Buildium vs RealPage

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Our analysts compared Buildium vs RealPage based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Property Management Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Buildium is a cloud-based software that helps approve lease applications, manage payments, update financial records, create bulk emails and announcements and resolve maintenance issues on the go. Users can manage portfolios that include community associations, student housing, affordable housing and residential properties.

It offers accounting, vendor management, maintenance management, analytics and insights, leasing, community association management and more. The vendor also provides a dedicated onboarding team, 24x7 customer support and a 14-day free trial.
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RealPage is a comprehensive software solution designed to streamline property management tasks. It caters primarily to property managers and real estate professionals, offering a suite of tools that facilitate the management of residential and commercial properties. One of the key benefits of RealPage is its ability to enhance operational efficiency through automation of routine tasks, such as rent collection, maintenance requests, and tenant screening. Its popular features include accounting and financial reporting, lease management, and utility billing, which collectively contribute to its reputation as a robust property management platform. When compared to similar products, users often highlight RealPage's user-friendly interface and the depth of its features as significant advantages. However, pricing considerations, which can vary based on the number of units managed and the specific services required, are an important factor for potential users to consider. Payment for RealPage services typically follows a subscription model, with fees charged on a monthly basis.

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$55 Monthly
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$7.30/10,000 Square Feet, Monthly
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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Work From One Place: Bring every marketing, accounting and management workflow together in a centralized platform. Monitor operations from the unified dashboard. Receive real-time alerts, notifications and updates on potential disruptions. 
  • Streamline Communications: Ensure easy year-end auditing by maintaining transparent communication via role-based portals and recording interactions and documents. 
  • Consolidate Marketing Efforts: Advertise portfolio on multiple channels, personal website and social media. Manage every listing, track prospect information and coordinate showings from the dashboard. 
  • Expedite Turnovers: Keep properties ready-to-rent with on-time rent clearances, maintenance activities and vacancy tasks. Assign associates for each task, track progress and issue work orders to external vendors. 
  • Identify Opportunities: Perform comparative analysis and design business-specific data visualizations to identify threats and drill down on opportunities. 
  • Easy Integrations: Integrate business-specific external software and create unique stacks by leveraging an open API. 
  • Secure Data Storage: All the data is TLS-encrypted with a 2048-bit certificate, signed with SHA-256 and stored in a physical warehouse monitored by Amazon Web Services. 
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  • Work in One Place: Manage the entire portfolio’s marketing, maintenance, and accounting workflows from a unified platform. 
  • Eliminate Paper Files: Digitize documents, store them in a central library and use the search bar for quick navigation. Reduce manual data entries and minimize human errors. 
  • Increase Digital Engagement: Design branded portfolio websites and generate unique multimedia content. Prospects can use a unified platform for discovery, application and leasing. 
  • Enhance Resident Experience: Add value to the living experience with resident portals, community events and rewards, insurance options, smart homes, and more. 
  • Improve Decision-Making: Gain real-time insights and drill down on opportunities by localizing operational data and creating unique visualizations with business-specific metrics. 
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  • Accounting: Track and share owner, vendor and residential accounts and maintain accurate books. 
    • Property Accounting: Record transactions, convert work orders into bills and pay in bulk, automate bank reconciliations, identify discrepancies, and share customized reports. 
