6 AppFolio alternatives for landlords under 50 units (2026)
AppFolio needs 50 units and a minimum spend. If you have a duplex, a triplex and a fourplex, here are six tools priced for your size, with current prices, what each is actually good at, and what an 8-unit landlord would pay.
The short version
| Option | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| LandlordPro | Free (4 units) · from $19/mo | Self-managing landlords under 50 units who want the whole job in one place: ads, applications ranked on your own criteria, leases, the rent roll, notices, receipts and the tax package. |
| Buildium | $62/mo + $2.35 per ACH rent payment | Small management companies and landlords with 20 to 200 units who want accounting-grade software with published tiers and can budget for the per-transaction fees. |
| DoorLoop | $199/mo minimum | Portfolios of roughly 80 units and up that want AI-assisted, full-featured management and can justify a $199 monthly floor. |
| TurboTenant | Free · Pro $199/yr for 1 to 10 units | Landlords with a few units who want free listings, screening and rent collection, and do not mind that the free plan's revenue comes from fees charged to their tenants. |
| RentRedi | $12/mo (annual) · unlimited units | Mobile-first landlords who want a flat, unit-unlimited price for rent collection and tenant screening, and will add a bookkeeping tool separately. |
| TenantCloud | $15/mo (annual) · 10 leases | Landlords who want a cheap tiered plan with unlimited units and can live with the lease caps and paid add-ons like tax reports. |
Prices read from each vendor’s own pricing page on October 21, 2026. LandlordPro’s prices come from our live price list.
Why landlords look for an alternative to AppFolio
AppFolio is excellent software for a management company, and its own pricing page says so: a 50-unit minimum on the Core plan and a minimum monthly spend that is only disclosed on a sales call. If you are managing your own 4, 8 or 20 units, you are not the customer, and the search that brought you here is really a search for software built for your size. Every option below publishes its price, has no unit minimum, and can be set up in an afternoon.
One honest note before the list: LandlordPro is our product. It is listed first because this is our site, the pros and cons are written the same way as everyone else’s, and the cons are real. Every competitor price below was read from that vendor’s pricing page on the date shown, and every review point is from a dated public review.
The six options
LandlordPro (our product; judge the claims accordingly)
Where it is good
- Ads built in minutes by clicking pills, then pushed to Zillow; applications pre-screened and ranked against the criteria you set, so the weak matches collapse instead of filling your inbox.
- One rent roll that does the whole month: rent, late fees from the lease, partial payments, credits, ACH or Venmo through the tenant portal, and a one-click message to every tenant in a building.
- Receipts scanned with your phone and digitized straight into the Schedule E lines, so the Tax Preparer Package at year end is a handoff, not a weekend.
Where it is not
- No native app store app yet: it is a web app that works on a phone, with the phone used as the scanner, but you install nothing.
- A one-person company. The founder answers support himself, which is fast and personal and also means it is one person. QuickBooks sync and the management-company tools shipped in 2026 and are newer than the rest.
Best for: Self-managing landlords under 50 units who want the whole job in one place: ads, applications ranked on your own criteria, leases, the rent roll, notices, receipts and the tax package.
Buildium
LandlordPro vs Buildium, head to head
Where it is good
- Accounting that a bookkeeper will respect: full general ledger, owner statements, 1099 e-filing and bank reconciliation.
- Published, tiered pricing with a 14-day free trial and no credit card to start.
- Most property management tasks are centralized and connected in one place, which reviewers who own their units like.
Where it is not
- The fees add up on the entry plan: $2.35 for every incoming bank payment, $5 per e-signed document, $99 per connected bank account, and the entry tier is capped at a low door count.
- Reviewers say prices rose after the company was acquired and that live phone support costs about $1,000 a year more.
Best for: Small management companies and landlords with 20 to 200 units who want accounting-grade software with published tiers and can budget for the per-transaction fees.
DoorLoop
LandlordPro vs DoorLoop, head to head
Where it is good
- Easy to use and fully functional, per 2026 reviewers, with unlimited users and a full API.
- Owner and tenant portals, a company website and a business phone number included.
- AI agents for reception, maintenance and renewals on the higher tiers.
Where it is not
- The $199 monthly minimum means a landlord with 8 units pays the same as one with 80.
- Support has moved mostly to chat bots, and reviewers miss person-to-person technical help.
Best for: Portfolios of roughly 80 units and up that want AI-assisted, full-featured management and can justify a $199 monthly floor.
TurboTenant
LandlordPro vs TurboTenant, head to head
Where it is good
- A real free plan: marketing, applications, screening and online rent collection without a subscription.
- Advertising a vacancy and getting payment-received alerts is easy, per owner reviews.
- Leases, renewals and automated tenant emails are tracked in one place on the paid tiers.
Where it is not
- The paid tiers feel overpriced to landlords with only a few properties, and the pricing page shows two different bank-transfer and application fees without saying which plan each applies to.
- Support is an AI bot first; reviewers say reaching a live person is hard.
