Best Rental Property Management Software

The idea behind Buildium began between 2002 and 2003 when Michael Monteiro and Dimitris Georgakopoulos started their rental property business and realized they needed software to help them manage their properties more efficiently. In 2004 they founded the company, which quickly grew to 10,000 customers by 2014, receiving many awards and recognitions to date.

Buildium, our overall best, is a comprehensive software that allows rental managers to control everything from online rent payments to vacancy management and maintenance cycles to accounting. Buildium streamlines the whole property management process through accounting, business operations, leasing, and community association management features. To support them, Buildium integrates with several external software platforms, including Apartment List, Apartments.com, Forte, HappyCo, HotPads, Lovely, TransUnion, RevSpring, MSI, Nelco, Tenant Turner, PayNearMe, Trulia, Zillow, and Zumper.

Buildium also has a specialized tenant portal allowing property managers to automatically receive online payments. While there is no free version, they offer a free 14-day trial. Pricing is based on the number of units you manage and starts at $55 per month for the essential plan, so the more units you have, the lower your cost per unit. Buildium also has a 10% discount for anyone that signs up for annual billing.

As it streamlines the whole process, Buildium is fairly simple to use, although basic users may not be able to maximize all of its features. To help users find their way through it easier, Buildium has a ticket-based customer support system, although there were some complaints about the slow responses clients received from it.

Considering there are over 400,000 landlords using this free, cloud-based software, the reliability and support provided by TurboTenant’s online tools have been proven and endorsed since their founding in 2015. The company’s strong reputation has earned it three rounds of venture capital investment from three lead investors, totaling over $10 million.

Many rental property management software platforms have free trial options, but often for only a limited number of units or a limited period of time. This is not the case with TurboTenant, which will remain 100% free no matter the number of units you manage. While many free rental property management software platforms leave much to be desired, TurboTenant is straightforward to use with a simple interface and setup.

While TurboTenant is free for landlords, tenants pay a fee of $55 for application and screening, a credit card rent payment fee of 3.49%, and an optional renters insurance monthly fee starting as low as $8. Landlords can purchase a few optional services for a one-time fee, such as state-specific lease agreements for $39, an unlimited number of electronic signatures for $9, and 32 common landlord forms for $145.

TurboTenant has several features designed to facilitate tenant management for landlords, including managing applications and screening tenants online, creating dedicated listing pages, and sending bulk tenant messages from one inbox. By integrating with Facebook Marketplace, Realtor.com, Rent.com, Apartment List, RentPath, and other rental listing sites, landlords can advertise a vacant property with a single click across multiple platforms.

You can then screen tenants through TransUnion, send and sign all documents online via the platform, and send payment and maintenance requests online. Payments made through ACH are free, but credit card payments incur a 3.49% fee.

Founded in 2006, AppFolio has over a decade of experience providing clients with property management services. Their property management software was the first product they developed, so it’s what they take the most pride in and continuously develop. The company continues to grow, with over six million units managed on the platform, and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ.

Besides supporting all types of units, AppFolio has developed a wide range of features for landlords who need to operate and grow their business remotely, earning our top vote for best for advanced features. 

AppFolio has two different plan tiers for residential landlords as well as plans for community associations and commercial landlords. The plans have a cost per unit, but a minimum applies. For residential landlords, the minimum cost is $280 a month for the core plan.

To set up an AppFolio account, you would need to pay an onboarding fee, after which the cost of each property is as follows:

• Residential Core: $1.40 per unit monthly (min $280)
• Residential Plus: $3 per unit monthly (min $1,500)
• Plans for community associations and commercial landlords are also available.

AppFolio supports multiple property types, including residential properties, commercial buildings, student housing, and community associations. Each feature is designed for the specific property type you’re using, so AppFolio has everything a landlord would need—accounting software, rent collection features, maintenance requests, marketing tools for multiple platforms, utility billing, and customizable online leases. 

Advanced features include a leasing assistant powered by artificial intelligence, professional websites for your properties, premium leads, tenant screening, proof of insurance tracking, online payments, maintenance contact center, utility management, automated accounts payable, and tenant debt collections. 

Propertyware is owned by RealPage, a Texas-born company founded in 1998 that currently serves more than 12,400 clients from North America, Europe, and Asia. All members of Propertyware's management team have over 20 years of experience working in real estate, which means users get software designed by people who understand the industry and how it works.

Focused on single-family home property management, Propertyware is fairly simple to use, without the complicated features commercial management software can have, making it the best choice for single-family home management. You'll benefit from Propertyware's management features, especially if you're a single-family home landlord. It has everything a landlord needs, including online rent collection, accounting, maintenance requests, vacant property marketing with leasing agents, marketing with listing syndication, tenant screening services, lead tracking, and follow-up, and a portal for vendors. 

