The short answer
The cheapest Buildium alternatives for portfolios up to 122 units are Rentec Direct and TenantCloud. At 50 units Buildium Growth costs $181.83 a month on annual billing. Rentec Direct PM, which adds owner statements and trust accounting, costs $112.50, and TenantCloud Pro costs $50 for up to 60 active leases. From 123 units on, Buildium Growth has a lower subscription price than Rentec Direct PM and DoorLoop One, the alternatives here that take portfolios that large.
On subscription price, switching saves money below 123 units. Above that, the case for switching is bank payment fees and what comes in the box. Buildium sells online payments as an add-on on every plan, with per-payment fees of $2.35 on Essential and $1.35 on Growth for each incoming bank payment. Rentec Direct, TenantCloud and DoorLoop include online rent collection in the plan.
Why people look for a Buildium alternative
Three parts of Buildium's pricing push small portfolios away. Essential is limited to 40 units. Growth is the entry plan above that, and it costs $181.83 a month on annual billing for anything up to 50 units, or $202 paid month to month. Premium starts at $378 for up to 150 units.
The second push is the add-ons. Online rent payments, tenant screening and 1099 e-filing are extra on every Buildium plan. E-signatures are extra on Essential and Growth. The third is onboarding: every new Growth and Premium customer must use Buildium's onboarding service, and the calculator's estimate leaves onboarding out.
The cheaper alternative for each Buildium plan
The table takes the Buildium plan you would buy at each size and the cheapest plan with owner tools from the alternatives here. All figures are monthly prices on annual billing.
| Cheapest Buildium plan | Cheapest alternative with owner tools | Difference per year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 units | Buildium Essential, $58.50 | Rentec Direct PM, $45 | Buildium $162 more |
| 30 units | Buildium Essential, $75.58 | TenantCloud Pro, $50 | Buildium $307 more |
| 50 units | Buildium Growth, $181.83 | TenantCloud Pro, $50 | Buildium $1,582 more |
| 75 units | Buildium Growth, $238.50 | Rentec Direct PM, $168.75 | Buildium $837 more |
| 100 units | Buildium Growth, $238.50 | Rentec Direct PM, $225 | Buildium $162 more |
| 122 units | Buildium Growth, $275.42 | Rentec Direct PM, $274.50 | Buildium $11 more |
| 150 units | Buildium Growth, $275.42 | DoorLoop One, $325 | Buildium $595 less |
| 300 units | Buildium Growth, $455.42 | DoorLoop One, $550 | Buildium $1,135 less |
Software subscription only, on annual billing. Payment fees and Buildium onboarding are not included.
The cheapest alternative changes with size. Rentec Direct PM leads up to 22 units, starting at its $45 minimum. TenantCloud Pro leads from 23 to 60 units, because it is a flat price capped at 60 active leases. Rentec Direct PM leads again from 61 to 133 units. DoorLoop One takes over from 134 units, but by then Buildium Growth is cheaper than all three.
At 50 units a Buildium Growth customer would pay $1,582 a year more than on TenantCloud Pro. At 100 units Growth costs $162 a year more than Rentec Direct PM. Both figures are before payment fees.
Monthly cost by portfolio size
| Plan | 10 units | 25 units | 40 units | 50 units | 100 units | 150 units | 300 units | 500 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buildium EssentialUp to 40 units | $58.50 | $75.58 | $75.58 | Over limit | Over limit | Over limit | Over limit | Over limit |
| Buildium GrowthUp to 5,000 units | $181.83 | $181.83 | $181.83 | $181.83 | $238.50 | $275.42 | $455.42 | $682.17 |
| Buildium PremiumUp to 5,000 units | $378 | $378 | $378 | $378 | $378 | $378 | $749.67 | $1,239.33 |
| Rentec Direct Pro | $45 | $45 | $72 | $90 | $180 | $270 | $540 | $900 |
| Rentec Direct PM | $45 | $56.25 | $90 | $112.50 | $225 | $337.50 | $675 | $1,125 |
| TenantCloud ProUp to 60 active leases | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 | Over limit | Over limit | Over limit | Over limit |
| DoorLoop One | $199 | $199 | $199 | $199 | $250 | $325 | $550 | $850 |
Software subscription per month, on the cheapest billing option each vendor offers (usually a year paid upfront). Taxes, onboarding, add-ons and payment fees are not included.
