Short answer: usually free for you and not for your tenant.
“Free landlord software” is one of the most searched phrases in this category, and for good reason. Nobody wants to pay for something that used to be a spreadsheet and a paper lease. But most of what shows up under that search is free for one person in the deal, and it is not the tenant. Here is how the math works, with each vendor’s own numbers.
Where “free” usually comes from
There are three common ways a landlord tool ends up free:
- The tenant pays instead. This is the most common. Sign-up costs nothing, and then every rent payment carries a fee: $1 to $2.50 for a bank payment on the plans we checked, and a percentage for a card. The landlord never sees a bill. The tenant does, every month.
- The applicant pays for screening. Most free tools charge the screening fee to the applicant by default, $30 to $55 depending on the tool. That is a normal practice, but it is still money coming from someone other than you.
- The free tier is capped. A unit limit, or the features you need held back for the paid plan. Ours is capped too (3 units), so read every free tier’s limits, including ours.
None of these are scams. They are business models. But “free” is doing a lot of work in the marketing copy, and it is worth knowing which version you are signing up for.
What each free tool charges your tenant
From each vendor’s own pricing or help page, as of October 2026. “Not published” means the vendor’s page does not give the number, so ask before you count on it.
| Tool and plan | You pay | Tenant pays, rent by bank | Tenant pays, rent by card | Screening, paid by applicant | Can the landlord cover the payment fees? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TurboTenant Free | $0 | $2 | 3.49% (help center lists cards as an Essentials feature) | $55 | Not published |
| TurboTenant Pro | $199 a year, up to 10 units | $0 | 3.49% | $45 | Bank fee is waived |
| Avail Unlimited | $0 | $2.50 | 3.5% | Varies by location | Not published |
| Avail Unlimited Plus | $9 a unit per month | $0 | 3.5% | Varies by location | Bank fee is waived |
| Innago | $0 | $2 | 2.99% | $30 to $35 | Yes, if you choose to |
| RentRedi | $12 a month, billed annually | $1 | 3.1% plus 30 cents | $39.99 | Yes, if you choose to |
| TenantCloud Starter | $15 a month, billed annually | $1.95 | Not published | Price not published | Not published |
| LeaseRooster Solo | $39 a month, up to 25 units | $0 | $0 | Not sold. You use your own screening company | You already do. Stripe’s fee comes out of your account |
Two things stand out. Every free plan here charges the tenant something to pay by bank. And the paid upgrades from TurboTenant and Avail waive the bank fee only. The card fee stays with the tenant unless you are on Innago or RentRedi and choose to cover it yourself.
The actual tenant fee math
Say your tenant pays $2.50 every month to send rent by bank. That is $30 a year, just to pay rent online instead of writing a check. Across ten units it is $300 a year leaving your tenants’ pockets.
Card payments are steeper. At 3.5%, a $1,800 rent costs the tenant $63 more that month.
Processing a payment is not free for anyone. Stripe’s published rate for a bank debit is 0.8% capped at $5, and on most rents that cap applies. So the real question is not whether there is a cost. It is who pays it, and whether they can see it.
Tenants notice. The fee shows up on their bank statement every month, and some of them will ask you why they are being charged to pay their own rent. “The software company set it up that way” is not much of an answer.
What free looks like on LeaseRooster
LeaseRooster’s Starter plan is free for up to 3 units, with no card on file to sign up. It covers the record-keeping side of a rental: properties, leases, tenants, documents, messaging, and a tenant portal. Online rent collection and maintenance work orders start on the paid plans.
When you want online rent, work orders, or more units, Solo is $39 a month ($390 a year billed annually) for up to 25 units. Growth is $79 a month for up to 100 units, and Business is $149 a month for up to 300.
Here is how rent works on every paid plan:
- Your tenant pays no fee to pay rent online, by bank or by card.
- Rent goes to your own Stripe account. LeaseRooster never holds the money and takes no cut.
- Stripe’s processing fee comes out of your account at its published rate: 0.8% capped at $5 for a bank payment, 2.9% plus 30 cents for a card. You see it. Your tenant does not.
That is the trade. You pay a monthly plan, and the cost of moving rent sits on your side of the ledger instead of your tenant’s. See how online rent collection works.
The one question worth asking before you sign up anywhere
Before you pick any landlord software, free or paid, ask this directly: does my tenant pay anything to pay rent online? If the answer is yes, that is not necessarily a dealbreaker. But it is a cost you are passing to someone who did not get a vote in choosing the software. Better to know it going in than to find out from a confused text the first time rent is due.
For more detail:
- How much property management software costs at 5, 10, 25, and 50 units, for nine plans.
- TurboTenant vs Avail vs Innago, side by side on every fee.
- ACH vs card rent payments, and where Zelle and Venmo fit.
- The shorter cheap landlord software breakdown, or our pricing for the exact tiers.
All competitor numbers in this guide come from each vendor’s own pricing or help page as of October 2026 and are listed in the sources below.