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Article · Portfolio & AI tools

Rentari vs AppFolio and DoorLoop for your rental work

Archive topic 2024
Two rental professionals review folders, records and a laptop while comparing portfolio software responsibilities

The short answer

Start with Rentari's actual plans and rental workflows, then evaluate AppFolio or DoorLoop against the same costs, records, completed tasks and migration requirements.

On this page

Start with Rentari and the rental work you need

Use Rentari as the starting point for two separate evaluations: Rentari versus AppFolio and Rentari versus DoorLoop. List your properties, units, locations, ownership entities, bank accounts, residents, active leases and users. Identify essential work: collecting and reconciling payments, tracking deposits, running reports, completing agreements, handling repairs and communicating with residents. Identify association, commercial or housing-program requirements separately; this guide does not establish specialist capability parity.

Rentari's Free plan includes listing, application and maintenance-request tools with limits; online rent collection is currently coming soon on Free. Prime and Scale include online collection, accounting reports and exports, and included e-signature sends. Check the actual plan and role before executing a report or sending an agreement. Use Payments Help to distinguish charges, outside-payment records, in-transit funds and deposits, and Reports Help to verify the period, property, totals and downloaded format. Tenant-authorized autopay, a prepared agreement and a repair status each need their own completion evidence.

Compare each provider's selected plan with this Rentari baseline using the same portfolio, billing period and task inputs. Record billable units, required records and who approves decisions. Rentari supplies software and original written guides; owners arrange qualified physical work and licensed services. This is Rentari's editorial framework, not independent testing of every paid workflow or a universal winner. Public details and Rentari's plan gates were reviewed October 7, 2026.

Compare each provider's full cost with Rentari

Use Rentari's current terms as the baseline for each provider quote
Selected productPublic entry termsScope to confirm
Rentari Free, Prime or ScaleFree is $0; Prime is $120/year for up to 10 units. Scale adds $24/year for each additional unit. New paid subscriptions are billed annually.Free online collection is coming soon. Paid plans include collection, accounting reports/exports and e-signature sends. Eligible paid online payments currently cost $6 per ACH payment or 3.49% by card; confirm the permitted payer choice and fee before authorizing. Screening, optional services and other charges are separate.
AppFolio Core, Plus or MaxQuote required; no public dollar rate. Core lists 50 units and minimum spend; Plus and Max also have spend/unit requirements.Core lists accounting, leasing, work orders, communication and standard support. Plus adds advanced accounting, premium integrations, read-only API and enhanced support. Max adds leasing CRM, read/write API and dedicated customer success. Confirm quoted entitlements and implementation.
DoorLoop StarterSelected yearly card: $69/month, billed yearly; maximum 10 units.Accounting, lease tracking, maintenance intake and resident portal; email/chat support. Check transaction and document costs.
DoorLoop ProSelected yearly card: $149/month. Reprice the actual unit count.Advanced accounting, bank connection, QuickBooks Online sync, listings and maintenance tools; phone/Zoom support added.
DoorLoop PremiumSelected yearly card: $209/month. Obtain the portfolio quote.API/Zapier access, additional controls and priority support; confirm inclusions and optional AI charges.

DoorLoop's page includes a temporary offer and portfolio-based onboarding terms. Confirm the selected annual price, cash due upfront, offer expiry, onboarding charges and normal renewal terms in the written quote.

DoorLoop's additional-fees help lists tenant ACH fees of $2.49/$0.99/free by Starter/Pro/Premium and domestic card fees of 3.25%; international cards differ. It lists signing at $3/$1/free per request, with paid credits purchased in bundles. Merchant verification, screening, messaging, returns and optional AI can add costs. Verify payer settings and current selected terms.

Ask AppFolio for subscription, selected services, screening, payments, document, onboarding and integration charges. Compare owner cost and resident-facing fees separately. Include staff time, training and required professional review. A lower entry card or an included incoming payment does not establish the total cost of a year's actual work.

Repeat the Rentari rental cycle with each alternative

First record the Rentari plan, role and result for each task below, then repeat it separately in the selected AppFolio or DoorLoop plan. Request an authorized demonstration with the same fictional property records. Keep residents' private information out of a sales exercise. Record the operator, starting facts, output, missing prerequisite and follow-up question; a listed feature needs a demonstrated result before you rely on it.

For Rentari, verify current availability within the advertised 25+ listing destinations and retain actual live URLs. Review application/report results with a human decision-maker, retrieve the completed agreement, reconcile Payments with bank evidence, and open the actual paid-plan report export. Maintenance requests and messages organize the handoff; owners still authorize access, arrange qualified repairs and verify physical completion. These are evaluation tasks, not a claim that this review submitted a live listing, moved money or tested every paid provider feature.

