Yardi Breeze vs AppFolio (2026): $1 vs $1.49 a Unit

Pick Yardi Breeze if price, a small portfolio or a mixed portfolio decides it: base Breeze costs less than AppFolio Core at every size we priced, has no unit minimum, and publishes prices for commercial, HOA and affordable housing. Pick AppFolio if you run 200+ multifamily units with on-site leasing teams and want AI in every plan and a leasing CRM in the same system.

Breeze costs $1 a unit a month with a $100 monthly floor (Yardi Breeze). AppFolio Core lists at $1.49 a unit with a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend it doesn’t publish (AppFolio). We priced both at five portfolio sizes from those two pages. At 100 units, Breeze is $100 a month and AppFolio Core about $298.

(Prices and features checked 20 October 2026 on each vendor’s own pages. Disclosure: Reallyo publishes this blog. We sell rental listing marketing, not property management software, and we don’t resell either product.)

Key takeaways

• Yardi Breeze is $1 per unit a month with a $100 monthly minimum for residential portfolios, on an annual agreement, and has no minimum unit count.
• Breeze Premier is $1 per unit with a $400 monthly minimum only if you bundle Yardi’s screening and renters insurance on a 12-month contract; otherwise it’s $2 per unit, with the same $400 minimum, billed annually.
• AppFolio Core is $1.49 per unit a month with a 50-unit minimum. AppFolio doesn’t publish its minimum spend; competitors report it at $280–$298 a month.
• AppFolio’s Leasing CRM is in Max only ($5.00 per unit). Breeze puts a CRM queue in Premier, from a $400 monthly floor.
• Both include basic listing syndication. AppFolio names 27 partner sites; Breeze sends listings through RentCafe to “dozens” of sites it doesn’t list.
• On Capterra, AppFolio rates 4.5 from 1,892 reviews and Yardi Breeze 4.2 from 337.

Yardi Breeze vs AppFolio at a glance

What buyers ask	Yardi Breeze	AppFolio	Better for
Entry price	$1/unit, $100/mo minimum	$1.49/unit (Core), minimum spend not published	Breeze, on price
Smallest portfolio sold	No unit minimum	50 units on Core	Breeze, under 50 units
Leasing CRM	CRM queue in Premier ($400/mo floor)	Leasing CRM in Max only; “100+ units”, on-site teams	Breeze, on price; AppFolio for large multifamily teams
AI	Chat IQ chatbot, a Premier add-on with no published price	Realm-X Assistant on every plan; AI leasing agent, no published price	AppFolio
Listing syndication	Included via RentCafe, updated daily; sites not listed	Included to 27 named sites; featured placement $10 per verified lead	AppFolio, for transparency
Property types priced on the site	Residential, commercial, affordable, HOA (self storage and manufactured housing by quote)	Residential plans; affordable and student housing from Plus	Breeze for mixed portfolios
Setup fees	None; free data conversion and training	One-time onboarding fee, amount not published	Breeze
Contract	Annual agreement; cancel within the first 30 days	Not published	Breeze, for clarity
Capterra rating	4.2 (337 reviews)	4.5 (1,892 reviews)	AppFolio

Yardi Breeze and AppFolio prices

Plan	Price	Minimum	Billing	Source
Breeze (residential)	$1 per unit a month	$100 a month; no unit minimum	Monthly, on an annual agreement	Yardi Breeze pricing, FAQ
Breeze Premier (residential), with Yardi’s screening and renters insurance bundle	$1 per unit a month	$400 a month	Billed annually, 12-month contract	Yardi Breeze blog (Nov 2024)
Breeze Premier (residential), without the bundle	$2 per unit a month	$400 a month	Billed annually	Yardi Breeze blog
Breeze (commercial)	$2 per unit a month	$200 a month	Monthly, annual agreement	Yardi Breeze pricing
Breeze Premier (affordable housing)	$3 per unit a month	$400 a month	Annual agreement	Yardi Breeze pricing
Breeze Premier (HOA and condo)	$1 per unit a month	$400 a month	Annual agreement	Yardi Breeze pricing
AppFolio Core	Starting at $1.49 per unit a month	50 units plus a minimum spend (reported $280–$298 a month)	Per month	AppFolio pricing
AppFolio Plus	Starting at $3.20 per unit a month	”Minimum spend and units apply” (reported $900–$1,500 a month)	Per month	AppFolio pricing
AppFolio Max	Starting at $5.00 per unit a month	”Minimum spend and units apply” (reported $7,500 a month)	Per month	AppFolio pricing

