Top Property Management Platforms for Educational Institutions in 2026

Key Takeaways What Types of Property Do Universities and Schools Manage? Why Educational Institutions Need Dedicated Property Management Software Top Property Management Software Platforms for Schools and Universities How to Choose the Right Property Management Software for Your School or University

Key Takeaways

Educational real estate requires software that can handle mixed-use portfolios, including bed-level student housing and commercial retail leases.
Platforms must support high-volume seasonal turnover, complex multi-stakeholder billing, and strict institutional compliance.
Selection depends on focus – StarRez and Entrata lead in student housing (PBSA), while Re-Leased excels in commercial and mixed-use campus assets.
Effective systems must sync with existing institutional ERPs, accounting software (NetSuite, Sage), and student information systems.
Choose based on your specific portfolio weight (residential vs. commercial) and the depth of financial reporting required.

What Types of Property Do Universities and Schools Manage?

Understanding your full real estate scope helps you identify which platform capabilities matter most for your operations. Most institutions manage a diverse mix of property types, each with unique operational requirements:

Student housing: This includes purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), traditional dormitories, and off-campus rental properties. These assets typically require bed-level management, roommate matching, and academic-calendar-aligned lease terms.
Academic buildings: Classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories, and research facilities have specialized compliance needs around safety, accessibility, and space utilization reporting.
Commercial and retail space: Campus bookstores, cafeterias, food courts, and leased retail units operate under commercial lease agreements with rent reviews, percentage rent clauses, and common area maintenance (CAM) reconciliations.
Administrative offices: Staff buildings and operational facilities require standard commercial property management but often fall under institutional governance structures.
Mixed-use developments: Many campuses include properties combining residential, retail, and academic functions – creating the need for platforms that can handle multiple lease types within a single portfolio view.

This diversity creates a structural problem: residential-first tools can't handle commercial lease events, and commercial-focused systems lack bed-level workflows. Generic software forces workarounds that create risk. The best solutions either specialize deeply in one segment or provide the flexibility to manage multiple property types with appropriate data models for each.

Why Educational Institutions Need Dedicated Property Management Software

Educational real estate creates operational requirements that standard residential or commercial software doesn't address:

Seasonal turnover cycles

Student leases follow academic terms, creating concentrated move-in and move-out periods that can strain manual processes. A residence hall might turn over 100% of its beds in a single week. Without mass move-in/move-out workflows, bulk assignment boards, and automated communication sequences, this volume creates errors and bottlenecks.

Complex billing structures

Rent, utilities, and service charges are often split across roommates or allocated by bed space rather than by unit. Guarantor arrangements add another layer of complexity. Commercial campus leases may include percentage rent, CAM reconciliations, and rent review schedules. When software can't handle these billing models natively, teams resort to spreadsheets and manual adjustments, creating errors and audit risk.

Compliance and safety requirements

Educational properties face specific fire safety, accessibility, and reporting obligations. Student housing adds requirements around emergency contact management, resident wellness, and institutional reporting. Commercial spaces must maintain compliance documentation and audit trails. Scattered compliance documentation across spreadsheets creates audit risk and makes it impossible to prove you met requirements when questions arise.

Multi-stakeholder communication

Property teams must coordinate with students, parents, university administration, maintenance contractors, and sometimes external auditors or regulators. Without proper access controls and documentation, communication becomes either too restricted (slowing operations) or too open (creating governance risk).

Integration with institutional systems

Universities typically run enterprise accounting systems, student information systems, and identity management platforms. Poor integration with institutional systems forces duplicate entry, creates version-of-truth conflicts, and makes financial close a manual reconciliation exercise.

