AppFolio vs Buildium vs DoorLoop (2026): Buildium Costs Least to 150 Units

On subscription price, Buildium is the cheapest of the three from 25 to 150 units: $80 a month for 25 units, $192 for 50 and $252 for 100, billed monthly. From 151 to 200 units Buildium Growth ($301) and AppFolio Core (a reported $298) are level, and past 200 AppFolio’s $1.49 a unit pulls ahead. DoorLoop never has the lowest bill, but its cheapest plan includes the prospect CRM, tour scheduling, phone support and API access that Buildium keeps for Premium. Against Buildium Premium, DoorLoop One costs less at every size we priced.

So the choice comes down to features: Buildium for the lowest bill and deeper accounting, DoorLoop for leasing tools without a top plan, AppFolio for 200+ units and the widest syndication. Prices and features checked 20 October 2026, each on the vendor’s own pricing page; Buildium’s come from the price calculator on its pricing page. Reallyo publishes this blog. We sell rental listing marketing, not property management software, and none of these three is ours.

Key takeaways

• Buildium’s calculator prices Essential at $62 a month for 1–20 units and $80 for 21–40, and doesn’t offer it above 40. Growth is $192 to 50 units, $252 to 100, $291 to 150 and $301 to 200. Premium is $400 flat to 150 units (Buildium).
• DoorLoop One costs $2.50 per unit a month billed yearly, $1.50 above 100 units, with a $199 monthly minimum. Monthly billing is $3.00 a unit with a $239 minimum (DoorLoop).
• AppFolio lists Core at $1.49 per unit a month with a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend it doesn’t publish. Competitors report that floor at $280–$298 a month (AppFolio).
• AppFolio names 27 listing sites on its partner page. Buildium names 8 and DoorLoop’s settings offer 8.
• DoorLoop puts its prospect CRM on every plan. Buildium’s prospect pipeline and tour scheduling are Premium only, and AppFolio’s Leasing CRM is Max only.

Which should you choose?

If you…	Better for you	Why
want the lowest monthly bill under 150 units	Buildium	$80 at 25 units, $192 at 50, $252 at 100 on its calculator
manage under 50 units	Buildium or DoorLoop	AppFolio Core has a 50-unit minimum
want a leasing CRM without buying a top plan	DoorLoop	Prospect CRM, tour scheduling and a business phone line are in all three plans
manage more than 200 units	AppFolio	Core lists at $1.49 a unit; Buildium Growth is $482 at 300 units against AppFolio’s $447
want the widest built-in syndication	AppFolio	27 named sites, basic listing included in the subscription
want deep accounting and 1099 e-filing	Buildium	Bank reconciliation on every plan, 1099 e-filing through Nelco
want phone support on the cheapest plan	DoorLoop	Chat, email, phone and Zoom support listed on every plan
want contract terms in writing before you talk to sales	Buildium	Monthly or annual terms and the cancellation rule are in its published terms of use
run multifamily with on-site leasing teams	AppFolio	Leasing CRM (Max) is built for 100+ unit multifamily with on-site teams

What do AppFolio, Buildium and DoorLoop cost at 25, 50, 100 and 200 units?

The tables show the base subscription a month, before payment, screening and eSignature fees. Buildium’s prices are what its “Calculate Your Price” tool shows for each unit count. AppFolio and DoorLoop numbers are our arithmetic on their published per-unit rates and minimums.

Billed monthly

Plan	25 units	50 units	100 units	200 units	Source
AppFolio Core ($1.49/unit)	Not sold (50-unit minimum)	~$298 (list $74.50)	~$298 (list $149)	$298	AppFolio; floor from ManageCasa
Buildium Essential	$80	Not offered (40-unit cap)	Not offered	Not offered	Buildium
Buildium Growth	$192	$192	$252	$301	Buildium
Buildium Premium	$400	$400	$400	$531	Buildium
DoorLoop One	$239	$239	$300	$480	DoorLoop
DoorLoop Connect	$359	$359	$480	$960	DoorLoop
DoorLoop Multiply	$479	$479	$600	$1,200	DoorLoop

