The best landlord app is the cheapest one with the features you need at your unit count, once you see who pays rent payment fees. There is no universal best. In November 2026 several apps cost landlords 0 dollars a year because tenants pay per payment. Rank them on your units below.
Landlord app cost ranking
Enter your units, rent and the features you need. The tool picks the cheapest qualifying plan from each app, ranks them by what you pay in a year, and shows what tenants pay on the side. Nobody paid to be on this list, and callflo.ai is not on it because it is not a landlord app.
Rank landlord apps on your own units
Features you need
| Rank | App and plan | Your yearly cost | Fees on tenants | At 3x the units | Who pays rent fees | Read this first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Innago Free | $0 | $453 | $0 | Bank: $2.00, you or the tenant, your choice. Card: 2.99%, you or the tenant, your choice. Source | No monthly fee. Tenants pay the fees unless you choose to absorb them. |
| 2 | TurboTenant Free | $0 | $507 | $0 | Bank: $2.00, tenant pays. Card: 3.49%, tenant pays. Source | Renters pay $55 for screening on this plan and $45 for Pro landlords. |
| 3 | Avail Unlimited | $0 | $540 | $0 | Bank: $2.50, tenant pays. Card: 3.5%, tenant pays. Source | Free tier with unlimited units. |
| 4 | Stessa Essentials | $0 | $0 plus unpublished fees | $0 | Bank: amount not published. Card: amount not published. Source | Stessa describes a no-fee bank option for landlords. We found no fee amounts for tenants on the pages we read. |
| 5 | RentRedi Annual | $144 | $402 | $144 | Bank: $1.00, you or the tenant, your choice. Card: 3.1% + $0.30, you or the tenant, your choice. Source | $12 a month billed annually, unlimited units. Tenants pay the fees by default, and you can cover them. |
| 6 | TenantCloud Starter | $180 | $126 plus unpublished fees | Over plan limit | Bank: $1.95, tenant pays. Card: amount not published. Source | The limit is 10 leases, with unlimited units listed. No card fee amount on the page. |
| 7 | Landlord Studio Pro | $187 | $539 | $360 | Bank: $2.50, you or the tenant, your choice. Card: 3.49%, tenant pays. Source | Includes 3 units, then $1.20 per extra unit, counted here as per month because the page does not state the period. |
| 8 | Hemlane Basic | $480 | $0 $324 with no stated payer | $768 | Bank: no fee. Card: 3%, payer not stated. Source | $2 per unit plus a $28 platform fee, counted as monthly from the page's $30 example. |
| 9 | Rentec Direct PM | $540 | $319 | $540 | Bank: no fee. Card: 2.95%, you or the tenant, your choice. Source | From the page's calculator: $2.50 a unit, $50 minimum, 10 percent off annually. Adds owner payments and trust accounting. |
| 10 | DoorLoop One | $2,388 | $0 plus unpublished fees $97 with no stated payer | $2,388 | Bank: $1.50, payer not stated. Card: amount not published. Source | $199 a month minimum at monthly prices. Yearly billing saves up to 25 percent, not counted here. No card fee on the page. |
Not shown for these units and features: Baselane.
Not ranked because we could not read a price: Buildium, AppFolio, Apartments.com. A low yearly cost does not make an app the right one. It answers only the question of price.
Runs entirely in your browser: no API calls, nothing stored or sent. Every price and fee read from the vendor's own page in November 2026, on annual billing where the page offers it. A missing feature means the page we read did not show it on that plan, not that the vendor lacks it. The card share is an editable assumption.
Key takeaways
- Five apps have a $0 plan with online rent collection and no stated unit limit: Innago, TurboTenant, Avail, Stessa and Baselane. Features and fees differ.
- A free app usually moves the cost to tenants. Bank payment fees we read mostly run from $0 to $2.50, and card fees from 2.95 to 3.5 percent. Baselane lists up to $5 for ACH and RentRedi adds $0.30 to its card fee.
- At $1,500 rent, one 3.5 percent card payment costs a tenant $52.50.
- We ranked 11 apps and left out Buildium, AppFolio and Apartments.com because we could not read a yearly price at a unit count.
| App and plan | 5 units | 20 units | 50 units | Rent payment fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Innago, Free | $0 | $0 | $0 | Bank: $2.00, you or the tenant, your choice. Card: 2.99%, you or the tenant, your choice. |
| TurboTenant, Free | $0 | $0 | $0 | Bank: $2.00, tenant pays. Card: 3.49%, tenant pays. |
| Avail, Unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | Bank: $2.50, tenant pays. Card: 3.5%, tenant pays. |
| Stessa, Essentials | $0 | $0 | $0 | Bank: amount not published. Card: amount not published. |
| Baselane, Core | $0 | $0 | $0 | Bank: $2.00, you or the tenant, your choice. Card: 3.49%, tenant pays. |
| RentRedi, Annual | $144 | $144 | $144 | Bank: $1.00, you or the tenant, your choice. Card: 3.1% + $0.30, you or the tenant, your choice. |
| TurboTenant, Pro | $199 | $399 | $699 | Bank: no fee. Card: 3.49%, tenant pays. |
| Landlord Studio, Pro | $173 | $389 | $821 | Bank: $2.50, you or the tenant, your choice. Card: 3.49%, tenant pays. |
| TenantCloud, Starter | $180 | Over limit | Over limit | Bank: $1.95, tenant pays. Card: amount not published. |
| TenantCloud, Pro | $600 | $600 | $600 | Bank: $1.50, tenant pays. Card: amount not published. |
| Hemlane, Basic | $456 | $816 | $1,536 | Bank: no fee. Card: 3%, payer not stated. |
| Rentec Direct, Pro | $540 | $540 | $1,080 | Bank: no fee. Card: 2.95%, you or the tenant, your choice. |
| DoorLoop, One | $2,388 | $2,388 | $2,388 | Bank: $1.50, payer not stated. Card: amount not published. |
How we compared landlord apps
We compared landlord apps on price and published facts only, and we did not test each app with live tenants. We opened each vendor's page on November 3, 2026 and took the plan price, unit limit, features and rent payment fees. The ranking is arithmetic on those numbers, not a verdict on quality.