Yardi’s pricing page shows Premier at “$1 per unit per month (terms & minimums apply)”. The terms are in Yardi’s own pricing post: the $1 rate “only applies if you bundle Breeze Premier with our resident screening and renters insurance solutions with a 12-month contract.” AppFolio’s reported minimums come from competitors and consultants, not AppFolio. Our AppFolio pricing guide lists who reports which figure, and how the prices in AppFolio’s page data moved from $1.40 to $1.49 between 7 and 20 September 2026. Google’s AI answer for “yardi vs appfolio” still quoted the old $1.40 on 20 October.

What do Yardi Breeze and AppFolio cost for 20 to 500 units?

Base Breeze costs the least at every size; bundled Premier only ties it at 500 units. Breeze Premier only undercuts AppFolio Core from about 270 units, and only with Yardi’s bundle.

Units	Breeze	Breeze Premier (bundle)	Breeze Premier (no bundle)	AppFolio Core
20	$100/mo	$400/mo	$400/mo	Not sold (50-unit minimum)
50	$100/mo	$400/mo	$400/mo	$298/mo (reported floor)
100	$100/mo	$400/mo	$400/mo	$298/mo (reported floor)
200	$200/mo	$400/mo	$400/mo	$298/mo
500	$500/mo	$500/mo	$1,000/mo	$745/mo

How we worked it out: each cell is the per-unit price times the units, or the plan’s minimum, whichever is higher. Breeze’s minimums are Yardi’s own. AppFolio’s $298 Core floor is the higher of the two figures competitors report; AppFolio only says a minimum spend applies. The crossover is our arithmetic: $400 ÷ $1.49 is 268.5, so from 269 units Core costs more than bundled Premier. Without the bundle, Premier costs more than Core at every size. None of this includes screening, payment or website fees, which both vendors charge per use or as add-ons.

The table compares entry plans, and they aren’t equal. Breeze at $100 has no CRM queue, no two-way texting and no custom financial statements; those start at Premier. AppFolio Core has an AI assistant and what AppFolio calls “End-to-End Marketing & Leasing”, but no leasing CRM.

Which is better under 50 units?

Yardi Breeze, because AppFolio won’t sell Core below 50 units. Breeze’s FAQ says “There is no minimum number of units that you must manage” (Yardi Breeze FAQ), so 20 units costs the $100 floor, or $5 a unit. AppFolio’s own buyer content says its platform “may be more than strictly necessary for small, hobbyist landlords with fewer than 50 units” (AppFolio blog).

Which is better for 50 to 250 residential units?

Breeze on price, AppFolio if you want AI built in. At 100 units, Breeze is $100 a month against about $298 for AppFolio Core. AppFolio’s case at this size is software rather than price: its Realm-X AI assistant comes with every plan, and it rates higher with reviewers. If you’d need Breeze Premier for the CRM queue or two-way texting, Premier’s $400 floor costs more than Core until about 270 units.

Which is better for large multifamily with leasing teams?

AppFolio, if you’ll pay for Max. Its Leasing CRM “only supports properties with on-site leasing teams, and works best for residential multifamily customers with 100+ units” (AppFolio Leasing CRM), and Max adds a read/write API and a dedicated success manager. Yardi’s large-portfolio answer isn’t Breeze. It’s Yardi Voyager with CRM IQ, which Yardi sells by quote as part of its Virtuoso Enterprise suite (Yardi CRM IQ).

Which handles commercial, HOA and affordable housing?

