AppFolio vs Buildium pricing at 100, 200, 400 and 1,000 units, and the AI each plan includes

On published prices, AppFolio and Buildium cost almost exactly the same between 200 and 400 units: $298 against $301 a month at 200 doors, and $596 against $602 at 400, comparing AppFolio Core with Buildium Growth. Below that Buildium is cheaper for tiny portfolios and dearer at 100 units; above it Buildium pulls ahead, $1,390 against $1,490 at 1,000 units. The bigger difference is AI: Buildium puts prospect voice and chat on Premium only, and AppFolio sells its leasing AI as an add-on with no price.

Every figure below was read on 29 September 2026 from appfolio.com/pricing, buildium.com/pricing, Buildium's pricing calculator and its Lumina AI Workforce pricing page, from a United States connection, in US dollars, on monthly billing. AppFolio's rates come from the structured data on its pricing page, because the visible plan cards only say Get a Quote.

AppFolio vs Buildium pricing at a glance

The two vendors price in different shapes. AppFolio charges a flat rate per unit per month on each plan, with a 50 unit minimum on Core and a minimum spend it does not quantify. Buildium sells plans "starting at" a monthly price and scales the bill with your unit count through its own calculator, and its Essential plan stops at 40 units.

Buildium takes 10 percent off a prepaid annual subscription and offers a 14-day trial with no credit card. AppFolio sells every plan through a quote, so its contract term and any annual discount are set on the order form. If you want the AppFolio numbers multiplied out in more detail, including what each Realm-X tier unlocks, our AppFolio pricing per unit breakdown has the full grid.

What each one costs at 100, 200, 400 and 1,000 units

We ran Buildium's own calculator at each door count and multiplied AppFolio's published per-unit rates by the same counts. These are monthly subscription figures before payments, screening, eSignature and other per-transaction fees.

Three things stand out. First, the entry plans are neck and neck from 200 to 400 units, within $6 a month of each other, so price should not decide that choice. Second, at 100 units AppFolio Core is $103 a month cheaper than Buildium Growth on paper, but AppFolio's unquantified minimum spend can close that gap, so get the dollar floor in writing. Third, the upper tiers diverge: Buildium Premium costs 18 percent less than AppFolio Plus at 400 units and 18 percent less again at 1,000.

For portfolios under 40 units Buildium Essential, at $62 to $80 a month, has no AppFolio equivalent at all, because AppFolio Core starts at 50 units.

Is Buildium cheaper than AppFolio?

It depends on size. Buildium is cheaper below 50 units, where AppFolio does not sell, and above roughly 400 units, where Buildium Growth runs $100 a month under AppFolio Core at 1,000 doors. Between 100 and 200 units AppFolio Core's published rate is lower or equal. On the higher tiers, Buildium Premium is cheaper than AppFolio Plus at every size we checked from 200 units up.

The honest caveat is the minimum spend. Every AppFolio plan card says a minimum spend applies without stating it, and Buildium's calculator excludes onboarding, which it requires on Growth and Premium. Neither vendor lets you see the full year-one total without a sales conversation.

How much does Buildium cost per unit?

Buildium does not publish a per-unit rate, but its calculator implies one. Growth works out to $2.52 per unit at 100 units, $1.51 at 200 and 400, and $1.39 at 1,000. Premium is $4.00 per unit at 100, $2.66 at 200, $2.63 at 400 and $2.61 at 1,000. The effective rate falls as you grow, which AppFolio's flat per-unit pricing never does.

Which AI does each plan include?

This is where the two diverge most, and where most comparison articles are out of date. Here is what each pricing page shows today for the AI that touches prospects and your back office.

Buildium is the more transparent of the two here. Its Lumina AI Workforce page carries a full rate table in the page itself: on Growth the add-on costs $63.00 a month at 100 units, $75.34 at 200, $120.33 at 400 and $207.90 at 1,000. On Essential it starts at $21.72 a month for up to 20 units. On Premium it shows as included. The table has one oddity worth knowing if you are near that size: the Growth price for 961 to 980 units is $271.66, then drops to $207.90 for 981 to 1,000.

