Property management software can cost nothing for a basic landlord account, less than $20 per month for a small portfolio, $60 to $200 or more for an established all-in-one platform, or several hundred dollars per month when a provider uses minimum commitments. The meaningful number is not the advertised subscription. It is the total cost at the actual unit count, transaction volume, team size, and feature tier.
Property management software pricing at a glance
| Product | Published entry price reviewed | Important pricing condition |
|---|---|---|
| TurboTenant | Free plan; Essentials shown from $12.42/month billed annually | Premium price varies by portfolio size; screening and payment economics still matter |
| Avail | Free; Unlimited Plus at $9/unit/month | Per-unit premium price grows directly with the portfolio |
| TenantCloud | Starter from $15/month when billed annually; confirm current monthly price | Higher plans unlock more leases, inspections, reconciliation, owner, and team tools |
| EstatesCheck | Starter is free for 1–5 properties | Portfolio is $19/month for 6–25 properties; Professional is $39/month for 26–100 |
| Buildium | Essential starts at $62/month | Transaction, bank setup, screening, e-signature, inspection, and add-on charges vary by tier |
| DoorLoop | Starter shown at $69/month billed annually for up to 10 units | Monthly billing, onboarding, payment, screening, merchant, e-signature, website, and add-on costs can differ |
| AppFolio | Custom quote | Core states a 50-unit minimum and minimum spend; Plus and Max also have minimums |
| Propertyware | Basic starts at $1/unit/month | $250 monthly minimum, implementation fee of twice the monthly subscription, and transaction fees |
| Rent Manager | Quote required | Basic, Plus, Premium, integrations, communications, and other add-ons need a written quote |
These prices are not an apples-to-apples comparison. A free landlord tool, a per-unit subscription, and a professional accounting platform solve different jobs.
The five numbers that determine the real cost
1. Base subscription
Record the actual monthly and annual price for the needed tier, not the lowest price on the pricing page. A platform may place bank reconciliation, owner portals, permissions, APIs, inspections, audit logs, or advanced maintenance on a higher plan.
2. Billable portfolio size
Ask what the vendor counts: properties, units, active leases, bank accounts, users, or another measure. Then model the current portfolio and the expected portfolio 12 months from now. A $9-per-unit plan costs $45 for five units and $450 for 50 units before other fees; a flat subscription may move in steps instead.
3. Transaction volume
Calculate monthly charges for incoming ACH, cards, outgoing owner or vendor payments, screening, e-signatures, cash payments, returned payments, and other paid services. Identify who pays each fee and whether New York rules or the lease limit the ability to pass it through. Obtain legal or accounting advice for the company’s exact practices.
4. Implementation and migration
Include onboarding, data cleanup, data import, accounting setup, training, payment-account activation, integrations, and any period in which the old and new systems overlap. Propertyware, for example, publishes an implementation fee equal to twice the monthly subscription. Buildium states that Growth and Premium customers use customized onboarding. Quote-based products should spell out implementation separately.
5. Operating overhead after launch
Software is expensive when the team still exports data, repairs reports, duplicates work, or waits on support. Estimate internal hours for monthly close, owner statements, maintenance dispatch, lease execution, data entry, and reconciliation. A lower subscription can cost more if it creates recurring manual work.
A total-cost worksheet
Use one worksheet for every finalist:
| Cost line | Monthly estimate | One-time estimate | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base plan at current size | Pricing page or signed quote | ||
| Base plan at 12-month size | Unit-tier schedule | ||
| Additional users or roles | Plan comparison | ||
| Incoming rent payments | Fee schedule and payer | ||
| Outgoing owner/vendor payments | Fee schedule | ||
| Screening and applications | Per-report price | ||
| E-signatures | Per-document price or allowance | ||
| Inspections and maintenance add-ons | Add-on quote | ||
| Bank or merchant setup | Account-level fees | ||
| Onboarding and data migration | Statement of work | ||
| Integrations or API access | Tier and partner charges | ||
| Training and premium support | Included hours and renewal cost | ||
| Old-system overlap | Planned cutover period | ||
| Internal cleanup and implementation labor | Named owners and estimated hours |
Add monthly costs, convert annual charges to a monthly equivalent, and spread one-time costs over the expected evaluation period. Keep the one-time number visible so a short contract does not hide a large implementation commitment.
