DoorKeeping vs Baselane: bank first or books first
Save $240 a year
against Baselane Smart at 40 units, software and tenant fees together.
Your tenants save $960 a year in rent payment fees: $0 with DoorKeeping, $2 per bank payment at Baselane (you can choose to pay it instead). Paying by card adds 3.49% of the payment at Baselane.
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Example math from Baselane's own published prices, read Oct 30, 2026. Details below.
Baselane is banking-led: you open property bank accounts with it, and its bookkeeping, rent collection and tax reports are built around those accounts, with a free Core plan and a Smart plan at $20 a month billed yearly. DoorKeeping is operations-led: it keeps each property's books and runs the building through Claude or ChatGPT while rent lands in the bank you already use, for $2 per unit per month. Baselane costs less at most sizes; DoorKeeping matches bank feed deposits to rent and adds e-signed leases, work orders and owner statements.
Baselane is a bank account first
Baselane's home page says plainly that it "is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank", and that banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. What you get is checking and savings accounts per property or entity, debit cards with spend controls, and bookkeeping that tags each transaction to an entity, property and tax category. Its pricing page lists $0 account opening, $0 monthly maintenance and $0 minimum balance, with fees on a few items such as a $15 outgoing wire and a $2 mailed check.
That design is the main thing to decide on. If you are happy to move each property's money to a new bank, Baselane gives you banking and books in one place. If your properties already bank somewhere you like, or your lender requires accounts at its bank, you would keep Baselane's bookkeeping side and sync external accounts, which its accounting page says it supports.
DoorKeeping is not a bank and does not ask you to open one. Each property keeps its own bank account wherever it is, and tenants pay into it directly.
Cost for a 12 unit and a 60 unit owner
Baselane does not price by unit. Core is $0. Smart is $20 a month on an annual plan; the pricing page lists no monthly-billing price for Smart.
| Made-up owner | Baselane Core | Baselane Smart (yearly) | DoorKeeping |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 units | $0 | $20 x 12 = $240 | 12 x $2 x 12 = $288 |
| 60 units | $0 | $20 x 12 = $240 | 60 x $2 x 12 = $1,440 |
Baselane is cheaper for the owner at both sizes, and the gap grows with units because its price does not. The other side of the ledger is what tenants pay. Baselane's rent collection page says card payments carry a 3.49% fee charged to the tenant, and ACH payments carry a $2 fee that the landlord can cover, pass to tenants, or have waived by depositing rent into a Baselane checking account.
Example a made-up 60 unit owner who keeps rent at an outside bank and passes Baselane's $2 ACH fee to tenants. Tenants pay 60 x 12 x $2 = $1,440 a year between them. If the same owner moves rent deposits to Baselane checking, the page says that fee is waived, and the owner pays $0 on Core.
With DoorKeeping, tenants pay your bank directly and DoorKeeping charges them nothing for it.
How the books compare
This is where the two products overlap most, so it is worth being precise.
| Bookkeeping feature | Baselane | DoorKeeping |
|---|---|---|
| Books per entity and property | Yes, LLCs and other entities supported | Yes, one LLC per property, each with its own ledger and P&L |
| Schedule E | Reports per entity and property | Expense accounts map to Schedule E lines |
| Bank feed import | Yes, Baselane accounts plus external accounts and cards | Yes, with deposits matched to rent |
| AI categorization | Yes, AI plus custom rules | You ask Claude or ChatGPT; it works from your books |
| Receipts and bills | Smart plan: auto-receipt matching | AI reads and codes bills and invoices |
| Security deposits held | Separate deposit account product | Deposits held tracked in each property's books |
| Owner approval before money moves | Not described | Every money or legal step waits for one tap |
Baselane facts from its pricing, accounting and rent collection pages on 2026-10-29.
Where Baselane leads today
Baselane does several things DoorKeeping does not. It is an actual bank account, with debit cards, transfers and interest on savings. Its Smart plan adds 2-day rent deposits, auto-transfers when a balance runs low, cost segregation and role-based access for a partner or bookkeeper. It also offers tenant screening from $24.99, rent reporting and split rent payments. For a landlord whose biggest pain is mixed-up bank accounts, Baselane solves that directly and cheaply.
What DoorKeeping does differently
DoorKeeping is built for owners of 5 or more apartment units who want to run the whole building, not only its bank account, by talking to an AI app.
