I’ve spent enough time in the real estate industry to know what it’s like working as a landlord and a property manager. You have a million tasks on your list everyday and the work can be quite overwhelming. You have to keep up with collecting rent for every tenant, keeping tabs on who owes a late fee, taking care of any maintenance requests that are needed, marketing your vacant units, and more.
I went out and tested a ton of different software options to see which one works the best. I wanted to share with you the results I found and provide you with in-depth reviews about the software that made the list. After a lot of trial and error, I’ve found eight of the best free property management software options available.
I’ve included software that can do things like collect the rent, automatically market vacant units across the most popular sites online, and even schedule maintenance requests for tenants. All eight of the options I found are free, have an incredible customer service, and are relatively easy to use.
[box]While we’d like you to check out every one of these free options, our first choice is QuickLease Pro. We even have a whole review dedicated to QLP. Check it out![/box]
If you don’t want to waste your time searching all over the web to find software that gets the job done, without you having to spend any money – stay tuned and keep on reading.
A Table Of Contents For Best Free Property Management Software
- Best Free Property Management Software
- Best Free Property Management Software – Reviewed
- Buying Guide – What To Look For In Property Management Software
Best Free Property Management Software
 QuickLease Pro |
 Cozy |
 Rentec Direct |
 Online Rental Property Manager |
 Innago |
 Pendo |
 Smart Property Manager |
 TenantCloud Property Management |
Best Free Property Management Software – Reviewed
If you want to be more in control and organized while working less, property management software is for you. It can tackle tasks like filing account information, reminding tenants when their lease is almost up, and even helping you with your taxes.
Property management software can be used no matter if you’re a landlord, own the property, or manage property. It also doesn’t matter if you’re renting out residential units, commercial property, or student housing! You can use this software if you have one property under your name or if you have tens of thousands of units you’re overseeing.
Below are in-depth and detailed reviews telling you everything you need to know about the eight best free property management software available. Complete with honest key features and pros and cons, you’re sure to find software that works for you.
I’ll start out with one of my favorites, QuickLease Pro!
1. QuickLease Pro
Starting off the list is the top property management software on the market. Onboarding Systems LLC created free software that’s easy for just about anyone to use. It’s been around for over a decade and there are over 10 million users.
With QuickLease Pro (QLP) you can easily make documents from the templates provided. You don’t have to waste your time typing up a lease agreement or a pet policy with QLP. If you’re new to the world of property management software, you’ll enjoy the customer service that comes with QuickLease Pro.
Their customer service is available if you have any questions or need help navigating the software. You can get help in several different ways, including emailing, chat, or a phone call. QuickLease Pro can be used on multiple different types of properties. Whether you own student housing, manufacture homes, or a handful of apartments, you’ll get a lot of use out of QuickLease Pro.
One thing that makes QLP the top free property management software is the onboarding system it comes with. There you will find a bunch of tools you can use in your daily life to make your job easier, including potential tenant background and credit checks.
Another unique thing about this software is that it has thorough and detailed security questions. You have to fill in multiple blanks per security question, which keeps your sensitive data out of the hands of others.
You’re also able to choose who’s able to use the software and lock someone out if they’re no longer an employee. I enjoy that you’re able to add on agents too, and applicants can choose which agent they want.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Amazing customer service
- Add multiple properties
- Ability to add agents
- Tags available to make writing documents easier
Cons
- No mobile app
With a ton of amazing organizational features such as tags, a library, and form presets, it’s no wonder why QuickLease Pro is the top property management software option on the market right now! The fact that it won’t cost you a penny is just another reason to give it a try!
[box]We also have an in-depth review of QuickLease Pro if you are interested in learning more![/box]
2. Cozy
First on our list is great software that can be used by both landlords and tenants. Cozy has a ton of amazing features that will make it one of your new favorite software options or apps.
When it comes to features that Cozy can provide for tenants, there are quite a few. The first being that potential renters will be able to view and apply for any vacant units you have listed online. They can also see rent estimates before applying, and once they are a tenant, they’ll be able to easily pay their rent online!
You have the ability to screen possible tenants via Cozy. This weeds out the applicants that don’t make the cut due to income requirements, credit or background check mishaps, or any other reason. You’ll also be able to easily collect rent online from tenants every month.
Cozy won’t cost you or your team a penny, though there are features that you can add-on that you have to pay for. Your renters have to pay a fee if they’re paying their rent online with a credit or debit card.
Another great feature that Cozy provides is a free demo of the software for those who are interested. This software is known for coming in handy when you need it most and being easy to learn how to use. If you have trouble staying organized with your paperwork, you may like using Cozy as a software to keep everything in its place.
If you own property, you will end up saving money by using this software. You won’t need to hire any extra help to get the tasks done that Cozy can take care of for you like marketing properties or screening new tenants.
Cozy can also be used to communicate from landlord to renter. This is a great thing if you own a lot of properties and can’t physically be there to meet with everyone in person. One add-on that Cozy has that you won’t find with many other free property management software options is the ability for the tenant to buy renters insurance through the software.
