The 10 Best Apps for Landlords to Collect Rent

Best Overall

Baselane

Baselane

5
5/5

Best for Finding Tenants

Apartments.com

5
5/5

Best for Simple Lease Signing

Zillow

Zillow Rent Manager

4
4/5

Best for Small Landlords

Avail

Avail

4
4/5

Best Free App

Stessa

Stessa

5
5/5
Apps for Landlords to Collect Rent

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Collecting rent from tenants digitally through an app is not only convenient for them, but it also increases your odds of getting paid on time without needless headaches. 

Here are the best property management apps for landlords to collect rent based on the landlord monthly fee, tenant processing fee, payment processing time, and other key factors. 

Best Apps for Landlords to Collect Rent 

Best Apps for Landlords to Collect Rent Compared

AppLandlord Monthly Fee Tenant Processing FeePayment Processing TimeTenant Automatic Payment Option
BaselaneNoneA bank-to-bank transfer is free. Debit or credit is 2.99%.2-5 business daysYes
Apartments.comNoneA bank-to-bank transfer is free. Debit or credit is 2.75%.3-5 business daysYes
Hemlane$28 base fee, plus $2 per unit per month for the Basic packageA bank-to-bank transfer is free. Debit or credit is 3%.3-4 business daysYes
Zillow Rent ManagerNoneA bank-to-bank transfer is free. A credit card is 2.95%, and a debit card is $9.95. 3-5 business daysYes
TenantCloudFree for a basic plan.$2.95 for the Free plan. $1.50 for the Starter plan, and $1.25 for the Growth plan. 5-7 business days for bank-to-bank transfers and 2-3 business days for debit or credit paymentYes
AvailFree for a basic plan$2.50 for a bank-to-bank transfer and 3.5% for debit or credit2-3 business daysYes
PayRentThe Pay-As-You-Go plan is free for less than 10 units$5 for a bank-to-bank transfer and 3.5% + $0.30 per debit card or credit card transaction4-5 business daysYes
RentRedi$19.95 monthly pay-as-you-go, $15 monthly for a six-month plan, and $9 a month for an annual plan$1 for a bank-to-bank transfer and 2.9% + $0.30 per debit or credit card transaction4-5 business daysYes
Buildium Basic “Essential” plan starts at $52 a month. There’s also a $99 bank set-up fee for each account. $1 for an incoming bank-to-bank transaction and 2.95% per debit or credit card transaction 1-2 daysYes
StessaFree with the option for paid servicesNone2-3 business daysYes

Baselane

Source: Baselane

Baselane has a lot going for it. 

For starters, there are no monthly landlord rent collection fees, and you can get an account set up in less than five minutes. 

Next, it’s free for tenants to pay rent online with bank-to-bank transfers.

Otherwise, it’s 2.99% for debit or credit, which is still less than many other rent payment apps. 

And in just 2-5 business days, the payment processing time is lightning-fast, with many payments appearing in your account in just 2 days. 

Besides that, there’s a tenant auto-pay option to streamline their online rent payment without having to remember it each month. 

We also like how simple Baselane makes it to keep track of your payment history from each tenant and see whenever outstanding rent is due. 

If you’re looking for the total package of convenience, minimal fees, and a silky smooth online rent payment platform, it doesn’t get much better than Baselane.

Try Baselane

Apartments.com

Source: Apartments.com

While the Apartments.com rent collection platform isn’t quite as robust as Baselane, it’s still a great choice for many landlords. 

One reason is that it’s completely free for landlords to use with zero monthly fees. 

As for tenants, it’s also free for them if they pay using a checking account. However, if they use a debit or credit card, they’ll be charged a 2.75% fee, which is slightly less than Baselane and one of the lowest rent collection fees overall. 

Another reason is the quick payment time of 3-5 days, with the option of automated online rent payment for tenants. 

We also like that Apartments.com helps you manage rent payments, which frees up your time so you’re not constantly chasing down rent. 

In their own words, “we email reminders to renters about upcoming or late rent payments, automate late payment fees, post additional fees or payments as needed, and provide all the documents you need for tax filing.”

