AppFolio Alternatives for Small Landlords (2026): Published Prices and Minimums Compared

AppFolio is built for property management businesses and larger portfolios. Its pricing page shows Core from $1.49 and Plus from $3.20 per unit per month, both marked with an asterisk, and Max is quote-only. A footnote on AppFolio's pricing page (checked Oct 2026) reads: "Minimum spend and 50 unit minimum apply." The page doesn't give the spend amount, so ask its sales team before you plan around it.

Best for: landlords below AppFolio's 50-unit minimum who want a price they can calculate today. Of the tools we checked, Rentec Direct is the cheapest owner-friendly full suite, with Pro from $50 a month.

If you have a small portfolio and want prices you can calculate today:

• Cheapest owner-friendly full suite: Rentec Direct, with Pro from $50 a month ($2 per unit)
• Lowest published floor: Yardi Breeze, at $1 per unit and a $100 monthly minimum on an annual agreement
• Low entry price, more add-ons: Buildium, from $65 a month
• Unlimited users and AI features: DoorLoop, with a $199 monthly minimum
• Pay for help, not just software: Hemlane, from $28 + $2 per unit (billed annually; month-to-month costs more)

Prices come from each vendor's own page, checked October 28, 2026. We haven't tested these hands-on.

Published prices compared

*AppFolio's asterisk footnote on its pricing page (checked Oct 2026) reads: "Minimum spend and 50 unit minimum apply. Contact us for details."

Monthly cost at 10, 25 and 50 units

Published subscription prices only. AppFolio is left out because its pricing page says a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend apply, and it doesn't publish the spend amount.

How we calculated these:

• Rentec: max($50, rate × units) × 0.9, using the rates and annual factor in the calculator on Rentec's own pricing page.
• Yardi Breeze: max($100, $1 × units). "Starting at" means your quote may be higher.
• Buildium: starting price only; the page doesn't show how it rises with units.
• DoorLoop One: max($199, $2.50 × units).
• Hemlane: $28 + $2 × units.

The alternatives

Rentec Direct: owner-friendly and cheap

Rentec Direct publishes the whole formula:

• Starter: $25 a month flat for up to 10 properties, with accounting and online rent payments.
• Pro: $2 per unit, $50 minimum.
• PM (for property managers who need trust accounting): $2.50 per unit, $50 minimum.
• Annual billing: 10% off.

Payment fees:

• Starter: $2 per incoming ACH, cards 3.5%.
• Pro and PM: one free incoming ACH per active property each month, then $0.50. Cards are 2.95%.

Pro includes Schedule E reports and bank and QuickBooks sync, and there's a two-week trial. See Rentec Direct pricing and Rentec Direct vs Buildium.

Visit Rentec Direct

Yardi Breeze: PM-style accounting with a published floor

Yardi Breeze lists "Starting at $1 per unit per month," with a "$100 / minimum per month" based on an annual agreement. Its page covers:

• online applications, screening and leases
• syndication, including RentCafe.com
• rent by ACH and card, plus walk-in payments through PayNearMe
• owner statements and escrow and trust accounts
• 1099 e-filing and maintenance requests
• setup help and live chat support

A Premier tier adds more advanced accounting and workflows, but the page doesn't price it. It also doesn't publish payment fees.

Buildium: low starting price, many fees

Buildium starts at $65 a month for Essential, $202 for Growth and $420 for Premium. These are "starting at" prices, and the page doesn't explain how they scale with units.

Fees on Essential:

• $2.35 per incoming EFT
• $99 to set up each bank account
• $5 per eSignature
• 2.99% for cards

Growth and Premium require onboarding, which isn't priced on the page. There's a 14-day trial with no card. Buildium is a RealPage company. See Buildium pricing and Buildium alternatives.

Visit Buildium

DoorLoop: predictable, with unlimited users

DoorLoop has three plans:

• Every plan: unlimited users and eSignatures.
• ACH: incoming payments are $1.50 each on One and free on Connect and Multiply.
• Floors: One's floor applies until about 80 units, so a 10-unit owner pays the same as a 75-unit owner.
• Old plans: existing customers can keep their old plans.

