Many landlords start off handling their day-to-day admin tasks manually. Tracking expenses in spreadsheets, collecting rent via checks, and drafting leases may work for a while but can quickly turn into what feels like a full-time job.

We know about these headaches firsthand. At Stessa, we’ve helped over 350,000 landlords maximize their returns while eliminating the busywork.

If you’re looking for a more efficient approach, you’ll find plenty of tools designed to automate and simplify these tasks. Many offer a wide range of features for free, while also offering more advanced capabilities once you’re ready to step up to a paid subscription.

To help you save time, here’s how we’ll compare the best free property management software options available: 

• Compare each tool across 14 key features
• Highlight whether each feature is included in the free or paid version
• Explore additional features offered in paid plans
• Recommend the type of owner/investor each tool is best suited for

Stessa

Stessa offers a powerful platform to simplify the process of managing rental properties.

From automated accounting to tenant screening and rent collection, Stessa offers a suite of free and paid features that cover many aspects of property and asset management. With its user-friendly interface, you can easily keep track of your properties and portfolios to make informed decisions that help maximize your returns.

Say goodbye to the hassle of spreadsheets and manual data entry. Stessa allows you to automate your bookkeeping tasks, helping you to stay on top of your finances with minimal effort. The platform syncs with your bank accounts, automatically categorizing transactions and helping you generate detailed financial reports.

The platform integrates comprehensive tenant screening tools, allowing you  access to FCRA-certified screeners that conduct background checks and credit reports under the RentPrep brand. Once you’ve found the perfect tenant, Stessa streamlines the leasing process with its lease templates, DocuSign e-signature capabilities, and rent collection service, all of which make it easier than ever to turn a vacancy into positive cash flow.

The platform automates the monthly rent collection  process, from sending payment reminders to processing transactions, so you can focus on growing your portfolio. Give your tenants the convenience of paying rent online, for timely payments and less administrative burden.

Stessa’s Cash Management offers a unique advantage for real estate investors with its high-yield bank accounts.

Manage your finances more efficiently by linking individual accounts to each property, keeping your transactions organized and in sync with essential financial reports and dashboards. The seamless integration helps keep all your financial data updated in real-time, which in turn smooths your accounting and tax readiness.

Stessa offers a range of pricing plans, including the free Essentials plan, the Manage plan at $12 per month when paid annually, and the Pro plan at $28 per month when billed annually.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Free)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Free)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: Yes (Paid)
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Free)
• High-yield banking: Yes (Free)
• Cash back on purchases: Yes (Free)
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Paid)
• Mobile app: Yes (Free)
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Additional paid features

• Advanced transaction tracking
• Budgeting and pro-forma analysis
• Advanced financial reporting
• Accelerated rent payments
• Unlimited receipt scans
• Tenant ACH fee waived
• Lease template
• eSign leases and contracts
• Library of 60+ legal forms and templates
• Higher APY on Cash Management accounts (Pro plan only)*

Who is Stessa ideal for?

Stessa can be an ideal solution for landlords looking to maximize the returns and simplify management with automated income and expense tracking, marketing and leasing, comprehensive tenant screening, online rent collection, maintenance requests from tenants, intuitive real-time dashboards, and dedicated banking with benefits.

Go here to get started with a free Stessa account.

Apartments.com

Apartments.com Rental Manager offers free online rental and property management tools.

Landlords can market a vacant property on syndicated listing services such as Realtor.com, screen tenants and collect rent online, and track income and expenses for each property. Tenants can make repair requests from any device, including detailed information with photos and videos. Landlords can store receipts online and export financial data in CSV and PDF formats.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Free)
• Automated accounting: No
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: No
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: Yes (Free)
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Free)
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Free)
• Mobile app: No
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Additional features on paid plans

• Premium rental network advertising for a larger ad and more videos

Who is Apartments.com ideal for?

Landlords seeking a platform to list properties and screen potential tenants, while managing rental transactions and accounting elsewhere.

