AscendixRE vs Buildout (2026)

TL;DR

• Pick AscendixRE if you want Salesforce-grade flexibility and customization for CRE — with the Salesforce license bundled into the price — and you have (or will budget for) the Salesforce know-how to wield it.
• Pick Buildout if you want a purpose-built CRE platform with a best-in-class brochure and offering-memorandum engine, and you'd rather not run a Salesforce org.

Pricing

AscendixRE is $79/user/mo (Standard) and $99/user/mo (Enterprise), and crucially includes the Salesforce license — no separate Salesforce contract to negotiate — billed annually at those published prices. Buildout starts around $120/user/mo for its CRM, with a setup fee (~$250) and "contact us" pricing at its Rethink/Apto tiers. AscendixRE is the lower per-seat number and folds in a license that would otherwise cost more on its own; Buildout costs more per seat but doesn't carry Salesforce's customization overhead.

Platform foundation

This is the defining difference. AscendixRE is Salesforce underneath — you inherit Salesforce's extreme customizability, AppExchange ecosystem, and reporting, plus CRE-specific layers on top. That power demands Salesforce administration; budget for admin time or a partner. Buildout is its own purpose-built CRE platform, the consolidation of Rethink CRM and Apto, so it's CRE-shaped out of the box with less to configure but a smaller ecosystem when you step outside its walls. AscendixRE is "flexible but you maintain it"; Buildout is "opinionated and ready."

CRE data model and stacking plans

Both speak commercial real estate natively. Buildout treats properties, spaces, tenants, and leases as first-class objects — not custom fields hacked onto a generic CRM — with stacking plans visualizing occupancy and lease expirations by floor. AscendixRE delivers stacking plans too, alongside commission tracking with splits and tiered payouts modeled natively, and Ascendix Search for map-based property queries exportable to Excel. Both cover tenant/landlord rep, investment sales, and brokerage workflows. The model fit is comparable; the difference is whether it sits on Salesforce or on Buildout's own engine.

Marketing documents and search

Buildout's signature strength is its marketing-document engine: turning listings into print-ready offering memorandums, brochures, and flyers without a designer — the deliverables CRE brokers actually ship to clients. AscendixRE counters with Ascendix Composer (40+ CRE document templates like OMs, lease comp reports, and listing activity) and Ascendix Search for advanced map-based location queries. If polished, brochure-grade marketing output is central to your workflow, Buildout has the deeper reputation; if you want documents plus heavy geospatial search, AscendixRE is strong.

Deal pipeline and consolidation

Both replace SaaS-style sales stages with CRE-shaped pipelines — LOI, under contract, due diligence, close. Buildout consolidates CRM, deal management, and marketing from one vendor after merging three well-known CRE products, though post-acquisition consolidation is still settling and some legacy customers report feature gaps. AscendixRE's deal management rides on Salesforce's mature platform. Both are genuine CRE tools; neither makes sense for residential agents or general B2B.

Who should pick what

• Brokerages that want Salesforce flexibility without Salesforce list pricing → AscendixRE. License bundled in.
• Brokers whose deliverables are OMs and brochures → Buildout. The marketing-document engine is the draw.
• Teams with no appetite for Salesforce admin → Buildout. Purpose-built, less to maintain.
• Firms that need heavy commission splits and tiered payouts → AscendixRE. Modeled natively.
• Anyone already invested in the Salesforce ecosystem → AscendixRE. AppExchange and reporting come along.

Bottom line

Both are serious CRE CRMs and miles better than bending a residential or general-purpose tool to fit commercial deals. Choose AscendixRE if you value Salesforce's flexibility and want the license bundled at a CRE-friendly price — and can supply the admin muscle. Choose Buildout if you want a purpose-built CRE platform with the strongest marketing-document output and no Salesforce org to run. Residential agents should ignore both.