    • Company Financials: Capture financial overviews by tracking property-specific transactions alongside miscellaneous income and expenses. 
    • Online Payments: Accept rent, set up recurring transactions, pay bills and automate bookkeeping. Residents can add bank accounts or credit cards through individual portals. 
    • Retail Cash Payments: Leverage partnership with PayNearMe to allow residents to pay rent, dues and other fees in cash at multiple convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Store and more. Automatically update payments on respective ledgers and deposit them into bank accounts within a week. 
    • 1099 eFiling: E-file 1099-MISCs and 1099-NECs forms, mail paper copies to owners and vendors, and automate tax calculation based on year-round incomes. 
  • Business Operations: Streamline communication with owners, vendors and residents from a centralized platform. 
    • Resident Center: Residents can pay rent, set up recurring payments, submit maintenance requests coupled with photos and access important documents via mobile-responsive portals. Offers an announcement board to highlight updates, notifications and alerts from managers. 
    • Owner Portal: Owners can access property-specific financial documents and reports. Managers can control access levels for each owner portal. 
    • Document Storage: Securely store property-related documents, including leases, addendums, expense reports, vendor invoices and more and share with a few clicks. Offers unlimited storage space. 
    • Maintenance Tracking: Track maintenance requests, create work orders, assign preferred vendors and automate recurring maintenance activities. 
    • Property Inspection: Perform inspections on the go using an app powered by Happy Inspector. Choose from several templates to customize reports. Make a to-do list, take notes, and capture pictures and videos. 
    • Renters Insurance: Provide tenants with a fully integrated renter’s insurance solution powered by MSI. Document enrollment information and manage each policy till maturity from the dashboard. 
    • Analytics: Monitor real-time data visualizations, customize reports, compare data with localized industry benchmarks and share analysis with clients and board members. 
  • Marketing and Leasing: Increase digital visibility of the entire portfolio, shortlist suitable prospects and design custom leases. 
    • Rental Listings: Create and syndicate custom property listings on multiple channels, including Apartment List, HotPads, Lovely, MyNewPlace, Trulia, Zillow and Yahoo. 
    • Professional Website: Own and design a personalized property website for prospects to apply for listings. Upload important documents like residents rulebook, floor plans and model leases to create a secure self-service hub for prospects, tenants and owners. 
    • Rental Applications: Choose the best applicants based on personalized parameters through a customizable online rental application form that integrates with the website. Accept any related application fees online. 
    • Showings Coordinator: Leverage the module powered by TenantTurner to automate tour schedules according to set rules. Communicate with prospects via email, texts and SMS. 
    • Tenant Screening: Set custom credit score requirements, run background checks and receive credit score information from TransUnion. 
    • Leasing: Design custom lease templates and autofill data to expedite the process. Prospective tenants can digitally sign documents from remote locations. 
  • Homeowner Association Management: Log, track and report property violations remotely. Automate penalties and consequent bookkeeping. Offers a unified inbox for communication among board members, homeowners and vendors. 
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  • GoDirect Marketing: Drive qualified traffic directly to personal property websites instead of indirect leads generated from internet listing services. Optimize marketing strategies and unify customers’ online journey. 
  • Digital Content Services: Increase engagement and drive online traffic with quality digital content. Streamline marketing efforts with centralized storage, manage media from the dashboard, and review and analyze data to elevate online visibility. Some of the unique content creation tools available are: 
    • Video Call Tours: Remote leasing agents can conduct virtual property tours with interactive walkthroughs and professional photography. Prospects can schedule tours on demand. 
    • Matterport Tour: Provide an interactive VR tour of high-definition photographs of up to 20 locations within a unit, including click points containing unique information. 