Breeze publishes a price for each. Commercial is $2 a unit with a $200 floor, HOA and condo Premier is $1 a unit with a $400 floor, and affordable housing Premier is $3 a unit with a $400 floor (Yardi Breeze pricing). AppFolio puts affordable and student housing capabilities in Plus, at $3.20 a unit, and quotes the rest.

Accounting

Both keep a full property ledger. Breeze rates slightly higher for accounting with reviewers; AppFolio adds AI to bill entry and month-end close on its upper plans.

Accounting	Yardi Breeze	AppFolio
Entry plan	Payables, receivables, general ledger, escrow and trust accounts, budgets, 1099 e-filing, owner statements	Property accounting and reports, purchase orders and inventory tracking (Core)
Upper plan	Corporate general ledger, batch processing, custom financial statements, job costs, invoice approval workflows (Premier)	Advanced budgeting and accounting (Plus); Accounting Performer AI for bill entry and financial close (Plus) and budgeting (Max)
Capterra accounting rating	4.2 (154 ratings)	4.0 (145 ratings)

Sources: Yardi Breeze pricing, AppFolio pricing, Capterra comparison.

Leasing and CRM

Breeze Premier’s CRM queue is the cheapest leasing CRM either vendor sells. On AppFolio, the Leasing CRM costs a move to Max.

Leasing	Yardi Breeze	AppFolio
Applications, screening, leases	Online applications; screening per use; online leasing for an extra fee	”End-to-End Marketing & Leasing” in Core, AppFolio’s wording
Prospect messages	Text and email; two-way texting needs Premier	Integrated communication in Core
Leasing CRM	Premier: “Prioritize follow-up activities using the CRM queue”	Max only, for on-site teams; “works best” at 100+ multifamily units
Price of getting the CRM at 100 units	$400 a month (Premier floor)	$500 at Max’s $5.00 list; consultants report a $7,500 monthly minimum

Yardi says Premier’s two-way texts are “displayed in Breeze Premier’s CRM Queue for your agents to pick up, review and reply to” (Yardi Breeze). Yardi’s full CRM, CRM IQ, belongs to Voyager and is quote-only.

Listing syndication

Both include basic syndication in the subscription. AppFolio tells you exactly where your listings go; Breeze doesn’t.

Syndication	Yardi Breeze	AppFolio
Sites reached	RentCafe.com plus “dozens of internet listing services”, not named on Yardi’s pages	27 named sites, including Zillow Rental Network, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, Zumper and Apartment List
Cost	”Included for no extra charge”	Basic included; Premium Listing $10 per verified lead, capped per property
Update speed	RentCafe updates other sites “daily”	Zillow says to allow 24 hours for photo and address changes
Apartments.com setup	Tick it in RentCafe’s ILS settings, then email Apartments.com and Yardi; 24 to 48 hours	24 to 48 hours

Sources: Yardi Breeze on RentCafe, Apartments.com Breeze setup, AppFolio listing partners, AppFolio Premium Listing, Zillow’s AppFolio FAQ.

We found no Breeze page that lists its sites by name. Apartments.com and Rental Beast both publish setup steps for Yardi’s RentCafe feed. If a particular site matters to you, check the ILS settings tab in Breeze or ask Yardi before you sign. Neither vendor makes listing videos, social posts or print flyers for your units.

AI

AppFolio puts AI in every plan. On Breeze, AI is one paid add-on, and it needs Premier.

AI	Yardi Breeze	AppFolio
Included	None listed on base Breeze	Realm-X Assistant and Messages (Core); Realm-X Flows (Plus); Accounting Performer (Plus and Max); Leasing Signals pricing suggestions (Max)
AI for prospects	Chat IQ, a Premier add-on: answers emails, texts and chats, “books tours”, pulls data from Breeze Premier	Realm-X Leasing Performer: “Replies to every lead within minutes, 24/7”, schedules tours
Price	Not published (“additional fees apply”)	Leasing Performer not listed in any plan; not published

Yardi’s brochure claims a “92% success rate” and “over 1 million units now on Chat IQ” (Chat IQ for Breeze Premier, June 2025). Those are Yardi’s own numbers. Both AI leasing agents are sold by quote, so get the price in writing next to the subscription. Our AI for property management guide covers what these agents do.

