Oct 30, 2026

Best AI Property Manager (2026): 6 Options Compared

Most of property management is the same 20 questions, by phone, text and email, at all hours. An AI property manager answers them, sorts real emergencies from everything else and keeps owners in the loop, so your team can run the portfolio.

The quick answer: Carly is the best AI property manager for small and mid-size portfolios who want tenants, owners and vendors handled on their own rules, on top of the software they already use. It answers calls, texts and email around the clock, in English or Spanish, texts the on-call tech the moment an emergency call ends and updates your system. If you’re choosing new software anyway, DoorLoop has AI built in from $2.50 a unit.

US list prices from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked October 30, 2026.

AI property managers compared

Tool	Built for	What the AI handles	Starting price
Carly	Portfolios of any size, on any software	Calls, texts, email, maintenance triage, owners	Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo
DoorLoop	Small and mid-size managers replacing software	Assistant, plus a Receptionist Agent on Connect	$2.50/unit/mo billed yearly, $199 minimum
Buildium	Small and mid-size managers replacing software	AI assistant and communications	$65/mo
AppFolio	Mid-size and large portfolios	Realm-X Assistant and Performers	From $1.49/unit/mo, 50-unit minimum
EliseAI	Large multifamily operators	Leasing, resident messages, voice	Quoted
Vendoroo	Managers drowning in maintenance	Maintenance coordination	Quoted

1. Carly

Carly sits on top of your property software and runs the conversations. You write the rules once in plain English, and it applies them to every tenant, the same way every time.

Every tenant answered. Calls, texts and emails, 24/7 or only when your team doesn’t pick up. Spanish callers get Spanish.
Maintenance triaged. Carly asks your questions, sorts a burst pipe from a dripping faucet, and texts the on-call tech the moment an emergency call ends. See property management answering service.
Leasing covered. Prospects get answers and showings on your leasing agent’s calendar, as in best AI leasing agent.
Owners kept happy. Monthly summaries and “your tenant renewed” updates go out as free Zapier-style workflows.
Your inbox sorted. Vendor invoices, owner questions and tenant notices get labeled and routed across every account you have.
Your software stays current. Carly connects to Buildium, AppFolio and thousands of apps, and keeps every call on one timeline in its CRM.
Run it from ChatGPT or Claude. With the Carly connector, your AI chat can text a tenant, call a vendor back or build the whole agent for you.
Best for: managers who like their software and want the phone and inbox handled.
Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.
Setup: copy one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, grab a number, and you’re live.

Carly business setup prompt

Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude. It builds your tenant line with you.

Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat. I'll add it to you myself: tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen. If you can do the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead, and ask me for any key in your secure credential prompt, never in the chat. Don't tell me it's connected until list_phone_lines works, and if I have several teams, ask which to use. Before sending a text or making a call, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. The steps are below.

# Connect Carly Teams to an AI app

> Carly Teams works a team's business phone lines through the team's AI agents: business texts, phone calls, voicemail, the voice and text agents, and the team's CRM.

MCP server: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp (streamable HTTP, OAuth)

## Setup

Carly Teams isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it's added as a custom connection by URL.

1. Add Carly Teams:
- ChatGPT: open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. Name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. No plugin needs to be built, packaged or uploaded.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: `codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then `codex mcp login carly-teams`.
- Cursor: add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp with a Carly API key as its bearer token. The key comes from carlyassistant.com/account (API key under Carly Teams) and goes in Muse's connector settings, not in a chat message.
- Grok: grok.com/connectors > New Connector > Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize > Connectors), then Add custom > Connector > Add MCP connector. Choose Remote, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, pick OAuth, check the box and click Add, then click the Carly Teams card to sign in.
- Anything else: a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
Sign in with the Carly account that belongs to the organization.

2. Once it's added, the Carly Teams tools show up in the chat, including list_phone_lines. If they don't, turn Carly Teams on for the chat or start a new chat.

3. To check it worked, call list_phone_lines: it returns the teams and phone lines the account can reach. A team with no phone line yet can get one with find_numbers (optionally by area code) and get_number, which may return a checkout link to finish.

