Buildium gates AI to Growth+. Rentbase includes it on every tier.
Buildium is a well-established mid-market PMS — strong double-entry accounting, established platform owned by RealPage, and Lumina AI Workforce (Maintenance Agent, Write with Lumina, AI Bill Scan) gated to its Growth and Premium tiers. Most operators run Rentbase alongside Buildium for the AI workflows Buildium gates to Growth/Premium; others replace Buildium entirely. Both products use AI; the difference is what's included where, and that Rentbase is independent — not owned by RealPage. Lumina sits behind Buildium's Growth tier ($192/mo) or Premium. Rentbase includes AI on every paid tier — Starter at $49/mo, with Pro coming soon.
When to add Rentbase to your stack
Two ways to use Rentbase with Buildium in the picture. Most operators start with the alongside path.
Path 1: Use Rentbase alongside Buildium (most common)
Keep Buildium for accounting depth and the workflows you use today. Add Rentbase for lease PDF extraction, AI-drafted owner narratives, and the AI workflows Buildium gates to Growth and Premium. Starter is $49/mo on top of your Buildium spend. A good fit if: you're happy with Buildium's accounting and don't want to upgrade to Growth/Premium for AI; you're tired of typing lease PDF data into Buildium forms; you want AI-drafted narrative owner reports Buildium doesn't have; you want flat per-firm pricing for the AI layer; you prefer an independent vendor for the AI layer (not RealPage-owned).
Path 2: Use Rentbase to replace Buildium (for switchers)
Migrate your portfolio off Buildium. Pair Rentbase with standalone accounting (QuickBooks, Xero, or similar) if you need accounting depth Rentbase doesn't cover. Starter is $49/mo at any portfolio size. A good fit if: you're actively shopping PMS replacements; Buildium's tiered + per-unit + transaction-fee pricing is opaque or expensive; you want an independent platform, not RealPage-owned; you'd rather pair with standalone accounting than bundle; you're willing to migrate your portfolio (15 min with the wizard).
The work today, and the work with Rentbase
Whether you keep Buildium or replace it, here's how core workflows compare. Buildium's Lumina AI covers some of these (Growth tier and up); Rentbase covers others on every paid tier; the table shows what each does.
| Workflow | Buildium today | The work with Rentbase |
|---|---|---|
| Lease PDF data extraction | Manual entry; AI Bill Scan handles invoices but not lease PDFs | Drop the PDF — AI extracts every field automatically. Included in Starter |
| Maintenance ticket triage | Lumina Maintenance Agent handles triage — Growth tier ($192/mo) or higher | AI categorizes, drafts vendor brief, routes — coming in Pro |
| Tenant question response | Write with Lumina drafts communications — Growth tier or higher | AI drafts reply with full lease + history context — coming in Pro |
| Renewal communications | Bulk-send templates + workflow automations; per-tenant personalization is template-based | AI drafts each renewal in your voice — coming in Pro |
| Owner monthly report | Pre-built report templates with logged data; narrative drafting is manual | AI-drafted narrative summary alongside numbers — included in Starter |
| AI in core workflows | Yes — Lumina AI gated to Growth / Premium tiers | Yes — included on every paid tier (Starter has it today) |
| Run alongside existing PMS | No — full replacement | Yes — AI workflow layer |
| Owned by | RealPage | Independent |
| Pricing model | Tiered + transaction fees + per-unit add-ons | Flat per firm |
| Effective starting price (with AI) | Growth ($192/mo) typically required to access Lumina AI | $49/mo Starter (Pro coming soon) |
Common questions
Can I migrate from Buildium to Rentbase?
Yes. Many operators run Rentbase alongside Buildium — Buildium for accounting depth, Rentbase for the AI workflows. If you want to fully migrate, export your data from Buildium (CSV) and use Rentbase's import wizard. The AI handles column mapping. You can also run both for a transitional period.
Does Rentbase have Buildium's accounting depth?
Different categories of software. Buildium is a records platform — built around deep double-entry accounting and comprehensive ledger management. Rentbase is action-led — built to do the operational work that creates the data: AI lease extraction, AI maintenance triage, AI-drafted communications, AI owner reports. Rentbase covers the core financial workflows operators run day-to-day (payment tracking, management fee calculation, expense tracking, owner statements, NOI reporting). Buildium has deeper double-entry accounting and longer-established accounting workflows. Many operators run Rentbase alongside their existing accounting (Buildium, QuickBooks, or similar) and use Rentbase for the AI operational layer. Pick based on what work matters most.
Is Rentbase really independent?
Yes. Rentbase is not owned by RealPage or any other PMS conglomerate. We're a standalone company building action-led property management software. Independence matters because product roadmap and pricing decisions aren't subject to a parent company's broader portfolio strategy.
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