TurboTenant and Avail are the two most popular free landlord platforms in the US — and the reason is the same: both let you run a rental business at $0 per month. But they approach "free" very differently. TurboTenant is a marketing-first platform built to fill vacancies fast, with a freemium premium tier. Avail is a full property-management suite from the Realtor.com family, free at the core with a per-unit upgrade.
We ran both side by side — same property, same applicant flow, same rent roll — comparing pricing, screening, listing distribution, rent collection, and lease tools. Here's our honest breakdown.
Short answer: Choose TurboTenant if your priority is filling vacancies — its listing syndication to Zillow, Apartments.com, and Realtor.com is the strongest free distribution in this category. Choose Avail if you want a complete free management workflow — leases, maintenance, payments, and screening in one place, with Realtor.com brand backing. For pure landlord cost at one unit, both are $0; the differences show up in screening flow, tenant fees, and how each scales.
At a Glance
| Feature | TurboTenant | Avail |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord Cost | Free base / $10-12/mo Premium | Free Unlimited / $9 per unit Plus |
| Listing Distribution | 🏆 Best-in-class (Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com) | Strong (Realtor.com, Zumper, Padmapper, more) |
| Tenant Screening | Mature, landlord-requested | TransUnion reports, tenant-initiated |
| Rent Collection | Free ACH / card behind Premium | Free, but tenants pay $2.50 per ACH on free tier |
| Lease Tools | E-sign leases included | State-specific lawyer-reviewed templates |
| Maintenance | Requests & tracking | Tickets, photo uploads, auto-forwarding |
| Best For | Vacancy-focused self-managers | DIY landlords wanting an all-in-one free suite |
Pricing verified August 2026 from official pricing pages; Premium pricing reflects annual billing.
Pricing — Two Kinds of Free
TurboTenant gives you a real free tier: unlimited listings, basic tenant screening, ACH rent collection, and e-sign leases. The Premium plan runs about $10-12/month billed annually, unlocking card payments, advanced reporting, and automation. The free tier is genuinely usable — many landlords never pay a cent.
Avail splits differently. The Unlimited plan is free and covers the full management cycle: listings, screening, leases, rent collection, maintenance. The catch is tenant-facing: on the free tier, tenants pay $2.50 per ACH transfer, and card payments carry a 3.5% processing fee. The Unlimited Plus plan costs $9 per unit per month and waives the ACH fee, adds income verification, and deepens reporting.
The practical math: at one unit, both are $0 for the landlord. At two to three units, TurboTenant's flat Premium ($10-12/mo) can beat Avail's per-unit Plus ($18-27/mo at 2-3 units) if you want the paid features. But if you stay free, Avail pushes the ACH fee onto tenants while TurboTenant absorbs it — a small difference that matters for tenant experience.
Finding Tenants — TurboTenant's Distribution Edge
TurboTenant's core strength is listing syndication: one submission pushes your listing to Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, and the major rental marketplaces. For a self-managing landlord with a vacancy, that reach directly shortens time-to-lease. The platform is built around the tenant-acquisition funnel, and it shows.
Avail's distribution is also strong — it syndicates to Realtor.com (its parent ecosystem), Zumper, Padmapper, Walkscore, Doorsteps, Rentable, and ApartmentList — plus social sharing tools and an automatic showing scheduler. It's a solid second place, but TurboTenant's marketplace reach is the category leader.
Tenant Screening — Different Flows, Similar Depth
TurboTenant uses a landlord-requested flow: you invite applicants, they complete standardized background and credit checks, and you get comparable reports. It's mature, thorough, and easy to compare multiple applicants side by side.
Avail uses tenant-initiated TransUnion reports — the applicant pays for and initiates their own credit, criminal, and eviction checks. That's convenient for the landlord (no per-report cost to you) and includes nationwide criminal history, prior eviction records, and automated income verification on the Plus tier. Both cover the essentials; the difference is who initiates and who pays.
One practical note: with Avail, screening costs flow through the applicant either way — landlords can pass report costs to tenants, which is the most common setup and keeps the free tier genuinely free.
Rent Collection — Who Pays the Fee
Both platforms collect rent online with direct deposit and automatic receipts. The difference is the fee structure:
- TurboTenant: ACH collection is free on the base plan; card payments require Premium.
- Avail: Free for the landlord, but tenants pay $2.50 per ACH transfer on the free Unlimited plan; waived on Unlimited Plus. Card payments carry a 3.5% fee regardless of plan.
Avail adds niceties like auto-assessed late fees (one-time or recurring), rent reminders, next-day deposits, and CreditBoost, which reports on-time rent to credit bureaus — a genuine tenant-benefit feature. TurboTenant's collection is simpler and free for tenants paying by bank transfer. If tenant experience matters, TurboTenant's free ACH is friendlier; if you want credit reporting and automation, Avail's paid tier delivers more.
Leases, Maintenance & the Rest
Both cover leases and maintenance. Avail is notably strong here: state-specific, lawyer-reviewed lease templates, locally generated clauses powered by LocalAssist, unlimited document attachments, and a maintenance module with photo uploads and auto-forwarding to contractors. TurboTenant includes e-sign leases and renewal workflows, with lighter maintenance tooling.
For the DIY landlord who wants one system for the whole rental cycle, Avail's depth wins. For the landlord whose primary job is renting units fast, TurboTenant's funnel is better.
Our Verdict
Choose TurboTenant if vacancies are your biggest pain — best-in-class listing syndication, free ACH collection, and a mature screening flow justify the optional Premium. Choose Avail if you want a complete free property-management suite with lawyer-reviewed leases, maintenance, and payment automation in one place — and you're comfortable with tenants paying a small ACH fee on the free tier. At one unit, both are excellent; the decision is distribution vs. depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TurboTenant free?
TurboTenant has a genuinely useful free tier covering listings, basic tenant screening, ACH rent collection, and e-sign leases. Its Premium plan (about $10-12/month billed annually) unlocks card payments, advanced reporting, and deeper automation. Many small landlords run entirely on the free tier.
Is Avail really free?
Avail's core Unlimited plan is free — it covers rent collection, digital leases, maintenance tracking, and the tenant portal at $0 per unit. The paid Unlimited Plus plan costs $9 per unit per month and adds waived tenant ACH fees, income verification, and advanced reporting.
Which is better for tenant screening, TurboTenant or Avail?
TurboTenant has the edge on listing distribution and a mature screening workflow, while Avail integrates screening tightly into its free-to-Plus flow with TransUnion reports and nationwide eviction checks. Both cover credit, criminal, and eviction checks; Avail's reports are tenant-initiated, TurboTenant's are landlord-requested.
Which is cheaper, TurboTenant or Avail?
Both offer strong free tiers. TurboTenant keeps ACH rent collection free on the base plan and charges about $10-12/month for Premium. Avail is free on Unlimited but charges tenants $2.50 per ACH transfer; Unlimited Plus at $9/unit/month waives that fee. For a single unit, both cost the same at $0; at 2+ units, TurboTenant's flat Premium can beat Avail's per-unit pricing.
Should I use TurboTenant or Avail for my rentals?
Choose TurboTenant if filling vacancies is your biggest pain — its listing syndication reaches the major marketplaces and the free tier covers ACH collection. Choose Avail if you want a complete free property-management flow with leases, maintenance, and payment tools in one place, and you don't mind tenants paying a small ACH fee.