Best Landlord Software 2026: An Honest Top 5 by Hemlane
Editorial Staff
Content published by Hemlane is created and reviewed by members of our editorial team, including experienced technical writers and real estate professionals.
Ten lists. Ten software companies. Most ranked themselves first and never said so.
This list was written by a software company too. We're Hemlane, and we're one of the five picks. We're telling you before the table so you can weigh everything that follows.
What we can do is show our work. Every pick, ours included, was judged on the same five things:
- Published price and how it scales. Flat, per unit, by property count, or yearly only.
- A free plan. Can you start without paying?
- ACH fees and who pays them. ACH is a direct transfer from one bank account to another. Some platforms charge per payment. Someone covers that fee: you or your tenant.
- Support. Is help included in the price, and how do you reach it?
- Maintenance help. Does a person handle repair requests, or only a form?
This list is for individual owners, from one door to a growing portfolio across several states. It isn't for HOA boards, commercial buildings or vacation rentals.
What are the top 5 software options for landlords?
For individual owners, our five picks are Hemlane, TurboTenant, RentRedi, Rentec Direct and Buildium. Two let you start free. The real differences are per-payment fees, how billing works and who answers when a pipe bursts. Hemlane is ours. We put it on the list, and we show its fees next to everyone else's.
Software | Starting price | How price scales | Free plan | ACH fee and who pays | Support included | Human maintenance help |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hemlane | Free (Starter). Paid plans are $30, $48 or $86 a month | Per unit, monthly, after a 14-day trial. Each paid plan includes a $28 platform fee. Annual billing discounts available | Yes | $0 ACH fees. Rent collection starts on Basic | 24/7 emergency support on Essential. VIP support on Complete | Dedicated repair coordinator and 24/7 repair coordination on Essential and Complete |
TurboTenant | Free to sign up | Paid tiers are billed yearly only. Essentials runs $149 to $349 a year, based on units | Yes | About $2 per ACH payment, paid by the tenant. Waived on Pro | Not listed in its pricing | Not listed in its pricing |
RentRedi | $12 a month billed yearly, as of January 2026 | Flat price, unlimited properties. $20 a month billed every six months, or $29.95 billed monthly | No free plan listed | Not listed in its pricing | Not listed in its pricing | Not listed in its pricing |
Rentec Direct | $25 a month (Starter) | Starter covers up to 10 properties. No term commitment | No free plan listed | $2.00 per ACH payment. Card payments are 3.5%, paid by you or the tenant, your choice | Unlimited US-based support and one-on-one onboarding | Not listed in its pricing |
Buildium | See its pricing page | See its pricing page | No free plan listed | $2.35 per incoming electronic payment on its Essential plan | Ticket support for all customers | Not listed in its pricing |
Not listed means we couldn't confirm it from the company's own pricing. It doesn't mean the feature is missing. Ask.
Software alone, or software with people
Four of these five are software you run yourself. That works for plenty of owners. The gap shows up at night. A tenant reports a leak at 2 AM. With software alone, that request waits for you.
Hemlane pairs the software with people. On Essential and Complete, a repair coordination team takes tenant requests after hours and on weekends. Licensed local agents are there for the in-person work: showings, inspections and key handoffs. Tenant placement and inspections are available as add-ons. You make the calls. We carry the load.
The fee math nobody shows
Per-payment fees look small. Count them anyway.
A $2 ACH fee on five tenants comes due every month, all year. At $2.35 a payment, the yearly total climbs higher. If your tenant pays it, your tenant feels it. If you pay it, it comes out of your rent.
We think the number on the lease should be the number that lands in your account. That's why Hemlane charges $0 ACH fees, and 100% of late fees go to you.
The five picks, one by one
Hemlane. Our Starter plan is free. It includes tenant screening, rental accounting and listing to major rental sites. Basic adds lease tracking, document storage, rent collection and tenant messaging. Essential adds a dedicated repair coordinator, 24/7 emergency support and state-specific lease documents. Complete adds a property management assistant, access to a vetted repair network and VIP support. We support over 20,000 rental properties in 4,418 cities. Users rate us 4.8 stars on Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice. We're a technology company, not a property management firm. You make every decision. Paid plans are priced per unit, so ask us to walk through your exact monthly total before you commit.
