Sahab Key: the AppFolio alternative for small landlords
AppFolio is a capable platform built for large operators. If you manage a handful of buildings, Sahab Key gives you the same core rental operation at two dollars a unit a month, with published pricing and no fifty-unit floor to clear first.
Page updated September 11, 2026. Competitor prices are cited with the month they were checked.
- $2 a unit a month
- $50 a month minimum
- No setup fees
- No free trial, no contract
Who is each product really for?
AppFolio is enterprise software for large or mixed portfolios, residential, commercial, student housing, or associations, with its Core plan sized around a fifty-unit minimum. Sahab Key fits residential landlords and small managers who want the same core operation, Stripe rent collection, exact books, tenant autopay, without that floor: two dollars a unit, fifty-dollar minimum, first twenty-five units covered.
AppFolio is enterprise property management software. It runs residential, commercial, student housing, and community associations, with deep configuration, dedicated implementation, advanced marketing and leasing automation, and a large integration ecosystem. As of July 2026 its published pricing page lists three plans, Core, Plus, and Max, and its entry Core plan is built around a fifty-unit minimum with a minimum monthly spend. If you operate hundreds or thousands of units across property types, that depth is the point.
Sahab Key is built for residential landlords and small managers who want the whole operation handled without the enterprise weight. Rent lands in your bank through Stripe, the books balance to the cent, maintenance stays tracked with tenant photos, and every tenant gets a portal with autopay. It is two dollars a unit a month, and the fifty-dollar minimum covers your first twenty-five units. There is no fifty-unit minimum to reach before the pricing makes sense.
Pricing, side by side
The clearest difference is transparency. Sahab Key publishes its full price on the pricing page: two dollars per unit per month, a fifty-dollar monthly minimum that covers the first twenty-five units, and flat monthly add-ons if you want them. Forty units is eighty dollars a month. One hundred units is two hundred. No setup fees, no contract, and the bill follows your portfolio up or down.
AppFolio takes a different approach. As of July 2026, its published pricing page does not list per-unit prices or the minimum monthly spend in dollars. You request a quote, and the Core plan sets a fifty-unit minimum. For a landlord with well under fifty units, that floor is the deciding factor: you pay against fifty units whether or not you have them.
Sahab Key and AppFolio, feature by feature
Only features Sahab Key genuinely offers are listed. Competitor details reflect AppFolio's published information as of July 2026.
| Sahab Key | AppFolio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing published online | Included | Contact sales |
| Per-unit price | $2 per unit a month | Contact sales |
| Monthly minimum | $50, covers first 25 units | 50-unit minimum, plus a minimum monthly spend |
| Works for a single small building | Included | Entry plan aimed at 50+ units (per appfolio.com, July 2026) |
| Setup fees | None | Not published |
| Online rent collection (ACH and card) | Included | Included |
| Tenant portal with autopay | Included | Included |
| Maintenance tracking with photos | Included | Included |
| Vendor directory and bills | Included as records and reports; Sahab Key does not pay vendors | Included, with a vendor portal and bill payments |
| Bank reconciliation | Included, by importing your bank's CSV statement | Included, automatic via linked bank accounts |
| Year-end 1099s | Included, as totals exported for your tax preparer; no e-filing | Included, prepares and files owner 1099s |
| Advertising vacancies | A branded public listings page with one shareable link; no syndication | Included, listing syndication and paid premium placement |
| Accounting and financial reporting | Included | Included |
| Owner portal and payouts | Included | Included |
| Online rental applications | Add-on, $29 a month, as intake, application fee, and manager review. Sahab Key does not offer tenant screening. | Included |
| Section 8 housing authority payment tracking | Included | Included (Plus plan and up) |
| AI on your own portfolio data | Add-on, $49 a month | Contact sales |
AppFolio pricing and plan details are drawn from appfolio.com as of July 2026, which lists plans and a fifty-unit minimum but does not publish per-unit prices. Sahab Key add-ons are flat monthly prices: AI Insights $49, lease e-signature $15, online rental applications $29, texting $15, and AI and API access $49.
AppFolio is a trademark of its respective owner. Sahab Key is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by AppFolio.
Fifty units is the line.
Below it, the floor decides more than the feature list does.
What this means at a small portfolio
Put real numbers on it. The dollar figure on each row below is Sahab Key's own price at that unit count.
- 12 units AppFolio bills against its fifty-unit floor. $50 a month
- 20 units AppFolio's Core plan still bills against its fifty-unit floor, at a price you request by quote. $50 a month
- 30 units AppFolio is still sized around fifty units. $60 a month
- 50 units AppFolio's fifty-unit floor is met here, and the monthly price is still by quote. $100 a month
The gap closes as you grow: by the time you are running a large, mixed portfolio, AppFolio's depth may be exactly what you want.
That is the whole reasoning. Below the fifty-unit line, you are paying AppFolio for scale you do not use yet. Sahab Key is priced for the portfolio you actually have today, and it grows two dollars at a time. If you are early, read the plain-English breakdown for small portfolios.
When is AppFolio the better choice?
AppFolio is the better choice for portfolios running into the hundreds or thousands of units, or mixing residential with commercial, student housing, or associations. At that scale its dedicated implementation, deep configuration, and integration ecosystem earn the fifty-unit floor and the quoted price. Under fifty units, that floor is the whole story.
Large or mixed portfolios
If you run hundreds or thousands of units, or mix residential with commercial, student housing, or community associations, AppFolio is built for that breadth and Sahab Key is not trying to be.
Deep configuration and enterprise leasing
Teams that need heavy workflow customization, advanced marketing and leasing automation, dedicated implementation, and a wide integration ecosystem will find AppFolio's Plus and Max plans made for them.
Switching to Sahab Key
Getting started is quick, not a project plan. You add your buildings, units, leases, and tenants in the app, connect a Stripe payout account for each building, which is required before your tenants can pay, and invite your tenants. They can pay online the same day, turn on autopay, and report maintenance with a photo. There is no data-import project and no onboarding fee, and if you get stuck, a person answers your email.
There is no free trial and no contract. You start when you are ready, the price follows your portfolio, and you can cancel anytime. When you want the full breakdown, the pricing page shows every number, including the add-ons.
Run your rentals on Sahab Key
Two dollars a unit a month, published pricing, and no fifty-unit floor. Start with your first building.