Landlord software replaces the spreadsheet, the paper lease and the text thread. Here is what it does, what it costs and how to choose one for a small portfolio.

If you manage your own rentals, the work arrives in pieces: a vacancy to advertise, an application to review, a lease to sign, rent to track and a leaking tap on a Sunday. Landlord software puts those pieces in one place. This guide explains what it does, what it costs and how to pick one that fits a small portfolio.

What Landlord Software Does

Good landlord software covers the full cycle of a tenancy:

  • Advertising: write a listing once and publish it where renters search.
  • Applications and screening: collect an online application, record consent and order a screening report.
  • Leases: prepare a lease for your state and collect signatures online.
  • Rent: post charges, accept online payments and see who is late.
  • Maintenance: receive repair requests with photos and track them to completion.
  • Records: keep income, expenses and documents by property for tax time.

You do not need every part on day one. Many owners start with applications and rent tracking, then add leases and accounting later.

Do You Need It With One or Two Rentals?

A spreadsheet works until something goes wrong: a disputed payment, a lost lease or a repair nobody wrote down. Software earns its place when it gives you a dated record of what was agreed, paid and fixed. With one rental, a free plan is usually enough to get that record. With five or more, the time saved on rent reminders and repair follow-up starts to matter as much as the record.

What Landlord Software Costs

Prices are built from four parts, and the subscription is only the first:

  1. Subscription: free, flat, per unit or tiered. Check the billing term; an annual price shown per month is still paid up front.
  2. Payment fees: a charge per bank transfer or a percentage for cards, paid by you or the tenant.
  3. Screening fees: charged per report, usually to the applicant. Check local rules on application fees.
  4. Extras: signing, forms, listing boosts or premium support.

Add all four for your number of rentals over one year before you compare products.

For reference, Rentari's plans and fees are public: the Free plan has no time limit, no card requirement and no property or unit cap; Prime is $120 a year for up to 10 units; Scale adds $24 a year for each additional unit. Online rent collection on paid plans costs $6 per bank payment or 3.49% by card, and screening reports are charged separately with the payer shown first.

How to Choose: Five Checks

  1. List your monthly jobs. Write down what you actually do each month and cross off any product that cannot finish those jobs.
  2. Price your real plan. Use your unit count and the tools you need, not the cheapest plan on the page.
  3. Try one task end to end. Record a rent payment or answer a repair request on your phone, where most of this work happens.
  4. See it from the tenant's side. Ask how a tenant applies, pays and reports a repair, and what each step costs them.
  5. Check your exit. Open a ledger and a tax report, and confirm you can export your records if you leave.

Where AI Helps

Newer tools use AI to draft listings, replies, notices and summaries. The useful question is who stays in control. In Rentari, Mozart prepares the draft and you approve it before anything is sent. Read more in how landlords use AI to streamline rentals.

Your Next Step

Shortlist two or three products and run the same five checks on each. The comparison hub reviews other providers from their own published information. To try Rentari, see the landlord software page or start on the Free plan with one rental.