There are a number of reasons I added Cozy to this list and wanted to review it for you. Here are a few of the pros and cons that come with getting this free property management software:
Pros
- Rent estimates feature
- Renters insurance available for tenants
- Easy to use
- Free
- Available demo to learn how to use the software
- Screens potential tenants
- Online rent payments and applications
Cons
- Everything you add on comes at a price
3. Rentec Direct
Coming in second is another great free software option called Rentec Direct. If you have between 25 and 5,000 properties, you’ll get a lot of use out of this software. If you have less than 25 properties, Rentec Direct isn’t the software for you.
One of the reasons people enjoy using this software is that there aren’t any hidden costs or commitments. Everything that costs money with this software, you’ll know about before reaching for your wallet.
The other main feature that people like about Rentec Direct is that you have access to an unlimited about of training from their customer service team when you’re learning how to use the software!
This software is best known for keeping track of ledgers and organizing financial reports. If you’ve been struggling with accounting or keeping everything organized, you’ll enjoy these features! You can also track any work orders, process incoming or outgoing credit card payments from tenants or vendors, file your taxes, and market available units online!
Tenants will be able to easily use the portal online to pay for their rent or submit any maintenance requests they might have. Just like Cozy, you’ll be able to use this software to screen potential renters, see if they have any evictions in their past, and check credit and background reports.
Rentec Direct works on computers as well as mobile devices and they even have an app! Easily one of the best things about this software is that it uses bank-grade security standards to protect any sensitive information you may have stored on the software.
If you don’t have a lot of experience with technology, Rentec Direct may be a great software option for you! Their customer service is there to help you with any questions and find the answers you need. It is important to note that their customer service does run on US time, so if you live outside of the United States, that may be an issue for you.
Here are some of the best (and worst) things about this free property management software:
Pros
- Attentive customer service
- Works across all devices
- A lot of paperwork features like filing and organizing
- Add-ons are cheaper than other software available
Cons
- You must have between 25 and 5,000 units to use Rentec
- Customer Service runs on US time zones only
4. Online Rental Property Manager
Another great free software option is Online Rental Property Management, better known as ORPM. It as an open source option for landlords that are looking to save some money, while still having software that will tackle tasks for you.
If you use Online Rental Property Management, you’ll get help will things like tenant applications and creating leases. This option is more focused on the relationship between landlord and renter, and not just landlord duties.
It works on Mac or Windows laptops and computers as well as tablets and iOS and Android mobile devices. This open source property management software is easily customizable so you can use it to help you with what matters most.
You’ll be able to list available vacant units for rent across multiple popular housing websites and easily add photos to these listings. People viewing the listings will be able to see the rent amount and if the listing is still vacant and available.
You’ll be able to keep track of your current tenants and be able to access any personal information like their phone number or license plate if you use Online Rental Property Manager.
Any application that is filled out online will be sent directly to you so you can easily arrange showings and times to fill out leasing information. Here are a few of the best and not so great things about using Online Rental Property Manager so you can decide if this is the right avenue for you to take.
Pros
- Creates leases
- Easily access important information and files
- List vacant properties online
- Works across all devices
Cons
- It’s a relatively new open source platform
- There is no online rent payment option
5. Innago
If you’re interested in going with a cloud-based property management software, Innago is a great choice. This software is meant for people with small to medium property portfolios, so if you have hundreds of properties, you’ll be better off choosing another option.
There are a number of great features that property owners can use with Innago! First off, landlords will be able to easily collect rent online. When you’re using this software, you’ll be able to set prices for rent and late fees or add in costs that are reoccurring for your tenants such as parking spot fees or certain bills.
This free property management software will notify tenants before rent is due, when it is due, and if they have a late payment and/or fee associated with rent. You’ll also be happy to hear that Innago can help you manage invoices and deposits as well as keep track of important information about your properties or your tenants.
If you have multiple bank accounts that you need to connect, you can do so with Innago. One of the coolest features that this software has is the ability to allow tenants to sign leases with an e-signature from their own devices. This can save both you and them time and helps if you’re not available in person to handle lease exchanges.
Both you and your tenants will be able to access important documents such as leases, and applications right from a mobile device or computer. Speaking of leases, Innago has templates available so you can print them out without having to write the lease yourself.
Lastly, before I tell you about the pros and cons of one of the best free property management software options, I wanted to mention that you’ll be able to easily edit things like if they add a pet or if you need to remove someone from the lease.
Pros
- Accessible by both tenants and landlords
- Built-in lease templates
- Online rent collection
- Supports multiple bank accounts
- Rent notification reminders
Cons
- It may take a while to learn how to use the software
- It’s missing a few basic functions that some other software has like listing vacant units
6. Pendo
Pendo is software that landlords love because of how easy it is to use! It takes tasks that would take you hours to complete and gets them done in no time, without you having to do any work. You’ll be able to use all the free time you’ll have from this software to focus on more important things, such as your tenants!
Pendo is one of the best free property management software options because you can get all of your business work done in one place. Whether it’s writing leases, keeping track of accounting information, or accepting rent, Pendo has you covered.
