Innago and AppFolio are two popular property management software products and deciding between them can be challenging.
This article compares pricing, features, customer support, and more to help you decide which platform is the best for your business.
Pricing
Pricing is a critical part of any decision to buy a new product.
AppFolio offers two different plans: Core and Plus. The Core plan is geared toward small to mid-size portfolios. It costs $1.40 per unit each month. It’s important to note that a minimum monthly fee of $280 is part of this plan. It includes most of your basic features and support.
AppFolio offers the Plus plan for portfolios over 1,000 units. It costs $3 per unit per month and requires a minimum monthly fee of $1,500. This plan includes added features like performance insight and elevated service experience.
What about Innago? It’s free. That’s right. It comes at no cost to you. So, how do we make money? We have tenants pay small fees for certain add-on services. For instance, when a tenant takes care of a bill through ACH, they owe an additional $2 fee. If they pay with a card, that’s an additional 2.99%. Landlords and property managers can absorb the cost of these fees if they want to.
Innago also charges applicants $30 for credit and criminal reports or $35 to include eviction history reports. Lastly, Innago allows tenants to buy renter’s insurance directly on the platform. The insurance policies are priced individually.
Simplicity
If you look at online review sites like Capterra and Softwareadvice.com, you will find that Innago is the preferred option. The interface is sleek and straightforward. The design is appealing and uncluttered. Innago scored 4.8 out of 5 possible stars on ease of use on Capterra, and many reviews speak to how intuitive and navigable the platform is.
Appfolio isn’t on par with Innago when it comes to simplicity. It received 4.5 out of 5 possible stars on Capterra for ease of use. Many reviews talked about the reporting difficulties and a steep learning curve.
Customer Support
Customer support is a vital component when comparing property management software platforms. Innago received 4.9 stars out of a possible 5, and AppFolio only obtained 4.3 out of 5 possible stars.
Innago provides access to full email, phone help, and a live chat option during business hours. Innago also puts together webinars to help new landlords get up to speed and offers personalized demos by request.
Innago assigns a representative to each account to ensure customers get personalized service. Landlords receive the representative’s email and contact information. You can almost always reach someone on Innago’s general support line after hours (it won’t necessarily be your assigned representative, though). And, if you can’t reach them right away, they always return calls and emails within a couple of hours.
AppFolio provides a help center full of how-to articles and in-depth training videos, a live chat feature, and an option to schedule a call if you have a complex issue. The live chat feature offers instant product support, and their website states that there is less than a two-minute wait time (but peak times may vary).
G2 found, “When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that Innago is the preferred option.”
Lastly, on Trustpilot’s website, Innago’s 4.9 rating stands in stark contrast to Appfolio’s 3.3 rating (out of a possible score of 5). Multiple reviews for AppFolio mention customer service issues.
Key Features
Features are a critical piece of any software consideration. The platform you choose must be able to meet your needs to be useful and cost-effective.
Some of Innago’s key features include:
- Listing syndication, marketing, advertising, the ability upload images and videos, and publish to major rental listing websites with the single click of a button
- Custom applications and tenant screening, including a customizable application builder and criminal, credit, and eviction history reports
- Online leasing, digital signatures, status tracking, and unlimited file storage on the Cloud and sharing
- Automated payment reminders, tenant communication tools, messaging, email templates, and archives
- Invoice automation, recurring billing, automated late fee settings, and receipt and image storing
- Online rental payments through ACH, credit and debit card payments, and automated debits, with single-business-day funds delivery available
- Tenant maintenance request portal with picture and video upload, work order tracking, and ticket forwarding to repair personnel
- Financial tracking and reporting, bank deposit history, and exportable data
- Support via phone, email, and a dedicated account representative
Appfolio’s key core features include:
- Accounting and reporting
- Virtual marketing and leasing tools
- Resident and owner management
- Online maintenance
- Full mobile capabilities
- Continuous software updates
The Plus plan then adds some features like:
- All of the Core features
- Workflow management
- Performance insights
- Revenue management
- Data export capabilities
- Strategic account management
Innago received 4.8 out of 5 possible stars versus AppFolio’s 4.3 on Capterra regarding features (this refers to features in general).
Taking it a step further, on G2, Innago earned better ratings for each feature compared to AppFolio (except for one feature where both platforms received the same score). And, if you read reviews from each site, you get the sense that people generally prefer Innago’s platform.
Likelihood to Recommend
It’s hard to quantify how much someone’s willingness to recommend something means. It’s such a valuable indicator of their belief in a product. No one is going to recommend a product that doesn’t provide them with a lot of value. This tells you someone’s true feelings about a product. If I am willing to recommend something to my friends, that means I endorse it. It’s one of the strongest statements about a product’s quality.
On Capterra, 84.7% of reviewers said they would likely recommend AppFolio. Innago had 97.4% of reviews saying they would recommend the platform to others.
This is the last metric for this review because it’s truly one of the most valuable. It should factor into your decision. However, you should still weigh everything else and figure out what makes the most sense for your specific business.
Conclusion
Innago’s pricing is the best you will find. Our uncluttered design, reliable customer service, and powerful features provide everything you need to manage your property. Innago has higher ratings in almost every category than Appfolio and that remains true on each major rating site.
A summary statement from G2’s comparison said this: “When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found Innago easier to use, set up, and administer.”
