Platuni vs Buildium
Both run rent, leases, maintenance and screening. The difference is who they're built around: Buildium for firms that manage and keep the books for other owners, Platuni for landlords and shared-living operators who want compliance handled and a price they can see up front.
Choose Platuni if
Where the product looks mature
- You rent by the room or run co-living and need per-room leases.
- You want your city or province's rules and deadlines tracked for you, in the US or Canada.
- You want published per-unit pricing in USD and CAD with no minimum on Starter.
Choose Buildium if
Where the product looks mature
- You manage for third-party owners and need full trust accounting in one place.
- You file 1099s for owners and vendors in the US and want e-filing built in.
- You want an owner portal on every plan.
Fit check
Which one fits your portfolio?
Four questions. Your answer highlights the rows below that matter to you.
Based on your answers
Leans Platuni
Compare subscription costs before payment, screening, e-signature and 1099 fees.
- PlatuniSelf-managing landlords can choose Starter with no monthly minimum or Growth for local compliance tracking.
- PlatuniPlatuni tracks requirements and deadlines by jurisdiction. Buildium doesn't list this on its features page.
What you'd give up with Platuni: full trust accounting and built-in 1099 e-filing.
Platuni
Starter: USD $39.60/mo
Growth: USD $59.60/mo
Buildium
from $65
per month, check the vendor calculator for your unit count · plus $94/mo if you absorb EFT fees (40 × $2.35)
Platuni passes through Stripe’s payment processing rates. Subscription amounts exclude payment and other usage fees.
Side by side
Feature by feature
Each row answers one buyer question, with the vendor's own page as the source.
| What you need | PlatuniGrowth plan unless noted | BuildiumPlan noted where it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
Price before a sales call Can I know what I'll pay today? | Starter USD $0.99, Growth USD $1.49 per unit per month (CAD $1.39 and $1.99). Source: platuni.com/pricing | "Starting at" $65, $202 and $420 a month, with a calculator. Currency not stated. Over 5,000 units or community associations: call. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
Minimums and limits Is there a minimum unit count or monthly floor? | No minimum on Starter. Growth minimum USD $59 or CAD $79. Enterprise is custom-quoted. Source: platuni.com/pricing | Essential covers up to 40 units. Growth and Premium list no unit cap on the pricing page. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
| Payments | ||
Online rent payments Can tenants pay online? | •Included Card and bank, Canada and US, at Stripe's rates with no Platuni markup. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Per-use fee Cards 2.99%. Incoming EFT $2.35 on Essential, $1.35 on Growth, then $0.60 on Premium after a free first year. Outgoing EFT $0.99. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
| Leasing | ||
Tenant screening Can I screen applicants inside the tool? | •Per-use fee Charged per report, price not published. Landlord pays by default. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Per-use fee $17 per screening, $35 when the applicant pays, $20 for Enhanced on Growth and Premium. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
E-signed leases Can I sign leases digitally? | •Included Free and unlimited. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Per-use fee $5 per document on Essential, $1 on Growth, included on Premium. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
Listings and leads Can I manage listings and leads? | •Included A listings workspace with a lead inbox. The rental sites listings reach are not named. Source: platuni.com | •Included Listing syndication, prospect and applicant management on every plan. Pipeline and tour scheduling on Premium. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Shared living | ||
Per-room leases Can I lease by the room? | •Included Growth and Enterprise, plus roommate matching and rent split on the student housing page. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Compliance | ||
Local rules and deadlines Will it tell me what my city or province requires, and when? | •Included Growth and Enterprise, Canada and US. Source: platuni.com/compliance | •Not listed Not listed. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Accounting | ||
Trust accounting Can I run the books for my owners in here? | •Not listed Not listed. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Documented in Buildium's help center. Plan not stated. Source: buildium.com/features |
1099 forms Can it file my 1099s? | •Not listed Not listed. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Per-use fee $50 per batch plus $4.50 per form. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Owners | ||
Owner portal Can the owners I manage for log in and see their numbers? | •Included Growth and Enterprise. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included All plans. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Residents | ||
Resident community tools Can I run events, polls and announcements for residents? | •Included Growth: events with RSVP, polls, community feed, segmented announcements. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Partial Resident Center portal. Events and polls not listed. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Operations | ||
Maintenance and work orders Can tenants log requests and can I track the fix? | •Included Requests, work orders, vendor records; SLA tracking and recurring tasks on Growth. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Maintenance requests and work orders. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Platform | ||
Open API Can my developer build on it? | •Partial By contract on Growth and Enterprise. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Premium only. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
Hosted company website Do I get a website for my management business? | •Not listed Not listed on Platuni's public pages. Source: platuni.com | •Included Free hosted property management website. Source: buildium.com/features |
| Getting started | ||
Free trial Can I try the software before paying? | •Included 30 days of Growth, no card. No free plan. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included 14 days with sample data, no card. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
Setup and onboarding What does setup and onboarding cost? | •Included No standard setup fee. Enterprise implementation is quoted. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Partial Onboarding is required on Growth and Premium. Its fee is not stated. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
| Coverage | ||
Canada Does it work for Canadian rentals? | •Included Canada and US. Source: platuni.com | •Partial Its FAQ says US and Canada. The only Canada-specific feature we found is a 2017 ePay announcement. Source: buildium.com/blog/epay-in-canada |
| Scale | ||
Portfolio size on published plans Will it still fit when I grow? | •Partial Enterprise is custom-quoted. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Standard plans cover up to 5,000 units; sales above that. Source: buildium.com/pricing |
The trade-offs
Where each one comes out ahead
Where Buildium is the stronger pick
Buildium has been built for property management firms that run the books for other owners. Its property accounting, owner portal and 1099 e-filing come as one package, and a hosted company website is included. If you send owner statements and file 1099s every January, that matters more than anything else on this page.
Buildium publishes calculator pricing up to 5,000 units and directs larger portfolios to sales.
Where Platuni is the stronger pick
Platuni Growth and Enterprise support per-room leases. Buildium does not list per-room leasing on its public pages.
Platuni also tracks requirements and deadlines by jurisdiction across the US and Canada, and it publishes a per-unit price. Buildium's plans are "starting at" prices, with transaction fees for EFT rent payments, screening and e-signatures on the lower tiers.
Questions
Common questions
At the published rates, yes. A 50-unit portfolio costs USD $49.50 a month on Platuni Starter or USD $74.50 on Growth, against $202 on Buildium Growth before fees. The plans hold different features, and Buildium adds per-use fees for payments, screening and 1099s.
Buildium offers a 14-day trial with sample data and no credit card. Platuni offers a 30-day Growth trial with no card.
Platuni supports per-room leases on Growth and Enterprise. Buildium does not list per-room leasing on its public pages.
Buildium offers trust accounting, an owner portal and per-use 1099 e-filing. Platuni includes an owner portal on Growth and Enterprise.
Platuni operates in Canada and the United States. Buildium has offered EFT payments in Canada since 2017; we couldn't confirm whether its tenant screening covers Canadian applicants.
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