The Best Property Management Software in 2024

If you’re a landlord looking for the best property management software and apps to integrate into your business, the search for solutions can feel a bit daunting. There are dozens of big-name players out there, and many of them offer tools that appear to be identical, at least on the surface. Maybe you’re still using pen and paper and filing cabinets, or you just have a laptop and QuickBooks and you’re holding on for dear life. You might even be a landlord who’s already using property management software or apps, but you feel that they’re not quite doing what you’d like them to do. Whatever your situation, it can’t hurt to know what else is out there, so we’ve assembled a compact list of the best property management software on the market.

• AppFolio – Ideal for landlords with diverse portfolios, requiring a minimum of 50 units but offering advanced capabilities.
• Buildium – A comprehensive solution for portfolios of all sizes, offering everything from accounting to analytics.
• RentVine – A great alternative for larger portfolios, known for strong customer support and a range of property management tools.
• TurboTenant – Top choice for free rental property management software, especially for landlords with small portfolios.
• Avail – A free software option great for new tenant acquisition, with upgradeable features for a more comprehensive solution.
• Yardi Breeze – Offers basic to advanced solutions for residential portfolios with competitive pricing.
• Stessa – A free web-based service for tracking properties, managing documents, and more, with a premium option for advanced features.
• Landlord Studio – Affordable and competitive, especially for small portfolios, with a free option for up to 3 units.
• SimplifyEm – Best for landlords managing 31-100 units, offering a sliding scale pricing model.
• Innago – A free property management software with a comprehensive set of features for smaller portfolios.

The Best Property Management Software

The following few property management software solutions are some of the best known options in the industry. They are comprehensive, intuitive, and integrated with many of the other tools that you use. If you are wanting to acclerate growth and have a full box of tools, check these out.

AppFolio

AppFolio is frequently mentioned as the best software in the business, and it’s no wonder why: their property management software has all the tools and solutions you’d expect to see, plus some more advanced capabilities. What sets it apart is the functionality it offers for those with diverse portfolios, as it allows users to manage different types of property simultaneously. The only catch is that if you’re a landlord with a smaller portfolio of rentals, AppFolio’s property management software and app aren’t the best for you—the company only accepts clients with a minimum of 50 units. Landlords with larger portfolios would do well to utilize AppFolio’s software, but you’ll be paying a premium for their tools. At $1.40 per unit per month, plus a $280 minimum monthly fee, their “Core” package will cost you $350 per month just to get in the door. And if you want their “Plus” package, which includes workflow management, performance insights, and data export API, you’ll be dropping $3.00 per unit plus an additional $900 monthly minimum fee. One reason why we love AppFolio is due to our partnership! You can find us in Stack Marketplace as one of their integrations.

Buildium

Frequently listed near the top with AppFolio, Buildium’s property management software and app offer a robust set of tools and solutions for landlords with portfolios large or small. Residential properties, HOAs, affordable housing, student housing—you name it, and Buildium’s software has the capabilities you need: accounting, rent collection, online portals, property maintenance, analytics, the works. As expected, though, if you want one of the best property management software and apps out there, you’ll have to pay for the best: if you’re a landlord wanting access to Buildium’s performance/business analytics and live phone support you’ll have to shell out at least $166 per month for their “Growth” package, and if you want their Open API and other top-shelf gadgets you’ll have to purchase their “Premium” package starting at $479 per month. It’s expensive, yes, but Buildium’s app and property management software are among the best out there for streamlining your day-to-day landlord processes.

RentVine

If you’re looking for an alternative to the two big rivals at the top of the food chain, RentVine is worth checking out, and it’s particularly well equipped for larger portfolios. It sits in roughly the same price range as Buildium and AppFolio, and their property management software has received favorable reviews from users, many of whom consistently cite RentVine’s customer support and responsiveness as reasons for sticking with the company. As for what they actually bring to the table, it’s the standard fare you’d expect from a top property management software: marketing, tenant screening, a leasing and document center, maintenance scheduling and vendor payments, reporting, owner statements, and website buildout/support. They’ve even got a total cost calculator you can use to get an idea of what you’re likely to pay, based on the number of units you manage. 100 units, for example, will probably cost you close to $250 per month (in addition to a $1,000 implementation fee).

