Best Rent Collection Apps for Small Landlords

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With one to four units you do not need property management software. You need rent to arrive on the first, a record of it, and a way to screen the next tenant. This post compares eight apps on the numbers that matter at that size, read from the vendors’ own pages in September 2026.

Rent collection apps compared: price, fees, screening, accounting

“Who pays” is the tenant unless noted. Prices are the lowest paid tier, billed yearly where the vendor offers it. Deposit speed is for ACH on the free tier.

Every figure is sourced at the bottom with the date I read it. The Avail row comes from third-party reviews because I could not reach avail.co at write time; check it before you sign up.

What each app is good and bad at

Stessa

Stessa is an accounting app with rent collection attached. The free plan connects your bank and categorizes transactions; the Schedule E report is $12 a month billed yearly [1]. No ACH fee if rent lands in its own cash account [2]. Weak spots: leases are paid, owner-occupied splits are manual, deposit times are not published. Full review: Stessa review.

TurboTenant

TurboTenant has the strongest free plan for finding a tenant: listing, applications, screening and rent, all at $0 to the landlord [3]. Leases and eSignatures now start on the $149 a year Essentials plan. The tenant pays $2 per ACH and $55 to apply on the free plan, and free ACH takes five to seven business days [3][4]. Accounting and the Schedule E are on Pro. Full review: TurboTenant review.

Baselane

Baselane starts from the bank account: a separate checking account for the building, rent collection into it, expense tagging and a Schedule E report, all on the free Core plan [5]. The $2 ACH fee can be covered by the landlord, passed to the tenant, or removed by depositing into a Baselane account; cards are 3.49% [5][6].

Deposits take five business days, or two on the $20 a month Smart plan [6]. Weak spots: no listing syndication, and it is a bank, so expect identity checks at signup. A solid option for a first building.

I have an affiliate account with Baselane, not a Baselane bank account, so this entry comes from its pricing and rent collection pages.

Avail

Avail, owned by Realtor.com, gives you state-specific leases and listings free. Third-party reviews from September 2026 put the tenant ACH fee at $2.50 on the free plan, waived on Unlimited Plus at $9 per unit per month, with next-day deposits on Plus and 3.5% on cards [7][8]. Screening prices are not published [8]. Verify this on avail.co; I could not.

RentRedi

RentRedi is the one paid app here: $12 a month billed yearly or $29.95 monthly, unlimited units [9]. The tenant pays $1 per ACH and 3.1% plus $0.30 on cards; the landlord can cover either [10]. Screening is tenant-paid at $39.99, or $49.99 with income verification; payouts run two to three days [9]. Accounting is included on every plan.^[S2]

Apartments.com

Apartments.com Rental Manager, which absorbed Cozy, has the lowest tenant fees of the group: free ACH and 2.75% on cards, no landlord fee [11]. Applications and screening are $32 plus tax, paid by the applicant and shareable with up to ten landlords for 30 days [12]. It promises tax documents but I could not confirm a Schedule E export or a deposit timeline on its pages.

Zillow Rental Manager

Zillow Rental Manager is where the applicants are. Listings are free, rent by ACH is free, credit cards cost 2.95% and a debit card costs a flat $9.95 per rent payment, which is the odd one on this list [13][14]. Applications are $35 to the renter, reusable for 30 days [15]. There is no accounting to speak of.

Innago

Innago is free for landlords and states the fastest deposits here: one to two business days after a three-day hold on the first payment [16]. Tenants pay $2 per ACH and 2.99% on cards unless the landlord absorbs it; screening is $30 to $35 tenant-paid; leases, eSign and late fees are included [16]. Weak spot: no listing reach of its own.

On a $1,200 rent, the difference between the cheapest and priciest ACH fee here is $30 a year. Pick on deposit speed and accounting, not on the fee.$2.50 versus $0, twelve times.

Which rent collection app to pick, by situation

One unit, long-term tenant

The pick: Apartments.com or TurboTenant, both free. Apartments.com has the lowest tenant fees and a $32 application; TurboTenant has the better screening flow, but charges the tenant $2 per payment and $55 to apply, and its leases are on the $149 Essentials plan [3][11][12]. If you already have a tenant and no vacancy, Apartments.com. If you are filling the unit, TurboTenant.

Two to four units, owner-occupied

The pick: Baselane for the account plus rent, or Stessa if you will do the books yourself. At this size the problem is not collecting rent. It is keeping the building’s money out of your personal checking and producing a Schedule E in January.

Baselane does both on its free plan [5]. Stessa does the books in more depth but charges $12 a month for the Schedule E and makes you split every shared bill by hand [1]. Mixing the money is the first mistake in house hacking mistakes.

A furnished or 30-day unit

The pick: none of these for the booking; Stessa or Baselane for the money. Furnished Finder tenants pay you directly, so you need a bank feed that catches the deposit and a category for it. Stessa imports an Airbnb CSV; nothing here connects to Furnished Finder [17]. Whether the furnished unit is worth the work is in short-term vs long-term rental.

What to check before you sign up

• Who pays the ACH fee, and can you cover it. Baselane, RentRedi and Innago let the landlord absorb it. TurboTenant waives it on Pro and Avail on Plus.^[S1] Stessa and Baselane remove it by depositing into their own accounts.
• Deposit days on the free tier. Five to seven at TurboTenant, five at Baselane, one to two at Innago. Match it to your mortgage draft date.
• Application fee against your state cap. Some states cap what an applicant can be charged; check $55 against yours.
• Whether “accounting” means a Schedule E. Only Baselane includes it free. Stessa and TurboTenant charge for it.
• The date on the pricing page. TurboTenant renamed its plans in 2026 and Avail raised Plus to $9 per unit. Everything above was read on September 15, 2026.

Whichever app you choose, set up the expense categories from landlord tax deductions for house hackers before the first rent lands. Other tools I have looked at are on the resources page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to collect rent online?

The cheapest rent collection is defined as free ACH with no landlord fee, which Apartments.com, Zillow Rental Manager, Stessa (into its own account) and Baselane (into its own account) all offer as of September 2026. The remaining apps charge the tenant $1 to $2.50 per ACH payment.

Do tenants have to pay a fee to pay rent online?

A tenant rent payment fee is defined by the app and the landlord’s plan: $0 to $2.50 per ACH payment and 2.75% to 3.5% per card payment across the eight apps here. Baselane, RentRedi and Innago let the landlord cover the ACH fee instead.

Which rent collection app is best for a house hacker?

The best rent collection app for a house hacker is defined by the owner-occupied problem: keeping the building’s money separate and producing a Schedule E for the rental share. Baselane does both on its free plan; Stessa does the books in more depth for $12 a month and requires manual splits for the personal unit.