Is Buildium or Lofty better?

Neither clearly leads. Buildium starts at Free and Lofty at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Buildium or Lofty?

Buildium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Buildium and On request for Lofty.

Does Buildium or Lofty run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Buildium for free?

Yes. Buildium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lofty starts at On request.

What is Buildium best used for?

Buildium is most often used for property management accounting and rent collection, maintenance requests and work order tracking, tenant screening and lease signing, owner and tenant portals. Of those, property management accounting and rent collection and maintenance requests and work order tracking are not what Lofty is typically brought in for.

Real Estate · head to head

Buildium vs Lofty

Buildium

Real Estate

Property management software designed with you in mind

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Lofty

Real Estate

AI-powered real estate CRM

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Buildium has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Buildium prices are all quoted as starting figures, from $62 a month on Essential to $400 on Premium, so the real cost depends on unit count; Lofty no pricing published on website; quote-based model requires request form submission
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Buildium and Lofty actually diverge.

Attributes where Buildium and Lofty differ
Attribute	Buildium	Lofty
Starting price	Free	On request
Free tier	Yes	No

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Real Estate).

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Buildium

Property management accounting and rent collectionnot Lofty
Maintenance requests and work order trackingnot Lofty
Tenant screening and lease signingnot Lofty
Owner and tenant portalsnot Lofty
Community association management on the Enterprise tiernot Lofty

Lofty

Generating buyers and sellers through 33+ channelsnot Buildium
Converting website visitors into qualified leadsnot Buildium
Booking appointments autonomously via AI Sales Agentnot Buildium
Managing transaction paperwork and sphere outreachnot Buildium

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Buildium

Prices are all quoted as starting figures, from $62 a month on Essential to $400 on Premium, so the real cost depends on unit count
Onboarding is mandatory on the Growth and Premium plans, adding a cost the monthly figure does not show
Live phone support is withheld from the Essential tier
The Open API is Premium only
Portfolios above 5,000 units are pushed to a quote-only Enterprise arrangement

Lofty

No pricing published on website; quote-based model requires request form submission
Four tiers offered (Agent, Team, Broker, Enterprise) but specific seat counts or feature differences not disclosed

Pricing, plan by plan

Buildium

Free

Essential$62/month
- Basic accounting, maintenance, leasing
- Standard reporting
- Basic AI assistant
Growth$192/month
- Everything in Essential
- Customization and reporting automation
- Enhanced tenant screening
Premium$400/month
- Everything in Growth
- Open API access
- Free inspections

Lofty

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Lofty review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Buildium if

You want to start without paying.

Buildium review

Choose Lofty if

Nothing in the data separates Lofty from Buildium on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Lofty review

Questions people ask

Is Buildium or Lofty better?: Neither clearly leads. Buildium starts at Free and Lofty at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Buildium or Lofty?: Buildium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Buildium and On request for Lofty.
Does Buildium or Lofty run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Buildium for free?: Yes. Buildium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lofty starts at On request.
What is Buildium best used for?: Buildium is most often used for property management accounting and rent collection, maintenance requests and work order tracking, tenant screening and lease signing, owner and tenant portals. Of those, property management accounting and rent collection and maintenance requests and work order tracking are not what Lofty is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Buildium: How much does Buildium cost for a small landlord?

Buildium starts at $62/month (Essential plan) and includes basic accounting, maintenance, and leasing. A 14-day free trial is available without credit card required.

Source

Lofty: How much does Lofty cost?

Lofty does not publish pricing on its website. The platform offers four subscription packages: Lofty Agent, Lofty Team, Lofty Broker, and Lofty Enterprise, each tailored to different organization sizes. Customers must submit a Request Pricing form, and Lofty will contact them with personalized pricing based on user count and feature requirements.

Source

Buildium: Are tenant screening and eSignatures included in Buildium plans?

No. Tenant screening costs $17–$35 per screening. eSignatures cost $1–$5 per document on Essential and Growth plans. Premium plan ($400/month) includes unlimited eSignatures and removes per-document charges.

Source

Lofty: What Lofty plans are available?

Lofty offers four main subscription tiers: Lofty Agent for individual agents, Lofty Team for team operations, Lofty Broker for brokerage organizations, and Lofty Enterprise for large enterprises. All plans include CRM, email, texting, dialer, marketing automation, and AI tools.

Source

Buildium: What do I get by upgrading from Essential to Premium?

Premium ($400/month) adds Open API access, free property inspections, unlimited free eSignatures, 12 months of free incoming EFT processing, and a full AI suite. Growth ($192/month) is the mid-tier with customization and reporting automation.

Source

Lofty: What add-on services does Lofty offer beyond the base subscription?

Lofty offers paid add-ons including Lead Generation Services, Power Dialer, text message packages, Hyperlocal SEO websites, website design, AI Agents (Sales, Social, Homeowner), direct mail, and digital advertising programs.

Source

Buildium: Does Buildium offer custom pricing for large portfolios?

Yes, Buildium offers Enterprise pricing for portfolios exceeding 5,000 units or community associations. Contact sales at 877-396-7876 for a quote.

Source

Buildium vs Lofty

Buildium

Lofty

The short version

Where they differ

What people use each for

Buildium

Lofty

Where each one falls short

Buildium

Lofty

Pricing, plan by plan

Buildium

Lofty

Which should you pick?

Choose Buildium if

Choose Lofty if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Buildium

More on Lofty

Keep looking

Other head to heads