13 in our property management ranking →
United States · Free plan for listings and screening; paid plans per unit plus a $28 platform fee, published; tenant placement from $695
Offers a free forever Starter plan for listings and screening, paid software at $2 per unit with a $28 platform fee, and service plans at $20 and $58 per unit that add repair coordination or full management assistance. Tenant placement starts at $695. It is aimed at owners who want help, not only a ledger.
Switch from Buildium if you are an owner who wants repairs and tenant placement done for you.
United States · Free to landlords; card and bank transfer fees charged to tenants
States no monthly fee, no setup fee and no contract. That makes it the cheapest route out of a tiered bill, but it publishes no tiers, no unit limits and no owner-statement features on its pricing page, so a management company with owner clients has to check what it covers.
Switch from Buildium if you self-manage and the monthly fee is the problem.
United States · 14-day trial; flat monthly plans by active lease count from $15, published
Flat plans capped by active leases: Starter $15 a month on annual billing for 10 leases, Growth $29.17 for 30, Pro $50 for 60, with units unlimited. Bank reconciliation and a separate owner portal start on Pro. A 14-day trial replaces any free plan.
Switch from Buildium if you have fewer than 60 leases and prefer a flat monthly plan to per-unit billing.
United Kingdom · Per unit per month, published, with a minimum spend covering 55 to 70 units; annual billing
Priced in pounds with annual billing: Standard from £82.50 a month including 55 units, then £1.50 per unit, with finance, maintenance and compliance modules. It is built for the United Kingdom lettings market, so it is the answer for a manager outside the American rules Buildium assumes.
Switch from Buildium if you manage UK lettings and need compliance tracking in pounds.
Arthur Online, #2 of 13 in our property management ranking →
New Zealand · Quoted per portfolio
A commercial property tool with Core, Pro and Enterprise plans, all priced on request. Core lists unlimited users and unlimited entities, and it connects to Xero, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks and NetSuite instead of replacing them. It is not designed around residential rent collection.
Switch from Buildium if your portfolio is commercial leases and you keep your own accounting package.
Germany · Quoted per organisation; implementation priced separately
A property management system for housing owners and managers across Europe, with modules for payments, sustainability planning and customer portals. Its site publishes no prices. It is scoped to social and commercial housing organisations, not to the individual landlord Buildium's entry plan fits.
Switch from Buildium if you run a housing organisation in Europe and want a vendor there.
Germany · Published tiers by managed-unit band from €219 a month plus VAT; quoted above 4,000 units
Published tiers by managed-unit band: Core S from €219 a month for up to 500 units with one staff licence, Core M from €329 for up to 1,500, and a quote from 4,000 units. The product centres on tickets, communication channels, documents and contractor coordination, and connects to an existing administration system instead of replacing the ledger.
Switch from Buildium if your problem is tenant communication and tickets, not accounting.
Buildium remains the right choice for an American manager who wants accounting, leasing, maintenance and owner reporting in one product with prices published on the site. The Premium plan includes the open API, unlimited eSignatures and inspections, and phone support is listed from Growth. If you accept the onboarding service and your volume of screenings and payments fits the itemised fees, there is little to gain from a move.
Buildium holds the accounting for every property and owner. Before cancelling, export the general ledger, owner statements and lease history for the periods your accountant and owners may still ask about. A new system will import balances, but the audit trail of old transactions stays in the export.
Tenants pay through Buildium's portal, and card and bank payments use the plan's fee schedule. Moving means tenants re-register on the new portal and re-authorise autopay, so tell them early and run both systems for one rent cycle. Check each candidate's published ACH and card fees, because they differ by plan.
If you built anything on Buildium's open API, which is listed on Premium, check that the replacement offers one at the plan you intend to buy. DoorLoop lists full API access on its plans, while AppFolio's read-only API starts on its middle plan.
Buildium lists three plans: Essential from $62 a month, Growth from $192 and Premium from $400, with a 14-day trial. Screening, eSignatures, card payments and bank account setup are charged on top, and the amounts vary by plan.
Yes. The Buildium website footer reads "Buildium, A RealPage Company" and gives RealPage's Richardson, Texas address as its global headquarters.
Innago states no monthly fee, no setup fee and no contract. TenantCloud starts at $15 a month on annual billing for up to ten leases, and Rentec Direct Starter is a flat $25 a month for up to ten properties.
Compare their owner and reporting features before assuming they replace a full ledger.
DoorLoop charges $2.50 per unit on its One plan with a $199 monthly minimum, Yardi Breeze starts at $1 per unit with a $100 minimum, and Hemlane charges $2 per unit plus a $28 platform fee.
AppFolio is quoted from $1.49 per unit with minimum spend.
On Growth and Premium, yes: Buildium states the customised onboarding service is required. Rentec Direct states free setup and onboarding, and Yardi Breeze lists no onboarding fees.
Arthur Online prices in pounds for UK lettings, casavi publishes euro tiers by unit band, and Aareon serves housing organisations in Europe. All three are built for local rules, which Buildium is not.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 16 October 2026. How we review.