Best for: owners who want one login and a real person on repairs, without hiring a manager.
TurboTenant. Free to sign up, with no required subscription. Paid tiers are billed once a year. There's no monthly option. Tenants pay a standard ACH fee of about $2 unless you're on Pro. Profit and loss and cash flow reports, plus extra team logins, sit on Pro.
Best for: owners who want to start at no cost and are comfortable paying yearly.
RentRedi. One plan with every feature, unlimited properties and unlimited tenants. The price depends on how long you commit. The lowest monthly rate needs a yearly term. Every plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can also block partial rent payments from the dashboard.
Best for: owners who want every feature at one flat price and can commit for a year to get the low rate.
Rentec Direct. Starter is $25 a month for up to 10 properties. No setup fees. No term commitment. Unlimited US-based support and one-on-one onboarding are part of the price. Each ACH payment costs $2.00, and card payments cost 3.5%.
Best for: owners who want support and onboarding included, with no long contract.
Buildium. Every customer gets ticket support. On its Essential plan, each incoming electronic payment costs $2.35. The monthly plan prices we found didn't agree from one source to the next, so we won't guess. Check its pricing page directly.
Best for: owners comfortable with ticket-based support who will budget for per-payment fees up front.
Want every detail on our side? See all of Hemlane's plans and add-ons on our pricing page. For a deeper look at tiers, hidden fees and cost math across software, read our 2026 owner's guide to property management software costs.
What features should landlords look for in property management software?
Start with five things: screening, online rent collection, accounting reports, leases written for your state and a clear plan for repairs. Then check the tier. Many tools list a feature on the website but put it on a higher plan. The right question is not whether a tool has it. It's whether your plan does.
Feature | Group | Why it matters to you | Essential from | Ask the vendor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tenant screening (credit, criminal, eviction, income) | Must-have | Finds qualified tenants and leaves a record if you turn someone down | First rental | Does it help me send the required notice when I deny someone? |
Online rent collection with autopay and late fees | Must-have | Rent arrives on time, and every payment is dated | First rental | What's the fee per ACH payment, and who pays it? |
Rental accounting and reports | Must-have | Clean numbers for tax time and disputes | First rental | Are cash flow and income reports on my plan or a higher one? |
State-specific leases and e-signatures | Must-have | Lease rules change from state to state | First rental, and every new state | Is the lease written for my state, and on which plan? |
Repair requests with after-hours handling | Must-have | Tenants don't break things on a schedule | A few units | Who answers a repair request at 2 AM on a Saturday? |
Support you can reach | Must-have | Rent fails or a setting breaks, and you need help now | A few units | Is support included? Is it a ticket, chat or a person? |
Listing to major rental sites | Nice-to-have | More eyes on a vacant unit | First vacancy | Which sites, and is it extra? |
Renewal reminders | Nice-to-have | A missed renewal date can turn into a surprise vacancy | A few units | How far ahead does it remind me? |
Bank sync and QuickBooks link | Nice-to-have | Less typing, fewer errors | Growing portfolio | Does it sync with my bank and my books? |
Extra logins for a partner or helper | Watch for hidden fees | Sharing one password is a risk | Growing portfolio | Is a second user included, or on a higher tier? |
Per-payment fees (ACH and card) | Watch for hidden fees | They add up every tenant, every month | First rental | Who pays, and can I change that? |
Billing term | Watch for hidden fees | Yearly-only billing locks you in | Before signup | Can I pay monthly, and how do I cancel? |
Screening and the notice you owe
Screening finds good tenants. It also creates a duty. The Federal Trade Commission's guide on using consumer reports says this: if you reject an applicant, raise the rent or deposit, or require a co-signer based even partly on a consumer report, you must tell the person. That's called an adverse action notice. It can be written, electronic or spoken.
Pick screening that makes this easy to do and easy to prove. This is one rule, not the full set, and it isn't legal advice.