Top Property Management Software Platforms for Schools and Universities

Here's how the major platforms compare for educational portfolios:

Platform	Best For	Key Strength	Portfolio Focus	Pricing Model	G2 Rating
Re-Leased	Commercial and mixed-use campus portfolios	Lease-first data model with AI-powered document extraction	Commercial, mixed-use	Quote-based (Core/Pro tiers)	4.6/5 (151 reviews)
StarRez	Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA)	Resident experience and room assignment workflows	Student housing	Quote-based	4.5/5 (20 reviews)
Yardi Voyager	Large institutional portfolios	Enterprise scalability and reporting depth	Multi-vertical	Per-unit, starting ~$1,200/month	3.9/5 (228 reviews)
Entrata	Student housing communities	Integrated marketing and leasing tools	Residential, student	Quote-based	4.6/5 (738 reviews)
RealPage	Multi-site student housing operators	Analytics and revenue management	Residential, student	Subscription-based	3.8/5 (68 reviews)
AppFolio	Mid-sized property managers	User-friendly interface and automation	Residential, commercial, student	$1.40–$5 per unit/month	4.6/5 (848 reviews)
MRI Software	Complex institutional requirements	Configurability and global compliance	Multi-vertical	Quote-based	4.1/5 (139 reviews)
Planon	Campus facilities management	Integration with space and workplace management	Facilities, space management	Quote-based	4.0/5 (limited reviews)

Disclaimer: This evaluation framework reflects our internal analysis based on publicly available information, user reviews, and vendor documentation. Pricing, features, and ratings change over time. We recommend conducting your own research and requesting current demos before making purchasing decisions.

Re-Leased

Overview: Re-Leased is a cloud property management platform built around commercial lease complexity. Everything flows from the lease itself, including rent schedules, reviews, incentives, and accounting integrations.

Why it's great for educational institutions: Universities managing campus retail, ground leases, administrative offices, and mixed-use developments need software that understands commercial lease complexity. Re-Leased is built around a commercial-first data model where the lease is the primary object. This isn't just architecture, it's what makes complex rent schedules, reviews, incentives, and outgoings logic work natively instead of requiring workarounds. Re-Leased handles rent schedules, reviews, incentives, abatements, and outgoings apportionment logic natively.

Key strengths:

Commercial-first data model designed for complex lease structures.
AI-powered lease extraction and document intelligence.
Two-way accounting integrations with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, and NetSuite.
Multi-entity portfolio support with consolidated oversight across companies.
Lease events treated as first-class objects with automated alerts and dashboards.

Credia AI: The Credia AI suite, Extract, Advise, and Action, works because Re-Leased already has structured lease data. Extract reduces the bottleneck of lease ingestion. Advise solves the high-frequency task of finding answers in lease documents. Action stays inside workflows rather than pretending to be a copilot for everything.

Limitations: Re-Leased's commercial focus makes it ideal for lease administration but not for bed-level student housing operations like roommate matching or room selection workflows. If you manage large PBSA portfolios, you may need to pair Re-Leased with a student-housing-specific platform.

Best for: CFOs, Directors of Assets, and finance-led property teams managing commercial campus real estate and mixed-use developments where revenue protection, governance, and financial accuracy are non-negotiable.

Pricing: Re-Leased pricing is quote-based, with Core and Pro tiers structured around portfolio complexity and integration requirements. Credia Plus is available as an add-on for AI capabilities. View pricing details.

User ratings: 4.6/5 on G2; 4.5/5 on Capterra.

StarRez

Overview: StarRez is the leading purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) platform, focused on resident experience, housing operations, and room/roommate workflows. Trusted by over 1,300 clients across 25+ countries and supporting more than 3 million beds annually, StarRez has deep expertise in university housing contexts.

Why it's great for educational institutions: StarRez enables students to complete housing applications, participate in self-service housing selection, sign contracts, and meet other residents in one platform. Housing teams using StarRez report spending 75% less time on room assignments and move-in logistics, and 65% less time on administrative duties through automation.

Key strengths:

Real-time roommate search, communication, and matching capabilities.
Automated workflows for room changes, student communications, and inclusive housing tasks.
Real-time dashboards with prebuilt reports for occupancy, turnover, and finances.
Student safety capabilities.
StarRez Intelligence AI capabilities for content generation and natural language queries.

Limitations: StarRez specializes in student housing operations rather than commercial lease administration. If you manage significant campus retail or office leasing, you'll need a separate platform for those assets.

Best for: University housing directors, PBSA operators, and residence life teams who need bed-level operations, roommate matching, room selection, and resident engagement workflows.

Pricing: Quote-based; contact StarRez directly for pricing based on beds, properties, and modules.

User ratings: 4.5/5 on G2.

