Home › Articles › TurboTenant vs Avail
Both are free. Both handle the basics. But they're built for different landlords — and picking the wrong one will cost you time. We tested both for 30+ days.
Quick Verdict
TurboTenant
Best for landlords who want the most features for free — especially screening and rent collection in one place.
Try TurboTenant Free →Avail
Best for newer landlords who want a clean, simple experience backed by Realtor.com's listing network.
Try Avail Free →TurboTenant and Avail are the two most-recommended free property management platforms for independent landlords. Both offer rent collection, tenant screening, lease management, and listing syndication — all without charging a monthly subscription fee. But the experience, features, and limitations are meaningfully different.
If you're managing under 20 units and don't want to pay a monthly fee, this comparison will tell you exactly which one to use.
| Feature | TurboTenant | Avail |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (base) | Free | Free |
| Rent collection | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
| Tenant screening | ✓ $45 (tenant pays) | ✓ $30–55 |
| Digital leases | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Maintenance tracking | ✓ Basic | ✗ None |
| Listing syndication | 30+ sites | Realtor.com + 15 sites |
| Mobile app | ✓ iOS & Android | ✗ Web only |
| Capterra rating | 4.6 ★ | 4.3 ★ |
Both platforms let tenants pay online for free, but there are differences in speed. TurboTenant processes payments within 5–7 business days on its free plan, but landlords can pay $8.99/month to unlock next-day payments. Avail offers a similar timeline but has a "FastPay" option available on its Unlimited Plus plan ($9/unit/month).
Winner: Tie. Both are solid for free rent collection. TurboTenant edges it out slightly for the faster upgrade path.
TurboTenant charges the tenant $45 for a full background, credit, and eviction check — the landlord pays nothing. Reports are generated within minutes via TransUnion. Avail offers more flexible pricing ($30 credit-only, $55 full report) and lets you choose who pays, but the landlord absorbs the cost unless they pass it on manually.
Winner: TurboTenant — the tenant-pays model is a major win for cash flow.
TurboTenant syndicates listings to 30+ sites including Zillow, Trulia, Apartments.com, and HotPads from a single form — for free. Avail is backed by Realtor.com, so your listing gets premium placement there, plus about 15 other sites. If your local market skews toward Realtor.com traffic, Avail could outperform. For broad reach, TurboTenant wins.
Winner: TurboTenant for volume; Avail if Realtor.com is dominant in your market.
Both platforms are genuinely easy to use, but Avail has a slightly cleaner, more polished UI that feels friendlier to first-time landlords. TurboTenant packs in more features, which means slightly more complexity — but nothing that takes more than a day to learn.
Avail also wins here if you value a simple onboarding experience. TurboTenant is the pick if you want to grow and want all your tools in one place.
TurboTenant is best if you: manage 1–20 units, want tenant-paid screening, need a mobile app, want the most free features in one dashboard, and plan to scale.
Avail is best if you: are a new landlord, value a clean simple interface, want strong Realtor.com listing exposure, and don't need a mobile app or maintenance tracking.
For most independent landlords, TurboTenant is the stronger free tool. It offers more features, a mobile app, tenant-paid screening, and a better upgrade path. Avail is excellent for beginners and those who lean on Realtor.com for tenant leads — but for day-to-day management power, TurboTenant wins.
Ready to Try?
No credit card. No monthly fee. Rent collection, screening, and leases in one place.