Landlord Studio

Landlord Studio provides a suite of tools to manage multiple properties, including creating and syndicating rental listings, streamlining tenant applications and screening processes, and consolidating paperwork into a single, user-friendly platform. Landlords can manage their rentals from anywhere, with features like online rent collection, maintenance tracking, and financial reporting.

The software allows users to securely connect bank accounts for automatic transaction imports and reconciliation, reducing manual data entry and potential errors. For tax purposes, Landlord Studio provides over 15 industry-specific reports, including a Schedule E report that breaks down expenses on a property-by-property basis in line with IRS tax categories.

Landlord Studio offers a free plan for up to 3 units that include basic features.

Paid plans start at $15/month, depending on the number of units and features, with a discount available for annual billing.

Key features

• Unlimited properties: Limit of 3 on free plan
• Automated accounting: Yes (Free, but limited to manual income & expense tracking – paid plan required for automation)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: No
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Free)
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Free)
• Mobile app: Yes (Free)
• Document storage: Yes (Limit of 10 documents on free plan)

Additional features on paid plans

• Automated bank feeds
• Unlimited units
• Automated rent reminders
• Recurring expenses
• Custom reports
• Xero integration

Who is this tool ideal for?

Landlords seeking property management software that integrates tenant management, accounting, and maintenance coordination.

Innago

Innago is designed for all property types, including single-family rentals, multifamily property, and student housing. There are no setup fees or monthly fees, and no contracts to sign. 

Property management features on Innago include tenant screening, online rental payments, online leasing and document storage, work order tracking, and financial tracking and reporting.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Free)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Free)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: Yes (Free)
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Free)
• Mobile app: Yes (Free)
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Additional features on paid plans

• None

Who is Innago ideal for?

Small to mid-sized landlords managing diverse property portfolios who’s top priority is a completely free tool for vacancy marketing, online rent collection, lease agreements, and property management. Just note that there may be some slowness and limitations with some of their features, like financial reporting, since it’s a completely free tool.

Baselane

Baselane property management software combines rent collection, expense tracking, and landlord banking into a single financial platform for rental property owners.

The software includes built-in banking accounts designed for landlords (checking, savings, and security deposit accounts), automatic rent collection with ACH and card payments, and accounting tools that categorize expenses and generate financial reports. The company also offers a $25/month plan with their premium features, which we’ve detailed below.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Free)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Free for basic features, paid for more advanced features)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: No
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: Yes ($5 per e-sign)
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Free)
• High-yield banking: Yes (Free)
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: No
• Mobile app: No
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Optional paid services

• Advanced accounting functionality
• Faster rent depostis
• Shared access with more users
• Priority customer support

Who is Baselane ideal for?

Independent landlords who prioritize financial organization and want integrated banking alongside property management, including rent collection, expense tracking, and tax preparation support, but who don’t need features like vacancy advertising, maintenance tracking, or a mobile app.

Avail

Avail is designed to simplify the rental process for independent landlords and tenants. It offers a comprehensive suite of free tools that include online rent collection, tenant screening, and lease management.

Landlords can list properties, manage applications, and communicate with tenants through a centralized platform. The software also provides customizable lease agreements and maintenance tracking to streamline property management tasks.

The company also offers an Unlimited Plus plan with premium features for $9 per month per unit.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Free)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Free)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: Yes (Free)
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Free)
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Free)
• Mobile app: No
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Additional features on paid plans

• FastPay rent payments
• Waived ACH fees
• Customizable tenant applications and leases
• Property website creation
• Faster customer care response time

Who is Avail ideal for?

Independent landlords looking for a comprehensive solution to streamline property management, including advertising rentals, screening tenants, and collecting rent online, but with limited financial reporting functionality and no mobile app.

IManageRent.com

iManageRent is an integrated property management software system with additional optional features such as market rent estimates and automatic rent increases that can help maximize rental property revenue.

