Comprehensive Stock Comparison
Compare AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) vs Tyler Technologies, Inc. (TYL) Stock
Analyze side-by-side fundamentals, valuation, growth, and profitability to decide which stock is the better buy.
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Quick Verdict
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | APPF | 19.7% revenue growth vs TYL's 9.5% |
| Value | APPF | Lower P/E (27.1x vs 28.3x) |
| Quality / Margins | APPF | 14.8% net margin vs TYL's 13.5% |
| Stability / Safety | TYL | Beta 0.68 vs APPF's 0.82 |
| Dividends | Tie | Neither pays a meaningful dividend |
| Momentum (1Y) | APPF | -17.1% vs TYL's -41.7% |
| Efficiency (ROA) | APPF | 20.5% ROA vs TYL's 5.6%, ROIC 23.2% vs 6.7% |
Who Each Stock Is For
Income & stability
Growth exposure
Long-term compounding (10Y)
Sleep-well-at-night portfolio
Defensive / Recession hedge
Business Model
What each company does and how it makes money
AppFolio provides cloud-based software solutions for property management and real estate investment firms. It generates revenue primarily through subscription fees for its Property Manager platform — supplemented by value-added services like electronic payments, tenant screening, and insurance offerings. The company's competitive advantage lies in its specialized vertical software that deeply integrates with real estate workflows, creating switching costs through process automation and data centralization.
Tyler Technologies is a software company that provides integrated information management solutions exclusively for the public sector — including government agencies, courts, schools, and utilities. It generates revenue primarily through enterprise software licensing and maintenance fees (roughly 70% of revenue), appraisal and tax software services (about 20%), and digital government services through its NIC segment (around 10%). The company's key competitive advantage is its deep specialization in public sector workflows — creating high switching costs through mission-critical, integrated systems that span entire government operations.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
How each company's revenue is distributed across its business units
Financial Metrics Comparison
Side-by-side fundamentals across 2 stocks. BestLagging
Financial Scorecard
APPF leads in 4 of 6 categories (Financial Metrics, Valuation Metrics). TYL leads in 1 (Risk & Volatility).
Financial Metrics (TTM)
TYL is the larger business by revenue, generating $2.3B annually — 2.5x APPF's $951M. Profitability is closely matched — net margins range from 14.8% (APPF) to 13.5% (TYL). On growth, APPF holds the edge at +21.9% YoY revenue growth, suggesting stronger near-term business momentum.
| Metric | APPFAppFolio, Inc. | TYLTyler Technologie… |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueTrailing 12 months | $951M | $2.3B |
| EBITDAEarnings before interest/tax | $177M | $462M |
| Net IncomeAfter-tax profit | $141M | $316M |
| Free Cash FlowCash after capex | $238M | $638M |
| Gross MarginGross profit ÷ Revenue | +63.1% | +45.3% |
| Operating MarginEBIT ÷ Revenue | +16.1% | +15.3% |
| Net MarginNet income ÷ Revenue | +14.8% | +13.5% |
| FCF MarginFCF ÷ Revenue | +25.0% | +27.3% |
| Rev. Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +21.9% | +6.3% |
| EPS Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | -60.6% | +0.7% |
Valuation Metrics
At 45.8x trailing earnings, APPF trades at a 22% valuation discount to TYL's 58.6x P/E. On an enterprise value basis, APPF's 24.2x EV/EBITDA is more attractive than TYL's 33.5x.
| Metric | APPFAppFolio, Inc. | TYLTyler Technologie… |
|---|---|---|
| Market CapShares × price | $4.3B | $15.3B |
| Enterprise ValueMkt cap + debt − cash | $4.3B | $15.2B |
| Trailing P/EPrice ÷ TTM EPS | 45.81x | 58.63x |
| Forward P/EPrice ÷ next-FY EPS est. | 27.11x | 28.29x |
| PEG RatioP/E ÷ EPS growth rate | — | 5.51x |
| EV / EBITDAEnterprise value multiple | 24.22x | 33.54x |
| Price / SalesMarket cap ÷ Revenue | 4.55x | 7.14x |
| Price / BookPrice ÷ Book value/share | 11.90x | 4.55x |
| Price / FCFMarket cap ÷ FCF | 18.10x | 25.26x |
Profitability & Efficiency
APPF delivers a 26.0% return on equity — every $100 of shareholder capital generates $26 in annual profit, vs $6 for TYL. APPF carries lower financial leverage with a 0.06x debt-to-equity ratio, signaling a more conservative balance sheet compared to TYL's 0.19x. On the Piotroski fundamental quality scale (0–9), TYL scores 7/9 vs APPF's 6/9, reflecting strong financial health.
