Innago and TenantCloud are 2 popular software options that can make your life easier if you manage rental properties. But which one is the best fit for your rental business? 

To help you make the decision, we’ve put together a side-by-side comparison of Innago and TenantCloud, including pricing, features, pros, and cons. 

We’ve also included details of free rental property software from Stessa that more than 100,000 investors use to track over 250,000 properties with more than $60 billion in asset value.

Key takeaways

• Innago is free property management software that can be used for residential properties, commercial buildings, and student housing.
• TenantCloud offers a variety of tools to manage rental property with free and paid plans.
• Stessa provides an easy-to-use cloud-based financial management system that is free for everyone. With Stessa, real estate investors can track their property performance and finances and collect rent online all in one place. 

Innago overview

Innago is all about making it easier to manage your properties and communicate with your tenants. 

 The software can be used for residential properties, commercial buildings, and student housing.

Pricing

Innago helps landlords find suitable tenants, efficiently collect rent online, and more. There is no cost to get set up, no monthly fee, and no contract, making it a great choice for those looking to save on rental property management. 

Innago makes money by charging tenants for screening and online rent payments, although landlords have the option to pay for these services themselves. As of July 2022, those costs include: 

• Criminal, credit, and eviction history: $30 to $35
• Online rental payments: $2 for Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments and 2.75% for credit and debit card payments

Software features

• Ability to add vacant property details and policies, upload images and videos, and publish to selected rental listing websites with just one click
• Custom applications and tenant screening, including a customizable application builder and criminal, credit, and eviction history reports
• Online leasing with digital signatures, status tracking, and unlimited file storage and sharing
• Automated payment reminders, tenant communication tools, messaging, email templates, and archives
• Invoice automation, recurring billing, automated late fee settings, and receipt and image storing
• Online rental payments through ACH, credit and debit card payments, and automated debits, with single-business-day funds delivery available
• Tenant maintenance request portal with picture and video upload, work order tracking, and ticket forwarding to repair personnel
• Financial tracking and reporting, bank deposit history, and exportable data
• Support via phone, email, and a dedicated account representative

TenantCloud overview

If you’re looking for rental property software that is cost-effective and full-featured, TenantCloud might be worth considering. 

According to the firm’s website, TenantCloud has served more than 2 million landlords and tenants in all 50 U.S. states and 40 nations worldwide.

Pricing

As of July 2022, TenantCloud offers 4 pricing levels:

• Free: $0 a month
• Starter: $15 a month
• Growth: $50 a month
• Business: Customized pricing plan for investors and property managers with large portfolios

All options can be used with an unlimited number of properties and units, as well as an unlimited number of internet rental postings. In addition, customers who pay annually can get a 20% discount, and the company offers a free trial period.

In addition to the above pricing plans, tenants are charged for tenant screening and online rent payments with TenantCloud, with prices currently reported as:

Tenant screening

• Full check report: $39
• Credit check report: $30
• Background check report: $25

Online rent payments

• ACH payments: No charge
• Credit/debit card: 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction

Software features

Free

The free version of TenantCloud includes:

• Listings
• Scheduling
• Applicants
• Screenings
• Rent payments
• Maintenance requests
• Vendor network access

Starter

For landlords who want additional services like tax reports and Google Calendar synchronization, the Starter plan may be a smart alternative. The Starter package includes all of the Free plan’s features, as well as:

• Premium leads for online listings
• Tax reporting
• Digital signatures
• Lead tracking for customer relationship management (CRM)
• Autopay for tenants
• Google Calendar sync

Growth

The Growth plan from TenantCloud is designed for landlords with small and medium-sized portfolios who want extra features like a personalized owner portal and QuickBooks Online synchronization. The Growth plan  includes all of the functions available in the Free and Starter plans, as well as:

• Property manager tools
• Individual owner portal
• Management fees
• Lease builder
• Property message board
• QuickBooks Online sync

Business

The Business plan is for landlords and property managers who need more customization and flexibility in their rental business software. If you’re interested, contact the company to learn more about pricing. The company provides everything in the Free, Starter, and Growth plans, as well as:

• Team management and tools
• Task management
• Customization

Innago vs. TenantCloud

Here’s a breakdown of the most important features to help you decide which platform is right for you.

