Buildium

Buildium is the most price transparent product in this batch. The vendor publishes three plans: Essential starting at 65 per month, Growth starting at 202 per month and Premium starting at 420 per month, all shown as monthly figures. The page prints a bare dollar sign without naming a currency, so US dollars is inferred from the US site. A 14 day free trial is offered with sample data and no credit card. The page states no minimum unit count, and tells buyers with more than 5,000 units, or those wanting community association pricing, to call sales.

The published plan prices are starting at figures, and the detail underneath matters more than the headline. Several items are priced per use rather than bundled: tenant screening at 17 per screening, with enhanced screening at 20 on Growth and Premium and an applicant paid option at 35, eSignatures at 5 per document on Essential falling to 1 on Growth and unlimited on Premium, and credit card payments at 2.99 percent per transaction on every plan. Property inspections carry a 99 setup fee and a 40 to 95 monthly fee on Essential, are included on Growth with a note that after three years a 0.40 per unit charge applies, and are included on Premium. Showings Coordinator starts at 41 per month varying by unit tier. New Growth and Premium customers are required to buy Buildium's paid onboarding service for data import and training.

Functionally, Buildium documents purpose built property accounting with 1099 e filing, end to end online payment processing, online leasing with templates and applicant eSignatures, work order management and a Maintenance Contact Center, inspection reports filed in the field, a resident portal called the Resident Center, a property owner portal, a full reporting suite with analytics, tenant screening, listing syndication, a free property management website, the Buildium Marketplace, and an Open API. The Open API appears in the Premium plan highlights, so treat it as a top tier entitlement rather than a standard one. Property types Buildium names are residential, community associations, commercial, student housing, mixed use, single family, multifamily and enterprise operations. Short term rentals are not mentioned.

Who it fits. Small and mid sized residential managers and association managers who want a complete system at a knowable price, and who would rather start a trial than sit through a sales cycle. Buildium is the obvious first platform for a manager leaving spreadsheets, because accounting, leasing, maintenance, payments and portals are all in the base product and the entry plan is published. It also fits mixed residential and light commercial books, since commercial and mixed use are named property types.

Who it does not fit. Operators above 5,000 units, who Buildium itself routes to a phone call rather than the published plans. Commercial led portfolios where recoveries, service charges and complex lease events are the core requirement: Buildium lists commercial but publishes nothing suggesting depth there, and our research found no vendor statement about service charge handling. Short term rental operators, who are not addressed at all. And buyers who need the Open API or free inspections without paying for Premium, since both sit in the top tier.

Typical use cases. A third party residential manager with 50 to 1,000 units needing owner statements, maintenance tracking and trust accounting in one place. An association manager needing accounting plus resident communications. A self managing landlord group that wants online rent collection and leasing without building a stack from separate tools. A growing manager that starts on Essential and moves to Growth or Premium as screening volume, eSignature volume and inspection needs rise.

How to price it honestly. Do not budget from the headline plan fee. Build a model that adds your monthly screening count at 17 or 20 each, your eSignature volume at 5 each if you stay on Essential, your card payment mix at 2.99 percent, inspections at the Essential setup and monthly fee or the Growth per unit charge after three years, and the mandatory paid onboarding if you are going to Growth or Premium. For many managers those add ons, not the plan fee, decide which tier is actually cheapest. Also confirm the billing term, because the page shows monthly prices without describing contract length, and confirm whether your unit count changes the starting at figure, since the page ties unit tiers to some add ons but does not publish a base plan tier table.