Our free Starter plan includes screening with national credit, criminal, eviction and income reporting.
Where features hide behind a higher tier
TurboTenant puts profit and loss, net operating income and cash flow reports on its Pro plan. Its Team Roles feature, for adding other users, is Pro only.
Support varies too. Rentec Direct includes unlimited US-based support and onboarding in its price. Buildium gives every customer ticket support as the starting point.
None of that is wrong. It's just worth knowing before the first bill.
What we include, and on which plan
Starter includes screening, rental accounting and listing to major rental sites. We advertise to Apartments.com, Zillow and 7 more. Our accounting covers bank sync, a cash flow report and an income statement.
Our lease tools create state-specific leases, collect e-signatures without DocuSign and send renewal reminders well before a lease ends. They also connect to QuickBooks. State-specific lease documents come with Essential and up. See how our lease tools work.
Repairs are where plans differ most. On Essential and Complete, 24/7 repair coordination means a team takes tenant requests after hours and on weekends. Complete adds optional access to a vetted repair network. Starter and Basic don't include it. See what 24/7 repair coordination covers.
What is the best payment method for landlords to collect rent?
Default to ACH, a direct transfer from your tenant's bank to yours. On the platforms above it costs $0 to $2.35 a payment, most transfers settle within a banking day, and every payment lands in your ledger with a date. Keep a check or money order as backup. California, for one, requires a non-electronic option.
Method | Fee and who pays | Speed to your bank | Can it be reversed? | Records | Partial-payment control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ACH bank transfer | $0 on Hemlane. About $2, tenant-paid, on TurboTenant unless Pro. $2.00 on Rentec Starter. $2.35 on Buildium Essential | Most settle in one banking day or less. Your platform's payout adds its own time | It can bounce if the tenant's account is short | Dated and tied to the lease in your software | Depends on the software. Some let you block partials |
Debit or credit card | A percentage. 3.5% on Rentec Starter, paid by you or the tenant | Depends on the software | Tenants can dispute a card charge with their bank | Dated in your software | Depends on the software |
Check or money order | No platform fee | Mail time, then your bank's deposit time | A check can bounce | You log it by hand | You decide whether to deposit it |
Payment apps (Venmo, Zelle) | Varies by app and account type | Fast in the app. Moving it to your bank varies | Hard to undo once sent, for either side | Lives in the app, not your ledger | None. The tenant sends what they send |
ACH isn't slow
A common complaint is that bank transfers take a week. The network says otherwise. Nacha, the body that sets the rules for the ACH network, estimates that 80% of ACH payments settle in one banking day or less.
The catch is weekends and federal holidays. Payments don't settle on those days. A payment sent Friday night waits for Monday.
Your software adds its own step. On Hemlane, rent is deposited directly to your bank account in 2 to 3 business days.
Who pays the fee
Ask every platform two questions. How much per payment? Whose money is it?
TurboTenant charges tenants about $2 per ACH payment unless you're on Pro. Rentec Direct charges $2.00 per ACH payment on Starter. Its 3.5% card fee can be paid by you or your tenant, your choice. Buildium charges $2.35 per incoming EFT on its Essential plan. EFT means electronic funds transfer: an electronic bank payment.
On Hemlane, ACH fees are $0. 100% of rent and 100% of late fees go directly to you. Tenants can also pay by card or Cash App.
Partial payments and autopay
A tenant pays part of the rent. Now what?
Some software lets you decide ahead of time. RentRedi, for example, lets you block partial payments, or all payments, from the dashboard. Whether taking part of the rent affects your rights depends on your state. Check with a qualified local source before you set a policy.
Autopay is usually the tenant's choice. TurboTenant, for example, says owners can't enroll tenants in autopay or change their payment schedule for them. So offer it, explain it at lease signing and make it easy. Hemlane includes autopay, payment reminders and automatic late fees.
A backup method, and when the law requires one
Some tenants can't or won't pay online. Some laws require you to give them another way. California's Civil Code says tenants must be allowed to pay rent and security deposits by at least one method that is neither cash nor an electronic transfer.
That rule is California's. Other states set their own rules, so check yours. This isn't legal advice.
