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Comparison
Commonwell vs Buildium
Buildium is property-management software with an association edition; Commonwell is built for community associations first. The practical differences are pricing structure, the public website, voting, and how dues reach your bank.
Pricing: tiers plus per-transaction fees vs flat
Buildium starts around $62/month with tiered plans plus per-transaction fees on payments. Commonwell is a flat $39/month on Block with unlimited members and takes a 0% platform cut; once online payments are active for your community, Stripe processes dues as direct charges on its connected account, with configured processing fees applying.
Where Commonwell goes further
- An association-focused public website with a drag-and-drop editor and your own domain; Buildium advertises marketing websites within its broader property-management suite.
- Voting & elections: identity-separated elections and bylaw amendments with quorum tracking and keyed pseudonymous ballots are built in; Buildium advertises committee voting on architectural requests, but its public pricing and association pages do not advertise resident elections.
- Reserve-fund study built in; Buildium's public pricing page does not advertise one.
- Custom CSS and a code editor (Neighborhood and up).
- Concierge, a confirmed-write AI agent that drafts announcements, records payments, and answers residents. Buildium advertises its own AI Assistant and Lumina AI tools, so compare the permitted actions and approval model rather than treating either platform as having no AI.
Where Buildium holds its own
Buildium has a mature accounting suite and an Open API on its Premium plan, and it covers ARC, violations, and maintenance workflows. Larger management companies already invested in Buildium's property-management stack (rentals plus associations under one roof) may prefer staying consolidated there.
Switching from Buildium
The built-in member-roster importer currently accepts PayHOA and HOA Express exports. Confirm the scope for balances, documents, history, or any other source with sales before planning a migration. Keep your domain at its current registrar; Commonwell handles routing and the SSL certificate.
Side by side: the full market
| Feature | Commonwell | PayHOA | Buildium | AppFolio | Vantaca | CINC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $39/mo | $54/mo | $62/mo | Quote | Quote | Quote |
| Pricing model | Flat | By units | Tier + per-txn | Plans + minimums | Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Flat regardless of unit count | ✓ | No | Tiered | Minimums | Quote | Quote |
| Public website capability | Custom site | Website builder | Marketing site | Property sites | Branded portal/app | Branded site/app |
| Visual page editing | Drag-and-drop | Website builder | Templates | Property sites | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Dues settled to connected account | Coming soon | ✓ | Own processor | Own processor | Vantaca Pay | Partner banks |
| Accounting & general ledger | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reserve-fund study built in | ✓ | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| ARC + violations + maintenance | ✓ Neighborhood+ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Voting & elections | ✓ | ✓ | ARC voting | Not advertised | ARC voting | ✓ |
| AI assistant / agent | ✓ Neighborhood+ | Penny AI chatbot | Lumina AI | Realm-X | HOAi | Cephai |
| Custom CSS / code editor | ✓ Neighborhood+ | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Portal CSS | Not advertised |
| REST API + webhooks | ✓ Estate | Not advertised | Premium | Plus / Max | Open API | 125+ APIs |
Features and pricing as of October 2026, from public vendor pages. We refresh this comparison annually.
Frequently asked
How does Commonwell's pricing compare to Buildium's?
Buildium starts around $62/month with tiered plans plus per-transaction fees. Commonwell is a flat $39/month on Block with unlimited members, takes 0% of dues, and only standard payment processing fees apply.
Does Buildium include resident voting?
Buildium advertises committee voting on architectural requests, but its public pricing and association pages did not advertise resident voting or elections when checked in October 2026. Commonwell includes identity-separated elections with keyed pseudonymous ballots and quorum tracking on every plan.
Can I migrate from Buildium to Commonwell?
Commonwell does not currently have a dedicated Buildium importer. Confirm the migration scope with sales before relying on balances, documents, or history transfer.
Do both have an API?
Yes. Buildium offers an Open API on its Premium plan, and Commonwell's Estate plan includes a REST API with HMAC-signed webhooks plus SAML SSO.
More comparisons: Commonwell vs PayHOA · Commonwell vs AppFolio · Commonwell vs Vantaca · Commonwell vs CINC · Commonwell vs HOA Express · All comparisons · Commonwell pricing
Onboarding starts with a guided demo · Or email sales@commonwell.app