PropTrack vs Buildium: Which Is Better for Small Landlords

If you manage fewer than 10 rental units, choosing between PropTrack and Buildium comes down to one question: do you need enterprise-grade complexity, or do you need something that works on day one without a training manual? Both platforms handle the basics — tenant tracking, maintenance requests, expense logging — but they serve very different audiences.

Buildium was built for property management companies running 50 to 5,000+ units. It offers online rent collection via ACH, full accounting with a general ledger, vendor portals, and association management tools. That power comes with a learning curve and a price tag that starts at $58/month for their Essential plan (up to 20 units), $183/month for Growth, and $375/month for Premium. Every plan requires an onboarding fee ranging from $99 to $399.

PropTrack was purpose-built for independent landlords managing 1 to 10 units. It focuses on the features solo landlords actually use daily: property and unit tracking, tenant management with lease-end reminders, maintenance requests with photo uploads, expense tracking by property, and a calendar view for important dates. Pricing starts free for one property, with the Essential plan at $9/month and Pro at $19/month — no onboarding fees, no annual contracts.

Feature Comparison

Buildium wins on raw feature count. It includes built-in online rent payments, tenant screening, a full accounting suite with bank reconciliation, and eSignatures. If you need all of those features integrated into one platform, Buildium delivers. However, most of those features go unused by landlords with a small portfolio — and you still pay for them.

PropTrack focuses on execution speed. Adding a property, creating a unit, logging an expense, and assigning a maintenance request each take under 30 seconds. There is no chart-of-accounts setup, no bank linking wizard, and no configuration period. You sign up and start managing. PropTrack also includes a contractor management system, a mobile-friendly tenant portal, and automated lease-end tracking — features that directly save time for hands-on landlords.

Pricing Breakdown

For a landlord with 5 units, the annual cost comparison is stark. Buildium Essential runs $696/year plus a $99 onboarding fee — $795 in year one. PropTrack Essential costs $108/year with no onboarding fee. That is a $687 difference for a landlord who primarily needs tenant tracking, maintenance logging, and expense reports. Even PropTrack Pro at $228/year saves over $460 compared to Buildium's cheapest plan.

Who Should Choose Which

Choose Buildium if you manage 20+ units, need built-in rent collection and full accounting, or run a property management company with multiple staff members. Choose PropTrack if you self-manage a small portfolio, want to get started in minutes, and prefer to keep your costs low while still having a real system — not a spreadsheet.