Support

Support	Yardi Breeze	AppFolio
Channels	Live chat, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central; email after hours	In-app chat with a product expert, scheduled phone calls, support tickets, a 24/7 knowledge base
Phone	8 free hours during setup (Premier: 16 hours and a dedicated account manager); after that, billable	Scheduled calls from chat
By plan	Same chat support on both	Standard (Core), Enhanced (Plus), dedicated customer success manager (Max)
Capterra customer service	4.2	4.2

Sources: Yardi Breeze FAQ, AppFolio customer care, AppFolio contact. Yardi’s pricing page also claims a 17-second average chat response. Capterra’s review summary says Breeze users “commend its responsive chat support” and report “glitches, errors, and problems following updates”; AppFolio users mention problems with “credit card processing and ACH payments” (Capterra).

Contracts and fees

Terms	Yardi Breeze	AppFolio
Term	Breeze: annual agreement, billed monthly. Premier: annual agreement, billed annually	Not published
Way out	”Cancel at any time within the first 30 days”	Not published
Setup	”No setup charges”; no training or data conversion fees	One-time onboarding fee, not published; AppFolio’s own guide says to budget for “data migration, onboarding, and staff training”
What’s billed	Units managed last month, or the minimum, whichever is higher	Per unit; a consultant says only occupied units, which AppFolio’s page doesn’t state

Because Premier is billed annually, its $400 floor works out to at least $4,800 a year, invoiced once a year. Sources: Yardi Breeze FAQ, AppFolio pricing guide, Balanced Asset Solutions.

Choose Yardi Breeze if, choose AppFolio if

Choose Yardi Breeze if:

• you manage under 50 units, which AppFolio won’t sell to;
• you want the lowest published price: $1 a unit, $100 a month at the least;
• you run commercial, HOA, condo or affordable units next to residential;
• you want a CRM queue and two-way texting without paying for an enterprise plan (Premier, from $400 a month);
• you want no setup fees and a 30-day way out.

Choose AppFolio if:

• you manage 200+ multifamily units and want AI in every plan;
• you have on-site leasing teams and can budget for Max, where the Leasing CRM lives;
• you want to see the 27 sites your listings go to;
• you want an API (read-only on Plus, read/write on Max);
• review scores matter to you: 4.5 against 4.2 on Capterra.

How to switch between Yardi Breeze and AppFolio

1. Pick a month-end cutover. Breeze bills on last month’s units and AppFolio per unit, so a clean month-end keeps both bills and your trust account reconciliation simple.
2. Export everything from the old system: tenant ledgers, security deposits held, owner balances, vendors and open payables, lease dates, and each unit’s listing photos and description.
3. Moving to Breeze: Yardi charges nothing for data conversion and has an import feature. You get 8 free phone hours for setup, or 16 hours and an account manager on Premier. Use the 30-day cancel window as your trial.
4. Moving to AppFolio: budget the one-time onboarding fee and get it in writing. AppFolio says it takes 1.8 months on average to implement, citing G2’s Fall 2025 report.
5. Move listings last. Zillow “will only ever publish a single version of a listing” (Zillow), so switch the old system’s feed off before the new one goes live. Reconnecting Apartments.com takes 24 to 48 hours on either system.
6. Run both for one month if you can, and compare ledgers before you cancel the old one.

Where Reallyo fits

Neither Breeze nor AppFolio makes listing videos, social posts or print flyers for a vacant unit. Reallyo runs alongside either one. It imports rental listings from property management system exports, spreadsheets and XML feeds, then keeps them in sync. File and feed imports usually take a day to set up once we have a sample.

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, and a printable flyer with a QR code. Reallyo also syndicates it to the 19 sites in its network, including Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com and Homes.com, and enquiries land in Reallyo’s leads inbox. Plans are priced by active listings: free for one, then $39 a month for 10, $49 for 25, $69 for 50 and $89 for 100 (Reallyo pricing).