Source: Apartments.com

Finally, this property management app has other helpful features that streamline property touring, applications, tenant screening (like Rentec Direct), leases, and more, which is a huge plus. 

Source: Apartments.com

Try Apartments.com

Hemlane

Source: Hemlane

To be totally transparent, Hemlane costs significantly more than many other property management rent collection apps on this list. 

The Basic package, which includes online rent collection and financials has a $28 base fee plus $2 per rental property. 

Also, the cost of a tenant’s online rent payment when using debit or credit is 3% (bank-to-bank transfers are free), which is slightly high. 

That said, Hemlane acts as a comprehensive landlord studio similar to Rentec Direct which also includes lease tracking, built-in marketing to help you find tenants, lease renewal reminders, maintenance, repair, and more. 

Source: Hemlane

While a landlord studio may be overkill if you just need a basic rent collection app and that’s it, Hemlane can be worth it if you want a lot of extras. 

Also, note that Hemlane allows tenants to set up automatic payments and lets you send automatic late fee requests when a tenant is tardy. 

Beyond that, all transactions that are paid through Hemlane are automatically recorded to ensure complete accuracy for reporting, and you can seamlessly track income and expenses from a single intuitive interface.

Try Hemlane

Zillow Rent Manager

Source: Zillow

In addition to Zillow’s wide array of landlord products and services is Zillow Rent Manager, which offers several benefits. 

First, there are no landlord fees for online rent collection, and it’s free for tenants that use bank-to-bank transfers to make rent payments. 

Otherwise, there’s a 2.95% processing fee for using a credit card and a flat $9.95 fee for a debit card. 

Like many other platforms on this list, Zillow Rental Manager allows tenants to set up autopay, which makes paying rent online more convenient for both parties. 

Source: Zillow

It’s also incredibly easy to set up. 

Just “connect your account and verify your identity, invite your renter to pay rent online using ACH, credit, or debit, [and] payments are deposited directly into your account” within 3-5 business days. 

Another advantage of this property management platform is that it has other nice features, including the option to post a listing on Zillow’s massive database, tenant screening services, and built-in lease signing to simplify the process for everyone. 

Try Zillow

Tenant Cloud

Source: Tenant Cloud

Overall, Tenant Cloud is an excellent property management platform to collect rent on real estate. 

The basic Free plan has a ton of great features, including rent payment, listings, scheduling, maintenance, and more.

It’s also a great way to streamline rent collection with direct deposits through ACH online rent payment rather than dealing with traditional cash payments. 

You can add multiple bank accounts, add discounts for tenants, allow for partial payment when needed, manage refunds, get notifications, and monitor transaction history. 

Tenants can also set up recurring payments so money is automatically sent from their bank account to your account whenever rent is due. 

And you can customize online rent payment settings for each tenant in case you need to adjust the rules for late fees, due dates, and partial rent payments.

The main issue with this property management app is that the fee structure is a bit convoluted with several different pricing tiers. 

The bottom line is there are no fees for landlords with the free plan, and you can accept debit or credit cards. However, they can only be processed through Stripe and the fee is covered by the tenant.

As for bank-to-bank transfers, there’s a $2.95 tenant processing fee for the Free plan, $1.50 for the Starter plan, and $1.25 for the Growth plan. 

Also, the payment processing time for bank-to-bank transfers is longer than most at 5-7 business days, while debit or credit is just 2-3 days. 

But all in all, Tenant Cloud is still a solid property management platform. 

Try Tenant Cloud

Avail

Source: Avail

With a 3.5% tenant processing fee for debit and credit cards, that’s one of the highest on this list. 

There’s also a $2.50 processing fee for bank-to-bank transfers, while many other rent collection apps have none. 

But once you get past that, Avail is a nice property management platform that’s specifically designed for “DIY landlords.”

We like that the basic plan is totally free for landlords and lets you manage an unlimited number of units, create syndicated listings, perform credit and criminal screenings, manage rental property maintenance, and more. 

