6 Best Online Rent Payment Services for Landlords 2022
Gina is a licensed real estate salesperson, experienced trainer, and former high school educator of 1,000+ learners. She writes for Fit Small Business with a focus on real estate content.
Jealie is a staff writer at Fit Small Business, specializing in real estate education.
The best online rent payment software simplifies tenant rent payments to make it easier for landlords to collect money and manage their rental properties. Online rent payment services include comprehensive tools, from maintenance requests to paying rent online, to fit different landlord management styles and tenant needs—making them an excellent resource for busy landlords.
Here are the six best online rent payment services in 2022 based on pricing, features, customer feedback, and ease of use:
- TenantCloud: Best overall with its robust financial features at an affordable price
- Avail: Excellent for landlords wanting comprehensive management services
- Rentec Direct: Ideal for landlords and tenants seeking an easy-to-navigate interface
- PayRent: Great for landlords with 10-plus rental units wanting low-cost online rent payment plans
- Apartments.com: Best for its free-forever plan account for landlords
- Buildium: Recommended for landlords and property managers handling large portfolios
Best Online Rent Payment Service at a Glance
School | Starting Price | Free Trial | Mobile App | Customer Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Free; paid plans start at $12, monthly | ✓ (14 days) | ✓ | Phone and live chat |
 | Free; paid plan costs $5 per unit, monthly | ✕ | ✕ | Phone, live chat, and email |
 | $35 per month | ✓ (14 days) | ✓ | Phone, live chat, and email |
 | Free; paid plans start at $19, monthly | ✕ | ✕ | Phone, live chat, and email |
 | Free; paid plans start at $199 per property (paid monthly) | ✕ | ✓ | Phone and email |
 | $50 per month | ✓ (14 days) | ✓ | Phone, live chat, and email |
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TenantCloud: Best Overall for Its Robust Financial Features
TenantCloud
Overall Score: 4.87
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Free plan and 14-day free trial
- Affordable plans
- Customizable marketing website
- 512MB to 100GB online storage
What's Missing
- Email customer support
- 24/7 phone and live chat customer service
- Money transfer takes up to a week
Why Should You Choose TenantCloud?
TenantCloud is a property management payment solution specializing in properties for landlords and property managers with portfolios of less than 500 units. In addition, it provides a free marketing website, streamlined maintenance requests management, and automatic listing syndication.
TenantCloud offers a robust suite of payment features, enabling landlords to accept credit and debit card payments through Stripe payment processing, PayPal, and Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions provided by Dwolla. TenantCloud also provides a mobile app that makes it easy for landlords and property managers with one to 500 units to collect rent payments and manage tenants right from their phones.
TenantCloud offers a Free plan that includes online rent payments, late fees settings, maintenance management, and basic leads features. The free version allows adding one piece of equipment to keep track of for each rental (like refrigerators, dishwashers, and other appliances), one landlord lease agreement template, 10 service reminders, and record retention of 512MB. This plan has customer service available via support tickets.
Its three subscription plan tiers range in price from $0 to $40, and a Business Plan tier with custom pricing. All the subscription tiers include unlimited properties or units and listings that help landlords easily track their properties and post vacant rentals to all their listing partners, like Apartments.com, Zillow, and Facebook Marketplace.
Additional TenantCloud Features
TenantCloud has a built-in communication tool for landlords and tenants. (Source: TenantCloud)
- TC Messenger: This tool allows landlords and tenants to communicate without relying on email or text messaging. Landlords can organize their conversations with tenants inside the TenantCloud system.
- Rent roll: This feature assists landlords and property managers in establishing an offer price and can also be helpful when determining the value of a property.
- Kanban board tracking system: Help landlords create cards for maintenance requests, add pictures, videos, and descriptions, and track whether each request is new, in progress, or resolved.
- QuickBooks and accounting integration: Helps landlords track and compile all their transactions and collect monthly rent payments.
- Lease agreement templates: Allows landlords to get leases signed digitally and modify the terms as needed.
TenantCloud Customer Feedback
Many tenants commended the convenience of TenantCloud’s online payment system. Landlords also love the rental listing, maintenance, and scheduling tools, helping them save time and manage daily operations efficiently. With these, it garnered a customer rating review of 4.1 out of 5.
However, some landlords expressed disappointment with the confusing instructions and difficulty navigating the system. If you like property management software with a more easy-to-follow dashboard, check out Avail or Rentec Direct.