| Metric | APPFAppFolio, Inc. | TYLTyler Technologie… |
|---|---|---|
| ROE (TTM)Return on equity | +26.0% | +5.6% |
| ROA (TTM)Return on assets | +20.5% | +5.6% |
| ROICReturn on invested capital | +23.2% | +6.7% |
| ROCEReturn on capital employed | +26.7% | +7.7% |
| Piotroski ScoreFundamental quality 0–9 | 6 | 7 |
| Debt / EquityFinancial leverage | 0.06x | 0.19x |
| Net DebtTotal debt minus cash | -$74M | -$106M |
| Cash & Equiv.Liquid assets | $107M | $745M |
| Total DebtShort + long-term debt | $33M | $638M |
| Interest CoverageEBIT ÷ Interest expense | — | 124.09x |
Total Returns (with DRIP)
A $10,000 investment in APPF five years ago would be worth $10,975 today (with dividends reinvested), compared to $7,435 for TYL. Over the past 12 months, APPF leads with a -17.1% total return vs TYL's -41.7%. The 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) favors APPF at 10.4% vs TYL's 3.4% — a key indicator of consistent wealth creation.
| Metric | APPFAppFolio, Inc. | TYLTyler Technologie… |
|---|---|---|
| YTD ReturnYear-to-date | -22.8% | -18.6% |
| 1-Year ReturnPast 12 months | -17.1% | -41.7% |
| 3-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +34.6% | +10.4% |
| 5-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +9.7% | -25.6% |
| 10-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +1419.3% | +194.8% |
| CAGR (3Y)Annualised 3-year return | +10.4% | +3.4% |
Risk & Volatility
TYL is the less volatile stock with a 0.68 beta — it tends to amplify market swings less than APPF's 0.82 beta. A beta below 1.0 means the stock typically moves less than the S&P 500.
| Metric | APPFAppFolio, Inc. | TYLTyler Technologie… |
|---|---|---|
| Beta (5Y)Sensitivity to S&P 500 | 0.82x | 0.68x |
| 52-Week HighHighest price in past year | $326.04 | $626.56 |
| 52-Week LowLowest price in past year | $161.13 | $283.72 |
| % of 52W HighCurrent price vs 52-week peak | +54.5% | +56.6% |
| RSI (14)Momentum oscillator 0–100 | 40.5 | 48.7 |
| Avg Volume (50D)Average daily shares traded | 312K | 513K |
Analyst Outlook
Wall Street rates APPF as "Buy" and TYL as "Buy". Consensus price targets imply 54.7% upside for APPF (target: $275) vs 33.6% for TYL (target: $474).
| Metric | APPFAppFolio, Inc. | TYLTyler Technologie… |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst RatingConsensus buy/hold/sell | Buy | Buy |
| Price TargetConsensus 12-month target | $275.00 | $473.91 |
| # AnalystsCovering analysts | 12 | 35 |
| Dividend YieldAnnual dividend ÷ price | — | — |
| Dividend StreakConsecutive years of raises | — | 1 |
| Dividend / ShareAnnual DPS | — | — |
| Buyback YieldShare repurchases ÷ mkt cap | +4.4% | 0.0% |
Historical Charts
Charts are rendered on first load. Hover for details.
Chart 1Total Return — 5 Years (Rebased to 100)
| Stock | Mar 20 | Feb 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) | 100 | 158.02 | +58.0% |
| Tyler Technologies,… (TYL) | 100 | 109.41 | +9.4% |
AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) returned +10% over 5 years vs Tyler Technologies,… (TYL)'s -26%. A $10,000 investment in APPF 5 years ago would be worth $10,975 today (including dividends reinvested).
Chart 2Revenue Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) | $106M | $951M | +800.5% |
| Tyler Technologies,… (TYL) | $756M | $2.1B | +182.8% |
AppFolio, Inc.'s revenue grew from $106M (2016) to $951M (2025) — a 27.7% CAGR.
Chart 3Net Margin Trend — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) | -7.8% | 14.8% | +289.0% |
| Tyler Technologies,… (TYL) | 14.5% | 12.3% | -15.3% |
AppFolio, Inc.'s net margin went from -8% (2016) to 15% (2025).
