1v1 Pricing Showdown
Avail (Realtor.com) vs Buildium (RealPage)
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Property Management Software decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between Avail (Realtor.com) and Buildium (RealPage) for your property management software stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
Avail (Realtor.com) starts at $5/mo; Buildium (RealPage) starts at $62/mo. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| realtor com owned since 2020 | Avail acquired by Realtor.com (News Corp subsidiary) 2020 | — |
| free unlimited listings realtor network | UNIQUE — unlimited free listings to Realtor.com + partner rental sites | — |
| freemium pay per feature model | Free for landlords + pay-per-premium-service economics | — |
| tenant screening pay per use | TransUnion background + credit + eviction screening | — |
| state specific leases pay per use | Legally-compliant US state lease templates | — |
| online applications free | Free for landlords | — |
| digital leases free | Free for landlords | — |
| rent collection free | Free for landlords (payment processing fees separate) | — |
| maintenance requests free | Free for landlords | — |
| realtor com listing network | National rental listing network access | — |
| small landlord focus | Target market: individual landlords + small portfolios | — |
| no contracts | Free model = no subscription commitment | — |
| less enterprise features | Not positioned for mid-to-large property managers | — |
| realpage owned since 2019 | — | Owned by RealPage (acquired 2019) — part of broader RealPage property tech portfolio |
| starting pricing tiered | — | $62 Essential / $192 Growth / $400 Premium starting prices |
| ai assistant essential plus | — | AI capabilities from Essential tier |
| ai enhanced communications | — | Growth+ |
| business analytics | — | Growth+ |
| tenant screening unlimited esignatures | — | Growth+ unlimited eSignatures |
| open api premium | — | Premium only |
| insights to action | — | Premium only |
| free inspections premium | — | Premium only |
| incoming eft transactions | — | Premium only |
| full ai automation suite premium | — | Premium only |
| dedicated onboarding growth plus | — | Growth+ dedicated implementation |
| live phone support growth plus | — | M-F 9AM-8PM EST |
| priority support premium | — | Under 1-minute average phone wait |
| unit minimums scale 5000 plus | — | Over 5,000 units requires sales contact |
| standard bulk reporting | — | All tiers |
| realpage ecosystem integration | — | Integration with broader RealPage property tech portfolio |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
Avail (Realtor.com)
Buildium (RealPage)
About the property management software category
Property Management Software in 2026 spans radically different pricing models — from $5/month freemium for small landlords (RentRedi) to enterprise custom-quote $50,000+/year (AppFolio Max). Published rates: RentRedi Start $5/month (unlimited rentals, basic), Grow $12/month annual ($29.95/month monthly, most popular), Pro custom. DoorLoop Starter $69/month annual ($99 monthly, max 10 units), Pro $149/month annual ($189 monthly, unlimited), Premium $209/month annual ($239 monthly, unlimited + VIP support). Buildium Essential $62/month starting, Growth $192/month starting (Most Popular), Premium $400/month starting. AppFolio custom-quote with 50-unit minimum (Core + Plus + Max tiers — industry estimates $400-5,000+/month based on unit count + features). Avail (Realtor.com-owned) freemium model — free unlimited listings, pay-per-feature for premium (background screening, credit reports, state-specific leases). Major category developments 2024-2026: AppFolio IPO 2015 (APPF) with $5B+ market cap, remains independent category leader. Buildium acquired by RealPage 2019 (RealPage consolidation — RealPage also owns PropertyLink, OneSite, etc.). RentRedi independent with small-landlord focus + Series A+ funding. DoorLoop newer modern cloud challenger (founded 2019) with aggressive 30% promotional pricing. Avail acquired by Realtor.com 2020 (News Corp subsidiary). Category consolidation reflects RealPage + RealPage competitor dynamics in multifamily + single-family rental markets. Typical property management deployment includes: rent collection + payments (ACH + credit card + online), tenant screening + background checks + credit reports, lease management + digital signatures + rental applications, maintenance requests + vendor management + work orders, accounting + financial reporting + 1099 e-filing, property listings + marketing (Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Apartments.com), tenant portal + messaging + communications, owner portal + distributions (for property managers). Target users: individual landlords (1-10 units), small property management companies (10-100 units), mid-size property managers (100-500 units), large property managers (500-5,000 units), enterprise multifamily operators (5,000+ units). AI integration 2024-2026: DoorLoop AI Assistant + AI Inspections, Buildium AI-enhanced communications + AI assistant (Essential tier+), AppFolio Realm-X Assistant + Realm-X Flows, RentRedi limited AI, Avail limited AI.