    • 3D Virtual Tour: Create an animated virtual tour from the property’s 2D or 3D floor plan; viewers can take control of their tours from inside the unit. 
    • Storybooks Digital Brochure: Arrange a mix of photographs, graphics and music to highlight the property’s best amenities. 
    • Lifestyle Video: Include premium quality videos shot on location with professional filming techniques. 
    • Drone Video: Offer a high-definition aerial view video with stunning visuals, providing a broader perspective of the location.  
    • Copy Service: Hire professional writers and editors to produce customized blogs, articles and listings to attract target demographics. 
  • Contact Center 3.0: Leverage an AI-backed 24/7 augmented solution to maximize conversions through on-time information delivery. Manage sales calls, leasing queries and maintenance requests. 
  • Personalized Website: Design professional websites and create unique touch points between the brand and renters with assistance from marketing reps. Increase engagement with mobile-friendly website templates. 
  • Leads to Lease: Make informed business decisions by tracking leads and integrating marketing data with revenue data. Draft customizable e-leases with personalized terms and clauses, and renew leases with new additions. 
  • Deposit Alternatives: Tackle bad debts and avoid losing leads due to requiring a high security deposit upfront. 
    • Deposit Insurance: Generate ancillary revenue; instead of paying a hefty security deposit, residents can set up an affordable and non-refundable monthly premium payment. 
    • DepositIQ: An upfront, non-refundable surety bond that ensures lease obligations, can be used in place of a hefty security deposit. 
  • Insurance Solutions: Mitigate risks for both residents and landlords, and enhance revenue with these unique and customizable solutions: 
    • Renter’s Insurance: eRenterPlan offers residents comprehensive insurance coverage of rental and personal assets. Optional RenterProtection provides coverage for vacant units or uninsured residents. 
    • AssetProtect: Offers property owners and managers an insurance program that protects rental assets, drives ancillary revenue and maximizes compliance. 
  • AI Screening: Access the industry’s largest rental payment database, screen for criminal background information and perform credit checks through top credit reporting bureaus. Verify identities and detect fraudulent applications using machine learning, equipped with behavioral data. 
  • Building Operations: Residents get keyless smart access to every door, use popular third-party applications for smart apartments and leverage high-speed internet access through the CommunityConnect integration. They can also submit maintenance requests with multimedia attachments to substantiate their claims. 
  • Payment Portal: Accept payments for rent, bills and other expenses through check, money order, credit and debit cards online. Integration with LockBox allows residents to mail checks to designated P.O. boxes. From there, checks are scanned, converted into digital transactions and routed to the owner’s account. 
  • Vendor Credentialing: Reduce liability and increase visibility by choosing pre-verified vendors who meet personal compliance requirements. The Credential Key Program thoroughly assesses each vendor’s background, success metrics and insurance and liability coverage to clear those eligible for same-day approval. 
  • Utility Management: Increase efficiency through a platform for billing ancillary costs. Manage and track property energy consumption and reduce waste. The submetering feature allocates utility costs among residents based on actual consumption. Reduce expenses through automatic cost allocation and avoid deploying on-site staff. 
  • Community Rewards: Offer residents digital reward points for engagement with the property?— from surveys and contests to online bill payments, renewals and more. Encourage engagement to increase loyalty and online reputation assessment scores, which helps cut lead tracking expenditure and cost-per-lease. 
  • Accounting Suite: Automate data entry, streamline workflows, record company financials, maintain general ledgers and manage and track bills. Outsource tasks to the SmartSource accounting team instead of staffing and training new accountants. 
  • Analytics: Gain critical insights into performance, track risks and opportunities, and maximize profitability. Optimize pricing through accurate demand and supply balance management. Receive detailed analysis of revenue management and market conditions. 
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Product Ranking

