Prices checked on October 15, 2026 Prices change. Confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.
For 1–10 units, free plans cover the basics: TurboTenant (listings, screening, rent), Baselane Core (banking, rent, Schedule E), Stessa Essentials (unlimited properties, bank feeds, rent) and REI Hub free (bookkeeping without auto import). Upgrade when you want e-sign leases, faster payouts, automation or advanced reports, which typically cost $9–$28/month on annual billing.
What Free Plans Include, and What Paying Adds
| Tool | Free plan includes | Paying adds | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| TurboTenant | Listings, screening, online rent | Online leases and e-sign, income verification, free ACH, accounting tools | Essentials from $12.42/mo ($149/yr) · Pro from $16.48/mo ($199/yr), for 1–10 units |
| Baselane | Banking, automated rent, Schedule E, tax package | 2-day deposits, auto-tagging, receipt matching, balance sheets, priority support | $20/mo annual |
| Stessa | Unlimited properties, bank feeds, basic reports, rent, screening | Schedule E, legal forms and e-sign (Manage). Pro-forma and advanced reports (Pro). | $12/mo annual |
| REI Hub | Tracking, Schedule E and tax reports | Automatic transaction import and booking rules | $9/mo annual (up to 3 units) |
| RentRedi | No free plan | Everything, unlimited units | $12/mo annual |
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The Break-Even Math at 1, 4 and 10 Units
A paid plan is worth it when the money or time it saves beats its price. Here are the clearest cases where verified numbers let us do the math:
| Upgrade | Annual cost | What it saves | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|
| TurboTenant Free → Pro | $199 (1–10 units) | Renter ACH drops from $2 to $0 per payment; screening from $55 to $45 | About 9 units of monthly ACH ($24/unit/yr), sooner if you cover screening |
| REI Hub Free → Professional (10 units) | $180 | Manual entry of every transaction | If manual entry takes more than about 15 minutes a month, valued at $60/hour |
| Stessa Essentials → Manage | $144 | $15 per lease template on Essentials; adds Schedule E | About 10 leases a year, or whenever you need Schedule E |
| Baselane Core → Smart | $240 | Rent arrives in 2 business days instead of 5; auto-tagging | Worth it if 3 extra days of cash flow, or tagging time, matter to you |
The time values in the table are our assumptions. Prices and features come from the vendors' pages.
What You Give Up on Free Plans
- TurboTenant Free: listing review takes up to 48 hours (under 24 on paid plans). One connected bank account, manual transaction import, and the $199 Landlord Forms Pack isn't included.
- Baselane Core: 5-business-day rent deposits, no AI tagging or receipt matching, no shared access.
- Stessa Essentials: no Schedule E report, lease templates at $15 each, no e-signatures, 5 receipt scans a month, basic support only.
- REI Hub Free: no automatic transaction import.
A Sensible Upgrade Path
- 1 unit: stay free. Pick TurboTenant for leasing and Baselane Core or Stessa Essentials for money and books.
- 2–4 units: upgrade the one tool that costs you the most time. Usually that's bookkeeping automation (REI Hub at $108–$180/yr) or e-sign leases (Stessa Manage $144/yr, or TurboTenant Essentials $149/yr).
- 5–10 units: consider one flat all-in-one (RentRedi $144/yr annual) or TurboTenant Pro ($199/yr) to drop renter ACH fees.
Gotchas With "Free"
- Free for the landlord isn't always free for the tenant. Screening and payment fees often shift to renters.
- Monthly billing on paid tiers costs more than annual. Stessa Manage is $15 monthly vs $12 annual.
- RentRedi has no free plan or free trial. It's paid at signup with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Still unsure? The quiz recommends a free or paid stack based on your answers. First rental? See first-time landlord software.
Three Upgrade Decisions, Worked Through
"Should I Pay for TurboTenant Pro with 2 Units?"
Probably not for fees alone. Two tenants paying $2 ACH monthly is $48 a year against $199 for Pro. Upgrade if you want income verification, unlimited bank accounts or built-in accounting.
"Is REI Hub Worth $9 a Month for 1 Unit?"
Only if manual entry bothers you. The free plan includes Schedule E. The paid plan adds automatic import and booking rules, which matter more as transactions grow.
"Do I Need Baselane Smart?"
If waiting 5 business days for rent strains your cash flow, or you want AI tagging and receipt matching, yes. Otherwise Core covers banking, rent and Schedule E for free.
How We Checked
We read each vendor's own pricing and feature pages on October 15, 2026: TurboTenant pricing, Baselane pricing, Stessa pricing, REI Hub pricing, RentRedi pricing. We only state prices and features shown there. Where a vendor doesn't publish a number, we say "check vendor" rather than guess. Worked examples use the listed prices and simple, stated assumptions; your totals will depend on your plan, billing term and how tenants pay.
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Can I run my rentals entirely on free software?
For a few units, often yes. Free plans from TurboTenant, Baselane and Stessa include online rent collection, and REI Hub and Baselane include Schedule E reports for free.
When is a paid plan worth it?
When the time saved from automation, such as bank import, auto-tagging or faster payouts, is worth more than about $9–$28/month (annual billing).
Is free landlord software safe to use?
The free plans we cover come from established vendors. Baselane's banking is provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. Read each vendor's terms and security page.
Do free plans include e-signatures?
TurboTenant's Essentials plan lists creating and signing leases online. Stessa includes e-signatures from Manage (1 a month) and Pro (7 a month). Check vendor for your plan.
What does TurboTenant Pro add over Essentials?
Pro adds income verification, free ACH for renters, a lower $45 screening fee, unlimited connected bank accounts and built-in accounting tools. Essentials is $149/year and Pro $199/year for 1–10 units.
Can I downgrade later?
The vendors we cover list no long-term contracts for their software, but check each vendor's cancellation terms.
Which paid plan gives the most for the money at 10 units?
RentRedi's annual plan ($144/year, unlimited units) includes every RentRedi feature. If bookkeeping is your priority, REI Hub's 10-unit plan is $180/year.
Are free trials available before paying?
Baselane Smart has a 30-day free trial, REI Hub 14 days with no credit card, and DealCheck paid plans 14 days. RentRedi has a 30-day money-back guarantee instead of a trial.
Sources
- TurboTenant pricing: https://www.turbotenant.com/pricing/
- Baselane pricing: https://www.baselane.com/pricing
- Stessa pricing: https://www.stessa.com/pricing/
- REI Hub pricing: https://www.reihub.net/pricing/
- RentRedi pricing: https://rentredi.com/pricing/
All prices and features above come from these vendor pages, checked on October 15, 2026. Details we couldn't confirm there are left out.