Best Free Property Management Software Compared by Crazy Egg - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

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Managing properties can get expensive… quick. Thankfully, property management software doesn’t have to add another bill to your monthly to-do. After two weeks of rigorous testing, our in-house team of researchers found TenantCloud to be the best free option for property managers on a budget. Its comprehensive free plan includes dozens of features (for up to 75 units), including easy online payments, accounting features, maintenance requests, and automated list syndication.

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The Best Free Property Management Software for Most

TenantCloud

Best for Most

TenantCloud offers easy online payments, vacancy marketing, tenant screening, and more. The starting plan is available for property managers with less than 75 units, and you can list your site and use great accounting features for no extra cost. Did we mention that it’s free?

>> Try for free

The best property management software for most is TenantCloud. Not much in life is outright free, yet TenantCloud provides a comprehensive starting plan for up to 75 units, with file storage of 512 MB, for free.

With snappy online payments, automatic listing syndication, vacancies marketing, along with maintenance requests, and equipment tracking, there’s a lot here for most property managers, whether you’re just starting or need something more.

The Best Free Property Management Software To Consider

TenantCloud – Best for most
Stessa – Best for financial management
Rentec Direct – Best for self-managed properties
Innago – Best for signing leases
Pendo – Best for tenant screening

When It Makes Sense To Invest In Property Management Software

There are some key scenarios in which investing in property management software would be a wise move.

For example, you might be a beginner property manager losing key leads because you don’t have an easy way to track them. The good news is that most property management software allows you to track your tenant leads on an online platform, so you’ll never lose out again. You can even follow them on the go with dedicated mobile apps.

Or perhaps you now find yourself wanting to collect rent online, especially in the post-pandemic world with a need to minimize risk and need a tool to do so?

Property management software almost always includes a platform for online payments, whether with another provider or an in-house offering. Not only do tenants prefer paying online, but you’ll also be able to offer multiple ways for them to pay rent, thereby increasing your chance of receiving it and on time too.

Maybe you’ve had a history of bad tenants where you’ve lost money and time chasing them? You might have even experienced property damage as a result of difficult tenants. Most good property management software features tools that can advertise your property on various platforms such as Apartments.com and Zillow. More than that, they come with complete screening services which look at credit and criminal history, along with eviction reports. Problem tenants will be far easier to avoid as a result.

Is sending individual emails to tenants about routine inspections taking up too much of your time? This scenario is particularly true if you have an extensive property portfolio and need to send emails out but don’t want to use an estate agent to do so.

Property management software can automate bulk emails and send them out to tenants, saving you a great deal of time. The best bit is that you can customize the emails where needed.

If any of these scenarios sound relevant to you, then property management software would be a solid investment.

#1 – TenantCloud – The Best for Most

TenantCloud

Best for Most

>> Try for free

TenantCloud is the best property management software for most. It’s free end-to-end property management software suitable for a wide range of property managers but particularly those with smaller portfolios.

With the software, you’ll be able to collect rent and other payments entirely online and accept ACH and various debit and credit card payments.

But it goes further than that: there’s automated management that enables you to collect rent no matter what you’re doing, and late fees can be issued with ease to encourage tenants to pay on time. Along with that are automatic printable receipts and expense tracking should you need it.

Screening potential tenants can help you feel assured about who you are renting to, and you can choose to pay for the screening yourself or require tenants to pay for it. There’s a detailed background credit check, plus a National Eviction Records search to eliminate difficult tenants.

If marketing your property is proving difficult, then TenantCloud comes with handy built-in advertising and lead generation integration with Rentler Leads.

The free plan is a particularly great choice if you have less than 75 units because it comes with a free listing website, the ability to accept these online payments, as well as accounting features, and an agreement builder.

Of course, the more advanced features such as CRM Leads, the PDF editor, and auto-pay aren’t free, but you can upgrade your plan whenever you want. The first paid plan starts at a highly affordable $9 per month and goes up to $35 per month.

In a nutshell: being able to manage 75 properties for free is hard to ignore. The free trial is free forever.

#2 – Stessa – The Best for Financial Management

Stessa logo

Stessa

Best Free Property Management Software for Financial Management

Stessa is a top choice for expense tracking and automating your income. You’ll get personalized reports, real-time insights, and the ability to create rental listings with ease. Manage your property portfolio from anywhere for the unbeatable price of $0 today.

>> Try for free

Stessa is the best property management software for financial management. The platform offers automated income, expense tracking, and personalized reporting. It’s aimed at property managers that need to maximize the performance of their rental properties.

Real-time insights allow you to maximize your revenue and increase property dividends through powerful personalized recommendations and custom alerts. The custom alerts are based solely on your portfolio and investment strategy.

On top of that, the software combines all of your transactions using high-end security and auto-categorizes them for prompt reporting and tax preparation.

You link your bank and mortgage accounts to track income and expenses and can view key metrics. You’ll also be able to run financial reports and model different rent collection scenarios within a few clicks.

An essential part of the offer is that Stessa is 100% free to manage your finances. You’ll be able to access your portfolio from anywhere and can automate income and track your expenses for the price of nothing.

That said, few things are absolutely free, and rent analysis, mortgage financing, and additional market research are premium features only. You’ll have to contact Stessa for a custom quote for these features. Still, this is a generous offer overall.

#3 – Rentec Direct – The Best for Self-Managed Properties

Rentec Direct

Best Free Property Management Software for Self-Managed Properties

Rentec Direct is a top choice for those with smaller, self-managed portfolios. It offers full tenant screening, a dedicated accounting system, and a mobile app specifically for your tenants. The best part? If you manage ten or fewer properties, it’s completely free.

