BUYER'S GUIDE
Best Property Management Software for Commercial Real Estate (2026)
Updated February 2026 · 12 min read
TL;DR
Property management software in CRE ranges from $1/unit/month to enterprise pricing that requires a phone call. The right pick depends on your portfolio size and whether you need a single platform or best-of-breed tools. Here's what we found after looking at 30+ options.
There are a lot of property management platforms out there. Most of them were built for residential landlords and bolted on "commercial" as an afterthought. A few were built for commercial from day one. That difference matters more than any feature comparison.
We looked at 30+ tools in our directory and narrowed it down to 7 that CRE professionals actually use. Not the ones with the biggest marketing budgets. The ones that keep showing up when you ask operators what they run their portfolios on.
A couple things to know before the list:
- Pricing in CRE software is weirdly opaque. Half these companies won't tell you what they charge until you sit through a demo. We've included what we could find, but take "contact for pricing" to mean "it's not cheap."
- "Best" depends on your portfolio. Managing 50 units of multifamily is a different problem than managing 2 million square feet of office space. We've tried to be clear about who each tool is for.
Quick Comparison
| Product | Best For | Starting Price | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yardi | Enterprise / mixed-use portfolios | $1/unit/month (Breeze) | No |
| RealPage | Large multifamily operators | Contact for pricing | No |
| Entrata | Multifamily with strong leasing needs | Contact for pricing | No |
| AppFolio | Mid-market / growing portfolios | $1.49/unit/month | No |
| Buildium | Small-mid portfolios (50-500 units) | $58/month | 14 days |
| TenantCloud | Small landlords / budget-conscious | Free (up to 75 units) | Free tier |
| DoorLoop | Ease of use / quick setup | $59/month | 14 days |
The 7 Best Property Management Platforms for CRE
1. Yardi
Best for: Enterprise and mixed-use portfolios
Yardi is the 800-pound gorilla. If you manage commercial, multifamily, affordable housing, senior living, or any combination, Yardi probably has a product for it. Their Voyager platform handles the heavy stuff. Yardi Breeze is their attempt at making it accessible for smaller operators, starting at $1/unit/month.
The catch: Yardi's full platform is complex. Implementation takes months, not days. And the pricing for Voyager-level products isn't something you'll find on a website. You're calling a sales rep and sitting through demos.
What's good
- Covers every property type and asset class
- Single-stack platform (accounting, leasing, maintenance, all in one)
- Yardi Breeze is genuinely affordable for small operators
- Global reach with clients in 80+ countries
What's not
- Full platform is expensive and complex to implement
- UI feels dated compared to newer competitors
- Steep learning curve for non-technical users
- Customization often requires professional services
Pricing: Yardi Breeze from $1/unit/month. Breeze Premier from $2/unit/month. Voyager and enterprise products: contact sales.
2. RealPage
Best for: Large multifamily operators
RealPage focuses on multifamily and does it well. Their revenue management (AI-driven pricing optimization) is probably their strongest feature. If you operate thousands of apartment units and want to squeeze every dollar out of rental pricing, RealPage's algorithms are hard to beat.
They've been in the news for their pricing algorithm controversy (the DOJ got involved), which is worth knowing about. The product itself is powerful but firmly in the enterprise camp. Small operators shouldn't bother looking here.
What's good
- AI revenue management is best-in-class for multifamily
- Strong analytics and market intelligence
- Deep integration across leasing, payments, and maintenance
What's not
- Enterprise pricing (no published rates)
- Pricing algorithm has drawn regulatory scrutiny
- Not built for commercial/office/industrial
Pricing: Contact for pricing. Enterprise-tier only.
3. AppFolio
Best for: Mid-market and growing portfolios
AppFolio hits a sweet spot that Yardi and RealPage miss: modern UI, reasonable pricing, and enough features for serious operators without the 6-month implementation cycle. They've been pushing hard on AI features recently, and their mobile app is one of the better ones in the category.
The minimum portfolio size (50 units) means solo landlords are out. But if you're a property management company growing past the spreadsheet stage, AppFolio is usually on the shortlist.
What's good
- Clean, modern interface that staff actually like using
- Strong mobile app for on-the-go management
- Built-in marketing and leasing tools
- AI maintenance coordination is genuinely useful
What's not
- 50-unit minimum cuts out smaller operators
- Per-unit pricing adds up fast at scale
- Commercial property features lag behind residential
Pricing: Core from $1.49/unit/month (50 unit minimum = ~$75/month floor). Plus tier available with more features.
[Buildium, Entrata, TenantCloud, and DoorLoop reviews follow the same format]
How We Evaluated These Tools
We didn't run a survey or score things on a 100-point rubric. We looked at what CRE professionals actually care about when picking property management software:
- What property types does it actually support? A lot of "commercial" PM software is really residential with a different label.
- What does it cost, and how? Per-unit, flat fee, or enterprise pricing changes the math completely depending on your portfolio.
- Can your team actually use it? The most powerful software doesn't help if your property managers can't figure it out.
- What's the integration story? Property management doesn't exist in isolation. It needs to talk to your accounting, your leasing, your maintenance systems.
- How long does implementation take? Some of these are up and running in a day. Others take months with professional services.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between residential and commercial property management software?
Residential PM software handles leases, rent collection, and maintenance for apartments and single-family homes. Commercial PM adds CAM reconciliation, NNN lease tracking, tenant improvement management, and often connects to investment/asset management tools. If you manage office, retail, or industrial space, you need software that understands commercial lease structures.
How much does CRE property management software cost?
It ranges wildly. TenantCloud has a free tier for small portfolios. Buildium and DoorLoop start around $55-60/month. AppFolio and Yardi Breeze charge per unit ($1-2/unit/month). Enterprise platforms like RealPage and Yardi Voyager don't publish pricing and typically require annual contracts.
Can I manage both residential and commercial properties on one platform?
Yardi is the strongest option for mixed portfolios. AppFolio and Buildium handle both but are stronger on the residential side. If commercial is your primary business, make sure to evaluate the commercial-specific features (lease abstraction, CAM, tenant billing) before committing.
Should I pick a single platform or use separate best-of-breed tools?
Single platform is simpler and cheaper for most operators. Best-of-breed makes sense if you have specific needs that no single platform handles well (like pairing a strong PM tool with a separate investment analysis platform). The integration overhead of running 4-5 separate tools is real, though.
Browse All Property Management Software
See the full list of 30+ property management tools in our directory, with features, pricing, and comparisons.
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