The Affordable Property Management Software

So we’ve covered a couple of big names as well as a promising alternative, but each of them comes with a bit of a price tag. Some landlords are either trying to cut costs when it comes to software, or they simply don’t need the kind of diverse set of tools that comes with a pricey top contender like Buildium. Here are four of the best free or low-budget rental property management software solutions on the market.

TurboTenant

TurboTenant is not only at the top of many lists of the best free rental property management software, it’s really considered to be one of the best in the business in its own right, especially for landlords with small portfolios. While TurboTenant does offer rent collection, accounting, maintenance request management, and an app for landlord-tenant communication, it’s especially helpful for the leads and lease-signing phases of rental property management, as it boasts one of the best free software packages for rental advertising, online applications, tenant screening and lease agreements. For a budget/free software, TurboTenant certainly brings an impressive array of property management solutions to the table. Similar to AppFolio, we integrate with TurboTenant! Look into their Maintenance Plus features.

Avail

Like TurboTenant, Avail is another free software that has some useful tools for securing new tenants. With Avail, you can syndicate rental listings on a number of the top rental listing websites, including Apartments.com, Realtor.com, and Redfin. Their free software package includes the standard items (background screening, online rent collection, maintenance tracking, property accounting, a tenant portal, etc.), but for $7 per unit per month, users can upgrade to “Unlimited Plus” to get access to waived ACH fees, customizable applications and leases, and a website creation tool.

Yardi Breeze

This software company has been around the block—it was founded in 1984! Yardi has an impressive bevy of solutions for just about every sector of the property management industry. But if you’re a landlord or property manager with a straightforward portfolio of residential rental properties, Yardi Breeze is the option for you. The two packages it offers for residential portfolios are Breeze ($1 per unit per month, $100 minimum per month) and Breeze Premier ($2 per unit per month, $400 minimum per month). The former will meet most of your basic property management needs, but the latter will get you access to things like utility billing and automated income verification.

Stessa

Another free powerhouse in the rental property management software game, Stessa is a web-based service with many of the tools you’d expect to see. The free offering will help you track properties, manage documents, generate reports, screen tenants, and collect rent, but Stessa also has a premium option: its $20-per-month “Pro” package will get you project expense tracking, advanced reporting (including SREO), an advanced accountant tax package, and accelerated rent payments.

The Small Property Management Software

If you’re a landlord with a smaller portfolio and you’ve got the budget for it, Buildium is one of your best property management software/app options. On the other hand, if you’re looking to spend less (or nothing), TurboTenant may be your best bet. But if you’d rather look further afield for just the right software for your small portfolio, here are a few additional companies to check out.

Landlord Studio

With a premium package for 1-3 units at just $15 per month, it’s hard to affordably beat Landlord Studio’s property management software if you’re a landlord with a small portfolio, and it’s competitive for larger portfolios, too—100 units will cost you just $112 per month for their premium service. The company even offers a free “GO” option that includes 3 units, manual income expense tracking, online rent collection, maintenance tracking, basic reports, and a GPS mileage tracker for tax purposes. Their “PRO” package, on the other hand, boasts multi-user access, automated bank feeds, recurring expenses, unlimited receipt and document storage, full data export, and no limit to the number of units.

SimplifyEm

SimplifyEm is one of the best property management software solutions for landlords with small portfolios, as its sliding scale pricing allows you to pay a ridiculously low $35 total per month for 10 units, or $110 per month for 100 units. The company’s “Starter” package offers everything from screening and onboarding to tenant/owner/vendor portals and rent collection. If you have 30 units or fewer, you’ll have to pay an additional $10 per month to access a number of the basic features you’d expect to see in any property management software, and every batch of 10 units above 100 is billed in increments of $10 per month.

Innago

The final property management software on our list is Innago, but it’s not an option you should sleep on if you’re looking for something well equipped for smaller portfolios. We could’ve also just as easily included Innago on our list of the best free rental property software, considering how many features come with its free package, including direct customer support, late fee and invoice automation, online leasing and document storage, financial tracking and reporting, work order tracking, landlord-tenant communication tools, tenant screening, and online rental payments. However, if you’re looking for both the quality and quantity of services that you’d expect from a company such as Buildium or AppFolio, Innago may leave you wanting.