>> Try for free

Rentec Direct is the best property management software for self-managed properties. It’s aimed at property managers with smaller portfolios that want to manage things independently.

The free plan offers accounting functionality that includes a general ledger system, allowing you to edit, view, and print data specific to individual properties and tenants. There’s also unlimited file storage available, and you can attach scanned receipts to each tenant and property’s library.

Each file on the free plan is encrypted with cloud tech, and it’s something you’d expect to see on the paid plans. The free tier even allows you to generate property management reports.

Rentec Direct gives you access to credit reports, criminal reports, and eviction history when it comes to screening tenants. You’ll receive wholesale pricing on tenant screening reports on the higher plan, saving you up to $15 – $25 per applicant.

On top of that, you can create rental listings for vacancies, and you can publish them on your custom site, which is syndicated to other leading rental listing websites.

Tenants themselves will have access to a mobile app to make rent payments, submit maintenance requests, and view payment history with ease.

The free plan is perfect for landlords managing fewer than ten properties, and even the further paid plans come with a two-week trial. These premium plans start at $35 per month and go up to $40 per month on the highest tier.

#4 – Innago – The Best for Signing Leases

Innago logo

Innago

Best Free Property Management Software for Signing Leases

Innago takes care of pesky leases that can drag on forever. No hassle: it just gets the job done. With handy online payments, the ability to track and automate them, and a $0 setup fee, it’s no one-trick pony either. There’s a variety of features available right now, and yes, they’re completely free.

>> Try for free

Innago is the best free property management software for signing leases. It’s a simple and effective piece of software that gets the job done.

Signing lease agreements can drag on unnecessarily, but Innago allows you to sign lease agreements quickly and easily with no additional scheduling required.

Particularly of note: the mobile signing lets you send agreements to all required parties from your phone alone.

For instance, imagine one of your tenants can’t make it for a walkthrough. Well, mobile signing lets you instantly send the agreement out to all parties, and they can sign them wherever and whenever they have the time. Even renewals can be signed electronically and on the go.

You’ll even be able to create custom lease templates, and automated fields make the process as straightforward as you could ever want. You’ll be able to make edits and revisions up until the lease signing from your phone and tablet.

Other features of the software include online rent collection that accepts both eChecks and credit cards. You’ll be able to automatically generate and track payments and create custom applications for tenant screening. You don’t even have to pay to get eviction history checks–the tenants themselves are charged $30-35 for this. (It might be better if you could choose who pays for that, since some tenants may choose not to apply if they have to pay that fee, but on balance this is a small issue next to all of Innago’s solid other features.)

The best bit is that there’s no setup fee, no monthly fee, and no contract. The entirety of the features are free on the platform.

Get started with Innago for free today.

#5 – Pendo – The Best for Tenant Screening

Pendo logo

Pendo

Best Free Property Management Software for Tenant Screening

Pendo offers dedicated tenant screening options for those that need it. With industry-leading Certn and Equifax checks, you can be sure the days of nightmare tenants are long over. Direct bank transfers, digital lease agreements, and full expense tracking complete a great package.

>> Try for 30 days free

Pendo is the best free property management software for tenant screening.

Pendo is the best for tenant screening because it gives you options. The software features two simple types of reports to suit both your budget and screening requirements.

For example, you might only feel you need a soft check report to be fully happy with a tenant, thereby saving money and time. A soft check report helps you verify critical contact information, a tenant’s identity, and additional red flags, but it doesn’t go beyond that.

Meanwhile, a credit report gives you the whole picture, including insight into a tenant’s character and soft check information. The full-screen report is carried out by Certn and Equifax—which are industry-leading FCRA compliant background services.

It’s the straightforward pay-as-you-go yet powerful capability here that impressed us the most, making it suitable for those that want quick checks or something far more in-depth.

Other top features of Pendo include direct bank transfers for rent payment, mobile condition inspection reports, and full expense tracking.

Pendo isn’t outright free to use, at least not anymore, but it comes with free online application forms and a generous 30-day free trial. The Basic plan for one to five units also starts at an affordable $10 per month. Higher tiers reach $100 per month.

Methodology for Choosing the Best Free Property Management Software

Here you’ll find the most important factors you need to consider when choosing the best free property management software for you.

Number of Units

The number of units property management software allows you to manage is typically based on the different plans available.

Think about how many units you need to manage. For example, do you need software to manage a small number of rental properties or an extensive portfolio that’s more like a large firm’s operations?

Your situation can change here, so it’s best to pick software that scales easily and affordably as you grow.

Property Type

The type of property you manage factors into your choice because the software differs in what it offers.

For instance, some property management software focuses on leasing rentals, while others cater to those who need to manage various properties. Others will have a stronger focus on compliance.

Think about what type of property you manage and the extra features you need the software to provide before signing up.

Mobile-Ready

With global mobile traffic booming, almost all software today needs to offer a robust mobile component to its package, although not all of it does. The same is true for property management software.

If you’re a landlord that completes a lot of their work on the go, then you’ll want to ensure the software you use to manage property is mobile-friendly, and even better, has a dedicated mobile app.

Each software has different features available on its apps and mobile sites, but it needs to complete the tasks quickly. Be sure that your preferred software is mobile-ready if that’s important for you.

TenantCloud

Best for Most

>> Try for free

Summary

There’s some excellent free property management software available today. The only barrier is knowing which to go for overall.

The best for most property managers is TenantCloud with its notable free starting plan, while Stessa is a smart choice for the financial management side of things.

Rentec Direct is a great choice for self-managed properties and smaller portfolios, while Innago offers top-notch features for signing leases. Pendo itself is a worthy choice for your tenant screening needs.

Take the time to think about what your ideal software is and go from there.