Property managers often have to deal with several difficult aspects involved in property management, such as increasing overheads, lack of data accessibility, and communication breakdown. While a property management solution can easily take the load off the property owners by automating administrative and financial processes, the pricing of the software might be a concern for small property owners. Luckily, there are free solutions available on the market that can help you manage properties without burning a hole in your pocket.
This article highlights, in alphabetical order, the four best free property management software products based on verified software reviews. Read more.
1. Avail
Still using spreadsheets to track your rental income and expenses? Avail can help you track and manage financial transactions in one platform, for free. The software offers a property accounting feature that displays all the rental income that your properties have generated and helps you log operating expenses that have accumulated over time. Any payment collected via Avail, including monthly fees, parking fees, and move-in fees will automatically populate in your dashboard.
Avail allows landlords to manage unlimited units in its free version with access to basic property management features. However, if you wish to have premium features, such as customizable applications, clone and reuse lease agreements, and property websites, you need to invest in the paid version of the software.
Free featuresTenant portal: Enable your tenants to pay rent online, schedule rent payments, submit maintenance requests, and get status updates using the online tenant portal.
Syndicated listings: Publish your online rental listing for free and automatically post it to a variety of popular listing websites, such as Padmapper and Rentals.com to generate more leads.
State-specific leases: Comply with local ordinances using the state-specific rental lease agreement template offered by the tool. The template includes all disclosures and attachments required to comply with local ordinances in your State. You can also add a custom clause to the template and request digital signatures online.
Customer support options: Phone, email, and help center
Who should consider Avail?
If you are an independent landlord looking to simplify rental property accounting within a budget, Avail could be the right option for you. Other than helping you track your rental income and log expenses, the tool also allows you to export the log and share it with accounting professionals for tax filing purposes.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
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/ Pro tip
Assess the document management functionality in your shortlisted tool to manage property documents. The best property management solutions often include a document storage feature that allows users to upload and store important documents in a centralized location. Your free tool should also help you share, organize, and retrieve documents with ease. Some tools might also offer e-signature capabilities for signing and executing documents online.
2. Innago
Innago is a free online property management solution that also helps you track late payments. The software includes the ability to automate invoicing and late fee calculations to reduce the risk of errors or oversights. As a property manager, you can use this feature to create and send invoices, including recurring invoices for monthly payments, to tenants. The platform automatically calculates and applies late fees to tenant accounts based on predefined rules, such as the amount of late fees or the grace period.
Innago is a free solution for landlords and property managers. Nevertheless, the tenants have to incur certain charges, such as for background checks, and ACH payments.
Free featuresOnline leasing and document storage: Create and manage custom lease agreements online and store all necessary documents in a centralized location for easy access and retrieval. You can also edit your lease on your phone or tablet and get it electronically signed by the tenants using the digital signature feature.
Work order tracking: Create, track, and manage work orders for your properties. The software offers a tenant maintenance request portal that helps you monitor the progress of all work orders. It also facilitates ticket forwarding to assign the right concern to the right staff.
Tenant screening: Screen potential tenants for your rental properties to reduce the risk of eviction or other legal issues in the future. The software allows property owners to check renters for any criminal, credit, or eviction histories. While the feature is free for landlords, it costs the tenants $30-$35.
Customer support options: Phone, email, and knowledge base
Who should consider Innago?
Small and mid-sized property owners looking to manage online leases can consider Innago for their property management needs. The software offers custom lease templates with automated fields and unlimited storage to help them create and store as many leases as they like, for free.
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- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
Device compatibility
3. Landlord Studio
If you are having a few properties to manage and looking for a solution with essential property management features, Landlord Studio could be the right choice for you. The software, in its free plan, allows landlords to manage up to 3 properties using essential features, such as property maintenance, rent collection, and tenant screening. It also offers community forum support to users to help resolve issues quickly and effectively.
In its free version, Landlord Studio offers you storage space for up to documents. If you want to go beyond this limit, you need to upgrade your plan or ensure that the extra documents are deleted. Also, if you are looking for advanced reporting, which includes detailed income and expense, profit and loss summary, overdue rent payments, and rent payment difference reports, you will have to buy the paid plan of the software.
Free featuresRental listings: Create property listings using Landlord Studio to attract potential renters. You can add property headings, descriptions, and images to display your property in the best light. The software also allows you to share your listing to popular listing sites, email, and social media channels.
