Buildium Pricing: $62, $192 and $400 a Month
Buildium starts at $62, $192 or $400 a month on its Essential, Growth and Premium plans. Every price is a starting figure that rises with the number of units you manage, which the pricing page calculates once you enter a unit count.
The plan prices are only half the story. Buildium’s per-transaction fee schedule differs so sharply between tiers that a busy portfolio can save more on fees than the plan upgrade costs.
Buildium plans at a glance
| Plan | Starting price | Built for |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $62/mo | Core accounting, maintenance and leasing |
| Growth | $192/mo | More customisation, reporting automation, better rates |
| Premium | $400/mo | Full AI and automation suite, Open API, fees included |
Essential
From $62 a month. All the basic accounting, maintenance and leasing features, basic communications, Buildium’s AI assistant, and standard and bulk reporting. Rental listing syndication, prospect and applicant management, EFT residential refunds and a marketing website are included.
Essential is a working system. It is also the plan where every transaction costs the most.
Growth
From $192 a month. Everything in Essential plus more customisation and reporting automation, enhanced tenant screening, lower-cost e-signatures and EFT transactions, AI-enhanced communications and business analytics. Live phone support is included, and priority support can be purchased.
Premium
From $400 a month. Everything in Growth plus the most sophisticated features, free inspections, free e-signatures, the first year of incoming EFT transactions free, the full AI and automation suite, Open API access, and priority support included rather than sold. Premium customers also receive up to $500 of free leads through All Property Management, conditional on buying a first lead.
The fee schedule
| Service | Essential | Growth | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incoming EFT | $2.35 per transaction | $1.35 per transaction | First 12 months free, then $0.60 |
| Outgoing EFT | $0.99 | $0.99 | $0.99 |
| Credit cards | 2.99% | 2.99% | 2.99% |
| E-signature | $5 per document | $1 per document | Included |
| Bank account setup | $99 per account | 10 free, then $99 | 100 free, then $99 |
| Property inspections | $99 setup, $40 to $95/mo | Included | Included |
| Tenant screening | $17 per screening | $17, or $20 enhanced | $17, or $20 enhanced |
Applicant-paid screening is $35, charged to the applicant. Renters insurance starts at $12 a month through the Resident Center. 1099 e-filing is $50 per batch plus $4.50 per form. The Showings Coordinator carries a $25 setup fee on Essential, waived on Growth and Premium, and starts at $41 a month depending on unit tier. Printed and mailed vendor and owner checks are a $30 setup fee plus $1.50 per check.
Run the EFT numbers before choosing a plan. A manager collecting 100 rents a month by EFT pays $235 on Essential and $135 on Growth. That $100 monthly saving covers three quarters of the $130 gap between the two plans, before counting included inspections or cheaper e-signatures.
What the pricing page glosses over
Every price is “starting at.” Essential at $62 is the floor, not the price. The real number depends on units, and the page only reveals it after you enter a count.
Inspections are a paid subscription on Essential and free above it. $99 to set up plus $40 to $95 a month on Essential, included on Growth and Premium. For anyone doing move-in and move-out inspections seriously, that alone narrows the gap between the plans.
E-signatures are $5 a document on Essential. Fifteen leases a month is $75. On Growth the same fifteen cost $15, and on Premium nothing. This is the second-largest hidden swing after EFT.
Growth’s inspections are free “after 3 years, $0.40 per unit.” The footnote sits under the inspections row and is easy to miss when comparing plans.
Bank account setup is $99 per business bank account on Essential. A manager running separate trust accounts per owner pays that fee repeatedly. Growth includes ten and Premium includes a hundred.
Priority support is an upsell on Growth and included on Premium. Live phone support comes with both, but the fast-track queue is only bundled at the top tier.
Is Buildium free?
No. There is no free plan. Buildium offers a free trial on all three tiers, and the cheapest ongoing option starts at $62 a month on Essential, rising with unit count.
When Buildium isn’t the whole answer
Buildium is a capable platform and its fee table is more forthcoming than most competitors, even where the Essential numbers are unflattering. If you manage a few hundred doors, Growth is usually the right buy once the EFT and e-signature arithmetic is done.
The work it does not touch is everything that arrives as a message. The owner asking for a mid-month statement. The applicant who replies to a listing and wants to see the place tomorrow. The vendor who needs the gate code and a confirmed window. A property management system records what happened. It does not answer the email or find the slot.
That gap is what Carly fills. Zapier-style workflows are free, so a rule like “when an application comes in, acknowledge it and offer three viewing times” costs nothing to run. Booking pages and connected calendars are unlimited, so viewings and vendor visits get booked without a thread of back and forth. Every Gmail and Outlook account connects as its own authorized connection, so replies come from the address the owner already writes to. The agent that reads the message and books the time starts at $35 a month, and Carly connects to thousands of apps.
FAQ
How much does Buildium cost? Essential starts at $62 a month, Growth at $192 and Premium at $400. Each rises with the number of units you manage.
What is the difference between Buildium Essential and Growth? Growth adds customisation and reporting automation, enhanced tenant screening, AI-enhanced communications and business analytics, and cuts incoming EFT from $2.35 to $1.35 and e-signatures from $5 to $1 per document.
Does Buildium charge transaction fees? Yes. Incoming EFT is $2.35, $1.35 or free for the first year then $0.60 depending on plan. Outgoing EFT is $0.99 on all plans and credit cards are 2.99%.
How much is Buildium tenant screening? $17 per screening, $20 for enhanced screening on Growth and Premium, or $35 when the applicant pays.
Does Buildium have a free trial? Yes. All three plans offer a free trial, and there is no free tier after it.
Is Buildium priced per unit? Partly. Each plan has a starting monthly price that increases with unit count, and several fees are charged per transaction rather than per unit.
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