Comparison
portonOS vs Buildium
Buildium is the long-running property-management suite (founded in 2004, now RealPage). Its public pricing starts lower on the Essential tier and then adds fees. portonOS is a flat annual workspace. Buildium's numbers below are the public starting prices as of October 2026. Check Buildium before you decide. They can change.
| portonOS | Buildium | |
|---|---|---|
| Published price | Core $966 the first year (3 months at $25 and 9 months at $99), then $1,188 a year, billed annually, 25 properties. Operations $1,788 a year ($149/mo), billed annually, 75 properties. Portfolio $3,588 a year ($299/mo), billed annually, 250 properties. Each property past that is $18 a year, prorated to the renewal date if added mid-year. | Essential starting at $62/month. Growth starting at $192/month. Premium starting at $400/month. |
| Extra fees | One flat price. No per-transaction fees, no onboarding fee, no per-lead charges. Free ACH payment processing on every included property. Each property past the included total is $18 a year. Add one before renewal and that $18 is prorated to the renewal date, including a partial month. Eleven months left is $16.50. About two weeks left is about $0.75. The payment provider's transaction fee is charged in addition. | Published add-ons include per-transaction EFT fees and a $99 bank setup. |
| Applicant screening | Applicant screening is on Operations and Portfolio. A credit, criminal, and eviction report for each adult on the application. You make the leasing decision. The report is separate from the annual workspace price. Each adult pays the screening partner's price, passed through. You can pay that price yourself, or waive it for one applicant. | Published at $17 per screen when the manager pays, $35 when the applicant pays, and $20 for Enhanced Tenant Screening on Growth and Premium. As of October 2026. |
| Vendor work | Your approved list. Invited bids. Vendors do not pay to look eligible. | A property-management suite. Not a private invited-vendor desk. |
| Billing period | Once a year. Cancel before the next annual invoice. No onboarding fee. | Monthly starting prices, with the add-on fees above in the fine print. |
Questions
Does portonOS charge per-transaction fees?
No. The workspace price is flat. No per-transaction fee, no onboarding fee, and no per-lead charge. For a vendor to accept online invoice payments, the feature costs $10 a month. Each card payment also incurs the payment processor's fee, currently 2.9% + $0.30, on top of that monthly add-on. portonOS adds no percentage. Processing rates are accurate as of September 29, 2026 and can change. Applicant screening is the screening partner's price, passed through, per adult.
What does Core cost?
Core is $966 the first year (3 months at $25 and 9 months at $99), then $1,188 a year, billed annually and includes 25 properties, plus the operations desk, the owner portal, and the vendor desk. ACH is free on those properties. Past 25, each added property is $18 a year, prorated to the renewal date if you add it mid-year. The payment provider's transaction fee is charged in addition.
How hard is it to learn?
You confirm a work email and open an empty workspace: your homes, your owners, your vendors. The demo is that same desk with sample homes, so you are not learning a second product after you start. There is no sales call.
What if we switch and the team does not use it?
The desk is where the work already goes: dispatch, approvals, and the record, instead of email threads and spreadsheets. If it does not fit, cancel in the workspace within 30 days of the invoice and we refund it. After that, cancel before the next annual invoice and you are not billed again. There is no onboarding fee.
How do the fees compare?
Buildium's public starting prices are Essential at $62/month, Growth at $192/month, and Premium at $400/month, plus published add-ons. Those add-ons include per-transaction EFT fees and a $99 bank setup. portonOS is one flat annual price with no per-transaction, onboarding, or per-lead charge. Applicant screening is still the screening partner's price per adult on Operations and Portfolio. Check Buildium before you decide; these rates are as of October 2026 and can change.