Yardi Voyager

Overview: Yardi Voyager is a web-based, fully integrated end-to-end platform with mobile access for larger portfolios. It offers tailored solutions for various property types including multifamily, commercial, senior housing, student housing, and affordable housing. See the Voyager suite.

Why it's great for educational institutions: Voyager Student Housing allows institutions to manage units, rooms, and beds while streamlining mass move-ins and move-outs. The platform includes a full-featured accounting system that meets GAAP and IFRS requirements, making it suitable for institutions with strict financial compliance needs. Learn about Voyager Student Housing.

Key strengths:

Automates workflows including leasing, mass move-ins/move-outs, work orders, and purchase orders.work orders, and purchase orders.
Centralized operations with role-based dashboards and real-time analytics.
450+ trusted integration partners.
Supported property types.

Limitations: Expect a steep learning curve and note that training is often required to master the system. User reviews note that the UI can feel dated and that customer support response times vary. Read user feedback and see additional review analysis.

Best for: Large institutional portfolios needing multi-entity accounting, standardized controls, and vertical-specific support across student housing, commercial, and other asset classes.

Pricing: Per-unit license model with minimum fees starting at $150 per month; enterprise options available. Third-party analysis suggests pricing starts around $1,200 monthly. Pricing model details and pricing analysis.

User ratings: 3.9/5 on G2; 4.2/5 on Capterra.

Entrata

Overview: Entrata positions itself as the leading operating system for multifamily communities, with a solution specifically built for student housing operators. The platform includes a first-of-its-kind Student Revenue Management solution that uses machine learning to provide optimal rent suggestions on a bed-by-bed basis.

Why it's great for educational institutions: Entrata automates roommate matching, simplifies move-in checklists, and consolidates leasing workflows. Property teams can view and track leads, guest cards, and prospect communication for multiple properties in one dashboard.

Key strengths:

Roommate matching based on customizable questions about personality, living habits, and scholastic information.
Bulk Unit Assignment board with drag-and-drop functionality for peak placement periods.
ELI+ Leasing AI for Student ELI+ Leasing AI for Student that draws answers from real settings and live availability.
Partner ecosystem with API access tiers, developer portal, and sandbox environments.

Limitations: Entrata offers commercial property management tools exist but are less emphasized than residential capabilities. If you manage significant commercial campus leasing, you may find the commercial features less robust than dedicated commercial platforms. Read the Entrata review.

Best for: Student housing operators and universities managing residential communities who want tightly integrated leasing, marketing, and operations workflows with AI-powered revenue management.

Pricing: Quote-based; contact Entrata directly for pricing. Entrata pricing info.

User ratings: 4.6/5 on G2; 4.6/5 on Capterra.

RealPage

Overview: RealPage offers a Student 360° platform incorporating property management (OneSite Student), revenue management, business intelligence, and market analytics. The platform is designed to help student housing operators connect with more students, command more NOI, and collaborate using advanced analytics.

Why it's great for educational institutions: RealPage Student Property Management brings flexibility for leasing by the bed or by the unit, with a complete back-office accounting solution offering scalability and detailed cost tracking down to the unit level.

Key strengths:

Facilities management with mobile inspections, photo documentation, and damage assessments.
Vendor credentialing and spend management across the entire portfolio.
Financial reporting with on-demand market analytics, KPIs, and property ranking.
RealPage Exchange integration ecosystem for connecting with third-party solutions.

Limitations: RealPage is predominantly known for rental housing software. Commercial campus lease administration isn't its primary positioning. User reviews vary by module, so confirm which specific RealPage products align with your needs during evaluation.

Best for: Multi-site student housing operators prioritizing market analytics, revenue management, and a broad suite of operational tools.

Pricing: Subscription-based; contact RealPage for pricing.

User ratings: 3.8/5 on G2; 4.0/5 on Capterra.

AppFolio

Overview: AppFolio Property Manager is an all-in-one platform spanning marketing/leasing, accounting, maintenance, inspections, portals, and communications. It explicitly supports single family, multifamily, student housing, affordable housing, community associations, and commercial portfolios.

Why it's great for educational institutions: AppFolio addresses student housing challenges like high tenant turnover and seasonal leases through digital lease signing, automated reminders, and a mobile interface designed for multi-campus operations.

