Quick Answer: A 30% Buildium price increase is jarring but not unusual — they've raised prices 8–12% annually in recent years, and 30% increases happen when you cross unit thresholds or when promotional pricing expires. Your options: negotiate (limited leverage), switch to a similar SaaS platform (sideways move), or use this as the trigger to evaluate custom software if you're managing 300+ units. The math on custom gets compelling fast when your SaaS bill crosses $15,000/year.
You opened your Buildium renewal notice and the number was 30% higher than last year. Maybe you grew past a pricing tier. Maybe a promotional rate expired. Maybe Buildium just raised prices — which they've done consistently since being acquired by RealPage in 2019.
Whatever the reason, you're now asking a question that a lot of property managers hit at this exact moment: is this platform actually worth this price, or is this the right time to rethink everything? This guide walks through your real options — with honest assessments of what each path costs, how long it takes, and what you actually get.
Why Buildium's Price Went Up 30%
A few common triggers:
Threshold crossing: Buildium's Essential plan covers up to 150 units, Growth up to 500 units, Premium has no cap. Crossing a threshold triggers automatic tier promotion.
Promotional pricing expiry: Many Buildium accounts were set up with 3-month or 6-month promotional pricing that expires quietly.
Annual increase: Buildium has raised standard pricing multiple times since the RealPage acquisition. If you haven't reviewed your plan in 2+ years, compounded increases add up.
Add-on accumulation: ePay processing, tenant screening, eSignatures, and Buildium's open API access each add monthly costs that compound over time.
First step: log into your Buildium account and go to Subscription. Pull your actual invoices for the past 24 months and map out exactly what changed. Most operators find 2–3 compounding factors, not just one.
Your Four Options
Option 1: Negotiate With Buildium
Call Buildium's retention team (not general support) and tell them you're evaluating alternatives due to the price increase. Mention specific competing quotes. Buildium's retention team has some discretionary flexibility — typically 5–15% off for 12-month prepay commitments. They're less likely to budge on tier pricing (that's structural) and more likely to offer discounts on add-ons or offer a rate lock.
What they won't do: put you back on a previous tier you've grown out of, or meaningfully reduce pricing to match lower-tier competitors. Negotiation buys time, not transformation.
Option 2: Switch to a Similar SaaS Platform
If you're leaving Buildium over price, the realistic alternatives are AppFolio, Propertyware, or Rent Manager. Here's the honest assessment:
AppFolio
More modern platform, better mobile experience. Pricing is similar to Buildium Growth tier — you're not saving money, you're potentially paying the same or more with a better product. If the price increase bothered you, AppFolio won't solve that problem long-term.
Propertyware
Focused on single-family and small multifamily. Starts at $1/unit/month ($250/month minimum). For single-family portfolios under 500 units, Propertyware is frequently cheaper than Buildium. Data migration takes 4–8 weeks. Good choice if single-family is your focus.
Rent Manager
Strong for operators who want more control and customization than Buildium offers. Pricing is more competitive — typically $6,000–$10,000/year for 300–500 units. Steeper learning curve than Buildium, but more powerful reporting and accounting.
Option 3: Build Custom Software
If your Buildium bill after the 30% increase is above $12,000–$15,000/year, custom software enters the conversation seriously. At $70,000–$130,000 to build and $8,000–$12,000/year to maintain, you break even with Buildium in 4–6 years — and after that, you're saving $10,000–$20,000/year permanently.
The compelling part: the 30% increase you just got? That happens every 1–3 years with Buildium. Custom software has no annual price increases. The maintenance cost is fixed. You own it.
Build timeline: 4–6 weeks for a focused core system that handles everything you're currently using Buildium for. No per-unit fees, no transaction fees, no tier thresholds to cross.
Online rent collection (no per-transaction fee)
Maintenance request tracking
Owner portal and reporting
Lease management and document storage
Tenant portal and communication tools
What to Do in the Next 30 Days
Week 1: Audit your actual Buildium costs
Pull every invoice for the past 2 years. Identify base subscription, add-ons, transaction fees, and screening fees. Get your real annual number — most operators find it's 40–60% above the subscription rate alone.
Week 2: Get a competing quote
Get quotes from at least one SaaS alternative (Propertyware or AppFolio) and one custom software developer. You don't have to commit — but having real numbers changes your negotiation position with Buildium and clarifies whether the alternatives are actually cheaper.
Week 3: Have the Buildium retention conversation
Call retention with your competing quotes in hand. You'll get their best offer. Evaluate it against your alternatives with real numbers.
Week 4: Make a decision based on your 5-year plan
If you plan to sell in 2–3 years: negotiate and stay on Buildium — it's not worth the migration disruption. If you plan to operate for 5+ years and you're spending $15,000+/year: the math on custom software becomes hard to ignore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Buildium roll back a price increase?
Rarely. If the increase was due to a tier crossing (you grew past a unit threshold), that's structural and they won't move you back. If it was a promotional rate expiry, retention may extend the promotional period for 3–6 months. Annual increases are generally non-negotiable.
How hard is it to export data from Buildium?
Buildium exports tenant, lease, and financial data in CSV format. Document exports (leases, move-in inspections) come as downloadable ZIPs. The export process is straightforward. Plan to export everything before canceling — Buildium deletes data 30 days post-cancellation.
What if I just built up my Buildium setup and don't want to start over?
That's a real cost — the time invested in configuring Buildium has value. The question is whether that sunk cost justifies paying $15,000+/year indefinitely. For most operators past the 5-year horizon, it doesn't. The migration to any alternative (SaaS or custom) takes 4–8 weeks of transition work, not starting from zero.
Your Buildium price just went up 30% — which means custom software just got more competitive. We'll run a 5-year comparison with your actual current costs vs. what custom would cost for your portfolio. Most operators find break-even is closer than they expected.