Kera vs Buildium: the modern all-in-one for property managers
Buildium is the incumbent. Kera is the modern alternative with transparent pricing, AI-powered onboarding, and accounting built for both Canada and the US. Here's an honest comparison — including where Buildium still wins.
Buildium has been around since 2004 and is one of the most widely used property management platforms in North America. It's a capable, mature product. But "mature" cuts both ways: longtime users report a pricing model where transaction fees can dwarf the subscription, a mobile app that trails the desktop, and phone support locked behind higher tiers. Kera is the modern all-in-one built to fix exactly those friction points — with transparent pricing, AI-powered onboarding, and accounting designed for both Canadian and US compliance from day one.
This is a comparison written by the team building Kera, so we're not pretending to be neutral. What we can promise is that every claim below is accurate as of the date above, we don't mark Buildium down for things it actually does well, and we tell you plainly where Buildium is the better choice.
At a glance
| Feature | Kera | Buildium |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Flat monthly tiers | $62/mo (Essential) |
| Payment processing fees | Pass-through Stripe rates, no Kera markup; you choose if landlord or tenant pays | $2.35 per EFT on Essential, added on top |
| AI-powered data import | Yes — extracts your whole portfolio | Manual / assisted migration |
| Owner portal & statements | Yes — period-close statements | Yes |
| Trust accounting | Yes — TRESA-aligned | Yes — US frameworks |
| Canadian tax forms (T4A, T776) | T4A: all accounts · T776: landlord accounts | No — US 1099 only |
| US tax forms (1099-NEC, Schedule E) | 1099-NEC: all accounts · Schedule E: landlord accounts | Yes |
| Phone support | All plans | Growth tier and up ($192/mo) |
| Mobile app parity | Yes | Yes, but limited vs desktop |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes — 14 days |
Who each one is best for
Kera is built for landlords and property management companies who want a modern, all-in-one platform — accounting, leasing, maintenance, owner and tenant portals, and an AI assistant — with pricing that doesn't punish growth, and deep compliance whether they operate in Canada, the US, or both.
Buildium is a strong fit for established US-based management companies and community-association (HOA) managers who already know the product, value its large integration marketplace, and have the volume to absorb its transaction-fee model. Its HOA/association tooling in particular is more mature than most newcomers, Kera included.
Pricing: the subscription is not the real number
Buildium's advertised price starts around $62/month for Essential. The figure that actually lands on your invoice is driven by Buildium's own per-transaction charges on top of the subscription: roughly $2.35 per incoming EFT on Essential, $5 per eSignature, and bank-account setup charges. For an active portfolio, those add-ons frequently exceed the base subscription. Kera's subscription is a flat monthly tier with no per-door fees; payment processing is billed at Stripe's standard pass-through rates with no Kera markup, and you decide whether you or the tenant covers that processing fee.
| Portfolio size | 5 units | 25 units | 100 units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kera | Entry tier, flat | Mid tier, flat | Company plan, flat |
| Buildium | $62 + EFT fees | $62 + EFT fees | $192+ + EFT fees |
Illustrative monthly subscription cost. Both platforms also pass through card and bank payment-processing fees; Buildium adds its own per-transaction EFT charge on top, while Kera passes Stripe's rates through with no markup and lets you choose who pays. Confirm current numbers on each pricing page.
Accounting and owner reporting
Both platforms offer genuine double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, owner statements, and trust/escrow handling — this is table stakes and Buildium does it well. The difference is reach. Kera's ledger is fund-scoped for trust compliance and produces period-close owner statements linked one-to-one to disbursements, so an owner's payout always reconciles to a statement. And Kera handles tax season on both sides of the border.
Onboarding: AI import vs manual migration
The single biggest reason people stay on software they've outgrown is the fear of moving. Kera's AI-powered import reads your existing exports — rent rolls, leases, spreadsheets, PDFs — and extracts properties, units, leases, tenants, owners, and opening balances into a preview you approve before anything is written. Historical leases come in as records without re-signing. Buildium migration is more manual or assisted, which for larger portfolios means more of your time.
Built for North America
Here's the part most comparisons get wrong. Kera is Canada-first, but not Canada-only. It produces CRA-aligned tax figures (T4A for contractor payments, T776 for rental income), handles GST/HST, and aligns trust accounting to TRESA requirements that US-built tools simply don't model. It also fully supports US operators: 1099-NEC, Schedule E, and US state lease law are all in the box.
Buildium's tax and compliance tooling is built around US frameworks — 1099 e-filing, US state trust rules. Canadian users frequently report paying full price while filling LTB forms by hand and getting no T4A/T776 support. So if you're in the US, Kera matches Buildium on compliance and adds room to grow across the border; if you're in Canada, it's not close.
When to choose Buildium instead
We'd genuinely point you to Buildium in a few cases. If you manage homeowner or condo associations as a core part of your business, Buildium's HOA module is more developed than Kera's today. If your operation depends on a specific third-party integration in Buildium's marketplace, check that Kera supports it before switching. And if your team is deeply trained on Buildium and your current costs are acceptable, the switching effort may not be worth it yet.
Is Kera cheaper than Buildium?
It depends on your portfolio and how you collect rent. Kera's subscription is a flat tier with no per-door fees, and Kera doesn't add its own markup to payments — you pay Stripe's standard processing rates and choose whether you or the tenant covers them. Buildium layers its own per-transaction EFT and eSignature fees on top of its subscription, which for active portfolios can push the real monthly cost above the sticker price. Compare total cost — subscription plus how each platform handles processing — not just the advertised number.
Does Kera import my data from Buildium?
Yes. Kera's AI-powered import reads Buildium exports — rent rolls, leases, owner and tenant lists, balances — and stages everything into a preview you approve before it's written to your account.
Does Buildium support Canadian tax forms like T4A and T776?
No. Buildium's tax tooling is built around US 1099 filing. Kera produces T4A and T776 alongside US 1099-NEC and Schedule E.
Does Kera work for US property managers?
Yes. Kera fully supports US operators — 1099-NEC, Schedule E, and US state lease law — in addition to its Canadian capabilities.
How long does it take to switch from Buildium to Kera?
Most portfolios go live quickly because the AI import does the heavy lifting and a human helps with the cutover. Timelines depend on portfolio size and how clean your exports are.
See how your portfolio looks in Kera
Import your data, preview it, and decide — no per-door fees, and pass-through payments with no Kera markup.