The basic plan is free while the premium plan begins at $10.95 per unit per month with a discount for annual billing.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Paid)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Paid)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Paid)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: Yes (Paid)
• Rent collection: Yes (Paid)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Paid)
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Free)
• Mobile app: No
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Additional features on paid plans

• Manage more than 2 units
• Custom rent applications
• Contract/lease generation and online signatures
• Automatic rent collection
• Auto rent increases and history
• Auto email reminders and notifications for rent
• Financial reports

Who is iManageRent ideal for?

Do-it-yourself landlords looking to simplify rental leasing and management.

Schedule My Rent

Schedule My Rent is a free property management tool that offers online rent collection and much more. 

Landlords can find and select tenants, collect rent online or with cash, charge late fees, track and release security deposits, upload and save lease agreements and tenant move-in reports, manage maintenance requests, and track income and expenses.

Pricing is free for landlords, with only a $2 per payment charge for online rent payments for the first 5 payments per month, $1 for each additional monthly payment.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Free)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Free)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: No
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes (Free)
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Free)
• Mobile app: No
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Optional paid services

• Credit & background report
• Same day QuickPay for tenant rent payments
• Renters insurance

Who is Schedule My Rent ideal for?

Landlords seeking a straightforward and cost-effective solution for online rent collection, tenant screening, and basic property management, with limited financial reporting functionality.

TurboTenant

TurboTenant property management software includes rental listing syndication, tenant screening, and online rent collection with a free plan for landlords.

The platform syndicates property listings to major rental sites like Zillow, Apartments.com, and Zumper, offers tenant screening reports (paid by applicants), and provides lease templates with e-signing capabilities. TurboTenant also includes rent collection via ACH or card payments, maintenance request tracking, and automated rent reminders to help landlords manage their properties without upfront subscription costs.

TurboTenant also offers paid plans for $149 per year and $199 per year.

Key features comparison

• Track unlimited properties: Yes (Free)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Paid)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Paid)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free)
• Vacancy advertising: Yes (Free)
• Tenant screening: Yes (Free to landlords when the tenant pays)
• Lease eSigning: Yes (Paid)
• Rent collection: Yes (Free)
• ACH deposits: Yes ($2 per ACH, waived in paid plans)
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: Yes (Free)
• Mobile app: Yes (Free)
• Document storage: Yes (Free)

Optional paid services

• Unlimited lease agreements
• Income verification
• Unlimited e-signatures
• Lower fees for things like screening
• Faster rent payments
• Automated bookkeeping

Who is TurboTenant ideal for?

Independent landlords seeking a free solution for core property management tasks like vacancy advertising, tenant screening, rent collection, and maintenance tracking, but who may need to upgrade to paid plans for automated accounting, financial reporting, and unlimited lease e-signing.

Rentastic

Rentastic focuses on accounting and financial tracking for rental property investors, with automated expense categorization and tax reporting.

The platform connects to bank accounts to automatically import transactions, offers receipt scanning with photo capture, and generates profit & loss statements for tax preparation. Rentastic also includes portfolio-level ROI tracking, deal analysis tools, rent estimate calculators, and mileage logging to help landlords understand which properties are profitable and identify all available tax deductions.

Their paid plan costs $19.83 per month, and is billed annually.

Key features comparison

• Unlimited properties: Yes (Free for 2 properties)
• Automated accounting: Yes (Free for 2 bank accounts)
• Financial reporting: Yes (Free)
• Central owner dashboard: Yes (Free for 2 properties)
• Vacancy advertising: No
• Tenant screening: No
• Lease Esigning: No
• Rent collection: No
• ACH deposits: No
• High-yield banking: No
• Cash back on purchases: No
• Maintenance requests: No
• Mobile app: Yes (Free)
• Document storage: No

Additional features on paid plans

• Unlimited properties and bank accounts

Who is Rentastic ideal for?

Real estate investors focused on accounting, expense tracking, and tax preparation for their rental portfolio, but who handle tenant management separately or use other tools for vacancy advertising, tenant screening, lease signing, and rent collection.

*Stessa is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply. The Stessa debit card is issued by Thread Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used anywhere Visa cards are accepted.