TurboTenant vs. Buildium: Which Landlord Software is Right For You?

From prepping your rental to move out, and everything in between, there are a lot of administrative tasks that come with being a landlord. Leveraging great landlord software can help simplify those administrative tasks, professionalize your business, and even save you money. However, with so many available property management software solutions to choose from, how can you be sure you’re going with the right choice for your business?

To make this challenging decision easier, we’ve compiled the main differences between TurboTenant and Buildium. Keep reading for more.

1) Cost

The main difference between Buildium and TurboTenant is the cost investors pay for each platform. Buildium has a more complicated, tiered pricing structure, with your cost dependent on the number of doors you own.

TurboTenant offers a Premium subscription, but there’s also a free version for an easy way to immediately begin managing your properties without any financial commitment. Under the free subscription, TurboTenant landlords can market their property, manage leads, track expenses, and use other helpful property management tools.

TurboTenant’s Premium subscription, which comes out to just $119/year for an unlimited number of doors, offers all the basic and bonus property management tools you’ll need to smoothly manage your rental, including:

• Connecting an unlimited number of bank accounts
• Expedited rent payouts
• Automatic income insights to verify a potential tenant’s income
• Unlimited state-specific lease agreements
• Lease addendums
• E-signatures
• The complete landlords form pack
• Custom pre-screener and application questions
• Lower application fees for renters

On the other hand, Buildium charges up to $256/month for their most basic subscription, which still includes added charges for bank account set up and e-signatures. Their Premium subscription comes out to a whopping $741/month for just 300 units. There is no free subscription option for Buildium.

2) Types of Portfolios Served

It’s clear that Buildium’s pricing structure makes it more difficult to scale your business without enduring a financial penalty from their platform. With such a hefty price tag, Buildium clearly tailors their platform to the needs of large landlords and property management companies, and their pricing structure hurts growing investors. Because Buildium’s platform is built for large landlords, the needs of smaller landlords are neglected and pricing is not built to support small business.

TurboTenant proudly serves all independent investors, no matter their door count. From landlords with just one property to those with large multi-unit properties, TurboTenant’s got you covered for the same price. TurboTenant offers free educational resources for all landlords, with topics ranging from Section 8 to Emotional Support Animals to Lease Do’s and Don’t’s. Whether you’re new to the game, or a veteran investor, TurboTenant is dedicated to your continued education and providing you with every resource necessary to succeed and boost your bottom line.

Invest in landlord software that will accommodate your business, no matter how big or how fast it’s growing.

3) Landlord-Tenant Relationship

All rental property owners know that navigating the landlord-tenant relationship is the most challenging aspect of being a landlord. Awesome tenants mean consistent on-time rent, a respected and clean rental, and a lot of stress and time saved for the landlord. That’s why it’s important to know that your chosen landlord software is supporting a positive landlord-tenant relationship and accommodating the tenant experience in addition to the landlord’s.

Aside from their accessible tenant portal, TurboTenant offers instant tenant messaging, rent reporting, automatic tenant check-ins, renter resources, renters insurance, and flexible payment options through Lvble. These resources make it easy to proactively address issues with tenants and to support them in their own financial journey. Not only does TurboTenant help make your tenants happier, but they also strive to educate landlords on how to better communicate with tenants and navigate challenging situations. TurboTenant will make sure that you never have lingering questions about how to build a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with your tenant.

TurboTenant also just announced their partnership with Lula Maintenance, which completely automates maintenance requests for you and your tenants. With Lula Maintenance, landlords no longer have to be the one answering 3 am calls from their tenants – making for a better professional relationship for everyone.

Buildium offers a resident center, which is their version of a tenant portal. Buildium also has the capability to set up automatic late fees, automatic rent reminders, renters insurance, and rent reporting for tenants. Because their platform is tailored to large property managers, they also have the ability to mass send announcements to entire properties and associations. Buildium does not offer tenant check-ins, flexible rent payments, or automated rental property maintenance. Buildium does not offer any education to support the landlord-tenant relationship.

Conclusion

For an inclusive, all-in-one property management software that supports small and large businesses alike, choose TurboTenant instead of Buildium.

TurboTenant has all the features necessary to accommodate any size landlord with pricing that supports their unique business model. TurboTenant’s platform is dedicated to providing an affordable solution that offers every feature independent landlords need for their business to thrive. As a bonus, they are dedicated to improving the landlord-tenant relationship which will make your life easier, shrink your vacancy cycle, and increase your cash flow.