#4

among all
Property Management Software

#11

among all
Property Management Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

86
88
93
86
84
96
69
94
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Platform Capabilities
Leasing
Accounting & Financial Management
Marketing
Platform Capabilities
Business Operations
Leasing
Dashboards and Reporting

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Buildium
RealPage
+ Add Product + Add Product
Accounting & Financial Management Business Operations Dashboards And Reporting Leasing Maintenance Marketing Platform Capabilities 93 84 69 98 70 60 99 86 96 94 96 85 98 97 0 25 50 75 100
96%
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88%
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12%
86%
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14%
100%
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71%
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29%
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100%
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71%
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86%
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14%
33%
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67%
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93%
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7%
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7%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

63%
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37%
38%
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62%

User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 1604 reviews
Great User Sentiment 168 reviews
90%
of users recommend this product

Buildium has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 1604 user reviews from 2 recognized software review sites.

83%
of users recommend this product

RealPage has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 83% when considering 168 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

n/a
4.2 (17)
4.4 (112)
3.9 (56)
4.5 (1492)
4.3 (95)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Buildium and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Leasing and Platform Capabilities. Buildium stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award
Leasing Award
Platform Capabilities Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated RealPage and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Marketing.

Marketing Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

End-to-End Software: Buildium is a comprehensive solution that can handle marketing, leasing, maintenance and management workflows of a property management business, according to 88% of users reviewing its features
Accounting: It offers robust and intuitive accounting features, according to 90% of reviews on this aspect.
Resident Experience: All the users who mentioned this element said that the software enhances overall tenant experience via individual communication portals, digital work orders and electronic rent payment.
Intuitive Interface: It has a simple and easy-to-use user interface, according to 80% of reviews on this aspect.
Customer Support: According to 90% of users who reviewed support services, the vendor offers responsive and agile customer support.
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Centralized Communication Hub: RealPage serves as a central hub for resident communication, maintenance requests, and online rent payments, streamlining property management operations.
Accounting Features: The platform offers robust accounting tools, including accounts payable and receivable management, budgeting, and financial reporting, simplifying financial management for property managers.
Marketing and Leasing Tools: RealPage provides tools to create and manage property listings, screen tenants, and process lease applications, aiding in attracting and securing new residents.
Maintenance Management: The platform facilitates efficient maintenance management by allowing residents to submit requests online, tracking work orders, and managing vendor relationships.
Reporting and Analytics: RealPage offers comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities, providing insights into property performance, resident trends, and financial metrics to support data-driven decision-making.
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Commercial Property Management: The software lacks nuanced features for commercial property management, according to 100% reviews on this aspect.
Leasing: Insufficient in-depth leasing customizations are an issue, according to 85% of users who reviewed this element.
Automation: Accounting and maintenance management, according to 100% of reviews on this element.
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Customer Service: Users frequently report challenges in getting timely and effective support from RealPage's customer service team. This can lead to frustration when encountering technical issues or needing assistance with the platform's features.
Usability: The platform's interface can be complex and challenging to navigate, especially for new users. This complexity can lead to a steep learning curve and hinder efficient use of the software's capabilities.
Cost: RealPage's pricing structure can be a significant concern for property management companies, particularly smaller businesses or those with tighter budgets. The cost of the software may outweigh its perceived benefits for some users.
Integrations: Integrating RealPage with other software systems can be a complex process, potentially requiring additional development work or custom solutions. This can create challenges for property management companies that rely on multiple software platforms to manage their operations.
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Buildium helps property owners and managers digitize and streamline every property management workflow. Users prefer the solution because of its end-to-end property management features, ease of use and responsive support suite. Reviewers also mention that residents are fond of the platform’s mobility and prefer paying rent and issuing maintenance requests digitally. However, reviews note that the platform is mainly built for residential properties and lacks nuanced features like complicated lease structures, automatic utility tracking, in-depth CC&R and violation tracking for commercial, student and community properties. Users also have to manually match transactions to bank entries and can’t issue work orders automatically. Considering everything, buildium can get confusing for larger portfolios but is perfect for single landlords and managers to organize and monitor operations from a unified dashboard.

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RealPage has emerged as a prominent contender, offering a suite of features designed to streamline operations for property managers of all sizes. Let's delve into the feedback from users over the past year to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of this platform and determine if it aligns with your unique requirements. RealPage has received accolades for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive functionality. Users appreciate the ability to efficiently manage rent collection, maintenance requests, tenant communication, and financial reporting all within a single platform. The software's automation capabilities have been particularly well-received, as they save property managers valuable time and effort. However, some users have expressed concerns about the software's pricing structure, finding it to be relatively expensive compared to some competitors. Additionally, a few users have noted that the software's customization options could be more robust, limiting their ability to tailor the platform to their specific workflows. RealPage distinguishes itself through its extensive range of features and its focus on providing data-driven insights. The platform's analytics tools empower property managers to make informed decisions based on real-time data, optimizing property performance and maximizing revenue. Furthermore, RealPage's integration with various third-party applications enhances its versatility and adaptability. Considering its comprehensive feature set and data-driven approach, RealPage is best suited for property management companies seeking a robust and scalable solution to manage their portfolios effectively. It is particularly well-suited for larger organizations with complex operations that require advanced analytics and automation capabilities.

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