Best Tenant Management Software

What tenant management software should handle

Tenant management covers one loop that repeats every time a unit turns over: advertise, take applications, screen, sign a lease, move the tenant in, collect rent each month, fix what breaks, renew or move them out. Good software keeps every step tied to the tenant’s record, so when something goes wrong you can see the whole history in one place.

For a landlord with 1 to 20 units, these are the jobs worth checking in any demo or free trial:

• Applications and screening in one flow. The applicant should fill in their own details and pay for their own report, and you should see the result next to the application.
• Leases you can sign online. Check how many e-signatures are included and whether state-specific templates come with it.
• Rent collection with clear fees. Know what tenants pay per ACH and card payment, and whether you can cover it.
• Late fees that follow your state’s rules. You need to set the grace period and the cap yourself. Colorado says no fee until rent is at least 7 days late. Texas says 2 full days. Massachusetts says 30.
• Maintenance requests with photos and a timeline. A dated record of when a tenant reported a leak is worth a lot in a deposit dispute.
• Messages that stay in the system. Texts on your personal phone are hard to find later.

The picks

TurboTenant: best free option

TurboTenant’s free plan covers listings with syndication, online applications, screening, rent collection, maintenance requests and basic accounting. It’s aimed at landlords with 1 to 50 doors.

Tenants pay $2 per ACH payment on the free and Essentials plans and 3.49% on cards. Applicants pay $55 for screening ($45 on Pro). Essentials costs $149 a year for 1 to 10 units and adds unlimited e-sign leases, a forms pack and faster listing review. Pro costs $199 a year for 1 to 10 units and adds income verification, fraud detection and free tenant ACH.

At 5 units with monthly ACH payments, your tenants pay $120 a year on the free plan. On Pro, you pay $199 and they pay nothing for ACH.

There’s no owner portal, and reviewers say the paid tiers can feel pricey for what they add.

Best for: 1 to 10 units, landlords who want a free start.

RentRedi: best flat price

RentRedi charges the same no matter how many units you have: $29.95 a month, $20 a month on a 6-month plan, or $12 a month billed annually ($144 a year). Every plan has the full feature set, with unlimited properties, tenants and teammates.

Tenant ACH is $1, the lowest per-payment fee among the paid apps here, and cards are 3.1% plus $0.30. Screening costs the tenant $39.99, or $49.99 with income verification through Plaid. At 20 units, $144 a year works out to 60 cents per door per month.

Reviews mention a workflow with more clicks than expected, older complaints about multi-day ACH holds, and friction with two-factor login. There’s no owner portal.

Best for: 5 to 50 units, landlords who want one predictable bill.

Avail: best for state leases

Avail’s free Unlimited plan lists on 19 sites and includes applications, screening, state-specific leases with e-sign, online rent, maintenance tracking, income and expense tracking, and messaging, with unlimited units.

Tenants pay $2.50 per ACH payment and 3.5% on cards. Screening is $55 for the bundle or $30 for a single report. Unlimited Plus costs $9 per unit a month and waives tenant ACH, adds custom application questions and lease templates, and speeds up payouts with FastPay.

Some reviewers find the applicant dashboard unclear about where each applicant stands, and there are complaints about payment delays and support waits.

Best for: 1 to 5 units, landlords who want a state lease without paying for one.

TenantCloud: priced by active leases

TenantCloud limits plans by the number of active leases, not units. Starter covers 10 leases for $15 a month billed annually ($180 a year). The vendor page shows both $18 and $25 for monthly billing, so confirm the price at checkout. Growth covers 30 leases for $29.17 a month billed annually, and Pro covers 60 leases for $50 a month billed annually with bank reconciliation, tax reports and an owner portal.

Tenant ACH drops as you move up: $1.95 on Starter, $1.75 on Growth, $1.50 on Pro. Screening is $40 for the full check.

Bugs and slow bank account verification are recurring themes in reviews.

Best for: landlords with 5 to 30 leases who want move-in and move-out inspections (Growth and up).

Buildium: best past 20 units

Buildium is full property management software, and its tenant tools are thorough: online applications, screening, e-sign leases, a resident portal, rent collection, automatic late fees and maintenance tracking. The Essential plan costs $62 a month ($55.80 billed annually) and held that price at 20 and 40 units on its calculator.

Fees add up. Incoming EFT is $2.35 on Essential, configurable to you or the resident. Cards are 2.99%. Screening costs $17 if you pay or $35 if the applicant pays. Each business bank account costs $99 to set up on Essential. Live phone support starts on Growth at $192 a month.

At 20 units, $62 a month is $3.10 per door. At 5 units it’s $12.40 per door, which is hard to justify unless you need the accounting.

Best for: 20 units and up, or anyone starting to manage for others.

Cost at 1, 5 and 20 units

Landlord subscription only, cheapest billing option:

Tool	1 unit	5 units	20 units	Tenant ACH
TurboTenant Free	$0	$0	$0	$2
RentRedi (annual)	$12/mo	$12/mo	$12/mo	$1
Avail Unlimited	$0	$0	$0	$2.50
TenantCloud (annual)	$15/mo	$15/mo	$29.17/mo	$1.95-$1.75
Buildium Essential	$62/mo	$62/mo	$62/mo	$2.35

When none of these fit

If you need a person to coordinate repairs because you live far from the rental, look at a hybrid service like Hemlane, whose Essential plan adds 24/7 repair coordination for a $28 platform fee plus $20 per unit a month. If your real problem is bookkeeping, not tenants, a free accounting tool like Stessa or Baselane alongside a free tenant app may serve you better than any single all-in-one.