- Ask Claude or ChatGPT about any property: profit and loss, net operating income, what is still owed this month. The answer comes from that property's own books.
- The AI never moves money or sends a legal notice on its own. Each such step waits for your one-tap approval.
- Keep your bank. DoorKeeping never holds rent and sends a payment only when you approve it; tenants pay your account by bank transfer, or Zelle where your bank supports it.
- Tell payments apart. Each tenant gets a memo like 12B SMITH and an amount with its own cents.
- One flat price per unit with every feature, no tiers, no setup fee and no minimum.
Beyond the books, DoorKeeping matches bank feed deposits to rent, sends e-signed leases and renewal offers, runs work orders and produces owner statements, Schedule E and the 1099-NEC report.
Can you use both?
Yes, and some owners will. Because DoorKeeping does not need its own bank account, you can keep Baselane checking for a property and still run that property in DoorKeeping. The question is whether you want two places holding a copy of the books. If banking is your main need, Baselane alone may be enough. If the day-to-day running of apartment buildings is, start with the DoorKeeping demo and see the security page for how your data is handled.
Why switch from Baselane
- Lower cost: about $240 a year less than Baselane Smart at 40 units, from the published prices above.
- Tenants pay $0 to pay rent by bank transfer. A credit card payment carries a 3% card fee. Credit cards only. At Baselane: $2 per payment (pricing page lists $2 to $5); landlord can cover it or pass it on; waived when rent deposits into Baselane checking; 3.49% of the payment (debit or credit).
- Every feature on one plan. On Baselane's Smart plan, full accounting (ledger, p&l, balance sheet), bills read and coded automatically, vendor dispatch, ai assistant and more need a higher plan or cost extra.
- Run your buildings from the Claude or ChatGPT you already use; money and legal steps wait for your one-tap approval.
- Rent goes straight to your own bank. DoorKeeping never holds your money.
What one year costs: Baselane and DoorKeeping
Example math, not a quote: Baselane's Smart plan, billed the cheapest published way, plus the published fee for a tenant paying rent by bank 12 times a year per unit. Balance sheet reports are on Smart only, so Smart is used: $20 a month on the annual plan is $240 a year with no unit limit. Core is $0 with rent collection and bookkeeping but no balance sheet. ACH is $2 a payment (pricing page says $2 to $5), waived when rent lands in Baselane checking.
| Baselane (Smart) | DoorKeeping | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 unitsSmart | $480$240 software + $240 tenant bank fees2.0x DoorKeeping | $240No other fees |
| 40 unitsSmart | $1,200$240 software + $960 tenant bank fees1.3x DoorKeeping | $960No other fees |
| 100 unitsSmart | $2,640$240 software + $2,400 tenant bank fees1.1x DoorKeeping | $2,400No other fees |
Feature by feature: Baselane and DoorKeeping
16 of 32 features are included on the plan above at Baselane, and 32 at DoorKeeping. Read from Baselane's own pages on Oct 30, 2026; "Not stated" means we could not find it on Baselane's own site.
| Baselane (Smart) | DoorKeeping | |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | ||
| Full accounting (ledger, P&L, balance sheet) | IncludedBookkeeping and reports on Core; balance sheet on Smart only | IncludedSeparate books for each property, rolled up |
| Bank feeds and reconciliation | IncludedSyncs outside bank accounts and cards; no reconciliation tool named | IncludedConnect your bank; deposits matched to rent |
| Owner statementsIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedBuilt from the books |
| Tax reports such as Schedule E | IncludedAccountant tax package with Schedule E on all plans | IncludedSchedule E from the books |
| 1099 forms for vendorsIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | Included1099-NEC report from the books |
| Budgets and budget vs actualIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedBudgets and budget vs actual |
| Bills read and coded automatically | IncludedAI auto-tagging and receipt matching on Smart only | IncludedAI reads invoices and codes each line |
| Pay vendors from the software | IncludedScheduled vendor payments; ACH free, mailed check $2 | IncludedPay vendors from your own bank after your tap |
| QuickBooks connection | IncludedQuickBooks and Xero sync on all plans | IncludedSync with QuickBooks Online |
| Rent | ||
| Online rent collection | IncludedACH $2, landlord or tenant pays; free into Baselane checking | IncludedFree, straight to your own bank |
| Tenant autopay | IncludedTenant portal with autopay on all plans | IncludedTenants authorize it once; rent comes from their bank on the due date, free |
| Automatic late fees | IncludedAutomatic rent invoices, reminders and late fees | IncludedPosted automatically within state caps |