Paid yearly, shown per month

Plan	25 units	50 units	100 units	200 units
Buildium Essential (10% off)	$72	Not offered	Not offered	Not offered
Buildium Growth (10% off)	$173	$173	$227	$271
Buildium Premium (10% off)	$361	$361	$361	$478
DoorLoop One	$199	$199	$250	$400
DoorLoop Connect	$299	$299	$400	$800
DoorLoop Multiply	$399	$399	$500	$1,000

AppFolio doesn’t publish an annual discount, so it isn’t in the second table. Buildium’s yearly prices come from the same calculator ($867, $2,076, $2,722, $3,255, $4,334 and $5,732 a year).

What the tables show:

• Buildium’s cheapest plan is cheapest or level at every size. At 50 units it’s $192 against DoorLoop One’s $239 (monthly) and AppFolio’s reported $298. At 100 units it’s $252 against $300 and $298.
• AppFolio catches up at about 150 units. Its reported floor stays at $298 up to 200 units, while Buildium Growth moves to $301 at 151 units. Past 200, Buildium Growth adds about $18 per 10 units and AppFolio $14.90: at 300 units it’s $482 against $447, and DoorLoop One is $550 billed yearly.
• DoorLoop’s minimum covers up to 80 units. At $2.50 a unit, One only passes $199 at 80 units on yearly billing.

The prices above aren’t like for like on features. DoorLoop One includes the prospect CRM, tour scheduling, a business phone line, phone support and API access. At Buildium those sit on Premium, and at AppFolio the Leasing CRM is on Max. Matched on those tools, DoorLoop One costs less than Buildium Premium at every size here: $199 against $361 at 50 units paid yearly, $250 against $361 at 100, and $400 against $478 at 200.

AppFolio Plus and Max carry their own unpublished minimums, reported at $900–$1,500 and $7,500 a month (Balanced Asset Solutions). Our AppFolio pricing guide covers AppFolio’s minimums and price history in more detail.

Fees that sit on top

Fee	AppFolio	Buildium	DoorLoop
Incoming rent payment (ACH/EFT)	Not on the pricing page	$2.35 Essential, $1.35 Growth, Premium free for 12 months then $0.60	$1.50 on One; free on Connect and Multiply
Tenant screening	Not on the pricing page	$17, or $35 paid by the applicant	$35
eSignature	Not on the pricing page	$5 per document Essential, $1 Growth, included Premium	Unlimited on every plan
Onboarding	One-time fee, amount not published	Dedicated import team on Growth and Premium	One-on-one virtual onboarding, “based on portfolio size”

Payment fees can close the gap if you absorb them rather than pass them on. At 100 units with every tenant paying rent online, billed monthly:

Plan at 100 units	Subscription	Rent payment fees	Total
Buildium Growth	$252	$135	$387
Buildium Premium, first 12 months	$400	$0	$400
Buildium Premium, after 12 months	$400	$60	$460
DoorLoop One	$300	$150	$450
DoorLoop Connect	$480	$0	$480

AppFolio’s payment fees aren’t on its pricing page, so it’s left out.

How do the plans compare on accounting?

All three keep a full general ledger with owner statements. The differences show up in the add-ons.

	AppFolio	Buildium	DoorLoop
Entry plan	Property accounting and reports	Bank reconciliation, financial and batched reports	Full accounting, custom chart of accounts, live bank sync
QuickBooks	Not listed on the pricing page	Not listed on the pricing page	QuickBooks Online sync on every plan
1099s	Not listed on the pricing page	e-Filing through Nelco: $50 a batch plus $4.50 a form	Creates 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms on every plan
Advanced	Plus adds advanced budgeting and an AI bill-entry “Accounting Performer”	Growth adds reporting automation; AI Bill Scan is in Premium	CAM reconciliation and affordable housing reports on every plan

Buildium also quotes community association pricing by phone. Buildium’s comparison says DoorLoop’s QuickBooks sync is “one-way only”; DoorLoop’s own page describes it as sending income and expense transactions to QuickBooks Online.