See DoorLoop vs Buildium and DoorLoop pricing.

Visit DoorLoop

Hemlane: software plus people

Hemlane Starter is free, covering listings, screening and rental accounting with bank sync. Basic is $28 + $2 per unit, with $0 ACH rent collection.

Its higher tiers add services AppFolio users usually get from a PM team. Essential ($28 + $20 per unit) adds repair coordination and 24/7 emergency support. Complete ($28 + $58 per unit) adds a PM assistant for tenant communication. Cards are 3%. See Hemlane pricing.

Visit Hemlane

Who should stay with AppFolio

AppFolio's Plus and Max tiers list affordable housing and student housing capabilities, advanced budgeting, custom fields, API access and, on Max, a leasing CRM and dedicated customer success management. If you run a management company with staff and those needs, a small-landlord tool won't replace that.

If you already have an AppFolio contract that works, compare your real invoice with the formulas above before you switch. Moving tenants, ledgers and owner balances is work.

What to ask AppFolio sales if you're still deciding

• The pricing page says a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend apply. What is the minimum spend for my portfolio, and does the 50-unit minimum apply to me?
• What do the asterisked $1.49 and $3.20 per-unit prices include, and what costs extra (value-added services)?
• Are there onboarding or setup fees, and is there an annual contract?
• What are the tenant and landlord fees for ACH and card rent payments?

How we checked

On October 28, 2026, we read each vendor's pricing page:

• AppFolio: https://www.appfolio.com/pricing for the plan names, the asterisked per-unit prices, the footnote ("Minimum spend and 50 unit minimum apply.") and the plan features.
• Rentec Direct: https://www.rentecdirect.com/pricing, including its calculator script for the per-unit rates, the $50 minimum and the 0.9 annual factor.
• Yardi Breeze: https://www.yardibreeze.com/pricing/.
• Buildium: https://www.buildium.com/pricing/.
• DoorLoop: https://www.doorloop.com/pricing.
• Hemlane: https://www.hemlane.com/pricing/.

AppFolio's 50-unit minimum is quoted from its pricing page footnote; the minimum spend amount isn't published, so we don't state one. The cost tables are our own arithmetic. Several vendors here run affiliate programs; AppFolio doesn't have a public one. None of them paid us, and we don't rank by payout.

FAQ

How much does AppFolio cost?

Its pricing page shows Core from $1.49 and Plus from $3.20 per unit per month, both with an asterisk, and Max by quote. Value-added services are priced separately. A footnote on the page (checked Oct 2026) says: "Minimum spend and 50 unit minimum apply." The spend amount isn't published, so ask sales for a quote at your unit count.

Is AppFolio good for small landlords?

It's built for property management businesses and larger portfolios, and its pricing page says a 50-unit minimum applies (checked Oct 2026). Small landlords can usually get the core jobs done (rent, leases, accounting, maintenance) with tools that publish their prices and minimums, such as Rentec Direct or Hemlane.

What's the cheapest AppFolio alternative with trust accounting?

Of the published prices here, Rentec Direct PM costs $2.50 per unit with a $50 minimum ($45 on annual billing), and Yardi Breeze starts at $1 per unit with a $100 minimum on an annual agreement and lists escrow and trust accounts.

Which alternative has the most predictable price?

Rentec Direct and DoorLoop publish complete per-unit formulas with minimums. Hemlane's is a simple platform fee plus a per-unit fee. Buildium and Yardi Breeze show "starting at" prices.

Can I get AppFolio-style services without the software contract?

Hemlane's Essential and Complete tiers sell repair coordination and tenant-communication help per unit. That's a different model from software alone.

Related

• Buildium alternatives
• DoorLoop vs Buildium
• Rentec Direct pricing
• Landlord software by unit count
• All-in-one platforms