What does an AI leasing assistant actually cost in 2026?

Short answer: published prices in this category run from $10 a month at the small-landlord end to roughly $3–$6 per unit per month with a $25,000 annual minimum at the enterprise end. Most enterprise vendors publish nothing at all, and two of the biggest will not sell to you below a stated unit minimum.

I build one of these tools, so treat this as disclosed bias. Everything below is sourced to a vendor's own page or labeled as a third-party report, and checked between 6 and 10 October 2026.

What each vendor actually publishes

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Why most of them hide the number

Two reasons, and neither is sinister.

Enterprise leasing AI is sold per unit, and the per-unit rate is negotiated against portfolio size. A vendor quoting $6 a unit to a 400-door operator and $2 to a 40,000-door operator cannot publish either number without undercutting the other conversation. So they publish nothing and route you to a salesperson.

The second reason is the minimum. If your intake rule is 2,000 units, a public price invites a thousand enquiries you have to decline. Funnel solved this by stating the minimum outright, which I respect more than the alternative.

The hidden cost nobody quotes: messaging

Every one of these tools sends text messages, and texts are not free. The real numbers, if you are evaluating:

• $0.0083 per SMS segment through Twilio, outbound US
• $0.003–$0.005 per message in carrier surcharges (A2P 10DLC)
• $1.50–$10/month recurring A2P campaign fee
• $4–$48 one-time brand registration, plus $15–$17 campaign vetting

All in, about 1.2 cents per text. A busy single landlord doing 400 outbound messages a month is spending around $6 on messaging. That is small, but it matters for how you read a price: a vendor charging a flat fee has priced that risk into your bill whether you use it or not.

Two honest models exist. Flat pricing (LeaseUp Bulldog says plainly: "no metered AI tokens") buys predictability and costs more in a quiet month. Usage pricing — what I do — costs less in a quiet month and varies. Neither is a trick. Ask which one a vendor uses and why.

What you should actually ask a vendor

1. Is there a unit minimum? Ask before the demo, not after. It is the question that disqualifies most small operators and almost nobody asks it first.
2. What is the all-in monthly cost at my door count, including messaging? Per-unit pricing sounds cheap until you add the floor.
3. Is there a setup or implementation fee? Often unpublished and often four figures.
4. How long until it is live? Three to four weeks is a common vendor claim; third parties report six to ten for full CRM rollouts.
5. What happens if I cancel in month two? Annual commitments are normal at the enterprise end.

Rough guidance by portfolio size

1–10 units. Honestly, you may not need one of these. If you fill units by word of mouth and answer your phone, a leasing AI is overkill. Buy one when you are losing leads to slow replies, not before.

10–300 units. This is the gap. The enterprise platforms will not quote you, and the tools built for one to ten units lack the application, screening and e-sign pieces. Expect to pay $97–$250 a month.

300–2,000 units. You are in range for some mid-market tools and still below Funnel's floor. Get three quotes; the spread is wide.

2,000+ units. EliseAI and Funnel both want your business and will compete for it. Run them head to head and make them quote in writing.

Written by Reuven Praver, founder of LeasePace and an active residential leasing agent in Newark, NJ. I build a product in this category, so weigh this accordingly — and tell me if anything here is out of date and I will correct it.

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