RentRedi and Buildium are two well-respected property management software solutions. Considered industry leaders and lauded for their robust features, both platforms make managing rental properties less of a chore and help landlords operate more efficiently and profitably.

In this detailed review, we compare the unique offerings of RentRedi and Buildium, giving you insights into which platform might best align to your business needs. While we’re at it, we’ll also share what makes Stessa an excellent choice and why it’s the #1 property management app for landlords.

When deciding on any software solution, making the right choice is often a function of your specific needs, the size of your portfolio, and your budget. We’re here to guide you through the pros and cons of each platform and to ultimately help you make an informed decision.

RentRedi overview

RentRedi is a comprehensive property management platform designed with the modern landlord in mind. This platform is a one-stop shop for managing most aspects of rental properties, making it an appealing companion for landlords navigating the complexities of their rental business.

The software offers an array of features that simplify the daily tasks of property management, including rent collection and tenant screening, lease agreements, and managing maintenance requests. It also offers rental property accounting and premium maintenance services from third parties for an extra fee.

Pricing*

RentRedi offers 3 pricing plans based on the billing period. With each plan, you can use its tools for as many rentals, tenants, team members, and rental listings as you like, plus you have access to round-the-clock customer service. Here’s the cost for each of RentRedi’s plans: 

• Monthly: $29.95
• Semi-annual: $120 every 6 months
• Annual: $144 paid once a year

Financial reporting

If you’re a landlord seeking accounting solutions, RentRedi offers an optional financial reporting service in partnership with REI Hub. Once subscribed, you gain the ability to generate a variety of financial reports, including a Schedule E for tax purposes. This feature is available through a monthly paid subscription without any long-term contracts: 

• 3 units: $25/month
• 10 units: $39/month
• 20 units: $59/month
• Unlimited units: $99/month

Premium maintenance

RentRedi partners with Latchel to give landlords comprehensive maintenance service. Available in every state, the service has professionals working directly with tenants to handle repairs, from initial communication to contractor coordination.

Access to this property maintenance feature comes with a monthly subscription fee after a free 30-day trial period. Landlords can choose from two available plans:

24/7 Emergency Service

$15/month per unit

• Tenant call handling
• Emergency only issues
• Expert troubleshooting
• Contractors dispatch
• Follow-up on completion

Full Coordination

$25/month per unit

• Tenant call handling
• All maintenance issues
• Expert troubleshooting
• Contractors dispatch
• Follow-up on completion

*Pricing from rentredi.com as of 2/11/2024.  Please consult website for the most up-to-date pricing.  

Software features

• Rent collection and accounting: Alongside multiple payment options, landlords can link bank accounts to individual properties, facilitating rent collection and financial tracking. There’s also an option to export rent payments directly to spreadsheets or QuickBooks Online.
• Tenant screening: Certified TransUnion reports offer detailed credit, criminal, and eviction information. The screening includes background checks, and tenants pay $39.99 per application.
• Applications: Included pre-qualification questions help landlords quickly determine if an applicant meets their criteria. Landlords can invite potential tenants to apply directly from their dashboard and monitor the status of pending, accepted, and rejected applications.
• Maintenance requests and coordination: The platform provides a tenant maintenance request form with an optional 5-second video feature. Tenants receive automatic maintenance status updates, and premium maintenance services are available as an add-on through Latchel.
• Listings and marketing: RentRedi syndicates listings to Zillow and Realtor.com, and each listing can include virtual tour options accompanied by a professionally designed, free marketing page.
• Tenant and team communications: Landlords can send in-app push notifications to tenants and offer access to other team members at no extra cost. The platform also includes customer support.
• Add-on accounting: Available with a paid subscription to REI Hub, optional accounting features include automatic property syncing, the ability to view financials by property or unit, importing recent transaction data, and generating complete financial reports and tax-ready IRS Schedule E reports.

Landlords also get access to these additional features:

• E-signatures on leases through your phone
• In-app maintenance request management
• Renters insurance 
• Tenant credit boosts
• Cash rent payments

Buildium overview

Buildium is property management software designed for a variety of property types. Whether you manage single-family homes, multifamily units, community associations, commercial properties, student housing, or affordable housing, Buildium has a suite of features tailored to your needs.