Key strengths:

Cloud-based access for managing properties from any internet-connected device.
Automated online rent collection with ACH and credit card payment options.
Three plan tiers (Core, Plus, Max) with Database API available in Max tier.
AppFolio Stack partner program with API and developer tools.

Limitations: AppFolio's per-unit pricing ($1.49 to $5 per unit per month with a $298 minimum) makes it one of the more expensive options on a per-property basis. Confirm the commercial lease administration depth meets your campus retail/office needs during your evaluation.

Best for: Mid-sized property managers seeking a user-friendly platform across multiple housing types with a marketplace ecosystem.

Pricing: Core, Plus, and Max tiers range from $1.49 to $5 per unit per month. Minimum cost is $298/month for any plan. Read pricing commentary.

User ratings: 4.6/5 on G2; 4.5/5 on Capterra.

MRI Software

Overview: MRI Software provides a configurable property management platform family emphasizing flexibility and an integration ecosystem called MRI Information eXchange (MIX). MRI reports more than 1,000 unique APIs created through MIX.

Why it's great for educational institutions: MRI's open architecture and vast partner network makes it suitable for institutions with complex governance requirements and existing enterprise systems that need clean integration paths.

Key strengths:

Secure data sharing, partner connect, and custom API creation capabilities.
Multifamily lifecycle support from application through renewal.
Affordable housing compliance engine with resident certification automation.
High degree of configurability for complex institutional requirements.

Limitations: The high degree of configurability requires more complex implementation and typically longer setup timelines. Commercial feature depth depends on which modules you configure, so work with MRI to map your specific requirements during the sales process.

Best for: Institutions needing configurability, complex governance/reporting, and a formal integration layer to connect with other enterprise systems.

Pricing: Quote-based; contact MRI directly for module packaging and pricing. MRI pricing info.

User ratings: 4.1/5 on G2; 4.2/5 on Capterra.

Planon

Overview: Planon is an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) vendor positioned to manage real estate, facilities, maintenance, space/workplace services, projects, and sustainability from a single platform. .

Why it's great for educational institutions: Planon's Higher Education campus solution includes space management, CAD integration, move management, and student accommodation capabilities. This makes it particularly relevant for universities where "property management" extends beyond leases to include classrooms, labs, and space utilization governance.

Key strengths:

Space surveys and measurement standards support (BOMA/FICM) for F&A reporting.
Integration with SAP S/4HANA including SAP Contract and Lease Management.
Open platform architecture for smart building and IoT initiatives.
Student accommodation request workflows integrated with broader campus services.

Limitations: Planon's student accommodation capabilities focus on campus service workflow than a full property management and billing platform. Confirm whether it handles your billing, lease management, and resident communication requirements for student housing operations.

Best for: Universities needing a unified system for facilities management, space/workplace services, and real estate oversight across academic and administrative portfolios.

Pricing: Quote-based; contact Planon for module licensing.

User ratings: 4.0/5 on G2; 4.4/5 on Capterra.

How to Choose the Right Property Management Software for Your School or University

Property management software decisions lock in operational workflows, financial controls, and governance structures for years. Getting it wrong means living with workarounds, risk, and manual processes.

1. Define your property portfolio scope

Start by mapping your complete real estate portfolio. What percentage is student housing versus commercial versus administrative? How many leases do you manage? How many legal entities are involved?

This assessment determines your path: specialized student housing platforms optimize for bed-level operations but can't handle commercial complexity. Commercial-first systems handle lease administration but lack student housing workflows. Multi-vertical platforms try to do both but often compromise on depth.

Your portfolio composition dictates your software needs:

High PBSA concentration: Prioritize platforms like StarRez or Entrata for bed-level management.
High commercial complexity: Prioritize Re-Leased for complex lease structures and financial accuracy.
Mixed portfolios: Evaluate multi-vertical solutions or integrated "best-of-breed" complementary systems.

2. Identify your core operational pain points

Prioritize your biggest challenges. Are lease tracking and critical date management causing missed revenue? Are arrears difficult to monitor? Is maintenance coordination consuming too much time? Do compliance requirements create audit risk?

