Buildium vs HOA By Owners: when a $5 per user self-managed HOA stack beats enterprise property software

Why we almost went with Buildium (and why we didn’t)

Buildium is fine. It works. But it’s built for property management companies, not volunteer boards. You pay per unit, and the price climbs fast when you add features like online payments or maintenance tracking. Our board treasurer ran the numbers: for our 48 units, Buildium would have cost us about $1,200 a year just for the basics. And we still needed to manage our own books and collect dues manually.

We’re a self-managed HOA. We don’t have a property manager. We don’t want to pay for a portal designed for someone who manages 300 units across three complexes. We just need something that lets us collect dues, send notices, and keep track of who paid.

The moment we realized enterprise software was overkill

Our biggest headache was cash flow. Homeowners would forget to mail checks. We’d spend hours at the bank. Then we discovered HOA By Owners — self-managed HOA software at $5 per user per month, all features included. That’s $240 a year for our whole association. Compared to Buildium’s $1,200, it was a no-brainer.

But price isn’t the only reason we switched. Buildium charges extra for autopay and online invoicing. HOA By Owners includes it. Our homeowners can set up HOA dues autopay software in about two minutes. No more chasing late payments. No more paper checks.

What you actually get with HOA By Owners

It’s not a stripped-down version. You get:

• Online voting — no more counting paper ballots at the annual meeting
• Dues collection with autopay — homeowners set it and forget it
• Document storage — all your CC&Rs, meeting minutes, and insurance policies in one place
• Maintenance request tracking — board members can assign and close tasks
• Role-based access — the board sees everything, homeowners see only their own stuff
• Communications — send bulk emails or push notices without paying extra

And the best part? Free migration off Buildium, AppFolio, PayHOA, or even your current spreadsheet mess. We imported our entire homeowner list and payment history in an afternoon.

When Buildium still makes sense (and when it doesn’t)

If you’re a professional property manager with a portfolio of 500+ units, Buildium is probably the right tool. It has advanced accounting, lease management, and tenant screening. But for a volunteer board running a single association, it’s overkill. You don’t need lockbox features or integration with Yardi. You need something simple that works.

For self-managed HOAs, the comparison between Buildium and HOA By Owners comes down to this: Buildium charges per unit and hides features behind add-ons. HOA By Owners charges a flat $5 per user per month and gives you everything. No surprises. No per-transaction fees.

What about PayHOA and AppFolio?

We tried PayHOA before Buildium. It’s cheaper than Buildium but still charges extra for payment processing and advanced features. AppFolio is even more expensive and built for large management companies. Both are fine if you have a big budget and a dedicated treasurer. But for small to mid-sized communities, the math doesn’t add up.

HOA software for volunteer boards should be easy to set up, transparent about costs, and not require a training course. That’s why we stayed with HOA By Owners.

State law compliance without the headache

One worry we had was whether our software would keep us in compliance with state HOA laws. HOA By Owners includes state-specific resource guides that explain things like meeting notice requirements and reserve fund rules. We don’t have to guess or pay a lawyer to tell us what to do. It’s all there.

If you’re curious, you can check the HOA laws by state page on their site.

Bottom line

If you’re a volunteer board tired of chasing checks, overpaying for features you don’t use, or drowning in paper, look at HOA By Owners. It’s self-managed HOA software that actually fits how a real board works. No fluff. No hidden fees. Just a flat rate and a free migration.

We switched six months ago. Our dues collection rate went from 80% to 98%. Our board meetings are shorter. And nobody has to go to the bank on a Tuesday afternoon anymore.

Check out the full best HOA management software comparison if you want to see how it stacks up against the rest.