The cloud-based platform’s capabilities range from rental listings, tenant screening, lease management, and rent collection to property accounting, maintenance requests, and communication tools. Users appreciate its flexibility and convenient access options. It also offers robust reporting and analytics capabilities, enabling users to monitor essential metrics like rental income, expenses, and more.

Pricing*

There are 3 different Buildium pricing plans for residential properties, each with a free 14-day trial. All options include software modules for accounting, maintenance, tasks, violations, resident and board member communications, and online portals.

Essential

• Starts at $55/month
• Basic tenant screening
• Standard reports
• Ticketed customer support
• Property inspections start at $40/month
• eSignatures: $5/signature
• Bank account setup fee: $99/account
• Online payment fees: $1.25 for incoming and $0.50 for outgoing EFTs
• Credit card fees: 2.99% per transaction

Growth

• Starts at $174/month
• Basic and premium tenant screening
• Standard reports
• Ticketed and live phone customer support
• Free property inspections
• Unlimited eSignatures
• Bank account setup fee: free for first 5 accounts, then $99/account
• Online payment fees: free for incoming EFTs, $0.50 per transaction for outgoing EFTs
• Credit card fees: 2.99% per transaction

Premium

• Starts at $375/month
• Basic and premium tenant screening
• Standard reports
• Ticketed, live phone, and priority customer support
• Free property inspections
• Unlimited eSignatures
• Bank account setup fee: free for  first 15 accounts, then $99/account
• Online payment fees: free incoming EFTs, $0.50 per transaction for outgoing EFTs
• Credit card fees: 2.99% per transaction

*Pricing from buildium.com as of 2/11/2024.  Please consult website for the most up-to-date pricing.  

Software features

• Property accounting: Purpose-built property accounting software makes it easy to track income and expenses, helping landlords handle their finances more efficiently.
• Online rent collection: The online payment platform allows for seamless rent collection, speeding up the payment process and improving cash flow.
• Maintenance contact center and requests: A dedicated contact center handles maintenance requests and inquiries from residents, ensuring prompt resolution and minimizing property risk. This feature streamlines work order management, making handling maintenance requests simpler and more efficient.
• 1099 e-filing: Buildium helps prepare you for tax season by simplifying the creation and organization of 1099 forms, ensuring property managers stay compliant.
• Resident center: A centralized platform for communication and other resident-related activities enhances the resident experience and promotes tenant satisfaction.
• Rental listing syndications: Property listings are automatically advertised on popular platforms such as Apartments.com and the Zillow Rental Network, increasing visibility among potential tenants.
• Tenant screening: Tenant background checks, including criminal, credit, and eviction reports, help property managers make informed decisions when selecting tenants.
• Free property management website: Each account comes with a customizable website to showcase properties and advertise listings, enhancing the professional image of landlords and property managers.
• Online leasing: The entire leasing process can be managed online, from application to lease signing, streamlining operations and saving time.
• Growth for property managers: The available tools and resources can help grow portfolios, including access to All Property Management, a platform connecting property owners with property managers.
• Buildium marketplace: An ecosystem of property management apps integrates with Buildium, allowing property managers to enhance their operations with additional functionalities.
• Open API: An open API enables seamless integration with other business applications, facilitating efficient data flow and increased operational efficiency.

Other notable features include an extensive onboarding process, dedicated customer care, stringent data security measures, and a wealth of resources for managing several kinds of properties, such as residential, commercial, community associations, affordable housing, and student housing.

How do RentRedi and Buildium compare?

RentRedi and Buildium each offer a wide range of features to assist in completing the day-to-day tasks of managing properties. Here’s how they compare in vital areas for landlords.

Property accounting

RentRedi and Buildium both offer robust property accounting features, albeit in slightly distinct ways.

RentRedi partners with REI Hub and offers an advanced double-entry accounting system. Access to this feature requires a separate paid monthly subscription. After signing up, landlords can sync their properties and charges, link bank and credit card accounts, track income and expenses, and generate critical financial reports.

On the other hand, Buildium offers an in-platform property accounting solution. With tools like detailed financial reporting, auto bank reconciliation, and transaction data importing, Buildium provides an overall view of all financial activities. It allows for tracking income and expenses, managing security deposits, and even includes a 1099 e-filing feature for tax season.

