AppFolio API: Access by Plan, What You Can Build, and Alternatives
Short answer
Yes, AppFolio has an API, but access depends on your plan. AppFolio's pricing page lists the AppFolio API (read only) on Plus and the AppFolio API (read/write) on Max. Core doesn't list API access, so Core customers automate with scheduled report exports. Software vendors integrate through AppFolio's Stack partner program.
AppFolio API access by plan
| Plan | API access | How to automate |
|---|---|---|
| Core | None listed | Scheduled report exports (CSV/Excel) and notification emails |
| Plus | AppFolio API, read only | API reads on a schedule, plus exports |
| Max | AppFolio API, read/write | Two-way integrations |
| Software vendors | Stack partner program | Apply as a partner; integrations appear in AppFolio's marketplace |
Older AppFolio materials call the Max-plan API the "Database API"; the current pricing page just says AppFolio API. Plan names, packaging and access terms change, so confirm with your AppFolio rep before planning a build around the API.
What the AppFolio API covers
AppFolio publishes a catalog of its APIs on the Stack site. It lists around forty areas, grouped roughly like this:
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Properties | Properties, property groups, units, owners |
| Residents and leasing | Tenants, tenant ledgers, rental applications, leads, showings, listings |
| Accounting | Bills, charges, recurring and delinquent charges, journal entries, GL accounts and details, bank accounts |
| Maintenance | Work orders, vendors, attachments |
| Community associations | Homeowners, board members, violations, homeowner ledgers |
Which of these you can read, and which you can write, depends on your plan or partner agreement. The catalog is a reference, not a promise of access.
What you can build with read access
- Daily syncs of rent roll, delinquency, work orders and leases into Google Sheets, BigQuery or a data warehouse
- Dashboards in Power BI or Looker Studio that refresh themselves
- Alerts: aging balances, stalled work orders, upcoming expirations, vacancy changes
- Owner and investor reporting packs assembled automatically
- An AI assistant that answers questions from your own data (see AppFolio with Claude and ChatGPT)
Read access is where most of the value is for a typical management company: getting data out of AppFolio and in front of the people who act on it, on a schedule. For the Google Sheets version, see four ways to connect AppFolio to Google Sheets.
What needs write access
- Creating or updating records in AppFolio from another system (e.g. leads from a CRM, work orders from a form)
- Two-way syncs where AppFolio isn't the only source of truth
- Bulk updates that would otherwise be done by hand
If you're not on a plan with write access, most of these can be redesigned as alerts and task lists that tell a person exactly what to update. Inside AppFolio, Realm-X Flows (listed on Plus) can also automate some processes without an external integration.
API or scheduled reports?
Even on Plus or Max, the API isn't always the better route. A quick comparison:
| Scheduled reports | AppFolio API | |
|---|---|---|
| API access needed | No | Plus (read), Max (read/write) |
| Freshness | Daily, weekly or monthly | As often as you poll |
| Data shape | Exactly the report your team already uses | Raw records you assemble yourself |
| Writing back | No | Max only |
| Build effort | Low: an email trigger and a parser | Medium: credentials, paging, error handling |
For daily dashboards and alerts, scheduled reports are often enough, and they match the numbers your team sees in AppFolio. Reach for the API when you need data more than once a day, need records a report doesn't include, or need to write back.
What the AppFolio API costs
There's no separate API price list. Access comes with the Plus and Max plans, and AppFolio quotes plan pricing rather than publishing it. Its pricing page says a minimum spend and a 50-unit minimum apply on Core, and minimum spend and units apply on the higher plans. If the API is the only reason to move from Core to Plus, compare that cost with what scheduled exports can already do for you.
How to get access safely
- Ask your AppFolio account manager what API access your plan includes.
- Have your AppFolio admin create credentials for the integration, not for a person.
- Give the integration read-only access unless it genuinely needs to write.
- Store credentials in a secrets manager, never in a spreadsheet or a shared doc.
- Log every run, so you can see what was read or changed and when.
- Test writes somewhere safe before pointing them at live data.
For software vendors
If you're building a product for many AppFolio customers, the route is the AppFolio Stack partner program rather than a single customer's credentials. Approved partners are listed in AppFolio's Stack integration marketplace.
No API on your plan?
You can still automate a lot. AppFolio can email any saved report on a schedule as CSV or Excel, which covers most operational data: rent roll, delinquency, work orders, lease expirations. That's what RentOps Sheets Sync is built on. See how to automate AppFolio exports to Excel and Google Sheets and how to connect AppFolio to Zapier.
We're not affiliated with AppFolio; AppFolio and Realm-X are its trademarks. Plan details are from AppFolio's public pages as of this guide's update date.
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Frequently asked questions
Does AppFolio have an API?+
Yes. AppFolio's pricing page lists the AppFolio API as read-only on the Plus plan and read/write on Max. Core doesn't list API access. Vendors integrate through the AppFolio Stack partner program.
How much does the AppFolio API cost?+
AppFolio doesn't publish a standalone API price; access comes with the Plus and Max plans, which are quoted. Ask your AppFolio account manager what your plan and agreement include.
Is AppFolio free to use?+
No. AppFolio is paid property management software with quoted pricing. Its pricing page says a minimum spend and a 50-unit minimum apply on Core, and minimum spend and units apply on Plus and Max.
Where is the AppFolio API documentation?+
AppFolio's Stack site has a public catalog of its APIs. Full documentation and credentials are provided once access is enabled for your account or partnership.
Does AppFolio use AI?+
Yes. Its built-in AI is Realm-X. The pricing page lists the Realm-X Assistant and Messages on Core and Realm-X Flows, a workflow automation tool, on Plus.
Can I use an unofficial AppFolio API or scraper?+
There are unofficial projects that automate the web interface. They can break with any interface or login change, have trouble with multi-factor authentication, and may conflict with your agreement. We don't recommend them.