Juniper Square vs. AppFolio Investment Management

Juniper Square vs. AppFolio: Commercial real estate professionals are likely familiar with both brands, but which is the better choice for your firm? Perhaps they’d both work for you or perhaps a third solution altogether would be best! In the real estate investment management space, Juniper Square and AppFolio often go head-to-head when courting commercial real estate general partners (GPs) and their investors to purchase & adopt their respective software platforms. Like many software solutions, committing to a platform means a high volume of onboarding effort — uploading documents, importing assets, building deal rooms, adding investor contact information, launching an investor portal, and more — not to mention the software fees themselves, which are often locked in for at least a year and make a software switch difficult and time-consuming.

That’s why we’ve developed this Juniper Square vs. AppFolio comparison guide. Just like you would do before investing in a new real estate deal, take your time to conduct thorough due diligence when it comes to selecting the right investment management platform for your firm. First, let’s take a look at user reviews for each platform. 

*Note: Covercy is the first commercial real estate platform to offer GPs a forever-free version for the first 3 assets, plus a 14-day free trial to test out the richer platform features — like distribution waterfalls, InvestNow, and FDIC-insured checking accounts. Try Covercy free today. 

Juniper Square Reviews

Juniper Square is a well-known market leader in the investment management category. There are several reputable software review sites, like Capterra, G2, and Software Advice, that curate Juniper Square reviews & make it easy for buyers to compare Juniper Square to other investment management software competitors and alternatives. You could visit these websites to check for recent reviews of Juniper Square. As of this writing, Juniper Square holds strong rating averages across the board:

Capterra: 4.9/5 (61 reviews)

G2: 4.8/5 (84 reviews)

AppFolio Reviews

AppFolio, like Juniper Square, is a category leader in investment management. One key difference between AppFolio and Juniper Square that muddies the waters a bit when it comes to comparing the two is that AppFolio is perhaps better known for its property management software. AppFolio Property Manager is not the same as AppFolio Investment Manager, and buyers would be wise to make sure they are researching the correct platform before making any decisions here.

That being said, AppFolio Investment Manager scores slightly lower than Juniper Square on the two major software review sites we checked:

Capterra: 4.7/5 (100 reviews)

G2: 4.6/5 (105 reviews)

Remember, it’s important to consider multiple reviews to get a balanced perspective, and to keep in mind that the needs of your organization may differ from those of the reviewers. Here are some general factors you might want to consider when reading reviews:

1. Usability: How intuitive is the software? Is it easy to navigate and learn? What is the learning curve like?
2. Functionality: Does the software provide all the necessary features? How well do these features meet the reviewers’ needs?
3. Customer Support: Is the company responsive and helpful when users have problems?
4. Value for Money: Do reviewers feel they’re getting their money’s worth? Remember, the cheapest option isn’t always the best value if it doesn’t meet your needs.
5. Integration: How well does the software integrate with other tools you already use?
6. Customizability: Can you customize the tool to suit your specific needs?

Juniper Square vs. AppFolio: Strengths & Weaknesses

Juniper Square and AppFolio Investment Management are both leading investment management software solutions, but they have some key differences.

Juniper Square is known for its ease of use and its focus on fundraising. It has a number of features that make it easy for investment managers to create and manage fundraising campaigns, including a built-in CRM system, a deal tracking tool, and a customizable website builder. Juniper Square also has a strong focus on investor relations, with features that make it easy to communicate with investors and keep them updated on the progress of their investments.

AppFolio Investment Management is a more comprehensive solution that offers a wider range of features. In addition to fundraising and investor relations, AppFolio Investment Management also includes features for portfolio management, accounting, and compliance. AppFolio Investment Management is a good choice for investment managers who need a single platform to manage all aspects of their business.

Here is a table that summarizes the main differences between Juniper Square and AppFolio Investment Management: