AppFolio Review - why 4.5 stars?

AppFolio Property Manager Review
ITQlick Score: 95/100
ITQlick Rating:
Pricing: 3/10 - low cost
Category: Property Management -> AppFolio review
Ranking:Ranked 3 out of 124 Property Management systems
Company: AppFolio
Pricing: starts at $1.40 per unit/month
Typical customers: Small, medium and large size businesses
Platforms: Desktop, Cloud
Links: AppFolio pricing, AppFolio alternatives
Shlomi LaviShlomi Lavi / updated: Mar 09, 2022

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What is AppFolio?

AppFolio is a cloud-based property management software designed for business and resident property management. The software comes with features such as;
  • Communication and Service: This feature offers a solution to gratify the preference of customers by creating an online portal with easy access to actions.
  • Accounting and Reporting: This feature gives accounting insight to users towards boosting accuracy and increased productivity.
  • Maintenance and Operations: This feature enables users to quickly resolve maintenance issues, manage utility and carry out inspections.
  • Staffing and Training: This feature helps solve the hectic problem hiring of new staff and further fosters the improved staff-to-unit ratio.
  • Management and Growth: This feature provides insight towards facilitating business growth with clarity on business visions and missions.
AppFolio was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, United States. The company accommodates of staff force of up to 5000 employees.

Who is it best for?

The web-based property management software is best for medium and small business owners. Users can use this software to post vacancy notices automatically on third-party sites like Apartments.com, Craiglist, Zillow, etc.

It can collect rent from residents online which is an integrated in Appfolio. Their client list includes Moore Property Management Inc, Walters Home management, Carefree property management, inc.

Main features and functionalities

Appfolio can help you to attract better residents and can make their life easier by offering online rent submission feature. It is important that your residents get to stay in their apartments comfortably and this free web-based property management software can help you to do just that. All the accounting will be done by this software and all your staff will be able to use this software. The software offers ongoing support and training for all your staff which means almost anybody can use this easy-to-use software.

If you are using another system to handle all the data, the app will offer automated data migration to move all your precious data from your old system to Appfolio. It does not require any extra hardware costs, can be used from anywhere and can export data to a single Excel file whenever you want it. Other notable features are: you can create different portal for your apartment owners from where they can download owner statements whenever they want, search for contact name, phone number or address just like you search in Google, let people apply for renting an apartment online and pay their fee via credit card, carry the app with you by downloading the Android/iOS version.

What is the actual cost?

AppFolio provides three (3) categories of pricing plans ranging from Residential, Community Association, and Commercial. The Residential pricing category offers a Core plan (designed for small to midsized portfolios) starting at $1.40 per unit/month with a minimum monthly fee of $280, and a Plus plan (designed for portfolio management) at $3 per unit/month with a minimum monthly fee of $1,500.

The Community Association category offers a single Core plan (design to manage your entire business) at $0.80 per unit/month with a minimum monthly fee of $280. The Commercial category offers a Core plan at $1.50 per unit/month (with a minimum monthly fee of $280) and a Plus plan at $3 per unit/month (with a minimum monthly fee of $1,500).

ITQlick pricing score is 3 out of 10 (10 is most expensive). Access ITQlick pricing guide for AppFolio. You can also find here pricing information from AppFolio's website.

Pros

  • The software has loads of rich features
  • The software can accommodate thousands of units
  • AppFolio is constantly evolving and updated
  • AppFolio allows residents to pay their rents or other fees via credit card online
  • AppFolio supports creating owner portals for all your residents to let them handle their owner statements easily

Cons

  • The layouts of the properties financial statement in AppFolio can be difficult to understand
  • The transactions done with this software can take too much time comparing to other transactions we do online
  • The user-interface of AppFolio looks difficult to use at first glance and can be a little bit complex for people with less computer knowledge
  • No option to create a list of email address or similar lists of all the tenants living in the apartments
  • AppFolio doesn’t offer live report for most of the data, you have to generate a complete report to find any required info

How it stacks up?

Access a head to head analysis of AppFolio vs alternative software solutions.
ITQlick rating
Score
Pricing
License pricing
Functionality
Review
Compare
AppFolio
ITQlick rating
4.5/5
Score
95/100
Pricing
3/10
License pricing
$1.40 per unit/month
Functionality
32
Compare
Buildium
ITQlick rating
4.5/5
Score
100/100
Pricing
2.8/10
License pricing
$50 per month
Functionality
25
Propertyware
ITQlick rating
3.6/5
Score
96/100
Pricing
7/10
License pricing
$1 per unit/month
Functionality
25
RealPage...
ITQlick rating
3.6/5
Score
94/100
Pricing
4.6/10
License pricing
$5.83 per month
Functionality
19
PropertyZar
ITQlick rating
4/5
Score
91/100
Pricing
2.4/10
License pricing
$45 per month
Functionality
5

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is it the best Property Management system?

AppFolio is ranked 3 out of 124 software in their category (Property Management systems).

How they are rated on ITQlick?

The rating of AppFolio is 4.5 stars out of 5 and the total score is 95 out of 100. The rating score is based on our unbiased data-based algo. Learn more - rating methodology page.

Is it an easy to use Software?

Yes, AppFolio makes it fairly easy to use. This product is user friendly and intuitive.

Is it cloud-based?

Yes, they offer cloud based hosting, which means IT resources are retrieved through web-based tools and applications and you don't need to buy servers and additional hardware equipment.

Can it be used on mobile?

No, currently AppFolio can't be accessed on mobile, you would need to access it from your computer.

What should we ask during a demo session?

Differences between AppFolio and alternatives?

The most popular alternatives to AppFolio in 2023: Buildium, Propertyware, RealPage Commercial, PropertyZar, Resnexus Classic & AutoPilots. Access the complete competitors analysis here - AppFolio VS Property Management Software alternatives.

Is AppFolio right for you or your business?

AppFolio offers a single platform to manage diverse portfolios. Regardless of the mix, AppFolio can handle it with its management solutions to help its customers evolve their vision and scale their business from hundreds to thousands of units. AppFolio can fit diverse portfolios ranging from residential to community association, commercial properties, and investments management.

AppFolio fits customers with property management businesses like real estate management and property management firms. Examples of customers who use AppFolio are Chamberlin + Associates, The Apartment Company, Thomas D Walsh, Inc. Cap Management, Morgenson Reality Co., WYSE properties, etc.

List of categories

Facilities Management
Property Management
Property Management - Apartment
Lease Management
Property Management - Rental Property

List of features

Automatic Data Backup
Automatic Property Mapping
Customizable Applications
Easy Data Migration
Email Owner Statements
Events Calendar
Excel Export
File Management
File Storage
Maintenance Overview
Message Boards
Mobile Inspections
Move Management
Online Leasing
Online Rental Applications

Auditor - Shlomi Lavi

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Shlomi Lavi is an entrepreneur and founder of ITQlick.com. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Information Systems Engineering from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Shlomi brings 17 years of global IT and IS management experience as a consultant and implementation expert for small, medium and large-sized (global) companies. Shlomi’s goal is to share the best knowledge and news about information systems so you can make smarter buying decisions for your business.