Chart 4P/E Ratio History — 9 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) | 148.2 | 60 | -59.5% |
| Tyler Technologies,… (TYL) | 41 | 95.3 | +132.4% |
AppFolio, Inc. has traded in a 41x–148x P/E range over 6 years; current trailing P/E is ~46x. Tyler Technologies, Inc. has traded in a 41x–141x P/E range over 8 years; current trailing P/E is ~59x.
Chart 5EPS Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) | -0.25 | 3.88 | +1652.0% |
| Tyler Technologies,… (TYL) | 2.92 | 6.05 | +107.2% |
AppFolio, Inc.'s EPS grew from $-0.25 (2016) to $3.88 (2025).
Chart 6Free Cash Flow — 5 Years
AppFolio, Inc. generated $239M FCF in 2025 (+8839% vs 2021). Tyler Technologies, Inc. generated $604M FCF in 2024 (+91% vs 2021).
APPF vs TYL: Frequently Asked Questions
9 questions · data-driven answers · updated daily
01Is APPF or TYL a better buy right now?
AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) offers the better valuation at 45.8x trailing P/E (27.1x forward), making it the more compelling value choice. Analysts rate AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) a "Buy" — based on 12 analyst ratings — the highest consensus in this comparison. The "better buy" depends entirely on your goals: growth investors should weight revenue trajectory, value investors should weight P/E and PEG, and income investors should weight dividend yield and streak.
02Which has the better valuation — APPF or TYL?
On trailing P/E, AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) is the cheapest at 45.8x versus Tyler Technologies, Inc. at 58.6x. On forward P/E, AppFolio, Inc. is actually cheaper at 27.1x.
03Which is the better long-term investment — APPF or TYL?
Over the past 5 years, AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) delivered a total return of +9.7%, compared to -25.6% for Tyler Technologies, Inc. (TYL). A $10,000 investment in APPF five years ago would be worth approximately $11K today (assuming dividends reinvested). Over 10 years, the gap is even starker: APPF returned +1419% versus TYL's +194.8%. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the stock with the higher historical return may already have its best growth priced in.
04Which is safer — APPF or TYL?
By beta (market sensitivity over 5 years), Tyler Technologies, Inc. (TYL) is the lower-risk stock at 0.68β versus AppFolio, Inc.'s 0.82β — meaning APPF is approximately 21% more volatile than TYL relative to the S&P 500. On balance sheet safety, AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) carries a lower debt/equity ratio of 6% versus 19% for Tyler Technologies, Inc. — giving it more financial flexibility in a downturn.
05Which has better profit margins — APPF or TYL?
AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) is the more profitable company, earning 14.8% net margin versus 12.3% for Tyler Technologies, Inc. — meaning it keeps 14.8% of every revenue dollar as bottom-line profit. Operating margin tells a similar story: APPF leads at 16.1% versus 14.0% for TYL. At the gross margin level — before operating expenses — APPF leads at 61.3%, reflecting greater pricing power or product mix advantage. Stronger margins indicate durable pricing power, lower cost of revenue, or higher mix of software/services. They are one of the clearest signs of business quality.
06Is APPF or TYL more undervalued right now?
On forward earnings alone, AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) trades at 27.1x forward P/E versus 28.3x for Tyler Technologies, Inc. — 1.2x cheaper on a one-year earnings basis. Analyst consensus price targets imply the most upside for APPF: 54.7% to $275.00.
07Which pays a better dividend — APPF or TYL?
None of the stocks in this comparison currently pay a material dividend. All are effectively zero-yield and should be held for capital appreciation rather than income.
08Is APPF or TYL better for a retirement portfolio?
For long-horizon retirement investors, AppFolio, Inc. (APPF) is the stronger choice — it scores higher on the combination of lower volatility, dividend reliability, and long-term compounding (low volatility (β 0.82), +1419% 10Y return). Both have compounded well over 10 years (APPF: +1419%, TYL: +194.8%), confirming both are viable long-term holds — but the lower-volatility option typically results in less emotional selling during corrections. Retirement portfolios generally favour predictability over maximum returns. Consult a financial advisor before making allocation decisions.
09What are the main differences between APPF and TYL?
Both stocks operate in the Technology sector, making this a peer-level intra-sector comparison — the same macro tailwinds and headwinds will affect both. These fundamental differences mean investors should not choose between them on a single metric — the "better stock" depends entirely on which of these characteristics aligns with your investment strategy.
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