Home · Commonwell vs Buildium
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; Stripe processes dues as direct charges on your community's connected account, with configured processing fees still 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's public pricing page does 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 a public REST API, 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
| 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 | ✓ | ✓ | Own processor | Own processor | Vantaca Pay | Lockbox |
| Accounting & general ledger | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reserve-fund study built in | ✓ | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| ARC + violations + maintenance | ✓ Neighborhood+ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Voting & elections | ✓ | ✓ | Not advertised | Not advertised | ARC voting | ✓ |
| AI assistant / agent | Concierge | Not advertised | Buildium AI | Realm-X | HOAi | Cephai |
| Custom CSS / code editor | ✓ Neighborhood+ | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| REST API + webhooks | ✓ Estate | Not advertised | Premium | Plus / Max | Open API | 125+ APIs |
Features and pricing as of July 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's public pricing page did not advertise resident voting or elections when checked in July 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 a public API, 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 pricing
Guided onboarding · Book a demo at sales@commonwell.app