Independent pricing guide. Not affiliated with AppFolio, Inc.
AppFolio Pricing Per Unit: Minimums, Onboarding Fees, and What 50 to 5,000 Units Actually Costs
Updated 30 March 2026
Core is $1.40/unit/month but the $280 minimum means you pay for 200 units even with 50. Plus is $3/unit/month with a $900 minimum. Max is $5/unit/month with a $1,500 minimum. Here is the real math for your portfolio size, including onboarding fees that nobody talks about upfront.
$1.40
/unit/month
$280/mo minimum
$400 onboarding
$3.00
/unit/month
$900/mo minimum
$1,000+ onboarding
$5.00
/unit/month
$1,500/mo minimum
$2,000-$5,000 onboarding
Plan and Feature Comparison
All three tiers include the essentials: accounting, rent collection, maintenance, and owner portals. The difference is in automation, analytics, and revenue optimization tools.
| Feature | Core | Plus | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per-unit price | $1.40/unit/month | $3.00/unit/month | $5.00/unit/month |
| Monthly minimum | $280/month | $900/month | $1,500/month |
| Minimum units (effective) | 200 units | 300 units | 300 units |
| Onboarding fee | $400 | $1,000+ | $2,000-$5,000 |
| Accounting and GL | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online rent collection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maintenance tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Owner portals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tenant screening | $15-$25/app | $15-$25/app | $15-$25/app |
| Electronic lease signing | Included | Included | Included |
| Revenue management | No | Yes | Yes |
| Performance insights | No | Yes | Yes |
| Smart bill entry (AI) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Inline editing | No | Yes | Yes |
| Workflow automation | No | No | Yes |
| Custom dashboards | No | No | Yes |
| Advanced analytics | No | No | Yes |
The Minimum Fee Explained
AppFolio's minimum monthly fee is the single most misunderstood part of their pricing. Here is the math.
Why the minimum fee matters
AppFolio advertises Core at $1.40/unit/month. But if you manage 50 units, you do not pay $70/month (50 x $1.40). You pay $280/month because that is the minimum. Your effective per-unit cost is $5.60/unit, four times the advertised rate. You need at least 200 units on Core before you actually pay $1.40/unit. For Plus, you need 300 units before the $3/unit rate kicks in. For Max, you also need 300 units before the $5/unit rate applies.
This pricing structure means AppFolio is designed for mid-size to large property management companies. Small landlords with fewer than 150 units will almost certainly pay more per unit than the advertised rate, and in many cases, they will pay significantly more than competitors like Buildium or TenantCloud that offer flat-rate pricing tiers.
Effective Per-Unit Cost by Portfolio Size
| Units | Core Monthly | Core/Unit | Plus Monthly | Plus/Unit | Max Monthly | Max/Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $280 | $5.60 | $900 | $18.00 | $1,500 | $30.00 |
| 100 | $280 | $2.80 | $900 | $9.00 | $1,500 | $15.00 |
| 200 | $280 | $1.40 | $900 | $4.50 | $1,500 | $7.50 |
| 300 | $420 | $1.40 | $900 | $3.00 | $1,500 | $5.00 |
| 500 | $700 | $1.40 | $1,500 | $3.00 | $2,500 | $5.00 |
| 1,000 | $1,400 | $1.40 | $3,000 | $3.00 | $5,000 | $5.00 |
| 5,000 | $7,000 | $1.40 | $15,000 | $3.00 | $25,000 | $5.00 |
Yellow values indicate you are paying above the advertised per-unit rate due to the minimum fee. Green means the per-unit rate applies normally.
AppFolio Portfolio Cost Calculator
Enter your portfolio size to see the real monthly cost, including minimum fee impact, onboarding, and how it compares to Buildium.