TenantCloud Pricing
- Free plan: Free; includes rental listings management, scheduling, rental applications, applicant screenings, online rent payments, maintenance requests, and vendor network.
- Starter plan: $12 (monthly) for everything in the Free plan, plus premium leads, tax reports, e-signature, leads tracking customer relationship management (CRM), auto-pay rent online for tenants, and Google Calendar sync
- Growth plan: $40 (monthly) for everything in the Starter plan, plus property manager tools, individual owner portal, management fees, lease builder, landlord forms, property message board, and QuickBooks online sync
- Business plan: Custom pricing for everything in the Growth plan, plus team management and tools, task management, and customization
Avail: Best for Its Comprehensive Property Management Services
Avail
Overall Score: 4.50
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Phone, live chat, and email customer support
- FastPay service, a next-day payment processor for landlords
- Budget-friendly pricing per unit
What's Missing
- Free trial
- Mobile app
- Various subscription plan packages
Why Should You Choose Avail?
Avail is an excellent option for landlords who want a simple way to collect tenants’ rent online and post vacancies. Its automated rent collection solution enables landlords to swiftly manage rental income with expedited rent payment processing the next day.
Avail provides comprehensive property management services, such as customizable property websites and maintenance tracking features for landlords—simplifying online rent collection, vacancy posting, and connecting with tenants. Its automated online rent payment solution, FastPay service, enables landlords to manage rental income with next-day expedited rent payment processing.
Moreover, Avail provides rental property accounting software designed to make bookkeeping easier. Landlords can track their rental property income and expenses to streamline the accounting process. Rent and maintenance charges are automatically uploaded to their accounting dashboard, allowing them to see how much money flows in and out.
Additional Avail Features
Automatic syndication of listings to rental sites via mobile app (Source: Avail)
- Marketing tools: Avail syndicates listings across websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Apartments.com, and automatically adds location data to the listing.
- Tenant screening: Provides criminal and tenant eviction background checks and a TransUnion credit screening for all potential tenants.
- Accounting software: Landlords can collect and track rent payments, rent receipts, fees, and tenant maintenance requests. Tenants can also set up auto-pay to never miss a rent payment.
- Leasing features: Provides state-specific lease templates, electronic signatures, and online storage for documents. It notifies tenants when rent is due and follows up with them if late payments are made.
- Rent price analysis: Shows how your property compares to similar rentals nearby with rent estimates, rent benchmarks for comparable units, and county rent trends to help landlords make informed decisions.
Avail Customer Feedback
Avail has a customer rating review of 4.61 out of 5. Most landlords and tenants praised the user-friendly and visually pleasing dashboard. They also love the budget-friendly pricing and extensive customer support. In addition, many users like that Avail provides an easy process for background checks and communication with applicants.
However, several users expressed annoyance with the weekly automated emails they receive. Besides this, the lack of tutorials on the software and reporting module resulted in users’ dissatisfaction. Check out Buildium, which provides a step-by-step guide for new users and news on recent real estate statistics.
Avail Pricing
- Unlimited plan: Free; includes syndicated listings, credit and criminal screening, state-specific leases, online rent payments, and maintenance tracking features
- Unlimited Plus plan: $5 per unit (paid monthly) for everything in the Unlimited Plan, plus next-day rent payments, waived ACH fees, custom applications and leases, clone and reuse custom lease agreements, and property websites
Rentec Direct: Best Online Rent Payment Service With an Easy-to-Navigate Interface
Rentec Direct
Overall Score: 4.46
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Intuitive and beginner-friendly dashboard
- ACH rent collection system
- Unlimited file storage
- Extensive customer support with extended customer service hours
What's Missing
- Free-forever plan
- Budget-friendly plan
- Property managers pay for the tenant portal
Why Should You Choose Rentec Direct?
Rentec Direct caters to the needs of landlords and property managers handling 25 to 5,000 real estate investment units. It provides complete accounting, accurate tenant screening, and a custom website in an easy-to-navigate interface.
Rentec Direct is a user-friendly, web-based, full-featured property management system for landlords and property managers with small to large portfolios. Rentec Direct’s interface features a responsive design that works seamlessly on all devices and displays well-organized tool categories for easy navigation. Its online rent collection process allows landlords to accept payments online via ACH, credit cards, or physically at one of the 20,000 payment locations part of its cash payment network.