Reporting: Maximize returns on your property investment using the reporting feature, which includes basic reports, such as income and expense, rent ledger, supplier expense, and online payments reports. These reports can also be exported as PDFs.
Accountant collaboration: Collaborate with your accountants to manage property finances effectively. The software allows landlords to grant their accountants access to their rental property accounts and share reports with them for effective collaboration.
Customer support options: Help center, knowledge base, and chat
Who should consider Landlord Studio?
If you are a small property manager who wishes to gain a deeper insight into your portfolio’s finance, this software can easily help you do so with features, such as a mileage tracker, invoicing, and smart receipt scanner. These features not only help you accurately track your income and expenses but also help save time and money in the long run.
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- Free Trial
- Free Version
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/ Pro tip
Consider an online property management tool that allows tenants to make rent payments directly through the software’s online portal using different payment methods, such as debit cards, credit cards, and electronic bank transfers. It should also provide a clear record of rent payments to reduce the risk of late payments or discrepancies in records.
4. Smoobu
Smoobu is an online solution with a property management reservation system that helps landlords manage their vacation rentals effectively. The software offers a unique central calendar that displays all rental bookings and their information, including the number of guests and special requests in a single place. It also provides users with important statistics to help them make better rental decisions.
Smoobu’s free plan includes limited features, including a reservation system, statistics, and a website subdomain. In case you need additional features, including a channel manager, communication automation, and guest management, you need to purchase the professional plan of the software.
Free featuresStatistics for vacation rentals: Get key insights, such as occupancy rate, revenue, guest information, reviews, and information about booking sources to analyze the performance of your vacation rental business.
Website subdomain: Create a basic website for your vacation rental business using the subdomain provided by the software. You can add photos and descriptions of your properties and accept direct bookings from guests.
Self-set-up: Set up and configure the software on your own, without any technical assistance. You can customize the software to suit your specific needs by adding properties, creating leases, and configuring payment options.
Customer support options: Phone, email, and knowledge base
Who should consider Smoobu?
If you are a property manager dealing in vacation rental properties globally and looking for a solution with multi-language support, Smoobu could be an apt choice for you. The software, alongside features, such as a reservation system and vacation rental statistics also offers customer support in seven different languages.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
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/ Pro tip
Look for a property management system with a tenant screening feature. Typically, a free tool can help you create online application forms for prospective tenants to fill out. The feature helps you gather information about the tenant’s background, including their employment history or criminal records if any.
What is the cost to upgrade from free property management software to a paid one?
Property management software upgrades can be as low as $ 12 per month, or rise to $ 250+ per month, depending on additional features, such as expense tracking, listing management, rent tracking, tax management, and third-party integrations. Most property management software typically includes the following subscription plans:
Free trial: No cost trial plans ranging from 14 to 30 days, giving users access to either all or limited features of the software.
Free version: Free software plans offer basic features and limited premium feature access; ideal for small businesses or individuals with a limited budget.
Entry-level: Starts at $12 per month and offers limited features; good option for small businesses or teams with basic features such as online rent collection and basic reporting.
Mid-tier: Mid-range pricing for inventory management software ranges from $25 to $88 per month and offers advanced features, such as advanced accounting, insurance policy management, lease management, and 24/7 emergency support.
High-end: Advanced plans go up to or beyond $ 250 per month and offer unlimited property management, cross-channel notifications, granular access controls, and intelligent cross-channel routing, along with entry and mid-level features.
Hidden costs associated with property management software
There may be some additional costs associated with property management software, including implementation, data migration, customization, and integration costs. As a small business owner, you must carefully evaluate these costs before finalizing a new tool.
Frequently asked questions when selecting free property management software
What are the property maintenance features offered by the free tool?
At its most basic, your free property management software should help you create maintenance tickets and track their progress via a centralized dashboard. Several vendors also enable property managers to create to-do lists, assign work orders to team members, post relevant images, and prioritize tickets in the free version of the software.
Does the software offer a tenant portal?
Tenant portal helps your tenants pay online dues, submit maintenance requests, and track their invoices. It also provides them access to property information, updates, concerns, feedback, and important documents. Property managers looking to ease communications with tenants and enhance tenant satisfaction must inquire about a tenant portal in their shortlisted tool.
Does the software offer mobile-friendly features?
Mobile-responsive software design or standalone apps allow property managers and their tenants access to important information from anywhere. Consider a free tool that is mobile-friendly and has a responsive design for you and your team. Some vendors also offer a standalone mobile app in their free version with access to essential features, such as property maintenance and listing management.