Propertyware currently has three pricing tiers: Basic, Plus, and Premium, with costs starting at $1 per unit, $1.50 per unit, and $2 per unit, respectively. With the Basic plan, you can run reports; advertise your vacancies; manage the properties with owner and tenant portals; and streamline maintenance work orders, accounting, tenant screening, and rent payments.

The Plus plan adds conveniences like two-way text messaging, eSignatures, and inspections. At the Premium level, you can manage your maintenance projects and add portals for your vendors. Each respective tier has a minimum monthly fee of $250, $350, and $450, so to optimize your unit costs, this program is best for managers of at least 250 homes.

Integrations for efficiency include DocuSign, but Propertyware has chosen a primarily in-house approach for marketing, lead generation, and tenant screening rather than integrating with third-party software.

Founded in 2006, SimplifyEm aims to utilize the latest in user experience and web technology to develop a software solution that meets the needs of busy real estate professionals. The company has clients across the U.S. and Canada and has been used to manage over $42​ billion in property assets.

While SimplifyEm supports any number of units from one to 2,000, it’s the best fit for a few properties because you can keep your costs as low as $25 per month if you’re starting with fewer than 10 properties.

The price starts at $25 per month for 10 units. Then it costs $35 for 20 units and $45 for 30 units. For 50 units, it is $60, increasing to $75 for 75 units and 100 for $100 units. You can create a free 15-day trial account without entering a credit card. It does not require a dedicated professional to manage this platform. Independent property owners should find this accessible regardless of their experience.

All packages include email and phone support, income and expense tracking, tenant and lease management reporting, renters insurance, and more.

SimplifyEm is designed to give landlords a simple and easy way to manage their properties while also saving time and money. It allows users to track income and expenses, collect rent and tenant applications online, screen tenants, generate and analyze owner reports, track maintenance requests, store documents, and automate repetitive tasks. You can get started immediately because it is cloud-based.

Founded in 1971 and based in Cleveland, MRI Software started by providing property management services and has expanded to cloud-based software and an app. It has over 45,000 clients in over 170 countries and more than 300 partners supporting them, a testament to the reliability and quality they provide.

Commercial properties come with greater financial complexities, and the investors who own them have different information requirements for their properties, such as investment management reports and strategic planning and analysis. MRI Software was designed to meet these needs from the start and therefore wins our vote as the best rental property management software for commercial properties. 

MRI Software supports commercial and residential properties, but because of the design of its features, it’s better suited for the commercial sector or businesses owning large portfolios of residential properties. A smaller residential landlord would simply leave too many features paid for but unused. It’s best suited for managing more extensive portfolios of property and can be installed or purchased as software as a Service (SaaS).

As it has a wide array of services for different types of clients, MRI Software doesn’t have specific pricing tiers, but rather it tailors the price for every client’s needs. This means that users can choose what to include in their package and whether they need some or all services, such as online rent collection, lease templates, integrated accounting, maintenance requests, tenant screening insurances, multifamily insurance, resident communication, investor relations, rent and vacancy tracking, manager compliance, and credit risk management. 

There is no free trial, and to get a quote, you must get on the phone with its customer agents so they can interview you to determine precisely how you want to use the software. While this is an extensive process, quite different from competitors who simply publish their pricing online, there are many reviews from commercial property managers and owners on Getapp.com and Software Advice that have rated MRI as a good value for the price they were privately quoted.

Yardi Breeze was founded in 1984 to provide software solutions to the real estate industry. And if you want to have access to advanced features that facilitate the usage of your cloud-based property management software, Yardi Breeze is the right choice for you.

There are no setup fees with Yardi Breeze, and with the cheaper residential plan, every unit you add costs $1 per month, so it’s a pretty affordable property management software for all the features it comes with. You have to spend $100 per month at a minimum ($1 per unit) if you have residential properties and $200 ($2 per unit) for commercial properties with the basic package. There is also a second residential package called Breeze Premier that costs $2 per unit per month with a $400 minimum.

The features include built-in accounting software, online rent collection, rental applications, templates and addendums, maintenance requests, automated marketing, activity calendars with tasks, renters insurance, tenant communication options, workflow sheets, and outsource payments. All these features allow users to manage their properties, tenants, and finances with a few online clicks. But what separates Yardi Breeze is the unique feature that allows tenants to take photos with a smart device and directly attach them to a maintenance request on an online platform.

The system is pretty simple to understand, according to previous clients, but even for those that have problems setting it up, Yardi Breeze offers free training and customer support to set up your account and learn the software.