Which has the better leasing CRM?

DoorLoop, if you want it without moving up a plan. The three put their leasing tools on very different tiers.

Leasing tool	AppFolio	Buildium	DoorLoop
Prospect list and guest cards	Core (“End-to-End Marketing & Leasing”)	Every plan (Prospect Management)	Every plan (Prospect CRM)
Pipeline or leasing CRM	Max only (Leasing CRM)	Premium only (Prospect Pipeline)	Every plan
Tour scheduling	Not named on any plan	Premium only, or Showings Coordinator from $41 a month	Every plan
Two-way messaging	”Integrated Communication” on Core	Two-way email and SMS threads on Growth and Premium	Calls, texts, portal and email in one inbox, with a business phone number, on every plan
Call handling	Not named on the plan list	Call Hub, Premium only	Calls recorded, transcribed and summarised on every plan

AppFolio says its Leasing CRM “works best for residential multifamily customers with 100+ units” with on-site leasing teams (AppFolio). A scattered-site manager on Core gets guest cards and the AI assistant, not a pipeline. Buildium’s pipeline comes with Premium, which is $400 a month flat up to 150 units: $208 more than Growth at 50 units, and $148 more at 100.

What does each one syndicate to?

All three include basic listing syndication in the subscription. AppFolio reaches the most named sites.

	AppFolio	Buildium	DoorLoop
Sites named by the vendor	27	8	8
Major sites	Zillow Rental Network, Trulia, HotPads, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, Zumper, Apartment List, PadMapper, Redfin, Rentals.com, Apartment Guide	Zillow Rental Network, Apartments.com, Apartment List, Zumper, RentPath, Craigslist	Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, Zumper
Others	Dwellsy, Rental Beast, Rentler, RentalSource, Rentable, plus six student sites and more	Dwellsy, Rental Beast	Dwellsy, RentalSource
Paid upgrade	Premium Listing, $10 per verified lead, with a monthly cap you set	None listed	None listed
Source	Listing partners	Syndication page	Help article

AppFolio lists every property on Zillow Rental Network, Apartments.com, HotPads, Dwellsy, Trulia and Rental Beast. It lists on the other 21 too, with Premium properties featured (AppFolio Premium Listing). DoorLoop needs a Business Verified merchant account before listings go out. Its help article says to set up a Zillow account linked to your DoorLoop company ID first, and Apartments.com asks properties with more than 5 units to open their own account. None of the three names Homes.com on its list.

None of the three advertises listing videos, social posts or print flyers made from a listing. All three host a company or marketing website with your listings.

Which has the better AI?

DoorLoop’s agents do the most work on their own; AppFolio puts its assistant on every plan; Buildium charges extra below Premium.

AI feature	AppFolio	Buildium	DoorLoop
On the entry plan	Realm-X Assistant and Messages (Core)	Buildium Assistant (help only), Write with Lumina	AI Assistant: writes listings, processes invoices, builds reports
Mid plan	Realm-X Flows (automated workflows), Accounting Performer (Plus)	Same as Essential	Receptionist Agent answers tenant calls, texts and portal messages 24/7 (Connect)
Top plan	Leasing Signals rent pricing, Accounting Performer budgeting (Max)	Lumina AI Workforce and AI Bill Scan included (Premium); paid add-ons below that	Maintenance Ops Agent and Lease Renewal Agent (Multiply)
AI for leads	Realm-X Leasing Performer replies to leads and books tours; not on any plan list, no published price	Prospect Voice & Chat, Premium only	Not listed; the Receptionist Agent answers tenants, not prospects

Our AI for property management guide covers what these agents do in practice.

Which has the better mobile app?

All three have one. DoorLoop lists iOS and Android apps on every plan. Buildium has “mobile apps for both managers and residents” (Buildium). AppFolio’s app runs on iPhone, iPad and Android and handles work orders, property photos and leasing tasks in the field (AppFolio). We didn’t test the apps side by side.

