Best Rent Collection Software for Small Landlords

How we picked these rent apps

Each app is scored on the same scorecard as all software on this site, with cost at 1, 5 and 20 units weighted heaviest and tenant-side fees counted separately. For rent collection, those two categories matter most: what you pay to use the app, and what your tenants pay every month.

Scores are provisional. They come from vendor pricing pages and help articles, checked October 18, 2026, and recurring themes in public reviews. We’re running live test payments on each app now, and the results will replace these scores. Commission never sets the order.

The five apps, ranked

1. RentRedi: lowest tenant fees for a flat price

RentRedi costs $12 a month billed annually ($144 a year), $20 a month on the six-month plan or $29.95 month to month, with unlimited units. Tenants pay $1 per ACH payment by default, and you can cover it. Cards cost 3.1% plus $0.30, debit or credit. Automatic late fees are included, along with screening, leases and maintenance.

Cost: $12 a month at 1, 5 or 20 units. At 20 units, your tenants pay $240 a year in ACH fees, against $480 on most free apps.

Watch for: reviewers complain about deposit timing, historically multi-day holds on ACH, and payment reversals.

2. TurboTenant: best free rent collection

TurboTenant’s free plan collects rent online at no cost to you. Tenants pay $2 per ACH payment on Free and Essentials and 3.49% on cards. The Pro plan ($199 a year for 1 to 10 units) makes tenant ACH free, and paid plans add expedited rent payouts. Automatic late fees are included on every plan.

Cost: $0 at any size on Free. Pro is about $16.58 a month at 1 or 5 units and $33.25 at 20.

Watch for: the free plan allows one connected bank account, which matters if you keep a separate account per property.

3. Avail: free, with the highest tenant ACH fee

Avail’s free Unlimited plan includes online rent for any number of units. Tenants pay $2.50 per bank transfer and 3.5% on cards. Unlimited Plus, at $9 per unit a month, waives the tenant ACH fee and adds FastPay for quicker deposits. Late fees can be automated.

Cost: $0 on Unlimited. Plus costs $9, $45 and $180 a month at 1, 5 and 20 units.

Watch for: reports of payment-processing delays and long support waits.

4. Innago: free, with the lowest card fee

Innago is free at any size. Tenants pay $2 per ACH payment and 2.99% on cards by default, and you can absorb either fee. It includes late fee and invoice automation, so recurring charges like pet rent or utility bill-backs go out on schedule.

Cost: $0 at 1, 5 and 20 units.

Watch for: no bank sync and light accounting, so you’ll reconcile deposits yourself.

5. Baselane: rent collection built into a landlord bank account

Baselane is a banking platform first. The free Core plan gives you checking and savings accounts through Thread Bank (FDIC insured), debit cards, property-level tracking, automated rent reminders and late fees, and a Schedule E report. Tenant ACH costs $2, though Baselane’s own page also shows a $2 to $5 range and says the fee is waived for deposits into Baselane accounts, so confirm before you set it up. You choose who pays. Cards cost 3.49%. The Smart plan, $20 a month billed annually, adds 2-day rent deposits and receipt matching.

Cost: $0 on Core, $20 a month on Smart, at any size.

Watch for: some landlords call it buggy, and tenants have reported confusing or mistaken payment reminders.

ACH vs card fees: what your tenants pay

On a $1,650 rent, here’s what each payment costs the tenant by default:

App	Your monthly cost	Tenant ACH fee	Card fee	Card fee on $1,650
RentRedi	$12 (annual)	$1.00	3.1% + $0.30	$51.45
TurboTenant Free	$0	$2.00	3.49%	$57.59
Avail Unlimited	$0	$2.50	3.5%	$57.75
Innago	$0	$2.00	2.99%	$49.34
Baselane Core	$0	$2.00	3.49%	$57.59

The lesson is plain: steer tenants to ACH. A card payment costs roughly 20 to 50 times as much as a bank payment, and few tenants want to pay $50 a month for that convenience once they see the number.

Across a year, ACH fees add up for your tenants. Five units paying monthly make 60 payments: $60 on RentRedi, $120 on TurboTenant, Innago or Baselane, and $150 on Avail. At 20 units it’s 240 payments, or $240, $480 and $600. If you’d rather absorb the fee, those are your numbers.

How fast you get paid

ACH is cheap because it’s slow. Standard bank transfers usually take a few business days to settle, and a new account can take longer while the processor verifies it. Faster options cost something: TurboTenant includes expedited payouts on paid plans, Avail’s FastPay is part of Unlimited Plus, and Baselane’s Smart plan promises 2-day rent deposits.

Plan around the delay. If rent is due on the 1st, don’t set your own mortgage autopay for the 2nd.

Autopay

Autopay takes forgetting out of the picture, which is the easiest kind of late rent to prevent. Ask every new tenant to set it up during move-in, before the first rent is due. Time the draw for the due date, not a few days before, so a tenant paid on the 1st isn’t overdrawn. When an ACH payment bounces for insufficient funds, the app will usually reverse the payment and may charge a returned-payment fee, so check how each app handles a failed draw and when it tells you.

Partial payments

Accepting part of the rent can cause legal trouble. In some states, taking a partial payment after you’ve served a notice to pay or quit can waive that notice, and you’d have to start over. Check whether the app lets you block partial payments or set a minimum, and decide your policy before a tenant falls behind. If you accept partial rent under a payment plan, put the terms in writing.

Late fees

All five apps can add late fees automatically. Set them to your state’s limit, not to whatever the default is. A few examples from state law:

• Colorado: no more than the greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due rent, and not until rent is at least 7 days late. On $1,650, that’s $82.50.
• Texas: presumed reasonable up to 12% of monthly rent in buildings with four or fewer units (10% above that), and not until rent is unpaid two full days after the due date. On $1,650, that’s up to $198.
• North Carolina: the greater of $15 or 5% of the monthly rent, only after rent is 5 days late.
• Massachusetts: no late fee until rent is 30 days late.

Many states set no cap and only require the fee to be in the lease and reasonable. Check your state’s page before you turn the automation on.

Checks, cash and payment apps

You can still collect rent by check, and some tenants prefer it. The cost is your time: depositing, logging each payment, chasing late ones by hand and writing receipts. If you take checks, log every one the day it arrives, deposit it into the rental account, and send a receipt. Some states require a written receipt for cash payments, and cash leaves you with the weakest record if a payment is ever disputed.

Zelle and Venmo are free for many users, which makes them tempting for one tenant. They don’t connect to a lease, add late fees, or produce a ledger by unit, and some payment apps limit business use of personal accounts, so check the terms before you rely on one. Several rent apps also accept cash at retail stores for a fee (Rentec Direct charges tenants $4.99), which helps tenants without a bank account.

Whatever you choose, use one method for each tenant and write it into the lease.

Buying checklist

• Tenant ACH and card fees, and whether you can switch who pays.
• How many bank accounts you can connect.
• Standard payout time and the price of faster payouts.
• Autopay for tenants, and what happens when a payment fails.
• A switch to block or limit partial payments.
• Late fees that you can set to your state’s cap and grace period.
• Recurring charges for pet rent, parking or utilities.
• A ledger and receipts you can export for your taxes.