Furthermore, Rentec Direct has no startup fees or term commitments. It includes complete U.S.-based customer service and training. Some vital features of Rentec Direct are online portals for tenants and owners, electronic 1099 filing and signatures with DocuSign, automated ACH and credit card payment processing, and syndication of vacancy listings.
Rentec Direct has strict security standards to protect client data, including two-factor authentication, real-time secure data backup, and third-party security verification. Rentec Direct mobile app and software are compatible with all Androids, Windows, and iOS operating systems devices.
Additional Rentec Direct Features
Rentec Direct tenant profile card shows the record of payments. (Source: Rentec Direct)
- Reporting system: All reports (e.g., accounting data) are exportable to PDF or Excel and can be printed or shared via email. It also provides an e-file for 1099-MISC, ensuring error-free operation.
- DocuSign integration: The integration with DocuSign allows landlords to add signature fields for tenants and accept electronic signatures.
- File library: Store and share essential documents like lease agreements with owners and tenants faster and hassle-free.
- Automatic syndication: Allows landlords to unify the status of their vacancies to the top property listing pages, including Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads.
Rentec Direct Customer Feedback
Many Rentec Direct users claimed that the software is easy to use and very comprehensive. One user said she loved the affordability of the software and the ability to communicate and text the tenants through the portal and track them. Because of that, Rentec Direct received a customer review rating of 4.63 out of 5.
But despite these, Rentec Direct received negative feedback from some users due to its pricey plans. Explore TenantCloud, which offers the most affordable property management plans that start at $12 per month.
Rentec Direct Pricing
- Rentec Pro: Starts at $35 per month for one to 10 units for a full bank, property, and tenant accounting, tenant screening, market vacant property listing, online rent payments, tenant and owner portal mobile app, and work orders and maintenance tracking. You’ll also get free training and unlimited U.S.-based customer support, cash payment network, renters insurance, customizable income and expense reports, online rental applications, and automated CAM (common area maintenance) charges.
- Rentec PM: Starts at $40, paid on a monthly basis, for one to 10 units for everything in the Rentec Pro plan, plus trust account management and reporting and marketing and maintenance managers.
PayRent: Best for Its Low-cost Online Rent Payment System for Landlords
PayRent
Overall Score: 4.29
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Rent reminders
- Downloadable transactions
- Automatic late fees
- Onboarding assistance
What's Missing
- Mobile app
- Third-party integrations
- Maintenance request feature
Why Should You Choose PayRent?
PayRent provides features like flexible auto-pay, rent collection policy enforcement, and new service plan options to expedite rent payment collection.
PayRent is a platform that offers a free-forever plan for landlords with less than 10 units and low-cost plans starting at $19 per month for landlords with 10 or more rental units. PayRent also enables property owners to upgrade or downgrade their plan and pay a la carte pricing for additional features like rent collection enforcement and automated late fees.
Rent reminders will be sent to tenants, who can plan automated payments, both of which help to guarantee timely rent collection each month. Landlords can choose a free version with limited features and five- to seven-day funding or a paid plan that provides free ACH bank transfers and three-day express funding.
PayRent software features include three-bureau credit reporting, RentCred loans for renters, and renters insurance monitoring that helps track and qualify renters. Additionally, PayRent provides a RentDefense that features bank balance verification. It requires a backup payment method with automatic failover to make it easier for landlords to collect rent and prevent late and lost payments.
Additional PayRent Features
PayRent dashboard (Source: PayRent)
- Scheduled auto-pay: Enables tenants to set up a one-time future payment or weekly or monthly recurring payments.
- Payment controls: Enable landlords to disallow partial payments, determine payment methods (such as credit cards or e-checks), and determine whether or not to absorb transaction fees, making it easier for tenants to pay rent on time.
- Activity feed: Lets landlords see their tenant’s payment activities, including when they make or cancel scheduled payments.
- Rent collection policy: Landlords can set a strict rent collection policy, requiring renters to maintain a primary and backup payment method and a recurring scheduled payment to ensure they get paid on time.
PayRent Customer Feedback
PayRent garnered a high customer review rating of 4.3 out of 5 since many landlords and tenants love the easy-to-follow dashboard. Tenants commended PayRent for its various payment options, from ACH to credit cards. Landlords using PayRent shared that the rent reminder feature had improved their rent collection and tenants can pay rent online on time.
The lack of a mobile app disappointed some PayRent users. Aside from this, some users wished that PayRent had a maintenance request feature to help landlords manage and track tenants’ requests for maintenance. If you want an online rent payment service with maintenance request features, visit Apartments.com.
