Free landlord software: what each free plan includes

What the free landlord software plans include

Seven free plans, line by line, from each vendor's own pricing and feature pages. All seven collect rent online and take applications with screening. The gaps are in listings, leases and the tax report.

A check means the vendor's own page lists it on the free plan. "Not listed" means the pages read on 2026-11-04 do not mention it, which is not proof it is missing. "Tracking only" means income and expense tracking without a Schedule E report named.

Who pays when the landlord pays nothing

A free plan is paid for somewhere. On most of these it is the tenant: a charge on each rent payment, a percentage on cards, and the application fee. Here is what each vendor publishes for the tenant's side.

Fees read live on 2026-11-04. Avail does not publish a single screening price because it varies by state. Stessa's pricing page does not list tenant payment fees.

What each free plan holds back

Every free tier has a paid tier above it, and the line between them tells you what the vendor thinks is worth money. Read it before you pick, because moving a lease and a rent history between apps later is a chore.

• TurboTenant keeps listings, applications, screening, condition reports, maintenance and online rent free. Unlimited lease agreements, addendums and e-signatures start on Essentials, at $149 a year for one to ten units; on the free plan its landlord forms pack costs $199. Income verification, the Schedule E and Form 8825 reports and team roles need Pro, at $199 a year for one to ten units.
• Avail Unlimited Plus, at $9 a unit a month, waives the tenant's bank-transfer charge and adds FastPay, custom application questions, a lease template you can edit and reuse, and a branded property website.
• Innago lists no paid tier at all: its pricing page says every feature on it is included at no cost to the landlord, with no setup fee, monthly fee or contract. What it does charge sits on the tenant's side of the table above.
• Baselane Smart, at $20 a month on an annual plan, adds two-day rent deposits, automatic tagging and receipt matching, balance sheets and cost segregation. Core keeps the banking, rent collection and Schedule E report.
• Stessa Manage, at $12 a month paid annually ($15 monthly), adds the Schedule E report, unlimited state lease agreements, one e-signature a month and 60+ legal forms. On Essentials a state lease template is $15 each and e-signing is not included.
• Zillow Rental Manager and Apartments.com sell visibility, not features. Zillow offers a premium listing for a one-time fee; Apartments.com's Premium package is priced by state and market and quoted when you turn it on. Neither price is published on the pages read for this comparison.

RentRedi is not on the free list

RentRedi turns up in most searches for free landlord software, but it has no free plan. Its own FAQ says you are charged when you subscribe and that it is not a free trial; what it offers instead is a 30-day money-back guarantee. The one plan costs $12 a month on annual billing, $20 on a six-month term or $29.95 month to month, for unlimited units, with screening at $39.99 paid by the tenant. If you are weighing a free plan against a flat fee, the property management software comparison prices RentRedi beside the paid systems.

Which free landlord software fits which landlord

• You need a signed lease from the software. Avail, Innago and Zillow put lease templates with e-signing on the free plan. TurboTenant lists lease agreements and e-signatures from Essentials up, so on its free plan, plan on a lease from somewhere else; our guide on how to write a lease agreement covers the clauses to check whichever template you use.
• Your tenant will notice a fee on every payment. Zillow and Apartments.com charge nothing for rent paid by bank transfer. On TurboTenant Free and Innago that is $2 a payment, or $24 over a twelve-month lease; on Avail Unlimited it is $30.
• Tax time is the hard part. Baselane Core is the only free plan here that names a Schedule E report. How its screening and rent fees compare with Avail's is in Baselane vs Avail.
• You are screening, not managing. Most of these plans charge the report to the applicant. Check your state's application fee cap first; the options are laid out in free tenant screening services, and the duty that comes with a decline is in the tenant screening guide.

With one or two units and a tenant who pays on time, you may not need an app at all. A dated record of every payment and every deposit is what protects you, and a printed rent receipt template with a rental application template covers the paper side for nothing.