How does support differ?

Plan level	AppFolio	Buildium	DoorLoop
Entry	Standard Support	Ticket support	Chat, email, phone and Zoom
Mid	Enhanced Support	Live phone support	VIP priority support
Top	Dedicated customer success manager	Priority support	VIP priority support

Buildium says email tickets are “typically answered within 24 hours” (Buildium). AppFolio doesn’t define “Standard” or “Enhanced” on its pricing page.

What are the contracts and minimums?

	AppFolio	Buildium	DoorLoop
Unit minimum	50 on Core; Plus and Max have unpublished minimums	None; Essential stops at 40 units	None, but a $199–$479 monthly floor
Spend minimum	Yes, amount not published	None; the smallest bill is $62 (Essential, 1–20 units)	$199 / $299 / $399 billed yearly; $239 / $359 / $479 monthly
Billing	Quote	Monthly, or yearly at 10% off	Monthly or yearly; yearly costs less per unit
Term and cancellation	Not published	Auto-renews; 30 days’ written notice; annual plans paid in advance, no refund if you cancel early	Switch plans “up or down, at any time”; full terms not on the pricing page
Free trial	Not offered on the pricing page (demo)	14 days, no credit card	Not offered on the pricing page (demo)

Buildium’s terms of use say it “does not pro-rate or grant refunds or credits for any partial month or year.” Read that before you pick annual billing. For AppFolio, ask for the term, renewal and early-exit clauses in writing with your quote.

Choose AppFolio, Buildium or DoorLoop if…

Choose AppFolio if:

• you manage more than 200 units, where Core’s $1.49 a unit costs less than Buildium Growth and DoorLoop One, or 150–200 units where it’s level with Buildium;
• you want basic syndication to 27 named sites included;
• you run multifamily with on-site leasing teams and can budget for Max and its Leasing CRM.

Choose Buildium if:

• you want the lowest subscription up to 150 units: $62–$80 a month to 40 units on Essential, then $192–$291 on Growth;
• accounting depth matters more than leasing tools: bank reconciliation on every plan, 1099 e-filing, association management;
• you want a 14-day free trial and published contract terms.

Choose DoorLoop if:

• you want the prospect CRM, tour scheduling and a business phone line without moving up a plan: One is $199 a month up to 80 units, billed yearly, against Buildium Premium’s $361;
• you’d rather pay a little more than Buildium Growth to get the leasing tools on the entry plan;
• you want phone support and API access on the cheapest plan.

How do you switch between AppFolio, Buildium and DoorLoop?

Plan on one to three months, and switch at a month end so the books close cleanly.

1. Pick a cutover date at a month end. Close and reconcile the old system for that month first.
2. Export what carries over. Properties, units, tenants, leases, owners, vendors, open balances and security deposits move as data. Full transaction history usually doesn’t; keep a read-only export of the old ledger.
3. Use the new vendor’s onboarding. Buildium’s import team is on Growth and Premium, DoorLoop’s onboarding is “based on portfolio size”, and AppFolio charges a one-time onboarding fee it doesn’t publish.
4. Move tenants to the new payment portal before the next rent date, and tell them which date the old one stops.
5. Switch listings last, one source per site. Zillow “will only ever publish a single version of a listing” (Zillow), and Apartments.com locks a feed-connected listing to that feed (Apartments.com). Turn syndication off in the old system before you turn it on in the new one.
6. Run both for one cycle if you can afford it, and compare owner statements before you cancel.

Whichever you choose: listing marketing alongside it

All three handle the books, leases and basic syndication. None of them advertises turning a listing into a video, social posts or a flyer. That’s the gap Reallyo fills. Reallyo imports rental listings from property management system exports, XML feeds and spreadsheets, then keeps them in sync.

Each imported rental gets:

• a listing page on your Reallyo website;
• an AI listing video with voiceover and captions;
• social posts you copy or download, plus a printable PDF flyer with a QR code;
• syndication to the 19 sites in Reallyo’s network, including Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com and Homes.com.

