Free Property Management Software: 3 $0 Plans Compared

Free property management software can be a sensible start for a landlord with one or two units. The catch is that free usually means a free subscription, not that every service or task costs nothing. Some features are paid. Some work stays manual.

Vendor details on this page were checked against official pricing pages on 2026-09-05. Plans change, so confirm current terms before signing up.

What Free Usually Leaves Out

The subscription may be $0 while screening, payment processing, faster payouts, or advanced reports carry separate terms. The other cost is your time. A free tool won't automatically follow up with a prospect, answer your phone, or reconcile every book.

Avail: A Broad Free Starting Point

Avail's official pricing page lists Unlimited at $0 per unit. The free plan includes listing and marketing tools, applications and screening, rent collection, maintenance tracking, tenant messaging, and income and expense tracking. State-specific leases with digital signing are also listed in the free column. Unlimited Plus is $9 per unit per month and adds paid upgrades such as custom lease clauses and faster payments. See our Avail vs Rentway comparison for the growth tradeoff.

• Free fit: a hands-on landlord who wants listings, screening, rent collection, and basic tracking.
• Watch for: per-service terms and the $9 per-unit paid plan when the free limits stop fitting.

Stessa: More Than a Finance App

Stessa's Essentials pricing matrix shows a free plan with more than bookkeeping. Free examples include automatic bank feeds, basic financial reports, a basic tax package, vacancy marketing, tenant screening, maintenance requests, maintenance tracking, online rent collection, and key-metrics dashboards. It also includes unlimited properties and document storage.

The boundary matters. Essentials does not include lease templates, eSign leases or contracts, 60-plus legal forms, or a Schedule E report. Those appear in paid plans. If your priority is accounting plus basic rental operations, Stessa is a strong free starting point. If you need built-in leasing documents, price the upgrade instead of assuming the free plan has them. Our rental accounting basics guide covers the bookkeeping side.

TurboTenant: Free Marketing, Screening, and Rent Collection

TurboTenant's official pricing page lists its Free plan at $0 per month with rental listing and marketing, applicant screening, and online rent collection. The same matrix places creating and signing leases online under the paid Essentials plan, so don't count leases as a Free-plan feature. Screening and payment fees can also involve renter charges.

That makes TurboTenant a reasonable choice for a DIY landlord who mainly needs to fill a vacancy, screen applicants, and collect rent. You still handle the judgment calls and day-to-day follow-up.

A Spreadsheet Is Still Free

For one unit, a spreadsheet can track rent, expenses, renewal dates, and deposits. It won't send payments, store a complete paper trail, or remind you that a task is overdue. I think a spreadsheet is fine as a temporary system, not a great operating system once several properties compete for your attention.

When a Flat Paid Plan Makes Sense

Rentway is not free software. Its official pricing page lists Solo at $24 per month, or $19 per month billed annually, for 1 to 3 units. It includes a 14-day free trial with no card required. The paid plan includes the full feature set: an AI phone number, AI SMS follow-up, online rent collection, accounting and owner reports, and native eSignatures without a per-document charge.

The fair comparison is time and control. A free stack can be the right answer. But if calls, lead follow-up, and books keep landing on you, a flat automated plan may cost less in practice than several free tools plus your evenings.

How to Choose

• Need basic listing, screening, and rent collection: compare Avail and TurboTenant's free plans.
• Need free accounting, maintenance requests and tracking, vacancy marketing, screening, and rent collection: check Stessa Essentials, but lease templates, eSign, and Schedule E are paid; budget separately for them.
• Comfortable doing everything by hand: use a spreadsheet for a small portfolio.
• Want calls, texts, books, and rent operations in one place: compare the work you keep with Rentway's flat Solo plan.

The Bottom Line

Free property management software is real and useful, especially at the beginning. Avail and TurboTenant cover core marketing, screening, and rent collection. Stessa Essentials covers basic accounting and several operating tasks, but not free lease templates, eSign, or Schedule E. Start with the free plan that matches your actual work. Move to a flat paid platform when the manual work becomes the expensive part.