| Tenant portal | IncludedTenant portal for one-time and recurring payments | IncludedInvite link, nothing to install |
| Leasing | ||
| Listing page for every vacancyIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedA public page per vacant unit, with Apply and Schedule a showing |
| Listings on Zillow and moreIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedList on Zillow and more |
| Online rental applicationsIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedOnline applications by link |
| Tenant screening | IncludedFrom $24.99, paid by the applicant | IncludedOur exact cost, no markup |
| E-signed leasesIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedBuilt in, no per-document fee |
| Lease renewalsIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedRenewal offers drafted for your approval |
| Maintenance | ||
| Maintenance requests and work ordersIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedRequests become work orders |
| Vendor dispatchIncluded with DoorKeeping | Add-onBook contractors through partner Latchel; price not published | IncludedSend jobs to your vendors by link, no account |
| Move-in and move-out inspectionsIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedMove-in and move-out checklists by link |
| AI and communication | ||
| Messages to tenants (email or text)Included with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedEmail to tenants and vendors |
| AI assistant | IncludedAI assistant tags transactions, Smart only | IncludedAsk in plain words; money steps wait for your tap |
| Works inside Claude and ChatGPTIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedConnects to the Claude or ChatGPT you already use |
| Ready-made automations | IncludedAutomatic rent reminders and late fees; auto-transfer rules on Smart | IncludedOne-toggle automations |
| Team, security and support | ||
| Team members and roles | IncludedShared access for team members on Smart only | IncludedRoles for your team |
| Two-factor sign-inIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedAuthenticator app and recovery codes |
| Mobile app | IncludedBaselane mobile app on all plans | IncludediPhone and Android app |
| Document storageIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedStore and share by expiring link |
| Support | IncludedMulti-channel support; priority support on Smart | IncludedEmail support@doorkeeping.com |
| Onboarding and data importIncluded with DoorKeeping | Not stated | IncludedFree and self-serve; import your rent roll |
Every fee: Baselane and DoorKeeping
Everything Baselane publishes that an owner, a tenant or an applicant pays, next to DoorKeeping, read from Baselane's own pages (www.baselane.com/pricing, www.baselane.com/rent-collection). "Not published" means it is not on Baselane's own site.
| Fee | Baselane | DoorKeeping |
|---|---|---|
| Software price | Core $0; Smart $20 a month on an annual plan (paid by the owner) | $2 per unit per month, every feature included (paid by the owner) |
| Minimum or contract | None; no minimum balance on its bank accounts | None. No minimum and no contract |
| Setup or onboarding | Free ($0 account opening) | None |
| Rent paid by bank (ACH) | $2 per payment (pricing page lists $2 to $5); landlord can cover it or pass it on; waived when rent deposits into Baselane checking (owner or tenant pays) | Free. Tenants pay your own bank directly |
| Rent paid by card | 3.49% of the payment (debit or credit) (paid by the tenant) | 3% card fee, credit cards only; bank transfer stays free (paid by the tenant) |
| Tenant screening | From $24.99 (paid by the applicant) | No markup: our exact cost. Paid by the applicant by default, or by you if you choose |
| E-signatures | Not published | Included, no per-document fee |
| Payouts to owners or vendors | ACH transfer free; same-day ACH 1% (max $15); wire $15 (waived at $50,000+ balance); mailed check $2; checkbook $15 (paid by the owner) | None. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it |
| Other published fees | Tenant split rent payments from $30 a month; tenant rent reporting $5 a month; no fee for returned payments, inactive accounts or ATM use (paid by the tenant) | None |
Sources
- Baselane, Pricing, read Oct 29, 2026
- Baselane, Rent collection, read Oct 29, 2026
- Baselane, Landlord accounting, read Oct 29, 2026
- Baselane, Home page, read Oct 29, 2026
Questions
- Is Baselane a bank?
- No. Baselane says it is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank, and that its banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC.
- Do I have to bank with DoorKeeping?
- No. DoorKeeping is not a bank and never holds rent. Each property keeps its own bank account wherever you have it, and tenants pay into it directly.
- Which is cheaper, Baselane or DoorKeeping?
- Baselane, for the owner. Core is free and Smart is $240 a year at any size, while DoorKeeping is $2 per unit per month. Baselane charges tenants $2 per ACH payment unless it is waived, and 3.49% by card.