Apartments.com Rental Manager vs Buildium
Buildium scores 8.2/10 vs 6.5/10. Best for: Small to mid-size property managers who want strong accounting and scalable plans.
Buildium scores higher overall at 8.2/10 vs 6.5/10. Buildium is a mature, well-rounded property management platform that excels at accounting and scales well. Best for professional property managers running residential or association portfolios who need reliable bookkeeping and tenant/owner portals. Solo landlords with under 20 units may find it pricey relative to simpler options.
Apartments.com Rental Manager 
Buildium Rank
#21 of 26
Rank
#2 of 26
Features
10/17
Features
17/17
Starting at
$0/mo
Starting at
$62/mo
User reviews
4.2/5 (50)
User reviews
4.4/5 (2350)
What they cost
| Apartments.com Rental Manager | Buildium | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting at | Free /mo | $62 /mo |
| Free trial | Free tier available | 14 days |
| Number of plans | 3 | 3 |
What the pricing really means
At first glance, Apartments.com Rental Manager looks cheaper at $0/month vs $62/month. But sticker price is only part of the story. Look at what is included on the base plan, how many users you get, and whether you need add-ons to get the features you actually need. The $99/month plan that requires $200 in add-ons is actually more expensive than the $250/month plan that includes everything.
Where Apartments.com Rental Manager wins
- Free listing syndication across the Apartments.com network reaches millions of renters
- Core features like screening, rent collection, and applications are free
- Backed by CoStar Group, giving it long-term stability and investment
- Inherited Cozy's user-friendly approach to small landlord management
Where Buildium wins
- Comprehensive accounting with general ledger and 1099 e-filing
- Strong tenant and owner portals with self-service capabilities
- Scales from small portfolios to thousands of units without switching
- 14-day free trial preloaded with sample data
Where Apartments.com Rental Manager falls short
- No built-in accounting or financial tracking beyond basic expense logging
- Website can be glitchy, especially during peak application processing
- Maintenance tracking lacks advanced features like recurring tasks and priority levels
- Limited feature depth compared to dedicated property management platforms
Where Buildium falls short
- Essential plan caps at 150 units with higher per-transaction fees
- No live phone support on Essential plan
- Per-unit costs add up for larger portfolios on lower tiers
- Bank account setup fees $99 each on Essential
Who is each product built for?
Apartments.com Rental Manager
Target: 1-50 units
Apartments.com Rental Manager is best for small landlords who value listing exposure above all else. Being part of the largest rental listing network in the US is a genuine competitive advantage for filling vacancies quickly. However, the management tools are relatively basic — there is no real accounting, and the platform works better as a listing and screening tool than a full property management solution.
Buildium
Target: 1-5000 units
Buildium is a mature, well-rounded property management platform that excels at accounting and scales well. Best for professional property managers running residential or association portfolios who need reliable bookkeeping and tenant/owner portals. Solo landlords with under 20 units may find it pricey relative to simpler options.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Apartments.com Rental Manager | Buildium |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant Management | ||
| Tenant screening | ||
| Online rent collection | ||
| Lease management | ||
| Tenant portal | ||
| E-signatures | ||
| Property Operations | ||
| Maintenance requests | ||
| Owner portal | ||
| Property inspections | ||
| Vendor management | ||
| Vacancy advertising | ||
| Finance & Reporting | ||
| Accounting/bookkeeping | ||
| Bank account management | ||
| Insurance tracking | ||
| Reporting/analytics | ||
| Platform | ||
| Document storage | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| API access | ||
Common questions
Apartments.com Rental Manager is designed for 1-50 units, making it a strong pick for small shops. Buildium targets 1-5000 units.
Apartments.com Rental Manager starts at $0/month. Buildium starts at $62/month. Pricing was last verified in 2026-03-01.
Apartments.com Rental Manager has a free tier you can use to get started.
Yes, you can switch between Property Management tools. The main effort is migrating your data and setting up new workflows. Plan for 1-2 weeks of overlap where you run both systems.
The bottom line
Pick Apartments.com Rental Manager if...
Small landlords who want free listing exposure on the largest rental marketplace in the US
Pick Buildium if...
Small to mid-size property managers who want strong accounting and scalable plans