Our recommendation
- Default: ACH, with autopay offered to every tenant. Low or no fee, fast, and it builds your record automatically.
- Backup: check or money order. Log it the day it arrives. Keep it for tenants who can't pay online and for states that require it.
- Third option: card. Fine if your software lets you decide who pays the fee, and you decide before the first payment.
What rent collection reports and tenant payment history should landlord software show?
Eight reports cover what most owners need: a rent roll, a delinquency or aging report, a ledger for each tenant, late fee history, a partial payment record, a security deposit ledger, a year-end tax summary and an owner statement. Together they answer who paid, who didn't, how much and since when. Ask for a sample of each.
This is our list, built from running rentals. It isn't an official standard.
Report | Question it answers | When you pull it | What to check in a sample |
|---|---|---|---|
Rent roll | Who lives where, what they owe each month, when leases end | Start of every month | Every unit appears. Lease end dates match the signed leases |
Delinquency or aging report | Who is behind, by how much, since when | A few days after rent is due, and before any late notice | Days late count from the due date. Balances match the ledgers |
Tenant ledger | Every charge and payment for one tenant, dated | Any dispute or question | Each payment shows the date received and the method |
Late fee history | Which fees were charged, waived or paid | Disputes and renewals | Waived fees show as waived, not deleted |
Partial payment record | What was paid and what is still owed | Whenever a tenant pays part | The remaining balance carries forward on its own |
Security deposit ledger | Deposits you hold, kept apart from income | Move-in and move-out | Deposits never show up as rent income |
Year-end tax summary | Income and expenses by property | Tax time | Advance rent sits in the year it was received |
Owner statement | A clean summary for one property or entity | Monthly, and for a partner or lender | Totals tie back to the ledger |
Why the dates matter at tax time
The IRS guidance on rental income and expenses says advance rent generally counts as income in the year you receive it, whatever period it covers. A security deposit you may have to return isn't income.
So your ledger has to date every payment by when it arrived. It also has to keep deposits apart from rent. A report that blends them hands your accountant a mess.
How long the history should last
In general, tax records should be kept for three years from the date you file. Keeping them in software is fine. Make sure you can export at least that much history, and take it with you if you ever switch.
Partial payments need a running balance
RentRedi tracks the remaining balance automatically after a partial payment. Whatever you use, that balance should carry forward on its own. It shouldn't live in your head or a sticky note.
Also check the tier. Some vendors put core financial reports on a higher plan.
What our reports cover
Our reports run straight from the property ledger. You get cash flow statements, income statements, owner statements, rent rolls, tenant ledgers and tax-ready Schedule E reports. Schedule E is the IRS form where rental income and expenses go.
You can run them for one property, one owner, an entity or the whole portfolio. No manual exports. No spreadsheets. Bank sync and a QuickBooks connection cut the typing. See our rent rolls, tenant ledgers and Schedule E reports.
What should a landlord test during a free trial of landlord software?
Run one week as both owner and tenant. Collect a small real payment and time it to your bank. Send a repair request and follow it. Contact support on a weekend night. Export your data. Read the billing and cancellation terms before day one. Then score two or three platforms on the same card.
Before day one
Read the fine print first. Most free trials ask for a card so the company can bill you if you don't cancel in time. Put the trial end date in your calendar now.
Check the billing term too. TurboTenant's paid tiers are yearly only. Rentec Direct has no term commitment. RentRedi offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
On Hemlane, the Starter plan is free. Paid plans start after a 14-day trial, priced per unit monthly, with discounts for annual billing. 24/7 repair coordination comes with Essential and Complete, so ask what your plan includes before you test it. Plan terms are on our pricing page, linked above.
The one-week test
- Day 1: Set up one real property. Add a unit, a lease, the rent amount, the due date and your late-fee rules. If setup eats your whole evening, that tells you something.
- Day 1: Invite yourself as a tenant. Use a second email. You'll see exactly what your tenants see.
- Day 2: Pay a small real amount. Pay from the tenant side. Write down the fee shown and the time you hit pay.
