Buildium vs PayHOA
Buildium scores 8.2/10 vs 7.9/10. Best for: Professional residential and HOA property managers with 50-5,000 units who need full general ledger accounting, 1099 filing, and owner/tenant portals.
Buildium scores higher overall at 8.2/10 vs 7.9/10. Buy Buildium if you are a professional property manager running 50-5,000 residential units or HOA portfolios and need real accounting with 1099 filing. The tenant and owner portals save hours of email. Skip if you manage under 30 units, because the per-transaction fees and plan costs make simpler tools a better deal.
Buildium 
PayHOA Rank
#2 of 31
Rank
#5 of 31
Features
17/17
Features
9/17
Starting at
$62/mo
Starting at
$49/mo
User reviews
4.4/5 (2350)
User reviews
4.6/5 (629)
What they cost
| Buildium | PayHOA | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting at | $62 /mo | $49 /mo |
| Free trial | 14 days | No |
| Number of plans | 3 | 5 |
What the pricing really means
At first glance, PayHOA looks cheaper at $49/month vs $62/month. But sticker price is only part of the story. Look at what is included on the base plan, how many users you get, and whether you need add-ons to get the features you actually need. The $99/month plan that requires $200 in add-ons is actually more expensive than the $250/month plan that includes everything.
Where Buildium wins
- Full general ledger accounting with 1099 e-filing built in. Your bookkeeper or CPA will appreciate not having to reconcile a separate system
- Tenant and owner portals actually work well. Tenants submit maintenance requests and pay rent online. Owners see statements without emailing you
- Scales from 20 units to thousands without forcing a platform switch. You just move up a plan
- 14-day free trial comes preloaded with sample data so you can test workflows without entering fake tenants
Where PayHOA wins
- Purpose-built for HOAs with e-voting, violation tracking, and architectural request workflows
- Trusted by 5,000+ associations, which is a strong adoption signal for niche software
- $49/month for up to 25 units works out to under $2/unit for small associations
- 565 Capterra reviews at 4.7 stars gives real confidence in the product
Where Buildium falls short
- Essential plan caps at 150 units and charges higher per-transaction fees: $99 per bank account setup alone
- No phone support on the $62/mo Essential plan. You are limited to email and chat, which is frustrating during a billing emergency
- Growth plan at $192/mo sounds reasonable until per-unit add-on fees stack up: screening, eSign, and insurance all cost extra
- A landlord with 15 rental units will pay $62/mo for features they mostly do not need. Simpler tools like Innago or Stessa cost less
Where PayHOA falls short
- Transaction fees add up fast, 3.25% + $0.50 per credit card payment and $1.95 per eCheck
- Not a rental property manager, no lease management, tenant screening, or vacancy tools
- Pricing jumps $50 at each tier break, so a 26-unit HOA pays double what a 25-unit one does
- No API for custom integrations or connecting to external accounting software
Who is each product built for?
Buildium
Target: 1-5000 units
Buy Buildium if you are a professional property manager running 50-5,000 residential units or HOA portfolios and need real accounting with 1099 filing. The tenant and owner portals save hours of email. Skip if you manage under 30 units, because the per-transaction fees and plan costs make simpler tools a better deal.
PayHOA
Target: Up to 500 units
PayHOA is the go-to pick for self-managed HOA and condo boards. The feature set is built exactly for association work, including e-voting, violations, and architectural requests, and 5,000+ associations already use it. The transaction fees on dues collection can sting, especially for credit card payments at 3.25%. If your association collects $100K+ in annual dues, do the math on those fees before committing.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Buildium | PayHOA |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant Management | ||
| Tenant screening | ||
| Online rent collection | ||
| Lease management | ||
| Tenant portal | ||
| E-signatures | ||
| Property Operations | ||
| Maintenance requests | ||
| Owner portal | ||
| Property inspections | ||
| Vendor management | ||
| Vacancy advertising | ||
| Finance & Reporting | ||
| Accounting/bookkeeping | ||
| Bank account management | ||
| Insurance tracking | ||
| Reporting/analytics | ||
| Platform | ||
| Document storage | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| API access | ||
Common questions
Buildium scores 8.2/10 vs PayHOA's 7.9/10 in our ranking. Buildium is the better pick for 1-5000 units. PayHOA is better if you need self-managed hoa boards and condo associations that want to handle dues, violations, and voting without hiring a management company.
Buildium starts at $62/month. PayHOA starts at $49/month. Watch for add-on costs — the base price often does not include all features. Pricing last verified 2026-03-01.
Buildium: Yes, 14-day free trial. PayHOA: No free trial. Always test with your actual workflow before committing to an annual plan.
Buildium covers 17 of 17 features we track. PayHOA covers 9 of 17. Buildium has broader feature coverage, but more features does not always mean better — pick the tool that covers what your business actually needs.
Yes, Buildium has a mobile app. PayHOA does not.
Yes. The main effort is migrating your data (customer lists, job history, invoices). Plan for 1-2 weeks of overlap where you run both. Most property management tools can import CSV data. Ask both vendors about migration support before you sign.
The bottom line
Pick Buildium if...
Professional residential and HOA property managers with 50-5,000 units who need full general ledger accounting, 1099 filing, and owner/tenant portals
Pick PayHOA if...
Self-managed HOA boards and condo associations that want to handle dues, violations, and voting without hiring a management company