What is the best app to collect rent from tenants?
Updated
Quick answer
For most independent landlords the best rent collection app is whichever one charges nothing for a bank transfer and enforces your late fee automatically. Almost every platform is free to the landlord for basic collection, so the deciding number is the payment fee, not the monthly fee: a card payment at around 3% costs roughly $60 a month on $2,000 rent, while a bank transfer is usually free or a couple of dollars.
How to choose, in one paragraph
Ignore the monthly price first and look at three things. Does a bank transfer cost your tenant anything? Does the platform apply your late fee without you chasing it? And can it refuse a partial payment, which matters more than it sounds because in several states accepting a partial payment can weaken a pay-or-quit notice. A free platform that fails those three costs you more than a paid one that passes.
The eight platforms, side by side
| Platform | Free tier | Landlord price | Bank transfer fee | Card fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rentari.ai | Yes | $10/mo / $2/mo | Bank transfer rent with autopay, included | Card processing passed through at cost |
| Avail | Yes | $0/unit / $9/unit/mo | $2.50 per bank transfer, paid by the tenant, on the free tier. Waived on Unlimited Plus. | 3.5%, added to the tenant's payment on both tiers |
| TurboTenant | Yes | $0/mo / $12.42/mo / $16.58/mo | Free to the renter. Waived ACH fees for the landlord are a Pro feature. | 3.49%, paid by the renter |
| Zillow Rental Manager | Yes | $0 | Free. Zillow's page states rent collection is free for landlords and there is no fee for tenants. | not stated on the rent-collection page |
| Apartments.com Rental Manager | Yes | $0 | Free from a bank account | 2.75% for debit, credit, Apple Pay or Google Pay |
| TenantCloud | No | $25/mo / $35/mo / $60/mo / from $100/mo | not stated on the pricing page | not stated on the pricing page |
| RentRedi | No | $29.95/mo / $20/mo / $12/mo | not stated on the pricing page | not stated on the pricing page |
| Innago | Yes | $0 | listed as free on the pricing page | not stated on the pricing page |
Every figure read from the provider's own pricing page on 2026-08-27. Plans change, so check before you decide.
The platforms in detail
1. Rentari.ai
Bank transfer rent with autopay, automatic late fees applied by your state's rule, and every payment categorised as it lands so the books are done when the year ends. $10 a month for your first unit and $2 per unit after that, or $8 and $1.60 billed annually, with a 14-day trial. Pricing. Honest limitation: we are newer than everyone else on this page, so there is less third-party review history to read.
2. Avail
Owned by Realtor.com. $0/unit (unlimited units) / $9/unit/mo. $2.50 per bank transfer, paid by the tenant, on the free tier. Waived on Unlimited Plus. Card is 3.5%, added to the tenant's payment on both tiers. Next-day payouts sit on the paid tier. Strong free tier and the best landlord education library of anyone here. Avail pricing.
3. TurboTenant
$0/mo / $12.42/mo (billed annually at $149) / $16.58/mo (billed annually at $199). Bank transfer is free to the renter; card is 3.49%, paid by the renter. Worth knowing: the free plan connects one bank account, Pro connects unlimited, which matters the moment you hold deposits separately. TurboTenant pricing.
4. Zillow Rental Manager
Free. Free. Zillow's page states rent collection is free for landlords and there is no fee for tenants. Collects rent, utilities, deposits and move-in fees on the same flow. The obvious draw is that your listing and your rent live in the same place. Zillow pricing.
5. Apartments.com Rental Manager
Free. Bank transfer free, card 2.75% for debit, credit, Apple Pay or Google Pay, which is the lowest card fee of anything we checked. If a tenant insists on paying by card, this is the cheapest place to let them. Apartments.com pricing.
6. RentRedi
$29.95/mo / $20/mo (billed semi-annually) / $12/mo (billed annually). Unusually, the price is flat regardless of how many units you hold, so it gets better the bigger you get and is expensive at one unit. 30-day money-back guarantee. RentRedi pricing.
7. TenantCloud
$25/mo (or $15/mo billed annually at $180) / $35/mo (or $29/mo billed annually at $350) / $60/mo (or $50/mo billed annually at $600) / from $100/mo (custom). No permanent free tier as of 2026-08-27, only a 14-day trial. Aimed further up-market than most of this list. TenantCloud pricing.
8. Innago
Free, with no setup fee, monthly fee or contract, and their pricing page lists online rental payments and tenant screening as free to the landlord. Innago pricing.
Why Zelle, Venmo and Cash App are the wrong tool for rent
They are free and every tenant already has one. They also break in four specific ways that only show up when something has already gone wrong.
- No lease context. A transfer marked 'rent' is not tied to a lease, a period or a balance.
- No automatic late fee. You have to notice, calculate and ask, every month. Most landlords quietly stop asking.
- Partial payments arrive freely. In several states accepting one can reset a pay-or-quit notice. A rent platform can refuse a partial payment; Venmo cannot.
- Transfer limits. Consumer apps cap daily and weekly transfers, and rent often exceeds them, producing a half-paid month nobody intended.
What the free tiers actually cost you
Free to the landlord rarely means free. It usually means one of three things: your tenant pays the transfer fee, your payout is slower, or the free tier is missing the feature you will need in month three. Avail's free tier charges the tenant $2.50 per bank transfer and waives it on the paid plan. TurboTenant's free plan connects one bank account. Neither is a trick, but both are the reason to read the fee column rather than the price column.
Related questions
Is there a genuinely free way to collect rent online?
Can I make my tenant pay online?
Who should pay the card fee, me or the tenant?
How long does an online rent payment take to arrive?
How Rentari helps
Rentari collects rent by bank transfer on autopay, applies your late fee automatically using your state's own rule, and files every payment against the right lease so your books are finished when the year is. You approve every automated action before it happens.
$10 a month for the first unit, $2 per unit after. See pricing.
This article is general information for landlords, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and city; verify specifics with the official statute or a licensed professional. See our state law guides.