Record the Rentari result, then the result in each selected alternative
TaskWhat to demonstrateEvidence to retain
Listing and applicationPrepare one truthful listing, check intended live destinations, receive an application and route a report for human review.Published destination and date, required fields, actual screening package/payer and reviewed decision. A saved draft is not a live listing.
Lease and renewalUse reviewed terms and attachments, multiple signers, an incomplete request and a renewal.Correct dates/amounts, outstanding signature status and downloadable completed record. A template does not settle local legal requirements.
Payment exceptionShow pending, settled, returned, partial and outside payments, an approved adjustment and refund.Resident ledger, bank result, fees and audit trail agree; avoid duplicate collection or reminders during transition.
Accounting and reportsRecord an invoice, payment and opening balance; reconcile and run one property's statement for the same period.Evidence-linked transactions, correct ownership attribution, deposit handling and matching exported totals.
Repair and communicationSubmit a photo, acknowledge it, assign the next step, arrange authorized access and confirm completion.Named responsibility, resident updates, status history and linked bill. Clarify who supplies qualified or urgent physical work.
Mobile and supportRepeat the essential resident/staff task on a phone and seek help for a failed step.Readable controls, correct recipient and role, recovery path, support channel and escalation owner.

AppFolio's FolioSpace help covers payment fees before submission, lease/document access and maintenance photos/status. Payment or maintenance availability can depend on the manager's enablement. Confirm the actual resident setup in the quote. See Rentari's AppFolio comparison and DoorLoop comparison for linked product details and task prompts.

Verify reporting, permissions and connections

DoorLoop's current report help describes date ranges, filters, columns, saved views and PDF/CSV/Excel downloads. Its pricing grid still distinguishes Starter PDF-only from higher-plan exports. Ask for a demonstration of the exact reports and formats in your selected plan; do not infer that every report or attachment transfers.

DoorLoop's role guidance distinguishes adding users from creating or editing custom roles, which requires Pro or Premium. Test the actual accountant, maintenance and owner roles. In Rentari and each alternative, verify who can view sensitive information, alter records, approve payments, export data and remove access; similar role names do not establish identical permissions.

For every proposed bank, accounting or other connection, record the partner, supported records, direction, authorization, limits, charges and recovery responsibility. Demonstrate a disconnection, rejected import or duplicate and reconcile the result. An API entitlement or integration directory does not prove that the connector you need works in your plan.

Follow FTC business privacy guidance on necessary data, restricted access and retention. Check account recovery and incident contacts rather than relying on a perfect-security claim. Review automation's source records, approval authority and correction process before allowing it to affect residents or money.

Agree on migration, cutover and exit evidence

DoorLoop's import guidance requires data review after onboarding. Automated import excludes charges/payments, expenses and bills; its stated migration scope excludes chart of accounts, transactions and past rent-roll/ledger data. Get a written plan for opening balances, historical records and documents instead of treating current-property import as a complete accounting migration.

AppFolio's transition guidance calls for migration scope, responsibilities, training and testing. Confirm the actual supported records, historical depth, attachments, exceptions, correction work and costs in the proposal. Provider implementation assistance is not proof that your specific records have been validated.

  1. Save usable exports and identify an owner for each data category.
  2. Match properties, units, residents, active agreements, balances and deposits to source evidence.
  3. Reconcile pending payments, recurring charges, repairs and signature requests before the cutover date.
  4. Confirm invitations, permissions, staff training and a resident fallback contact.
  5. Review rejected records and agree how to correct discrepancies.
  6. Keep the old records accessible until the responsible team accepts the reconciled result.

Ask about support hours, appointment availability and escalation, separately from any response or resolution commitment. Open exports outside the product and confirm formats, attachments, retention, retrieval rights and cancellation terms. A cancel-anytime statement does not explain refunds or continuing access after termination.

Save a decision based on completed requirements

Keep dated sources, equivalent quotes, plan names, task outputs, unavailable tests and unresolved requirements together. Classify each essential requirement as confirmed, not demonstrated or unsuitable; name a follow-up owner and review date. Compare the first year and renewal year, including human work, before choosing. Ratings, an old price table or a claimed easy interface cannot decide the fit for your team.

Review the wider rental-software shortlist, software comparisons and Rentari's current workflows. On Rentari Pricing, Prime is $120/year for up to 10 units and Scale adds $24/year per extra unit; check current limits and separate charges. Free online rent collection is currently coming soon. The advertised 25+ listing sites depend on destination and property availability.

Rentari supplies software and original written guides. Owners arrange qualified physical work, licensed management and professional review where needed. This comparison does not establish a completed provider migration, every integration, legal compliance or a guaranteed financial result.

Sources and further reading

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Common questions

Can I use the older AppFolio dollar rates as a current quote?

The current public pricing page requests a quote rather than publishing dollar rates. Get the selected-plan unit requirements, subscription, implementation, services and renewal terms for your actual portfolio.

Does a current-property import transfer my complete accounting history?

No such result is established here. Verify record types, opening balances, historical transactions, attachments and exclusions in writing, then reconcile the migrated result before accepting it.

Does an export help page prove my selected plan includes every format?

No. Confirm the selected plan, exact report, date range, columns and downloadable file in a demonstration. Open it outside the product and compare its identifiers and totals with the source.

Which provider is best for every landlord?

This guide does not name a universal winner. Equivalent quotes and the same-property tasks provide evidence for the essential work, controls, support, migration and affordability your team needs.

Archive years group longstanding rental topics. This Rentari guide was published on 2026-10-07.

Written and maintained by the Rentari team. Examples explain a decision; they are not customer results. Found an error or an unclear step? Send a correction with this page's address and the detail to review.

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