Best TurboTenant Alternatives for Small Landlords

Why landlords look for TurboTenant alternatives

TurboTenant’s free plan covers more than most: listing syndication, applications, screening, online rent, maintenance requests and basic accounting, with no unit limit stated. The complaints in public reviews mostly come back to who pays for all that.

• Tenant fees. On the Free and Essentials plans, tenants pay $2 per ACH rent payment and 3.49% by card. A tenant paying $1,650 by card pays about $57.59 a month in fees.
• Screening cost. Applicants pay $55 per report on Free and Essentials ($45 on Pro). In a slow market that’s enough to lose a few applicants.
• Paid tiers that feel thin. Essentials is $149 a year for 1 to 10 units, Pro is $199. Some small landlords say the extras aren’t worth that over the free plan. Pro also doubles to $399 a year once you pass 10 units.
• Setup friction. Some reviewers say the account and listing review steps come late in setup, and the menus take some getting used to.

Before you leave, check whether Pro fixes your problem. It makes tenant ACH free for $199 a year on up to 10 units, which is $16.58 a month. At 5 units paying by ACH, tenants save 5 x $2 = $10 a month, so Pro costs you more than it saves them. At 9 or 10 units, the numbers roughly cross.

The best TurboTenant alternatives, one by one

RentRedi

RentRedi charges one flat price with no per-unit fees: $29.95 month to month, $20 a month on the six-month plan ($120), or $12 a month billed annually ($144). That covers unlimited properties, tenants and teammates. Tenants pay $1 per ACH payment, 3.1% plus $0.30 by card, and $39.99 for screening ($49.99 with income verification through Plaid).

The math against TurboTenant Free: you pay $144 a year more, and each tenant paying by ACH saves $12 a year. At 12 units that’s a wash. At 20 units, tenants save $240 a year against your $144, and you’re still paying $12 a month where TurboTenant Pro would cost you $399 a year.

It’s wrong for you if you want $0. There’s no free plan, only a 30-day money-back guarantee. Reviewers also describe some workflows as taking more clicks than expected, and some complain about deposit timing and payment reversals. There’s no owner portal.

Innago

Innago has a single free plan that, in its own words, works for “1 unit or 500.” It includes applications and screening, online leasing and document storage, online payments, late fee automation, work orders, messaging and financial tracking.

Tenant ACH is $2, the same as TurboTenant Free. Card payments are 2.99%, so a $1,650 card payment costs the tenant about $49.34 instead of $57.59. Screening runs $30 to $35, plus $10 for income verification, which is $20 or so less per applicant than TurboTenant’s $55. You can choose to absorb the payment fees yourself.

It’s wrong for you if the books matter. Reviewers find the accounting limited next to paid tools, there’s no bank sync, and only one super-admin can add users. Listing syndication wasn’t confirmed in our research, so check it if you rely on TurboTenant’s listing reach.

Avail

Avail’s free Unlimited plan is the closest like-for-like swap. It lists on 19 sites, handles applications and screening, includes state-specific leases with e-sign, collects rent online, and tracks maintenance, income and expenses. E-signed leases on the free plan are the main reason to pick it over TurboTenant Free, which saves unlimited e-sign for paid plans.

The cost lands on tenants: $2.50 per ACH payment, 3.5% by card, and $55 for the screening bundle (a single report is $30). Unlimited Plus waives ACH and adds faster payouts and custom lease templates for $9 a unit per month. That’s $45 a month at 5 units and $180 at 20, so it only pays at 1 or 2 units.

It’s wrong for you if you care about tenant fees. Reviewers also describe the applicant dashboard as clunky and report payment delays and long support waits.

Rentec Direct

Rentec Starter costs $25 a month for up to 10 properties and 10 tenants, with 3 users and one ACH deposit account. You get real accounting, online rent, applications, screening, a tenant portal, maintenance, e-sign through Dropbox Sign and automated late fees. Screening is cheap: $14.95 for a basic report, $29.45 with a TransUnion credit report. Tenant ACH is $2 on Starter.

Past 10 properties you need Rentec Pro, which starts at $50 a month and adds free incoming ACH, automatic bank sync and QuickBooks sync. A third-party analysis puts Pro at $2 a unit with a $50 minimum, which we haven’t confirmed. On that basis, 20 units would cost $50 a month.

It’s wrong for you if the look of the software matters. The interface is often called dated, and some users reported bugs during a major version rollout.

Buildium

Buildium is the step up once you’re running a business. Essential costs $62 a month ($55.80 billed annually), and the price stays the same up to at least 40 units on its calculator. That buys double-entry accounting, leasing, maintenance and owner and resident portals. At 20 units it’s $3.10 a door.

The fees add up. Incoming EFT is $2.35 on Essential (you choose who pays), cards are 2.99%, and each business bank account you connect costs $99 to set up. Screening is $17 if you pay or $35 if the applicant does.

It’s wrong for you under about 15 units. $744 a year is hard to justify when a free app does the same jobs. Reviewers also complain about repeated price increases, and live phone support starts on the $192 Growth plan.

Which TurboTenant alternative to choose

• One to four units, and you want $0: Innago. Pick Avail instead if you want free e-signed state leases and don’t mind the $2.50 tenant ACH.
• Five to twenty units, and tenant fees bother you: RentRedi on the annual plan. Flat $144 a year, $1 ACH.
• You care most about clean books: Rentec Direct Starter up to 10 properties. Or keep a free rent app and add Stessa or Baselane for bookkeeping.
• Past 20 units, or managing for other owners: Buildium Essential.
• Staying put: if you have 9 or 10 units and most tenants pay by ACH, TurboTenant Pro at $199 a year is hard to beat.

Whichever you pick, switch at the start of a month. Tenants need to enroll in the new payment portal and set up autopay again, and you don’t want one month’s rent split across two systems.