Rental listings

Both RentRedi and Buildium deliver similar services for rental listings and syndications. 

RentRedi allows landlords to list properties directly from their dashboards, reducing vacancy and turnover time. It also offers rental listing syndications to websites like Realtor.com and Zillow. 

Similarly, Buildium provides rental listing syndications, enabling landlords to advertise their listings across multiple sites.

Tenant screening

Landlords using RentRedi can request screenings directly from a potential tenant’s application. This process provides landlords with complete credit reports, tenant criminal reports, and eviction reports certified by TransUnion, along with a credit-based resident score.

When a Buildium landlord requests a screening, the prospective tenant receives a pending request. After accepting the terms and conditions, verifying their identity, and submitting payment for the background check, the applicant electronically signs the document to start the screening process. Landlords gain access to full credit, criminal, and eviction data. They can set custom credit score requirements for each property and manage the process seamlessly through the Resident Center.

Online rent collection

RentRedi offers easy mobile and online rent collection. Tenants can pay via the RentRedi app using ACH, a bank account, a credit card, or even cash. Once the tenant makes a payment, landlords can expect to receive the funds in their account within 4–5 business days after initial payment approval.

Processing fees of $1.00 for ACH transactions and 3.1% + $0.30 for card transactions can be paid by the landlord or passed through to the tenant. RentRedi also allows auto-late fees, recurring payment options, and a unique credit-boosting feature that encourages prompt rent payments while enhancing tenant credit scores.

Buildium’s feature-rich online rent collection service provides a seamless and efficient method for landlords and property managers to collect rent from tenants. The system streamlines the payment process, reducing processing time by up to 70%, and allows tenants to set up recurring payments for automatic transfers.

Since multiple payment options are available, Buildium lets tenants choose what suits them best. Incoming EFT transactions cost $1.25 on the Essential plan, a fee waived with the Growth and Premium plans. Credit card transactions cost 2.99% per transaction.

Maintenance requests

While both platforms provide excellent maintenance request systems, they have different levels of service and pricing structures.

RentRedi’s premium maintenance service, backed by Latchel, allows tenants to submit maintenance requests directly through the platform. Landlords can set budget limits and are contacted for approval if any work exceeds the limit.

This service is available in two plans: the 24/7 Emergency Service has a monthly fee of $15 per unit, and the Full Coordination service is $25 per unit each month. A unique feature of RentRedi’s service is the ability for landlords to add their preferred vendors to the Latchel network. It also includes a satisfaction survey for tenants to complete once the issue gets resolved.

Buildium’s property management maintenance software offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing work orders, scheduling recurring maintenance tasks, tracking expenses, and facilitating communication. It also integrates with the property management accounting system, allowing for easy tracking and payment of vendor bills.

One standout feature is the Maintenance Contact Center, a specialized call center that provides 24/7 support, logs incoming tasks in Buildium, and dispatches preferred contacts during emergencies.

Pricing

RentRedi offers a pricing model based on billing cycles: $19.95 per month, $90 every 6 months, or $108 annually.

Landlords who sign up for RentRedi’s financial reporting and maintenance services incur additional costs. RentRedi’s partner, REI Hub, offers financial reporting, and prices vary based on the number of units included. For maintenance services, RentRedi partners with Latchel, and landlords can choose either the 24/7 Emergency Service or Full Coordination plan.

Buildium has a tiered pricing structure based on the features desired. The Essential plan starts at $55 per month, the Growth plan at $174 per month, and the Premium plan at $375 per month. Each tier includes several services with additional fees for eSignatures, bank account setup, online payments, and credit card transactions.

The Essential plan covers basic tenant screening, standard reports, ticketed customer support, property inspections, and more. The Growth and Premium plans offer enhanced features like premium tenant screening, live phone and priority customer support, and unlimited eSignatures.

Another popular tool to consider: Stessa

Recognized as the top-rated app for property owners (based on App Store ratings and total number of reviews, as of February 2024), Stessa has become the preferred choice for novice investors and experienced real estate professionals alike.