Best for: Landlords with a few units who want free listings, screening and rent collection, and do not mind that the free plan's revenue comes from fees charged to their tenants.
RentRedi
LandlordPro vs RentRedi, head to head
Where it is good
- Flat price, unlimited units, unlimited teammates: the bill does not change when you buy the next duplex.
- Mobile app for landlord and tenant, with rent, autopay, maintenance and messaging on the phone.
- Reviewers describe the classic dashboard as very user friendly and support as reliable.
Where it is not
- Accounting is thin; reviewers say they still pay for a separate bookkeeping tool (REI Hub) to see their card transactions.
- A learning curve on details such as changing tenants, and the rent-payment fee schedule is not on the pricing page.
Best for: Mobile-first landlords who want a flat, unit-unlimited price for rent collection and tenant screening, and will add a bookkeeping tool separately.
TenantCloud
LandlordPro vs TenantCloud, head to head
Where it is good
- Easy to navigate and easy to create applications, per 2026 owner reviews.
- Has the features a landlord needs: rent payments, maintenance, listings and applications on every tier.
- A 14-day trial on every plan.
Where it is not
- Payouts can take two weeks to reach the landlord, which reviewers find frustrating.
- Tax reports are not in the basic subscription, and the pricing page itself shows conflicting Starter prices.
Best for: Landlords who want a cheap tiered plan with unlimited units and can live with the lease caps and paid add-ons like tax reports.
What an 8-unit landlord actually pays
Starting prices hide the fees. Here is the same landlord, 8 units, every tenant paying rent by bank transfer through the software, on each option.
| Option | Your monthly bill | Tenant pays per ACH | How it adds up |
|---|---|---|---|
| LandlordPro | $19 (Starter)/mo | your choice (fee split setting) | $19 (Starter) per month on the cheapest plan that covers 8 units; tenants pay nothing extra to pay rent by bank transfer through the portal unless you choose to pass the ACH fee on (the fee split is your setting). |
| Buildium | $80.80/mo | none (landlord pays ACH fee) | Essential $62 plus 8 incoming ACH payments at $2.35 each ($18.80) comes to $80.80 a month before any e-signatures or screening; $969.60 a year. |
| DoorLoop | $211/mo (minimum + ACH) | none unless you pass the fee on | The $199 minimum applies: $199 a month for 8 units ($2,388 a year), plus $1.50 per incoming ACH payment on the One plan ($12 a month). |
| TurboTenant | $16.58/mo (Pro, annual) | $0 to $2 per ACH payment | Pro for 1 to 10 units is $199 a year, about $16.58 a month. Tenants pay the application fee and card fees; bank transfer is free or $2 depending on the plan. |
| RentRedi | $12/mo (annual) | not listed on the pricing page | $12 a month on the annual plan, flat, for all 8 units. ACH and card fees are not published on the pricing page. |
| TenantCloud | $15/mo (Starter, annual) | $1.95 per ACH payment | Starter at $15 a month (annual) covers 8 units and up to 10 leases; each tenant pays $1.95 per ACH payment ($15.60 a month across 8 tenants). |
The worked example assumes a landlord with 8 units who collects every rent by bank transfer (ACH) through the software and has no other add-ons. Fees that the TENANT pays are shown separately because they are real money to your tenants and a real conversation at lease signing, but not a line on your own bill.
How to choose
Decide what the software has to do for you this year, not what it could do. If it is the whole job (ads, applications, leases, the rent roll, notices, receipts and the tax package) pick the tool that does all of it without a unit minimum. If it is only rent collection, pick the cheapest flat price and keep your books elsewhere. If it is only the books, pick the bank feed you trust. And read who pays the bank-transfer fee on each one before you sign a lease that promises tenants free online rent.
Questions landlords ask
What is the cheapest AppFolio alternative?
For a landlord under 50 units the free plans (LandlordPro free for 4 units, Innago, Avail, Baselane Core, TurboTenant free) cost nothing monthly; the difference is who pays the rent-payment fee. Among paid plans, RentRedi at $12 a month billed annually and Stessa Manage at $12 a month are the cheapest flat rates. See the 8-unit cost table above.
Does AppFolio have a minimum number of units?
Yes. AppFolio's pricing page states a 50-unit minimum and a minimum spend for the Core plan (checked October 21, 2026). The dollar amount of the minimum spend is not published.
Which AppFolio alternative is best for a self-managing landlord?
If you want the whole job in one tool (ads, applications, leases, rent roll, notices, receipts, tax package) with no unit minimum, LandlordPro is built exactly for that landlord. If you only need rent collection on a flat price, RentRedi; if you want accounting-grade books and have staff, Buildium or DoorLoop.
Is Buildium cheaper than AppFolio for a small portfolio?
Buildium has no unit minimum and starts at $62 a month, so for under 50 units it is available where AppFolio is not. Budget for Buildium's per-transaction fees ($2.35 per incoming bank payment on the entry plan).
Try the one built by a landlord
LandlordPro is free for 2 properties and up to 4 units: ads, applications, leases, the rent roll, notices and receipts included. No card to start.
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