Hemlane vs TurboTenant
Vendor pages read live on 2026-10-18. Prices change without notice.
Both sell software to landlords who run their own rentals, and both will sell you people when you stop wanting to. The difference is how you buy that help: Hemlane prices it by the unit, by the month, in published tiers. TurboTenant gives the software away and sells the service as one flat package.
- Cheapest placement
- HemlaneTenant Placement from $695 including the lockbox, against TurboTenant's $1,500 one-time placement fee.
- Cheapest software
- TurboTenantFree forever, or $149–$199 a year for up to ten units; Hemlane's paid software carries a $28 monthly platform fee.
- Repairs handled for you
- HemlaneIts Essential and Complete tiers publish a per-unit price for 24/7 repair coordination; Autopilot's fee is quoted by phone.
The ladder of help, priced
| Rung | Hemlane | TurboTenant |
|---|---|---|
| Free software | Starter — $0, listings, screening, accounting | Free — $0/month |
| Paid software | Basic — $2/unit + $28 platform fee a month | Essentials $149/yr, Pro $199/yr (1–10 units) |
| Repair coordination | Essential — $20/unit + platform fee, 24/7 | Inside Autopilot |
| Tenant communications done for you | Complete — $58/unit + platform fee | Inside Autopilot |
| Full management | Not offered — "not a property management firm" | Autopilot, flat fee, quoted by phone |
| Find a tenant only | Tenant Placement from $695 (incl. lockbox) | $1,500 one-time, paid after the lease is signed |
| Bigger leasing package | Leasing Services $1,295 (adds inspection, rent-ready work) | — |
| Screening, paid by applicant | $40 total | $55 on Free; $45 for Pro landlords |
| Tenant ACH / card | No ACH fee; card 3% | $2 ACH on Free, free on Pro; card 3.49% |
Read live on 2026-10-18 from hemlane.com/pricing, hemlane.com leasing services, turbotenant.com/pricing, turbotenant.com/tenant-placement. Hemlane's paid tiers start with a 14-day trial; annual billing saves up to 20%.
What the per-unit model costs as you grow
Hemlane's paid tiers add a $28 monthly platform fee to the per-unit price; its one-unit example shows Basic at $30 a month. Read as a flat fee, four doors on Basic come to $36 a month, or $432 a year before any annual discount. The same four doors on TurboTenant Pro cost $199 a year. Confirm the total in Hemlane's own calculator for your unit count, but for software alone TurboTenant is the cheaper of the two.
The comparison changes once you are buying labour. Hemlane Essential puts a repair coordinator on 24/7 emergency calls for $20 a unit. On four doors that reads as $108 a month, platform fee included. TurboTenant does not sell repair coordination by itself; it comes inside Autopilot, and Autopilot is quoted by phone. If you want to compare the two, get the Autopilot quote in writing for the same doors. Then set both figures against the hours you spend now and the cost of one bad turnover in the turnover cost calculator.
Hemlane is not your property manager
Its pricing page says so in as many words: “We are not a property management firm. We cannot make any decisions on behalf of any property owners.” Even on Complete, you approve repairs above your threshold and you make the leasing decision. TurboTenant's Autopilot owners sign a property management agreement, which TurboTenant says carries no commitment and can be cancelled at any time.
Paying someone to fill one vacancy
This is the rung most self-managing landlords actually buy. Hemlane's Tenant Placement is $595 plus $100 for the digital lockbox. It covers market analysis, premium listings, pre-qualification, self-guided tours with identity checks, the application and credit check, and electronic lease signing. Leasing Services at $1,295 adds a property inspection and rent-ready work: minor repairs, interior paint and a deep clean.
TurboTenant's placement is a one-time $1,500, and you pay nothing until the lease is signed. It includes professional photos, showings 7 days a week from a smart lockbox, screening and lease preparation. After that you take over day-to-day management. On a $1,500-a-month rental, the $805 gap between the two placement prices is about half a month of rent. It is also roughly what a slow placement can cost you; price your own with the prorated rent calculator.
Whoever runs the showings, the criteria are yours. Write them into your rental application before the listing goes up, and use the same ones for every applicant. The tenant screening guide explains why that matters.
Choosing
Match the tool to the job you want off your plate
If you only want software, TurboTenant's free plan or its $199 Pro year is hard to beat. You can set it against the other free platforms in TurboTenant vs Avail. If you mostly want repair calls off your phone, Hemlane Essential is the cheapest published way to get them. If you want someone to find the tenant and then hand you the keys, both sell that. Hemlane is cheaper on paper; TurboTenant charges nothing until a lease is signed.
Whichever you choose, keep the paperwork yours. That means the lease, built from how to write a lease agreement, and the move-in condition record, kept with the inspection checklist.