- Days 2 to 5: Time the payout. Count business days until it lands in your bank. Weekends don't count.
- Day 3: Send a repair request as the tenant. Add a photo. Note who sees it, how fast, and whether a person replies or only a form.
- Day 5: Contact support after hours. Try a Saturday night. Note how long the reply takes and whether a person answers.
- Second-to-last day: Pull reports and export. Run a rent roll, a tenant ledger and a cash flow report. Export them. Open the file. Check that the numbers match.
- Day 7: Read billing, renewal and cancellation terms. Monthly or yearly? When does the card get charged? How do you cancel? If it isn't a fit, cancel before the trial ends.
A trial tests the software. A Saturday night support request tests the company behind it.
Your scorecard
Test | Platform A | Platform B | Platform C |
|---|---|---|---|
Fee the tenant saw on the test payment | |||
Business days until it reached your bank | |||
Repair request: a person or only a form? | |||
After-hours support reply time | |||
Reports you need are on your plan? | |||
Export opened cleanly? | |||
Billing term: monthly, yearly only, or both | |||
Total monthly cost at your unit count |
The winner is the one that's affordable at your unit count and answers on a Saturday. Not the one with the longest feature list.
Ready to run the test on us? Get started with Hemlane.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can landlord software split rent between roommates?
Some can. RentRedi lets you assign each roommate a share of one rent charge. Each person pays their part and gets their own reminders, and you see who has paid in real time. TurboTenant lets tenants make separate payments toward a shared charge when that option is turned on. Ask any vendor, us included, to show you this during your trial. How the lease splits responsibility between roommates is a separate question for your lease and local rules.
Can two co-owners manage the same rentals in one landlord software account?
Often yes, but check the tier. TurboTenant's Team Roles is on Pro only. An Admin can do most of what the account owner can, which suits a spouse or business partner. An Assistant can be limited to chosen properties. On Hemlane, reports can be run for individual owners or entities, owner statements included. Ask us how logins work for your setup before you sign up.
Taxes matter here too. If you own part of a rental, you generally deduct the expenses you paid by your ownership percentage. Keep those percentages on record, and make sure your reports split cleanly. This isn't tax advice.
Is it safe for landlords to collect rent through Venmo or Zelle?
Plenty of owners do it, and it can work with tenants you know well. Know the trade-offs.
Venmo says you can only accept payment for goods and services if you're authorized to, for example through a business profile. Money sent through an app is hard to get back, which cuts both ways in a mistake or dispute. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says payment apps are safest with family, friends and people you know and trust. Public Venmo payments can be seen by anyone online, so set yours to private.
Records are the other gap. A payment app has to send a Form 1099-K only when goods and services payments top $20,000 in more than 200 transactions. Zelle doesn't issue 1099-K forms at all. Neither changes the rule: rent is taxable however it arrives. Keep your own ledger.
If you want rent in your bank with the ledger built in, Hemlane tenants pay by ACH, card or Cash App, deposited to your bank account, with $0 ACH fees.
You call the shots. Pick the tool that tells you who paid, who didn't, since when, and who picks up at 2 AM. If that's us, we'll take the load.
Manage your rentals on Hemlane
Hemlane, Inc. is a technology company that helps you manage your long-term rental properties. Communications between you and Hemlane are protected by our Privacy Policy. Hemlane also provides access to independent licensed professionals and self-help services at your specific direction. We are not a property management firm. We cannot make any decisions on behalf of any property owners. Any content found in the Hemlane Academy is not a substitute for advice and ideas from a qualified legal source or expert. You are responsible for performing additional research to confirm you are complying with all laws applicable to your rental situation.
Sources
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- TurboTenant — Is There a Cost to Sign Up for TurboTenant? | Welcome to Our Help Center! · retrieved October 26, 2026
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- Internal Revenue Service — Good recordkeeping year-round helps taxpayers avoid tax time frustration | Internal Revenue Service · retrieved November 3, 2026
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- Federal Trade Commission — Getting In and Out of Free Trials, Auto-Renewals, and Negative Option Subscriptions | Consumer Advice · retrieved November 3, 2026
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