On average, users report saving up to approximately $4,000 and over 100 hours annually, solidifying Stessa’s reputation as a leading tool for streamlined property management.

Engineered to enhance investment management, Stessa provides an in-depth, up-to-the-minute financial overview of each property and your entire portfolio. The platform smartly organizes income and expense transactions in line with IRS Schedule E, so generating precise financial reports is a breeze and reduces the need to keep physical records.

Users can set up deposit accounts for every property with Stessa Cash Management and get interest rates significantly higher than the national average of 0.07%, as reported by the FDIC in January 2024. 

Stessa’s mobile application, compatible with iOS and Android devices, puts your portfolio at your fingertips, accessible from almost anywhere at any time. The added feature of automatic receipt scanning helps make tax prep a snap and enhances the continuous financial monitoring and management process.

Pricing

Stessa’s tiered pricing structure accommodates the diverse requirements and budgets of owners of residential rental properties:

Software features

Stessa helps you maximize profits for your residential rental properties while doing away with hours of time-consuming busywork.

Asset management

• Unlimited properties and property manager connections
• Unlimited real estate document and receipt storage
• Option to share with business partners or other stakeholders
• Portfolios for organizing and managing properties
• Centralized dashboard with key performance metrics
• Advanced ownership reporting
• Centralized dashboard with complete chart history

Bookkeeping and accounting

• Option for manual expense tracking
• Mileage tracking
• Automated bank feeds are unlimited
• Smart receipt scanning
• Budgeting and pro forma analysis
• Project expense tracking

Reporting and taxes

• Full data export to Excel
• Basic reporting and advanced reporting, including an SREO (schedule of real estate owned)
• CapEx and Schedule E packages for your accountant

Banking

• FDIC insured up to $250K/entity
• No minimum balance
• 1.1% cash back on purchases
• High yield cash management of up to 5.09% APY*

Online rent collection

• Online deposits and rent collection
• Automated reminders and late fees
• Tenant expense charging
• Tenant autopay
• Tenant ledger and rent roll
• Accelerated rent payments

Document management

• Unlimited document storage
• eSignatures with DocuSign
• 60+ real estate forms and landlord templates

Tenant screening

• Application management
• Credit checks
• Background screening
• Tenant pays for screening fee

Give your rental property portfolio a boost

In addition to its many features, Stessa offers additional services that can help boost your business to the next level. 

The Real Estate CPA

Access updated tax resources courtesy of The Real Estate CPA, which can help you navigate the complicated world of real estate taxes when April rolls around. Your personalized Stessa Tax Package includes an income statement, net cash flow report, and a ZIP file of all scanned receipts in a single email.

Property management software integration

Stessa integrates with some property management software platforms, providing a comprehensive and current portfolio overview. This seamless process simplifies monitoring and managing your investments.

Vibrant online community

Stessa users can connect, exchange ideas, and foster relationships via the dynamic community forum. Whether you’re keen on learning from others’ experiences or willing to share your knowledge, the Stessa community is a valuable resource.

Unlock your rental property potential with Stessa

Within the evolving world of property management, RentRedi and Buildium offer a wealth of features to make landlords’ lives easier. However, one secret to effective rental property management is finding the platform that best aligns with your specific needs, operational style, and budget.

Stessa blends the best of both worlds: robust functionality and a user-friendly experience. The platform offers a comprehensive toolkit to simplify the daily tasks of property management, from tracking rental income and managing expenses to tenant screening and landlord banking.

Its intuitive design lets you navigate the platform effortlessly, saving time and energy. Plus, with free and paid pricing plans, Stessa ensures you get maximum value for your investment.

While RentRedi and Buildium have their strengths, Stessa’s feature-rich services, user-centric design, and budget-friendly pricing make it an attractive choice for landlords seeking to optimize their operations without stretching their resources thin.

Ready to experience a new level of efficiency in property management? Discover Stessa’s unique advantages and how it can save time, boost your savings, and make managing your property a breeze.

Explore Stessa today and unlock the full potential of your rental properties.

*Stessa is not a bank. Stessa is a financial technology company. Terms and conditions, features and pricing are subject to change. This article, and the Stessa Blog in general, is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is not investment, tax, financial planning, financial, legal, or real estate advice.