PayRent Pricing
- Pay-As-You-Go plan: Free for less than 10 units, includes rent reminders, payment controls, three-bureau credit reporting, scheduled payments, RentCred loans for renters, and renters insurance monitoring; additional $5 per bank transfer and 3.5% plus 30 cents credit card rate, paid by the tenant
- Do-It-Yourself plan: $19 per month for 10 or more rental units for everything in the Pay-As-You-Go plan, plus automatic late fees and rent collection enforcement; pay $3 per additional unit, $2 per bank transfer, and 3.5% plus 30 cents credit card rate
- Go-Like-A-Pro plan: $49 per month for 25-plus units for everything in the Do-It-Yourself plan, plus free bank transfers and dedicated account management; pay $3 per additional unit and 3.5% plus 30 cents credit card rate
Apartments.com: Best Free Online Rent Payment Service
Apartments.com
Overall Score: 4.24
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Listings network with 3D tours and videos
- Background, credit, and eviction screening
- Financial tracking and reporting
- Mobile app
What's Missing
- Live chat support
- 24/7 email and phone customer service
- Does not accept partial payments
Why Should You Choose Apartments.com?
Apartments.com is an excellent choice for landlords looking for an easy-to-navigate and free online rent payment service. Landlords can also use Apartments.com to list and market their rentals, track maintenance, screen tenants, and store important documents for free.
Apartments.com offers a free-forever plan account for landlords. This includes unlimited properties, online applications, a mobile app, and online rent collection for more efficient rental unit tracking. The platform also enables property owners to collect and manage rent without worry by automating payments to their bank accounts every month and tracking finances and reports.
Apartments.com’s interface allows landlords to view all payments from tenants, including deposits and move-in costs, in one place. Property owners can see whether their tenants’ current payments, rent, or other fees are past due. Each month, automated email reminders will be sent to tenants, with late fees already included if rent is past due.
Additional Apartments.com Features
Apartments.com expenses tracking rental tool (Source: Apartments.com)
- Exporting reports: Apartments.com allows property managers to easily export expense reports in CSV and PDF formats, which are summarized by property and tax categories.
- Resident tab: It provides contact information, signed leases, and scheduled payments for easier resident management.
- Document sharing: Landlords and tenants can share documents like checklists, lease addendums, and quotes for convenient access and storage.
- Credit reports: Each application includes comprehensive credit reports, including a breakdown of an applicant’s total reported debt and detailed payment history for credit accounts. TransUnion provides these reports so landlords can run careful credit checks on their applicants.
- Rental listing syndication: Apartments.com provides rental listing syndication, which includes ForRent.com, ApartmentFinder.com, Doorsteps.com, and Realtor.com, to reach more tenants across the web.
Apartments.com Customer Feedback
Property owners and tenants rated Apartments.com 4.1 out of 5, claiming that it is one of the best places to list and look for apartments, thanks to its organized and straightforward interface. They also specifically mentioned the “My Media Library” feature, which provides several templates for different notices that apply to their residents and create newsletters.
Apartments.com received complaints from tenants as the platform does not accept partial rental payments. If you are looking for software that accepts partial payments, try PayRent for its extensive payment features.
Apartments.com Pricing
- Free Account plan: Free for unlimited properties, rental listing syndication (Apartments.com only), background, credit, and eviction screening, online applications, mobile app, and online rent collection
- Silver plan: $199 per property on a monthly basis for rental listing syndication to seven websites, listings network with 3D tours and video, background, credit, and eviction screening, online applications, online lease forms with e-signature, mobile app, online rent collection, financial tracking and reporting, maintenance request management, standard ad size, and fourth placement on the search results page
- Gold plan: $399 per property (monthly) for everything in the Silver plan, plus 40% more exposure than the Silver plan, medium ad size, third placement on the search results page, and display and social retargeting ads
Buildium: Best for Landlords & Property Managers With Large Portfolios
Buildium
Overall Score: 4.22
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Automated and recurring rent payments
- Integrations with a bank for financial visibility
- Customizable pricing based on the number of units
What's Missing
- Additional fees if you want onboarding support and applicant screening
- Premium plan requires an annual contract
- Listing marketing tools are limited
Why Should You Choose Buildium?
It has Buildium Academy, which provides a step-by-step guide for landlords and property managers with large portfolios. It also offers data security, assuring landlords and tenants that their information is secure.