4. Something to try first: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." Carly Teams also reads and answers business texts, has the team's agent make calls, and edits the voice and text agents. Texts and calls go out at once from the agent's number and can't be taken back. Team permissions apply.

## Email, calendars and workflows

Email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows are the regular Carly connector, added separately. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and connects anywhere else at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. Its setup is https://carlyassistant.com/mcp.txt.

Get started, or book a call to talk through your portfolio.

2. DoorLoop

DoorLoop is full property management software. Its AI Assistant writes listings, processes invoices and builds reports, and its Connect plan adds a Receptionist Agent for tenant calls, texts and portal messages.

Best for: managers who are switching software anyway.
Pricing: One is $2.50 a unit a month billed yearly ($3 monthly), $1.50 above 100 units, with a $199 minimum. Connect is $4 a unit billed yearly ($4.80 monthly), with a $299 minimum.
Limitations: you have to move your whole operation to get it.

3. Buildium

Buildium bundles accounting, leasing and maintenance, with AI features growing by plan.

Best for: small and mid-size managers who want an established all-in-one.
Pricing: Essential from $65 a month, Growth from $202 and Premium from $420, where the full AI and automation suite and the open API live.
Limitations: the best AI sits on the top tier. Carly connects to Buildium with your own API key.

4. AppFolio

AppFolio builds AI into the platform. Realm-X Assistant and Messages come with every plan, and Performers handle leasing and resident conversations.

Best for: mid-size and large portfolios already on AppFolio.
Pricing: Core starts at $1.49 a unit a month, Plus at $3.20 and Max at $5, with a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend.
Limitations: the minimum spend isn’t published, so small portfolios may not fit.

5. EliseAI

EliseAI is the biggest name in AI for housing, covering leasing, resident messages and voice.

Best for: large multifamily operators with an enterprise budget.
Pricing: quoted.
Limitations: built and priced for big portfolios, not a few hundred scattered doors.

6. Vendoroo

Vendoroo’s AI, ROO, coordinates maintenance from the first request to the closed work order.

Best for: managers whose biggest headache is maintenance.
Pricing: quoted, after a demo.
Limitations: a maintenance specialist, so leasing, owners and the wider inbox live elsewhere.

What to check in any AI property manager

Emergencies reach a person. Test a gas smell at 2am before you go live.
The same rules for everyone. Your agent should apply your criteria identically to every prospect, which is also what fair housing asks of you.
A record of every conversation. Transcripts protect you when a dispute comes up. Carly keeps them on each tenant’s timeline.
It works with your software. Replacing a system to get AI is a big project. Adding AI on top takes minutes.

This isn’t legal advice. Have your criteria reviewed against the Fair Housing Act and your state and local rules.

How to pick

You want tenants, owners and vendors handled, on the software you already have: go with Carly.
You’re switching software anyway: DoorLoop or Buildium.
You’re large and on AppFolio: turn on Realm-X, then add Carly for the inbox and calendar.
You run big multifamily: EliseAI.
Maintenance is the whole problem: Vendoroo.

For the wider toolset, see best AI tools for property managers.

FAQ

What is an AI property manager?

Software that handles the day-to-day communication of property management: tenant calls and texts, maintenance requests, leasing questions and owner updates. Carly does this on your business number, on top of the software you use.

Can AI replace a property manager?

It can take over the repetitive conversations, not the judgment. Inspections, disputes and owner relationships still need a person. Most managers use AI to run more doors with the same team.

How much does an AI property manager cost?

DoorLoop starts at $2.50 a unit a month with a $199 minimum, Buildium at $65 a month and AppFolio at $1.49 a unit. EliseAI and Vendoroo are quoted. Carly: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.

Does it work with AppFolio or Buildium?

Yes. Carly connects to Buildium with your own API key and to AppFolio with Plus or Max API credentials.

Can it handle after-hours maintenance calls?

Yes. Carly answers, asks your triage questions and texts the on-call tech when a call is an emergency. Everything else waits for morning.

Does it answer tenants in Spanish?

Carly detects when a tenant speaks Spanish and answers in Spanish.

Ready to automate your busywork?

Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.

See what people say

"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.

Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.

On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."

Gus Ibrahim, Founder & Director, IHR