HomeRelay vs MagicDoor.

The core difference: coordinate vs run it for you.

Based on MagicDoor's public site, its AI collects the details from the tenant, turns the request into a work order, assigns a vendor, and opens a group chat between the tenant and the vendor. That is a reasonable design for a property manager. Staying close to every job is the job, so a shared thread fits how they work.

HomeRelay is built for the opposite person. You own the unit and you have a day job, so you want out of the loop, not into another chat to babysit. HomeRelay works each party separately and runs the whole job: it triages the issue, ranks your vendors, contacts them, chases a response, reassigns if someone no-shows, and settles the schedule. You get a summary, not a thread to manage.

We never touch your rent.

HomeRelay is a flat $69 a month for 1 to 4 units, or $99 a month for 5 and up. Your rent goes straight to you through Stripe Connect. We add no fee, take no cut, and put no cap on your rent volume. Texts are unlimited.

MagicDoor's model runs rent and messaging through the platform, and the Starter tier meters both: $0.15 per text and $5 per ACH, with a $10k monthly rent cap. Maintenance is text-heavy work, roughly 10 to 30 messages per ticket for confirmations, vendor offers, escalation, and scheduling. On a metered tier, the exact loop we run costs extra every time it runs. That is a structural difference, not a coupon.

A tunable autonomy dial, per trade.

HomeRelay's Automation Hub lets you set how hands-off you are, trade by trade. Auto-dispatch the $150 plumbing call, require your sign-off on the $1,500 HVAC job, and keep a global pause switch for when you want everything to stop. Cost thresholds decide what goes out on its own and what waits for you.

Based on MagicDoor's public site, their oversight is centered on a payment-approval step rather than a per-category automation dial. Their granular settings live behind a login we cannot see, so treat this as a public-facing difference, not a hidden-feature claim.

Where MagicDoor is the better pick.

We are not going to pretend HomeRelay wins for everyone. Choose MagicDoor if:

• You want one tool for everything, including accounting, tenant screening, listing syndication, and owner portals. HomeRelay deliberately does none of those.
• You manage property for other owners. MagicDoor's accounting is built around management fees and owner distributions, which is exactly what that job needs.
• You need tenant communication in other languages. Their AI translates messages into the tenant's preferred language, and HomeRelay is English-only today.
• You are a simple 1-2 unit landlord who wants the lowest flat sticker and does not send many texts. Their $20 Starter can be cheaper than us.

Where HomeRelay is the better pick.

Choose HomeRelay if:

• You self-manage your own 1-10 units and want the maintenance job run for you, not a chat to supervise.
• You want your rent and your texts left alone: flat $69 for 1 to 4 units or $99 for 5 and up, rent paid to you direct, no per-text or per-ACH metering, no rent cap.
• You want to tune how hands-off you are per trade, with a real pause switch.
• You are fine using separate specialized tools for accounting or screening, and you want maintenance done deeply rather than everything done broadly.

Questions to ask any AI maintenance tool before you sign.

These four questions separate a dispatch tool from a metered group chat:

• Does it charge per text? Maintenance runs on messages. A per-text fee taxes the core of the job.
• Does it charge per ACH, or cap your rent volume? Tools that route rent can take a fee on every pull and cap how much you collect.
• Does it actually dispatch, or set up a chat you supervise? Ask whether it contacts vendors, escalates on no response, and reassigns on a no-show, or just opens a thread.
• Can you tune the automation per trade? Auto for the small stuff, sign-off for the expensive stuff, and a way to pause it all.

One thing we will say plainly.

HomeRelay is new. We would rather tell you that than dress it up. What we are sure of is the design: maintenance, run end-to-end, for landlords who manage their own units, with your rent and your vendor relationships left in your hands. Try the live demo with sample data and judge it yourself before you pay anything.

More on the boundary: what HomeRelay deliberately doesn't do →