Rentec Direct PM: cheaper than Buildium Growth up to 122 units
Rentec Direct PM costs $2.25 per unit a month on annual billing, with a $45 monthly minimum, so you pay the minimum up to 20 units. It includes trust accounting, an owner portal and owner payouts by bank transfer. Rentec PM costs less than Buildium Essential up to 33 units and less than Buildium Growth up to 122 units.
Online payments are included. Each active property gets one free incoming bank payment a month, then $0.50 per payment. Rentec Direct's pricing pages do not mention community associations or commercial property. The full pairing is in Buildium vs Rentec Direct.
TenantCloud Pro: a flat price up to 60 leases
TenantCloud Pro costs $50 a month on annual billing, or $60 month to month, for any number of units and up to 60 active leases. It adds a separate owner portal, bank reconciliation and tax reports. It is the cheapest plan with owner tools here from 23 to 60 units.
The limits are the lease cap and the team size. Above 60 leases TenantCloud quotes a custom Business plan. Tenants pay $1.50 per bank payment on Pro, and TenantCloud's pages do not state trust accounting.
DoorLoop: payments included, but a higher floor
DoorLoop One charges per unit with a $199 monthly minimum on yearly billing, which is above Buildium Growth's first band. DoorLoop One is cheaper than Buildium Growth only between 51 and 116 units, and not at every size in that span. At 500 units DoorLoop One costs $850 a month and Growth $682.17.
What DoorLoop adds is in the plan: online payments, owner and tenant portals, unlimited users and API access. DoorLoop One charges $1.50 per incoming bank payment, and DoorLoop Connect makes them free. Buildium Growth charges $1.35. More in DoorLoop vs Buildium.
What bank payment fees add
If you cover your tenants' bank transfer fees, add them to the subscription. Assume every unit pays rent once a month by bank transfer. At 100 units Buildium Growth costs $2,862 a year plus $1,620 in fees. Rentec Direct PM costs $2,700 a year, with no fee when each unit is its own property, or at most $600 if every payment fell outside the free allowance. Buildium Premium waives incoming bank payment fees for the first year, then charges $0.60 each.
Counted this way, Rentec Direct PM costs less than Buildium Growth up to 439 units even in the worst case for Rentec. When every payment falls within Rentec's free allowance, Rentec Direct PM costs less at every size up to 2,500 units, the largest size Rentec prices. On TenantCloud the tenant pays $1.50 per bank payment on Pro, so the landlord's cost stays at the subscription.
If you only manage your own units
Buildium Essential includes an owners portal that a landlord managing only their own rentals does not use. Plans without owner tools cost less. Rentec Direct Pro costs less than Buildium Essential at every size up to Essential's 40-unit limit, at $45 a month for 25 units against $75.58. Rentec Starter costs $25 a month for up to 10 properties.
TenantCloud Growth costs $29.17 a month on annual billing for up to 30 active leases, less than Rentec Pro or Buildium Essential at any size it allows. For more landlord-only options, see our guide for small landlords.