If lease administration and financial accuracy are your biggest risks, prioritize platforms with commercial-first data models and two-way accounting integrations. If resident experience and turnover efficiency matter most, prioritize room assignment and communication workflows.

3. Evaluate integration requirements

Educational institutions typically have established technology ecosystems. Identify your accounting system (NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Xero, QuickBooks, or an institutional ERP), student information system, and identity management platform. Then evaluate which property management platforms offer native integrations, standard interfaces, or API access for these systems.

Two-way accounting integrations that sync automatically are significantly more valuable than one-way exports requiring manual reconciliation.

When evaluating integrations, ask vendors these four critical questions:

Does the system support two-way sync or just one-way exports?
What is the sync frequency (real-time vs. daily)?
Which data objects (invoices, contacts, payments) are supported?
How does the integration handle multi-entity structures?

4. Assess reporting and compliance needs

Let institutional oversight, board reporting, and audit requirements heavily influence your platform selection. Consider what reports you need to produce, who needs access to what data, and what audit trail requirements exist.

Look for platforms with role-based dashboards, customizable reporting, and comprehensive audit logs. These provide the governance capabilities you require. If you're subject to specific regulatory requirements, confirm the platform supports those compliance workflows.

5. Request demos and compare workflows

Test platforms with real-world scenarios from your portfolio. Bring both property and finance team members into the evaluation. Walk through a complete lease lifecycle, a maintenance request, a move-in/move-out cycle, and a financial close process.

Pay attention to how intuitive the workflows feel, how many clicks common tasks require, and how the platform handles exceptions. The best software reduces friction in daily operations rather than creating new administrative burden.

Can Property Management Software Handle Both Student Housing and Commercial Campus Buildings?

Yes, but the approach varies by platform. Some solutions like Yardi Voyager and AppFolio offer multi-vertical capabilities that support both residential and commercial portfolios within one system. Others specialize in one segment – StarRez and Entrata focus on student housing, while Re-Leased emphasizes commercial lease administration. If you have significant portfolios in both categories, evaluate whether a single platform can handle both adequately or whether complementary systems with data integration make more sense.

What Accounting Integrations Should Educational Institutions Prioritize for Property Management Software?

Look for two-way integrations with your existing accounting platform, whether that's Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, or NetSuite. Two-way sync ensures that transactions flow automatically between systems, reducing manual data entry and maintaining financial accuracy. If you're a larger institution with enterprise ERPs, confirm whether the property management platform offers standard interfaces or requires custom API development. Also evaluate how the integration handles multi-entity structures if you manage properties across multiple legal entities.

How Does Student Housing Software Support Audit and Compliance Requirements?

Dedicated compliance features typically include centralized document storage, certificate expiration tracking, automated renewal reminders, and comprehensive audit trails. Look for platforms that maintain a complete history of changes to lease records, financial transactions, and compliance documents. Role-based access controls ensure that staff members only see data appropriate to their responsibilities. Some platforms also offer specific modules for regulatory compliance in affordable housing or other regulated segments.

Is Cloud-Based Property Management Software Secure Enough for Educational Institutions?

Reputable cloud platforms maintain enterprise-grade security certifications and data protection standards that meet or exceed the security of most on-premise alternatives. Look for SOC 2 compliance, data encryption at rest and in transit, and regular security audits. For student housing, some platforms also address FERPA considerations. Evaluate the vendor's data residency policies, backup procedures, and disaster recovery capabilities as part of your security assessment.

What Is the Typical Implementation Timeline for Student Property Management Software?

Implementation timelines vary based on portfolio size, data migration complexity, and integration requirements. Most platforms offer structured onboarding programs spanning several weeks to a few months. Factors that extend timelines include migrating historical data from legacy systems, configuring complex integration workflows, and training large teams. Plan for implementation to align with lower-activity periods in your academic calendar when possible, and build in time for parallel operation before fully transitioning from existing systems.

About the Author

Dulan Perera
Director, Growth

Dulan combines strategic marketing expertise with deep knowledge of commercial real estate (CRE) to drive meaningful growth across the industry. His focus is on connecting property professionals with insights that matter, spanning compliance, financial operations, property management, stakeholder relationships, and the evolving role of technology and AI. His goal: help real estate businesses scale smarter in a digital-first world.