Enquiries land in Reallyo’s leads inbox. Plans go by active listings: free for one, then $39 a month for 10, $49 for 25, $69 for 50 and $89 for 100 (Reallyo pricing). Give each site one source, as in step 5 above, so the same unit doesn’t arrive twice. Start free with one listing.

FAQ

Which is better, AppFolio or Buildium? Buildium up to 150 units, on price: its calculator shows $192 a month for 50 units and $252 for 100, against AppFolio Core’s reported $298 floor. From 151 to 200 units they’re level ($301 against $298), and past 200 AppFolio’s $1.49 a unit costs less. AppFolio’s Leasing CRM (Max) and 27 syndication sites favour large multifamily operators.

Is DoorLoop cheaper than Buildium? On subscription, no. Buildium’s cheapest plan costs less at every size we priced: $192 against DoorLoop One’s $239 at 50 units, and $252 against $300 at 100, both billed monthly. DoorLoop is cheaper once you need its leasing tools: the prospect CRM, tour scheduling and API access are on DoorLoop One but on Buildium Premium ($400 a month to 150 units).

How much does Buildium charge? Buildium’s own calculator shows Essential at $62 a month for 1–20 units and $80 for 21–40, Growth at $192 to 50 units, $252 to 100 and $301 to 200, and Premium at $400 flat to 150 units. Paying yearly takes 10% off. Rent payment fees come on top: incoming EFT is $2.35 on Essential and $1.35 on Growth.

How much does DoorLoop cost for 100 units? $250 a month on DoorLoop One billed yearly, or $300 billed monthly. Connect is $400 and Multiply $500 a month at 100 units on yearly billing. Above 100 units, One drops to $1.50 a unit yearly or $1.80 monthly.

Does AppFolio have a minimum number of units? Yes, 50 units on Core, plus a minimum spend AppFolio doesn’t publish. Competitors report it at $280–$298 a month. Plus and Max also have unit and spend minimums with no published amounts.

Which one syndicates to the most listing sites? AppFolio, with 27 sites on its partner page, including Zillow Rental Network, Apartments.com, Realtor.com and Zumper. Buildium names 8 sites and DoorLoop’s settings offer 8. Basic syndication is included on all three.

What is the DoorLoop app? DoorLoop is property management software with accounting, leasing, maintenance and payments in one system. Its iOS and Android apps are on every plan, and tenants and owners get their own portals.

Is Buildium good property management software? Yes for accounting-led managers who want the lowest subscription of the three up to 150 units and a free trial. Its leasing tools are thinner on the lower plans: the prospect pipeline, tour scheduling and call handling are Premium only.

Can I use Reallyo with AppFolio, Buildium or DoorLoop? Yes. Reallyo imports your rental listings from the system’s exports or feeds and keeps them in sync, then adds a listing page, a video, social posts and a flyer for each one. One active listing is free.

Sources

• AppFolio, checked 20 October 2026: pricing; listing partners; Premium Listing; Leasing CRM; mobile app
• Reported AppFolio minimums, from competitors and consultants: ManageCasa (June 2026); DoorLoop; Balanced Asset Solutions
• Buildium, checked 20 October 2026: pricing page, “Calculate Your Price” tool and plan comparison; syndication; terms of use; DoorLoop vs Buildium (April 2026); Buildium vs AppFolio (July 2026)
• DoorLoop, checked 20 October 2026: pricing and plan comparison (monthly and yearly values read from the page); listing syndication help
• Listing rules: Zillow; Apartments.com
• Method: Buildium prices are what its price calculator returns for each unit count (monthly and yearly), read on 20 October 2026; see our Buildium pricing guide. AppFolio and DoorLoop prices multiply each published per-unit rate by the unit count and apply the published minimum (DoorLoop) or the highest reported minimum spend (AppFolio Core). The fee table assumes one online rent payment per unit a month, paid by the manager. Onboarding, screening and eSignatures aren’t included. Feature rows come from each vendor’s own plan table.

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