$280
Monthly cost
$1.40
Effective per unit
$3,360
Annual cost
$3,760
First-year total (incl. onboarding)
Cost Breakdown
Compared to Buildium at 200 Units
AppFolio Core
$280/mo
Buildium
$174/mo
Annual Difference
+$1,272/yr
At this portfolio size, AppFolio and Buildium are in a similar price range. Compare features to decide.
Pricing based on publicly available AppFolio and Buildium rate cards as of March 2026. Actual costs may vary based on contract negotiations, promotions, and custom agreements. Buildium pricing uses their standard tier structure.
Onboarding and Setup Fees
The upfront cost that hits on day one. Onboarding is not optional and is non-refundable.
Core Onboarding
$400
- Basic account setup
- Data migration assistance
- 2 training sessions
- Implementation specialist (limited)
Plus Onboarding
$1,000+
- Comprehensive account setup
- Full data migration from previous software
- 4+ training sessions
- Dedicated implementation specialist
Max Onboarding
$2,000-$5,000
- Custom-scoped implementation
- Full data migration with validation
- Unlimited training sessions
- Dedicated implementation team
- Custom integration setup
Data Migration Costs
Moving your data from a previous property management platform into AppFolio is included in the onboarding fee for basic migrations. However, complex migrations from systems like Buildium, Rent Manager, Yardi, or RealPage may incur additional charges depending on the volume of historical data and the number of custom fields that need mapping.
If you are migrating from spreadsheets, the process is simpler but still requires formatting your data to match AppFolio's import templates. AppFolio provides CSV templates for properties, units, tenants, owners, and transaction history. The implementation specialist will walk you through this process.
Add-on and Transaction Costs
Beyond the per-unit fee, here is what else you might pay for.
Tenant screening
$15-$25 per applicationIncludes credit, criminal, eviction, and income verification. Cost is typically passed to applicants as part of the application fee.
Electronic lease signing
IncludedDigital lease creation and e-signatures are included in all plans at no additional charge.
Maintenance coordination
Included (vendor payments cost $2.50/electronic payment)Maintenance request tracking and work order management are free. Paying vendors electronically through AppFolio costs $2.50 per payment.
AppFolio Investment Management
$0.20/unit/monthInvestment-grade reporting, investor portals, distribution waterfall calculations, and capital call management. Available as an add-on to any plan.
Website hosting
IncludedAppFolio provides a basic property marketing website with IDX listings. Custom domains are supported.
ACH rent payments
Free for tenantsTenants can pay rent via ACH at no charge. Credit card payments incur a convenience fee (typically 2.99%) paid by the tenant.
Text messaging
IncludedTwo-way texting with tenants and owners is included on all plans. No per-message fees.
AppFolio vs Buildium: Quick Pricing Comparison
The most common comparison in property management software. Different pricing models, different sweet spots.
AppFolio
- Pricing model: Per-unit with monthly minimums
- Starting price: $280/month (Core minimum)
- Best for: 200+ units where per-unit pricing works in your favor
- Strengths: Modern interface, AI-powered maintenance triage, fast tenant screening, mobile app
- Weakness: Expensive for small portfolios due to minimums
Buildium
- Pricing model: Flat monthly tiers based on unit count
- Starting price: $55/month (up to 150 units)
- Best for: Under 150 units where flat pricing keeps costs predictable
- Strengths: Lower entry cost, simple pricing, strong for associations and HOAs
- Weakness: Less scalable for large portfolios, older interface
For the full feature-by-feature breakdown, see the AppFolio vs Buildium deep dive.
AppFolio vs Rent Manager: For Larger Portfolios
Rent Manager targets larger portfolios (500+ units) with deep customization, custom report writing, and a flexible database structure. AppFolio targets the 200-5,000 unit range with a modern, streamlined interface that trades customization for ease of use. At 1,000 units, AppFolio Core costs $1,400/month while Rent Manager pricing is custom but typically $1-$2/unit/month for large portfolios.
The choice often comes down to whether you value ease of use (AppFolio) or deep customization (Rent Manager). Read the full AppFolio vs Rent Manager comparison.