Syndication covers US long-term rentals, and each site’s own acceptance rules apply. Plan which system feeds which site so each listing has one source. Start free with one listing.

FAQ

Which is better, Yardi or AppFolio? Yardi Breeze for small and mid-sized portfolios and for mixed commercial, HOA or affordable portfolios, because base Breeze costs less than AppFolio Core at every size we priced and Yardi publishes its prices. AppFolio for multifamily operators with on-site leasing teams who want AI in every plan and a leasing CRM on Max. Yardi’s enterprise system, Voyager, competes with AppFolio for large operators and is sold by quote.

How much is Yardi Breeze per month? At least $100 a month for residential. Breeze costs $1 per unit a month with a $100 monthly minimum, so up to 100 units costs $100. Commercial is $2 a unit with a $200 minimum. Breeze Premier has a $400 monthly minimum, at $1 a unit with Yardi’s screening and insurance bundle or $2 without it.

How much does AppFolio cost compared to Yardi Breeze? AppFolio costs more at every size we priced. AppFolio Core lists at $1.49 a unit with a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend competitors report at $280–$298 a month. At 100 units, that’s about $298 a month on AppFolio against $100 on Breeze. At 500 units, it’s $745 against $500.

What’s the difference between Yardi Voyager and Yardi Breeze? Breeze is Yardi’s self-serve product for small and mid-sized portfolios, with published prices from $1 a unit. Voyager is Yardi’s enterprise platform, sold by quote, with CRM IQ and Chat IQ for large leasing teams. Yardi’s FAQ names Voyager as the upgrade path when a Breeze customer outgrows Breeze.

Does Yardi Breeze have a CRM? Yes, in Breeze Premier. Premier adds a CRM queue to prioritise follow-ups and two-way texting that lands in that queue. Base Breeze has prospect tracking, but not the CRM queue.

Is Yardi Breeze good? Reviewers rate it 4.2 out of 5 on Capterra from 337 reviews, against 4.5 from 1,892 for AppFolio. Capterra’s summary says Breeze users praise its chat support and report glitches after updates. It rates slightly higher than AppFolio for accounting (4.2 vs 4.0) and lower for the tenant portal (4.0 vs 4.3).

Does AppFolio offer websites? Yes. AppFolio lists AppFolio Sites among its marketing tools but doesn’t publish a price. Yardi Breeze offers corporate websites and, on Premier, property websites, both for an additional fee.

Is Yardi Breeze cheaper than Buildium? Not at the entry level. Buildium’s Essential plan starts at $62 a month, Growth at $192 and Premium at $400 (Buildium pricing), against Breeze’s $100 minimum. Breeze’s $100 covers up to 100 residential units, while Buildium’s are “starting at” prices, so get a Buildium quote at your unit count before comparing.

Sources

• Yardi Breeze, checked 20 October 2026: pricing; FAQ (minimums, billing, contracts, support, fees); pricing post, 14 November 2024 (the Premier bundle terms); RentCafe and Breeze (syndication, two-way texting, Chat IQ); Chat IQ for Breeze Premier brochure (June 2025); Yardi CRM IQ
• AppFolio, checked 20 October 2026: pricing; Leasing CRM; marketing and leasing; listing partners; Premium Listing; customer care; contact; best-value post, 27 February 2026; pricing-models guide
• Reported AppFolio minimums: DoorLoop; ManageCasa; Balanced Asset Solutions
• Reviews: Capterra AppFolio vs Yardi Breeze, page dated 19 October 2026, read 20 October
• Syndication help pages: Apartments.com Breeze setup; Rental Beast Yardi setup; Zillow AppFolio FAQ; Zillow listing rules
• Method: monthly cost is the per-unit price times units, or the plan minimum, whichever is higher. AppFolio’s floor uses the highest reported Core minimum ($298). The 269-unit crossover is our arithmetic, not a vendor statement. Fees for screening, payments, websites and AI add-ons are excluded.

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