Features side by side
| Feature | Buildium | Rentec Direct | TenantCloud | DoorLoop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online rent collection | Extra costePay add-on on every plan | Included | Included | Included |
| Tenant screening | Extra costAdd-on, $17 to $20 per report | Included$10 to $18 per package on Pro and PM | IncludedPaid by the applicant | Included$35 per report |
| Listing syndication | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Lease e-signatures | Extra costAdd-on on Essential and Growth, included on Premium | IncludedFree within fair use | Included | IncludedUnlimited |
| Maintenance requests | Included | IncludedThrough the tenant portal | Included | Included |
| Income and expense tracking | Included | IncludedLedger accounting | Included | IncludedQuickBooks Online sync |
| Bank feeds or reconciliation | IncludedBank reconciliation | Higher plans onlyPro and PM: auto bank sync | Higher plans onlyPro: bank reconciliation | IncludedBank transaction matching |
| Tax reports (Schedule E or 1099) | Extra cost1099 e-filing add-on | IncludedSchedule E on every plan; 1099 e-file on Pro and PM | Higher plans only1099 from Growth, tax preparation on Pro | Included1099 forms |
| Owner portal or owner statements | IncludedOwners portal | Higher plans onlyPM plan | Higher plans onlyPro: separate owner portal | Included |
| Trust accounting | Not stated | Higher plans onlyPM plan | Not stated | Not stated |
| Multiple users | IncludedCustom roles and permissions | Included3 on Starter, unlimited on Pro and PM | Higher plans only1 team member on Growth and Pro | IncludedUnlimited |
| Open API | Higher plans onlyPremium only | Higher plans onlyPro and PM | Not stated | Included |
| Commercial properties | Included | Not stated | Not stated | Included |
| Community associations | Included | Not stated | Not stated | Included |
| Free plan or free trial | Included14-day trial, no card | IncludedTwo-week free trial | Included14-day trial | Not stated |
✓ included · ↑ higher plans only · + extra cost · ✕ not offered · – not stated on the vendor's pages we read. All platforms compared.
Buildium and DoorLoop both list community associations and commercial property, which Rentec Direct and TenantCloud do not state. Buildium's open API is on Premium only. Rentec Direct lists its API on Pro and PM, and DoorLoop on every plan.
When Buildium is still the cheaper choice
On subscription price, from 123 units Buildium Growth costs less than Rentec Direct PM and DoorLoop One, the alternatives here that go past 60 units, and the gap grows with size. If you pay your tenants' bank fees, check the fee section above first: Rentec Direct PM can still cost less in total. If you manage associations, Buildium and DoorLoop are the two of the four platforms priced here that list them.
AppFolio is the other name buyers compare. It accepts 50 units and up and publishes only starting rates, with a minimum monthly spend it does not disclose, so we cannot place it in the table. See AppFolio vs Buildium and our guide for property managers.
What we could not verify
- Whether Buildium charges anything for its onboarding service: the pricing page requires it on Growth and Premium but states no price.
- Whether Buildium's online payments add-on carries a fixed monthly charge on top of its per-payment fees.
- AppFolio's minimum monthly spend, which it does not publish.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest alternative to Buildium?
Up to 122 units, Rentec Direct PM and TenantCloud Pro cost less than Buildium and include owner tools. At 50 units TenantCloud Pro costs $50 a month and Rentec Direct PM $112.50, against $181.83 for Buildium Growth on annual billing.
At what size is Buildium cheaper than the alternatives?
On subscription price, from 123 units Buildium Growth costs less than Rentec Direct PM and DoorLoop One, the published-price alternatives with owner tools that go that large. At 500 units it costs $682.17 a month, against $850 for DoorLoop One and $1,125 for Rentec Direct PM.
Is DoorLoop cheaper than Buildium?
Only in part of the 51 to 116 unit range. DoorLoop One has a $199 monthly minimum on yearly billing, above Buildium Growth's $181.83 first band. Above 116 units Buildium Growth costs less.
How much does Buildium cost per month?
On annual billing, Buildium Essential costs $58.50 a month up to 20 units and $75.58 up to 40, its limit. Growth costs $181.83 up to 50 units and Premium starts at $378. Month-to-month billing costs more.
Does Buildium include online rent payments?
No. Buildium lists online payments and autopay as an add-on on Essential, Growth and Premium. Each incoming bank payment costs $2.35 on Essential and $1.35 on Growth. Rentec Direct, TenantCloud and DoorLoop include online rent collection in their plans.
Run your own numbers. The calculator prices every plan we track at your unit count, and the finder picks one for you in five questions.
Sources, the vendors' own pages: buildium.com/pricing, rentecdirect.com/pricing-transparency, tenantcloud.com/pricing, doorloop.com/pricing, appfolio.com/pricing, rentecdirect.com/pricing. How we work out costs: methodology. Some links on this site may become affiliate links; see our disclosure.