- Included: a US app for landlords with a price we could read at a unit count.
- Ranked by: your yearly cost, then fees on everyone at the same cost, with unpublished fees last.
- Left out: usability, support and reliability, which you judge on a trial with your own tenant.
- A blank feature: means the page did not show it on that plan. Ask the vendor before you rule an app out.
Vendor lists on this keyword tend to put the vendor first. Treat any ranking the same way, including this one, and rerun it when prices change.
Is there a free landlord app, and what is the catch?
Yes, several landlord apps are free, and the catch is usually that tenants pay a fee on each online payment and on screening. Paid features such as e-signatures, tax reports and bank feeds may also sit on a higher plan. Check what your own tenants would pay before you call an app free.
Take six units at 1,500 dollars, with one tenant in ten paying by card. Innago costs you nothing, and tenants pay about 453 dollars a year in fees. On Avail's free planthe same tenants pay about 540 dollars. A tenant comparing your place to one with a free bank option may notice. Bank payments are the cheap path, so making them the easy default matters more than the app's logo.
Property management payment processing: who pays the fees?
In property management payment processing, the tenant usually pays the fee by default, and some apps let you cover it. Bank transfers are cheap and flat, while cards take a percentage of the rent. Before you turn on a tenant fee, read your lease and state rules, since the app's setting does not make a charge allowed.
Three payer patterns show up. TurboTenant and Avail list fees as paid by the tenant. RentRedi and Innago charge tenants by default and let you absorb them. Landlord Studio lets you choose who pays the bank fee, while the tenant pays the card fee. On Hemlane and DoorLoop, the pages we read give amounts without naming a payer, so ask. The tool shows each one. Tick its box to see your cost if you cover the fees.
Rent processing is one part of the job. For methods, lease wording and late fees, read how to collect rent. Whatever app you pick, keep a clean rent ledger, since the record is what you will need if a payment is disputed. This is general information, so confirm fee rules with a local attorney.
Property management payment solutions for bigger portfolios
Property management payment solutions for bigger portfolios add owner payouts, trust accounting and lower per-payment rates in exchange for a monthly minimum. They make sense when you manage for other owners. They rarely make sense on four units you own yourself, because the minimum can be more than the fees you are trying to save.
| Plan | Software price | Incoming bank fee | Card fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rentec Direct PM | $2.50 a unit, $50 a month minimum | One free per property monthly, then $0.50 | Visa, Mastercard, Discover 2.95%, you or tenant. Amex 3.5% |
| DoorLoop One | $2.50 a unit, $199 a month minimum | $1.50 | Not stated |
| DoorLoop Connect | $4.00 a unit, $299 a month minimum | Free | Not stated |
| Buildium Essential | From $65 a month | $2.35 | 2.99% |
| Buildium Growth | From $202 a month | $1.35 | 2.99% |
| Buildium Premium | From $420 a month | First 12 months free, then $0.60 | 2.99% |
AppFolio lists a per-unit figure with a minimum spend and a 50 unit minimum, and asks you to call for the rest. If you are running a management company, go through the callflo.ai page for property managers for the phone side, and get written quotes for the software.
Self-managed HOA software: a different app
Self-managed HOA software handles dues, violations, votes and homeowner messages, which a landlord app is not built for. If you are a volunteer board with rentals on the side, you likely need two tools. PayHOA lets the community absorb payment fees or charge homeowners, so check your governing documents before you choose.
| App and plan | Price | Payment fees |
|---|---|---|
| PayHOA, All features, 1 to 25 units | $588 a year, or $54 a month | Bank $2.45, card 3.5% + $0.50. The community absorbs it or charges homeowners. |
| PayHOA, All features, 26 to 50 units | $59 a month billed yearly, or $65 monthly | Same as above |
| HOA Express, Free, up to 50 households | $0 | Payments are on Engage. No fee amount on the page. |
| HOA Express, Engage, up to 25 households | $21 a month billed yearly | Says low fees and offers passing them to residents. No amount on the page. |
What a landlord app does not do: pick up the phone
A landlord app handles what happens once someone is in your system. It does not help with the call at 7:30pm about a burst pipe, or the renter who calls your listing number during your day job. Most apps give you a message center, and the caller has to already be using it.
callflo.ai is an AI receptionist that answers your rental line 24/7. It answers questions from what you give it, takes the caller's details, and can text you a summary. Starter is 39 dollars a month on annual billing, or 49 month to month, with 120 minutes and extra minutes at 0.98 dollars. On VIP it also books tours on your calendar and takes payments on the call. It does not collect rent through a portal, keep your ledger or screen tenants, so it sits beside a landlord app and does not replace one.
It is not for everyone. DoorLoop's Connect plan lists its own Receptionist Agent, starting at 299 dollars a month, which may suit a larger manager already on that software. With two long-term tenants and a quiet phone, you do not need any of this. For busier lines, see how it works for property managers and the plans.
Hear what answers your rental line
Call callflo.ai's own AI agent and ask it anything about your business. When you are ready, pick a plan: no setup fee, no contract, and you do not pay unless you are satisfied.
Starter is $39 a month on annual billing. Live on your line about 5 minutes after you sign up.