A-du vs Buildium
How A-du and Buildium compare for ADU landlords. Buildium is an accounting-first management suite for growing portfolios; A-du is ADU-specific and adds pre-approved plans and permit tools before the listing.
A-du and Buildium are both landlord platforms, but A-du is specialized for Accessory Dwelling Units from plan to rental, while Buildium is an accounting-first management suite for growing rental portfolios.
Buildium is strongest at the back office; A-du is strongest at everything specific to creating and renting an ADU.
The short version
Buildium is one of the most established property management platforms, and its accounting is genuinely deep: full general ledger, owner statements, and reporting built for managers running dozens to hundreds of doors. If that is your world, it is a strong, purpose-built tool.
A-du is built for a different owner: someone who owns or is building an Accessory Dwelling Unit. Before the unit exists, A-du offers pre-approved ADU plans, permit-fee calculators, GIS lot lookup, and a directory of contractors and trades you hire directly, none of which Buildium has. After it is built, A-du gives you the tools to order tenant screening, e-sign a California lease and collect rent online through Stripe, without the per-door accounting overhead a single-ADU owner does not need. Listing is free, the first 15 published listings pay 0% landlord service fee, locked permanently, and other listings pay a 3% platform service fee on rent collected through A-du.
Feature comparison
| Feature | A-du | Buildium |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purposeWhat the product is actually built to do. | ADU marketplace: plans, permit tools, rentals, and management | Portfolio management & property accounting |
| Best fit | ADU owners & small landlordsIn served markets (LA County, NYC) | Growing portfoliosRoughly 50 to 500 doors |
| Pricing model | Free to listLandlord: 0% for the first 15 listings, then 3% of rent collected through A-du. Tenant: free by bank transfer, 2.99% credit card surcharge when offered, or check at no charge | Flat monthly tiersAround $62 to $400/mo; no unit minimum |
| ADU plan marketplace & pre-approved plansHelp before the unit exists. | YesPlan marketplace incl. LADBS Standard Plan | No |
| Permitting tools | YesLA County + NYC permit-fee calculators, GIS lot lookup | No |
| Contractor and trades directoryYou hire and pay each one directly. | YesListed by category; check licenses with the state board | No |
| Tenant screening | FCRA-compliantPass/fail, adverse-action workflow, landlord pays, applicants pay nothing | YesBuilt-in screening |
| Property accounting depthWhere Buildium is strong. | FocusedRent tracking and payouts, not full GL | DeepFull double-entry accounting, owner statements |
| Local ADU specialization | DeepADU rules, permit data & renter audience | General-purpose |
| Bottom line | An ADU-specific marketplace that starts with pre-approved plans and permit tools and runs through leasing and rent collection, without per-door accounting software overhead. | A mature, accounting-first management suite built for growing portfolios; powerful, but general-purpose and starting at the listing. |
How to think about it
Match the tool to the job. Buildium wins on accounting depth for a sizable portfolio. A-du wins when the rental is an ADU and you value help creating the unit and a workflow tuned to local ADU rules. For many small landlords, A-du covers what they actually do day to day without paying for a full accounting suite.
Next steps: Explore ADU plans, see the rent-collection fees, or read the full software roundup.
Related: vs AppFolio · vs Avail · vs TurboTenant · Best PM software.
Frequently asked questions
- How is A-du different from Buildium?
- Buildium is a mature, accounting-first property management suite built for growing portfolios of roughly 50 to 500 doors. It is excellent at the back office: full double-entry accounting, owner statements, and reporting. But it is general-purpose and begins at the listing. A-du is built specifically for Accessory Dwelling Units and covers the pre-rental side Buildium does not (pre-approved plans, permit-fee calculators, GIS lot lookup, and a directory of contractors and trades you hire directly), then gives you the tools for tenant screening, a lease and online rent collection on the finished unit.
- Is Buildium overkill for one or two ADUs?
- Often, yes. Buildium plans start around $62/mo and scale up to roughly $400/mo, and its deep accounting is aimed at managers juggling many doors. If you own one or two ADUs, that accounting machinery is more than you need. A-du has no subscription and focuses on the ADU workflow rather than portfolio bookkeeping. Listing is free. The first 15 published listings pay 0% landlord service fee, locked permanently; after that, landlords pay a 3% platform service fee on rent collected through A-du, taken from the payout, never on deposits. Paying rent through A-du is optional for tenants: bank transfers through A-du are free, and credit cards, when offered, carry a 2.99% surcharge on the rent only. Tenants can always pay the landlord by check or money order at no charge.
- Does Buildium help with building or permitting an ADU?
- No. Buildium is a management and accounting platform; it has no ADU plan catalog, permit-fee tools, or GIS lot lookup. Those pre-rental tools are exactly what A-du is built for, in addition to leasing and rent collection.
- Which should I choose?
- If you manage a larger, mixed portfolio and need serious accounting, Buildium is a strong, purpose-built choice. If your rental is an ADU (or you are building one) in a market A-du serves, A-du adds the plan and permit tools Buildium lacks and keeps screening, leasing, and rent collection in one ADU-specific system.
Comparison reflects publicly available product information as of 2026 and A-du features at time of writing. Competitor pricing and capabilities change; confirm current details with each provider.