AI Bill Scan is Buildium's answer to vendor invoices piling up. If invoices are the real bottleneck across several entities, a dedicated accounts payable automation tool is worth pricing against the add-on, because it handles approvals and payment runs as well as capture.

Does Buildium have an AI leasing assistant?

Yes, but only on Premium. Buildium's pricing grid marks Prospect Voice and Chat, Call Hub, Tour Scheduling and Prospect Pipeline as included on Premium and not offered on Essential or Growth. So a 100 unit manager who wants AI answering prospects goes from $252 a month on Growth to $400 on Premium, a $148 step, which is 59 percent more for the whole subscription.

Does AppFolio include an AI leasing agent?

No plan includes it. AppFolio's grid marks Realm-X Performers as available with add-on on Core, Plus and Max, and says the Leasing Performer is built into the Leasing CRM, which is included only on Max. On Core or Plus you would add both the Leasing CRM and the Performer, neither of which has a published price. We cover what is known about that add-on in our AppFolio Leasing Performer pricing write-up.

The cheapest published path to AI replies for prospects

Put the two together and the published floor for prospect-facing AI looks like this at 100 units:

• Buildium Premium: $400 a month, AI included, plus required onboarding.
• AppFolio Max: $500 a month, plus the Leasing Performer add-on at a price you only get on a quote.
• AppFolio Core: $149 a month, plus two unpriced add-ons (Leasing CRM and the Performer).
• Buildium Growth or AppFolio Core, plus a separate AI messaging agent: $252 or $149, plus a flat $199 for an AI leasing agent that answers texts and DMs.

The last option is the one most managers do not consider. If your property management software already does the accounting and you are happy with it, the leasing gap is usually speed to lead: the text that arrives at 9:40 pm, the Facebook Marketplace message on Sunday, the Instagram DM asking whether the two-bed allows a dog. MessageAgent answers those in seconds on SMS, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, web chat and email, asks your qualifying questions on move-in date, budget, bedrooms and pets, books the showing and hands the conversation to your team. Growth is $199 a month at any door count, with 5,000 AI conversations included.

Be clear-eyed about the trade-off. MessageAgent does not answer phone calls, and it does not sync with AppFolio or Buildium, so your team still creates the guest card in your system. Buildium Premium and AppFolio's Leasing Performer both work inside the system of record. If that integration matters more than price, the upgrade is the right call.

Which is better for small landlords, AppFolio or Buildium?

For under 50 units, Buildium, because AppFolio does not sell there and Essential costs $62 to $80 a month. For 50 to 200 units, AppFolio Core is the lower published rate, but get its minimum spend before you compare. For 200 to 400 units the entry plans cost the same, so choose on workflow. Above 400 units, or if you want prospect AI inside the platform, Buildium Premium undercuts AppFolio's higher tiers.

If you are still choosing a platform, Yardi Breeze belongs on the list too: $1.00 per unit with a $100 minimum, sold online. Our Yardi Breeze pricing page runs the same unit counts, including why Breeze Premier's $400 minimum matters more than its rate.

Hidden costs to ask about before you sign

• Buildium onboarding. Required on Growth and Premium, and excluded from the calculator estimate. Ask for the fee.
• AppFolio minimum spend. Stated on every plan card, quantified on none. Ask for the dollar floor.
• Payments. Buildium lists incoming EFT at $2.35 per transaction on Essential, $1.35 on Growth, and free for 12 months then $0.60 on Premium; credit cards are 2.99 percent on all three. Bank account setup is $99 per account on Essential, with 10 free on Growth and 100 free on Premium.
• eSignature and screening. Buildium charges $5 per eSignature document on Essential, $1 on Growth and nothing extra on Premium. Screening is $17, $35 when the applicant pays, or $20 for enhanced screening on Growth and Premium.
• Support. Buildium includes live phone support on Growth and Premium only; Essential gets ticket support.

Whichever platform you choose, the leasing inbox is the part that loses you renters when it goes quiet. You can see MessageAgent pricing and have it answering prospects on your listing channels this week, alongside the software that runs your books.