What current published prices reveal
Small-portfolio tools can start free, but the business model still matters
TurboTenant and Avail publish free landlord plans. Their premium plans add capabilities or change transaction economics. TenantCloud publishes a Starter plan from $15 per month when billed annually; confirm the current monthly price before subscribing. These products can be attractive for a small self-managed portfolio, but the buyer still needs to test leases, payment timing, exports, maintenance history, accounting depth, and support.
Established all-in-one platforms use tiers
Buildium lists Essential from $62 per month, Growth from $192, and Premium from $400. Its pricing page also itemizes several tier-dependent charges. DoorLoop shows Starter at $69 per month when billed annually for up to 10 units, with Pro and Premium at higher prices and different service fees. The correct comparison is the tier that supports the required workflow.
Minimum commitments can dominate the calculation
Propertyware’s $1-per-unit Basic price sounds low until the $250 monthly minimum and implementation fee are applied. AppFolio does not publish a monthly figure on its pricing page and states that Core has a 50-unit minimum and minimum spend. Ask quote-based vendors for the complete first-year and renewal totals.
Three cost scenarios to model
Five self-managed units
The owner may value low subscription cost, leasing, rent tracking, maintenance intake, documents, and easy exports more than full owner accounting or complex permissions. Compare free and low-cost tools using one active lease and one real maintenance request. EstatesCheck’s published Starter scope can also be evaluated, subject to early-access availability.
Fifty units with a small team
Team permissions, reconciliation, repeatable owner reporting, vendor workflows, support, and migration become more important. Compare the cost of the plan that actually includes those functions. Include every payment and e-signature expected in a normal month.
A professional management company
Model separate entities, owner statements, management fees, accounts payable, approvals, audit history, integrations, support response, and data portability. The cheapest base price is rarely the most important variable. A failed monthly close or unusable owner package can consume more than the subscription difference.
Questions to send every vendor
- What is the exact first-year cost at our current unit count?
- What is the renewal price, and which promotions disappear?
- What changes at our expected unit count next year?
- Which required features are outside the quoted tier?
- What does each rent, vendor, owner, screening, and e-signature transaction cost?
- Who pays each transaction fee?
- How many bank or merchant accounts are included?
- What data will you import, and what will we rebuild?
- What can we export before cancellation, in which formats, and at what cost?
- What support and training are included during implementation and after launch?
Where EstatesCheck fits in the cost discussion
EstatesCheck uses property-count tiers for its NYC-oriented workspace. The current catalog lists Starter as free for 1–5 properties, Portfolio at $19 per month for 6–25, Professional at $39 per month for 26–100, and Enterprise at a custom price. Optional managed AI raises the total. Confirm the current plan and enabled functionality on the public feature page before subscribing.
The relevant test is not whether EstatesCheck has the lowest entry price. It is whether the current written quote and functionality enabled for the account handle the records and daily work the landlord needs. Teams requiring mature trust accounting, payment operations, owner packages, or extensive integrations should validate those requirements explicitly and should not assume roadmap functionality is available. Review the current EstatesCheck plan page .
Frequently asked questions
How much should a landlord pay for property management software?
A small landlord can start with a free or low-cost product, while a management company may pay hundreds of dollars monthly plus implementation and transaction costs. The right budget follows the required workflows, not a universal unit price.
Is free property management software really free?
A product can have no subscription charge while earning revenue from screening, payments, insurance, premium features, or other services. Review the complete fee schedule, data export, support, and feature limits before deciding.
Should NYC landlords buy software with compliance features?
Buyers should first verify the system can preserve the property, unit, tenant, inspection, notice, repair, and document records their operations require. A software label does not prove that a compliance task was completed or accepted by an agency.
Compare the complete operating cost
Put every finalist through one property, one lease, one month of payments, one owner statement, and one urgent repair. Price the full workflow, including the tier, transactions, implementation, and labor required to finish it. That number is a better purchasing guide than the largest price shown on a landing page.
For the wider shortlist, read Best NYC Property Management Software . To evaluate EstatesCheck’s published scope, review the feature matrix or create a landlord account .
This article provides general product and operational information, not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice.