We also like their convenient autopay feature, automatic online rent payment reminders, payment tracking, and reporting.

And with an ultra-simple set-up, your tenants can conveniently make an online rent payment with no headaches. 

An added plus is the CreditBoost feature which helps tenants build their credit as they make their rent payments on time, which can improve their credit to help them buy a home later on. 

Try Avail

PayRent

Source: PayRent

PayRent is all about keeping it simple for landlords when collecting rent on real estate. 

“Our intuitive landlord studio dashboard makes it easy to see occupancy rates, tenant balances, and upcoming charges and payments. Downloadable reports are compatible with virtually all accounting systems.”

With PayRent, you can automate many manual tasks like invoicing, rent reminders, rent reporting, sending late fees, sorting through receipts, and more. 

It also makes things easier for tenants to make rental payments. 

They can set up automatic payments and be rewarded for making payments on time through free rent reporting to all three credit bureaus to build their credit score

And in the long run, this can help in lowering how much they need to put down when buying a house

The main downside is the higher-than-average payment processing fees for tenants. 

Currently, it’s $5 for a bank account transfer and 3.5% + $0.30 per debit card or credit card transaction. 

But when you look at the big picture, PayRent is still a great rent collection app because of its simplicity and helpful features. 

Try PayRent

RentRedi

Source: RentRedi

RentRedi is, admittedly, a fairly costly rent collection app with three online payment options. 

You can pay $19.95 per month for a pay-as-you-go plan and stop at any time. You can pay $15 per month for a six-month contract. Or you can pay $9 a month for an annual rent merchant contract. 

As for tenant processing fees, it’s $1 for a bank-to-bank transfer and 2.9% + $0.30 for credit or direct debit card payment. 

While this may be less than ideal for some landlords, especially considering that many online rent collection apps are free, we included RentRedi because of its great features. 

Here are some of the most notable:

  • Full credit, criminal, and eviction reports
  • A simple, built-in tenant screening questionnaire
  • Free listings to Realtor.com and Doorsteps
  • Free marketing and listing page from RentRedi
  • Property management app communication with tenants
  • 5-second video with tenant-submitted maintenance requests
  • Add-on maintenance coordination

You can get a full overview of the features here

While RentRedi might not be the right choice if you only need the bare minimum to simply collect rent for real estate, it can be if you’re looking for comprehensive property management capabilities in a landlord studio. 

Try RentRedi

Buildium

Source: Buildium

One of the biggest perks of Buildium is its super quick payment processing time of 1-2 days. 

You also get a complimentary marketing website for your properties, built-in accounting (similar to Rentec Direct), maintenance, and tenant communication features. 

There’s also fairly robust reporting so you have a bird’s-eye view of what’s happening at all times for each rental property. 

The biggest downside is the monthly cost for landlords, which starts at $52 a month and comes with a $99 bank set-up fee for each account. 

For tenants, it costs $1 for a bank-to-bank account transfer and 2.95% for using a credit or debit card. 

It’s because of these fees that we’re ranking Buildium lower on this list. But it may make sense for certain landlords that need to process payments in a hurry. 

Try Buildium

Stessa

Source: Stessa

Our final property management app, Stessa, is the only completely free rent payment app on this list, regardless of payment method. 

There are no fees for landlords, and tenants can make payments for free, both for a bank transfer or debit or credit card payment. 

And that’s a huge selling point.

Besides that, onboarding tenants is a breeze. 

“Once you’ve opened a Cash Management account, all you need is an active lease and your tenant’s email address. Set up the balance due and we’ll send your tenant an email invitation to start paying rent through Stessa.”

Source: Stessa

Stessa also offers tenant auto-pay, online rent payment notifications, income and expense tracking, portfolio reporting, and more, making it a top-tier platform. 

Try Stessa

Closing Thoughts

All 10 rent collection apps on this list can be game-changers, they help both landlords and renters streamline collecting rent payments without having to use a check or cash app.

It’s just a matter of choosing the one that best fits your specific needs and has the right features. 

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