Lotly vs. AppFolio for Mobile Home Parks

AppFolio is one of the best-built apartment property management products in the market. Modern UI, strong mobile experience, deep accounting, and excellent marketing integrations. The catch for MHP operators: AppFolio is fundamentally unit-centric, and parks don't fit cleanly into a unit-based model.

Feature	Lotly	AppFolio
Lot-level occupancy tracking	Native	Unit-only (vacant lots awkward)
Lot rent vs. home rent split	Native, separate billing	Combined rent only
Park-aware tenant screening	Built-in (TU + criminal + housing records)	Built-in (apartment-tuned)
ACH-first rent collection	Default; sub-$1 per transaction	Available; not default
Built-in certified mail	Native one-click	Not native
Infill stage tracking	Native 6-stage pipeline	Not native
Owner statements	MHP-formatted, no QBO required	Apartment-style statements
Tenant portal mobile-first	Sub-90-second pay flow	Strong mobile UX
Pricing model	Per-lot, vacant-free, month-to-month	Per-unit, annual contract
Built specifically for MHP	Yes — designed for parks from day one	Apartment-first

Where AppFolio wins

AppFolio's UX is best-in-class for residential property management. The mobile experience for both operators and tenants is genuinely great. The accounting depth is impressive. For pure apartment operators, AppFolio is a top-tier choice. For mixed portfolios where the apartment side is the larger investment, AppFolio handles parks 'well enough' if you're willing to bend MHP workflows around the apartment model.

Where AppFolio doesn't fit MHP

Three structural issues.

Unit-centric data model

AppFolio counts units, not lots. Vacant lots get modeled as vacant units — awkward and per-unit-priced.
No lot rent / home rent split

AppFolio doesn't natively distinguish lot rent from home rent. Operators work around with rent codes, but reporting gets messy.
No infill, no certified mail, no MHP compliance

All three are absent or require third-party integrations that don't quite fit. Pure-MHP operators feel the gap by month two.

Pricing comparison

AppFolio's per-unit pricing was designed for apartments. Operators report $1.50/unit/month base with substantial minimums and module add-ons. On a park, you're paying for vacant lots, paying for park-owned homes treated as separate units, and paying for entries that don't generate rent. The per-unit math gets uncomfortable on a 1,000+ lot portfolio.

When to switch

Pure-MHP operators on AppFolio typically switch within 12-18 months as the workarounds compound. Mixed-portfolio operators sometimes maintain AppFolio for apartments and Lotly for parks — running two systems is operationally complex but lets each side use the right tool.

Best for

AppFolio: Apartment-first operators with a small park portfolio they're willing to fit into apartment workflows.

Lotly: Mobile-home-park-first operators who want lot-level workflows, certified mail, infill stage tracking, and per-lot vacant-free pricing without the apartment-DNA workarounds.

Pricing

AppFolio: Per-unit pricing (~$1.50/unit/month minimums). Annual contract.

Lotly: Per-lot pricing with vacant lots free. Month-to-month contract — no annual lock-in. See pricing →