Listings

With Innago, you can enter information, upload photos and videos, and publish to listing sites with just a few clicks. Plus, the company provides a dedicated listing URL so you can manage all your listings from one place. And if you need to update your listing, the changes will automatically be implemented on all selected listing sites. 

TenantCloud partners with online platforms like Apartments.com, Rentler, and Zillow Group to give your listings increased exposure. You can also create a property-specific website for free to gather inquiries from prospective tenants.

Tenant screening

Innago reports include tenant judgments, unlawful detainers, failure to pay rent, writs, and warrants of eviction. Plus, the custom application builder allows landlords to build a tenant application from scratch. TenantCloud has teamed up with TransUnion to offer 3 tenant screening packages. These include a background and credit check, National Evictions Records search, and identity validation for applicants.  

Leasing

Innago’s lease templates are custom-made for landlords, making it easy to get the proper documentation with the correct information. The company’s digital signature partner, HelloSign, helps to ensure both convenience and security. You can sign and store as many leases and other documents as you like and easily upload and share them with tenants.

TenantCloud allows landlords to upload their own lease agreement or create a lease online. The software provides rental agreement templates and electronic signature capability. A landlord may use the system to define the rent amount, security deposit, and other expenses before collecting payment from the tenant online after the lease has been signed. 

Online rent collection

Innago allows tenants to pay rent online using any preferred payment method, including a checking or savings account or a debit/credit card. Landlords can manually enter payments received from cash, check, or other methods. Funds are sent to a landlord’s bank account in one business day, free of charge.  

TenantCloud’s AutoPay is a great way for tenants to make their monthly rent payments. ACH direct deposit or debit and credit card payments are all accepted, and landlords may apply one-time or automatic late fees if needed. Partial payments are also allowed, and funds can be transferred straight to the landlord’s bank account if desired.  

Financial reporting

You can use Innago to enter information about payments made, including the payee, the amount paid, the category the payment falls into, and which account to put it in. Innago also provides reports on the performance of your investments, containing data on items such as bank deposits, rent roll, and other key information. 

QuickBooks Online integrates with TenantCloud to keep your income and expenses up to date. The financial documents include a summary of deposits, general revenue, property expenses, amortization and depreciation tracking, and a profit and loss statement.

Tax management

As an Innago user, you can export all of your financial records into Excel or other financial programs. The software also integrates with QuickBooks web accounts. This allows you to record rental payments, custom invoices, and expenses directly into your QuickBooks account, which can then be used to prepare a Schedule E.

TenantCloud’s Tax Preparation Report and 1099 Tax Form are used to compute all property income and expenses, including management fees and depreciation expense, in order to produce IRS Schedule E. Excel, CSV, QuickBooks, PDF, and Numbers file types are available for data downloads.

Stessa vs. Innago vs. TenantCloud

If you’re an owner of a small property portfolio, you might not need all the features that Innago and TenantCloud offer. That’s why Stessa, a Roofstock company, created an easy-to-use financial management system that is free for everyone. 

With Stessa, real estate investors can track their property performance, finances, and records in one place. Just sign up for a free account, enter basic information about your properties, and start tracking property performance in real time from your comprehensive online dashboard:

• Track unlimited single-family rentals, multifamily properties, short-term vacation rentals, and complete portfolios.
• Monitor your rental property investments and portfolios from a single, comprehensive dashboard.
• Automate income and expense tracking by linking property bank accounts.
• Update outstanding mortgage balance and property values.
• Collect tenant rent payments online using ACH transfer.
• Track expenses on the go with the iOS and Android apps.
• Organize and store all real estate documents safely and securely.
• Run important financial reports, including income, net-cash-flow, and capital expense statements.
• Export tax-ready financials to make tax time a breeze.

Closing thoughts

If you’re a landlord looking for accounting and reporting software, Stessa, Innago, and TenantCloud are all excellent options.

Stessa is a free, cloud-based financial reporting software that’s easy to use. It doesn’t currently offer features like tenant screening and vacant rental property listings, but there are several excellent alternatives online.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a full suite of property management services in one package, Innago or TenantCloud might be a good fit. Innago is free, while TenantCloud offers a free option plus 3 paid packages.