Buildium is intended for landlords and property managers with large portfolios—offering customizable pricing for up to 5,000 units. It gives tenants several options for paying their rent, such as credit card and bank transfer rent payments and cash payments (for renters without credit cards or bank accounts). On top of these, Buildium accepts payments from its partner, PayNearMe, to provide renters with retail cash payments that are then transferred to landlord accounts.
Each plan includes property management tools, such as online portals, tenant communication, and streamlined application processes, to assist landlords and property managers in managing growing portfolios. Buildium ensures smooth control and keeps tabs on the rental payment processes and daily operations. It also provides free e-leases and property inspections, except for the Essential package, which requires an additional fee starting at $40.
Additional Buildium Features
Buildium’s accounting general ledger (Source: TechnologyAdvice)
- Marketing tools: Allow tenants to post listings to Craigslist and syndicate rental listings across the Zillow network.
- Buildium Pro: Utilize the tenant background screening to set custom credit score requirements and screen applicants faster.
- Leasing tools: Allow tenants to sign documents from any device, include auto-fill lease templates, and enable tenants to set up auto-pay and submit maintenance requests through the platform.
- Accounting software: Provides and tracks expenses and income; provides an accurate snapshot of bills, incoming rent, and security deposits.
- Unlimited storage: Property owners can store unlimited documents like leases, amendments, and insurance policies.
Buildium Customer Feedback
Buildium online reviews indicate that users appreciate the very responsive customer support. The platform’s organization outperformed previous solutions for some clients, and the insights provided by a dedicated portal instill confidence in property owners. As a result, Buildium received a 4.5 out of 5 customer review rating.
However, some clients revealed that setting up the late fee charge was difficult and that the learning curve was too long. Additionally, one client found some of the financial reports frustrating. For accounting-specific platforms that may provide greater financial visibility, check out TenantCloud or Avail.
Buildium Pricing
- Essential plan: Starting at $50 per month for accounting, maintenance, tasks, violations, online portals, resident and board member communications, free marketing website, new client leads powered by all property management (available for purchase), property inspections (starting at $40 per month), basic tenant screening, e-signatures ($5 per signature), online payments, standard reports, and ticket support
- Growth plan: Starting at $160 per month for everything in the Essential plan, plus basic and premium tenant screening, unlimited e-signatures, performance and business analytics and insights, live phone support, priority support (available for purchase), and onboarding (with additional fees)
- Premium plan: Starting at $460 per month for everything in the Growth plan, plus open API, Buildium rewards, priority support, onboarding (additional fees apply), and a dedicated growth consultant for new client leads
How We Evaluated the Top Online Rent Payment Services
The best rent collection systems provide tools like online payment options, automatic rent reminders, scheduled payments, and tenant screening in a free or low-cost program. These essential features help landlords and property managers save time in collecting rent payments online and allow them to send tenants reminders to ensure they will pay on time.
After evaluating dozens of online rent payment service providers, our top pick for online rent payment and property management is TenantCloud. It offers free and paid accounts, starting at $12 per month. The free trial includes property listing management, rent payment schedules, online applications, maintenance requests, and vendor networks. The paid account has vital tools like tax reports, e-signature, and a leads tracking customer relationship manager (CRM).
We evaluated the best online rent collection app based on:
25%
Rental Payment Features
20%
Pricing
20%
General Features
10%
Ease of Use
10%
Customer Reviews
10%
Expert Score
5%
Help & Support
25% of Overall Score
Based on various rental payment features offered that help landlords and property managers simplify rent collection, improve cash flow, and secure rent transactions.
20% of Overall Score
Pricing is based on the cost structure, a la carte options, and availability of online rent payment services for landlords and tenants.
20% of Overall Score
It consists of various property management features like online payment collection and tenant screening for each tier to meet the specific needs of the property owners and tenants.
10% of Overall Score
Based on how easy it is to navigate the provider interface and if it provides hassle-free transactions and communication between property owners and tenants.
10% of Overall Score
Based on customer feedback for each platform, the functionalities that are most useful for property managers, and areas that need further improvement.
10% of Overall Score
Our team’s expertise in the field and firsthand experience with the providers allow us to evaluate the standout features, value for the money, and ease of use for rent payment service software.
5% of Overall Score
We looked into the convenience and attainability of customer service for technical support, onboarding, and training.
*Percentages of overall score