How to choose between property management software options
First: portfolio size + use case? Individual landlords (1-10 units): RentRedi Start $5/month OR Avail free (Realtor.com) OR DoorLoop Starter $69/month annual (10-unit limit). Small landlords with light needs: RentRedi or Avail freemium most cost-effective. Small property managers (10-50 units): RentRedi Grow $12/month annual (unlimited properties) or DoorLoop Starter (10-unit limit) or DoorLoop Pro $149/month (unlimited) or Buildium Essential $62/month. Mid-size property managers (50-200 units): Buildium Essential $62 + transaction fees or Buildium Growth $192/month or DoorLoop Pro $149/month or AppFolio Core (50-unit minimum). Large property managers (200-500 units): AppFolio Core + scales with units or Buildium Growth or Premium or enterprise custom. Enterprise (500+ units): AppFolio Plus/Max + RealPage + Yardi + specialty enterprise platforms. Second: free vs subscription vs enterprise? Free (pay-per-transaction): Avail (Realtor.com freemium — free listings + premium features per-use pricing). Subscription entry: RentRedi Start $5/month (cheapest paid subscription in category). Mid-tier subscription: DoorLoop Starter-Pro $69-149/month. Enterprise subscription: Buildium Growth-Premium $192-400/month + AppFolio custom $400-5,000+/month. Third: unit count scaling? Per-unit pricing common in enterprise tiers — AppFolio charges per-unit typically $0.80-1.50/unit/month after minimum spend, Buildium per-unit after base tier allocation, RealPage per-unit. Flat-rate plans (DoorLoop Starter 10-unit max + Starter/Pro/Premium flat rates, RentRedi unlimited units flat pricing) advantage small-mid portfolios; per-unit tiers advantage if unit count grows materially. Fourth: transaction fees + add-on TCO? RentRedi Grow tenant screening tenant-paid (landlord pays $0), DoorLoop eSignature $3/document Starter or $1/document Pro or unlimited free Premium, Buildium ePay + tenant screening $17-35/screening + 1099 e-filing, AppFolio transaction-based add-ons. For low-volume landlords: per-transaction pricing often cheapest. For high-volume managers: subscription + bundled features may be more economical. Fifth: accounting integration needs? DoorLoop Pro live bank connect + QuickBooks Online sync. Buildium bulk reporting Essential+. AppFolio Core integrated property accounting. RentRedi basic accounting Start tier. For comprehensive accounting + QuickBooks Online sync: DoorLoop Pro $149/month. Sixth: tenant screening + background checks integration? DoorLoop TransUnion screening all tiers. Buildium tenant screening Growth+ ($17-35/screening). RentRedi tenant screening + income verification (tenant-paid options). Avail tenant screening + credit reports per-use. AppFolio tenant screening included. For rigorous screening: AppFolio or Buildium Growth+. Seventh: AI + automation priority? DoorLoop AI Assistant + AI Inspections (Pro tier) + workflow automation + Zapier integration (Premium). AppFolio Realm-X Assistant + Realm-X Flows. Buildium AI assistant + AI-enhanced communications. RentRedi limited AI. Avail limited AI. For AI-forward property management: DoorLoop Pro or AppFolio Plus.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Avail (Realtor.com) cheaper than Buildium (RealPage)?
- Avail (Realtor.com) is cheaper starting at $5/mo. Avail (Realtor.com) starts at $5/mo and Buildium (RealPage) at $62/mo.
- Does Avail (Realtor.com) or Buildium (RealPage) offer a free plan?
- Avail (Realtor.com) offers a free plan.
- Which is better, Avail (Realtor.com) or Buildium (RealPage)?
- Buildium (RealPage) scores 8.8/10 compared to Avail (Realtor.com)'s 8.2/10 in our analysis. Buildium (RealPage) ranks higher on features and value, but Avail (Realtor.com) may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Is Avail (Realtor.com) cheaper than Buildium (RealPage) for a team of 5?
- For a team of 5, Avail (Realtor.com) costs $5/mo (flat rate) and Buildium (RealPage) costs $62/mo (flat rate). Avail (Realtor.com) is the cheaper option at this team size.
- Are there other property management software alternatives besides Avail (Realtor.com) and Buildium (RealPage)?
- Yes. Our [Property Management Software pricing comparison](/pricing/property-management/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest property management software](/pricing/property-management/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.