Avail vs TurboTenant: Which Is Better for Small Landlords?

Where TurboTenant wins

On the free plans, TurboTenant is a little cheaper for your tenants. ACH is $2 per payment against Avail’s $2.50, and cards are 3.49% against 3.5%. A tenant paying by ACH every month pays $24 a year on TurboTenant and $30 on Avail.

The bigger difference is the paid upgrade. TurboTenant Pro costs $199 a year for 1 to 10 units and $399 for 11 to 30, flat within each band. It makes tenant ACH free, cuts screening to $45, and adds income verification, fraud detection, automatic bank import, unlimited connected bank accounts and phone support. Avail’s equivalent, Unlimited Plus, charges $9 per unit per month.

TurboTenant’s free plan also includes basic accounting, with full accounting tools on Pro. Avail’s accounting is income and expense tracking.

Where Avail wins

State-specific leases with e-sign on the free plan. Avail’s free Unlimited plan includes listings on 19 sites, applications and screening, state-specific leases with e-sign, online rent, maintenance tracking, income and expense tracking and messaging, for unlimited units. On TurboTenant, unlimited e-sign is a paid-plan feature.

Avail also offers a cheaper single screening report. Its $55 bundle (credit, criminal and eviction) costs the same as TurboTenant’s, but a single report is $30. Prices vary by state.

And at exactly one unit, Avail Unlimited Plus is the cheapest way to make tenant ACH free: $9 a month, $108 a year, against TurboTenant Pro’s $199. Plus also adds faster payouts, custom application questions, reusable lease templates, a branded property website and priority support.

Cost at 1, 5 and 20 units

On the free plans, both cost you $0 at any size. The difference is what tenants pay. Assuming every tenant pays by ACH once a month:

• 1 unit: TurboTenant tenants pay 12 x $2 = $24 a year. Avail tenants pay 12 x $2.50 = $30.
• 5 units: TurboTenant 5 x $2 x 12 = $120. Avail 5 x $2.50 x 12 = $150.
• 20 units: TurboTenant 20 x $2 x 12 = $480. Avail 20 x $2.50 x 12 = $600.

If you pay to make tenant ACH free:

• 1 unit: Avail Unlimited Plus $9 x 12 = $108 a year. TurboTenant Pro $199.
• 5 units: Avail $9 x 5 x 12 = $540. TurboTenant Pro $199.
• 20 units: Avail $9 x 20 x 12 = $2,160. TurboTenant Pro $399.

Avail’s annual price for Plus isn’t published. The last known figure was about $7 a unit per month billed annually (2024, unverified), which would still be $1,680 a year at 20 units.

At 2 units, Plus is $216 a year and TurboTenant Pro is already cheaper at $199. From there the gap grows with every unit.

The deciding questions

1. Do you want free e-signed state leases? Avail. That’s the strongest reason to choose it.
2. Do you care about tenant fees? On the free plans, TurboTenant is $0.50 cheaper per ACH payment. If you’ll pay to remove them, TurboTenant Pro beats Avail Plus from 2 units up.
3. How many units do you have? At one unit, either works and Avail Plus is the cheapest fee-free setup. Past that, TurboTenant scales better.
4. Do you want accounting in the same app? TurboTenant has more, especially on Pro with automatic bank import. Avail tracks income and expenses. For either, a separate bookkeeping tool like Stessa or Baselane is worth considering.
5. How many sites do you need your listing on? Avail lists on 19 sites. TurboTenant syndicates listings too, so check where each one posts in your market.

Who should pick each

Pick Avail if you have one or two units, want state-specific leases with e-sign at no cost, and don’t mind tenants paying $2.50 per ACH payment. At exactly one unit, Unlimited Plus at $108 a year is also the cheapest way to make tenant ACH free.

Pick TurboTenant if you have three or more units, want the lower $2 tenant ACH on the free plan, or plan to pay for Pro to make ACH free for everyone. At 5 units, Pro costs $199 a year against $540 for Avail Plus.

Pick something else if you want lower tenant fees without paying for a per-unit plan. RentRedi charges tenants $1 per ACH payment for a flat $144 a year, and Innago charges a 2.99% card fee on a free plan.

Problems reviewers raise about each

TurboTenant: tenant-side fees ($2 ACH on non-Pro plans, 3.49% card, $55 screening) draw tenant complaints and can deter applicants; some landlords feel the paid tiers are overpriced next to the free plan; some report account and listing review steps happening late in setup.

Avail: the applicant-management workflow and dashboard are described by some reviewers as clunky or unclear about applicant status; reports of payment-processing delays, account-access issues and long support waits; basic accounting, and per-unit Plus pricing that scales poorly.

Neither has an owner portal, so if you manage for other owners, look at a full property management system.

Switching between them

Both are free to start, so you can set up the new account and test it before you move anyone.

• Set up first. Add your properties, upload signed leases, and note each tenant’s rent, due date and deposit.
• Pick the 1st of a month as the switch date and tell tenants in writing two weeks ahead.
• Ask tenants to enroll. They’ll need to link a bank account and set up autopay again in the new app.
• Keep the old account open until the first payment clears in the new one, then turn off rent collection.
• Export your records from the old app so income and expenses for the year are in one place at tax time.
• Leases already signed stay valid. You don’t need to re-sign them because the software changed.

If you’re on Avail Free with a couple of units and use the free state leases, staying put is reasonable. The case for TurboTenant grows as you add units or decide to make tenant fees go away.