This software will save you time by listing all of your vacant units online across multiple sites with just the click of a button. Once people see your listings, they’ll be able to easily apply online and the application will go straight to your inbox.
Pendo has premade lease agreement templates to save you time from having to write an entire file up yourself. Just add in your property information, prices, and any additional rules such as no pets and you’ll be set!
This software also helps you with screening potential renters by performing credit checks and background checks. There is also a feature that focuses on tenant on-boarding. You’ll be able to easily collect rent when you use Pendo, file reports, and handle any financial information that needs to be organized.
One of the best features about this software is that it’s available in 85 countries and has amazing customer services for all of its users. Here are the pros and cons of using Pendo property management software:
Pros
- Responsive customer service
- Lease templates
- Lists vacant properties/units
- Rent collection
- Relatively easy to use
- Saves you tons of time
Cons
- A couple features can be tricky to learn at first for some
7. TenantCloud Property Management
The penultimate free property management software goes to TenantCloud. This software is designed to meet any needs you need met as a property manager, landlord, or the owner of the property.
When using this software, you’ll be able to tackle confusing accounting tasks without having to fork out extra money for an accountant. Like most other property management software, you’ll also be able to use TenantCloud to list available units online at just the click of your mouse.
When you open this software, you’ll be met with a dashboard that’s easy to navigate and has shortcuts to access things like property information, tenant information, work requests, applications, and messages. The dashboard will always show you the total occupancy of each property, if you have any leases expiring soon, payments that are outstanding, and your recent property listings.
You can view these properties via a list that the software creates for you along with images of the specific property you’re listing. You’ll be better organized when it comes to finances, as TenantCloud helps keep everything in the right spot and will notify you if there are any outstanding balances and what your current net cash flow is.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Handles accounting information
- Dashboard shows important information every time the software is opened
- Shortcuts to features you access often
- Lists available units online
- Helps organize financial information
Cons
- Lack of tenant and landlord communication features
8. Smart Property Manager
Last but certainly not least, we have Smart Property Manager. This is another cloud-based property management software that can be used for just about any type of property, including student, commercial, and residential housing.
One of the main focuses of this software is its ability to accurately keep track of financial information for you when it completes accounting tasks. This is an important feature when the software is collecting rent online and your tenants use a credit card. Their information is automatically added to the accounting ledger in Smart Property Manager.
This software also posts listings for your vacant or soon-to-be vacant properties across the internet. You’ll be able to easily access leases, print out rent information if anything changes, and look at pay statuses you have.
You can make custom notices whether someone is late on rent, if there will be maintenance work on the parking lot, or if your pet policy changes. These notices will be sent automatically with the push of a button to every tenant and it will keep record that it was sent these via your renters online profiles.
Customer service is available through an online portal for landlords and property managers. Let’s cover the pros and cons of Smart Property Manager software.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Posts available units for you
- Custom notices feature
- Tenants have an online account they can access
- Rent is payable online
- Automatically updates ledger
Cons
- None to report
Buying Guide – What To Look For In Property Management Software
If you want to make the task of finding the perfect property management software without spending any money as easy as possible, you have to check out this buyer’s guide. It’s packed with tips and tricks on what makes great property management software.
How are you supposed to know what tasks you need the software to do? Is one software option better than all the rest? If you own property or are a landlord, you need to know what makes property management software stand out and what to be aware of when browsing around for one!
To help alleviate any confusion you may have, use this guide to break down what you and your properties will require of the software and find which one will work best for you!
Marketing Vacancies
When you have vacancies as a landlord or property owner, you’re losing money. Ideally, you’d like every unit you own to be filled with wonderful tenants that always pay their rent on time, but unfortunately, this often isn’t the reality for many property managers.
Posting advertisements on sites like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Zillow, and Trulia can be incredibly time consuming. You could copy and paste the description of the unit available, but you’ll still have to fill out a bunch of information and upload photos.
This can take a few hours out of a day to publish just one vacancy online across the most popular sites. As a landlord or property owner, you’re already plenty busy with tasks like inspections and writing leases to take a few hours to post ads.
Thankfully, property management software can quickly and easily create listings for multiple vacant units and post them across multiple sites at once. After you fill out the initial information about the unit and upload a handful of photos, it just takes a click of a button instead of hours to market your properties.
Organizing And Filing Documents
If you’re like me, you’ve seen landlords with desks full of paperwork and stacks of invoices from vendors. Maybe you’ve even been this person in the office and, if that’s the case, you’ll love how property management software organizes and files documents.
Both this feature and the one above are incredible time savers. Most of these softwares can not only make files, like leases and applications, but they can also file and search for documents. If you’re someone who has a hard time locating specific files or losing track of applications or leases, this will come in incredibly handy!
Keeping track of important documents can be crucial and you might not have the time available when they’re needed to go searching for them. With property management software, you can look up a lease, edit your business information, and even print of eviction notices at the push of a button.
Another great thing about this feature on the software is that most of them come with plenty of free templates you can use. This will save you even more time and energy, since you won’t need to type up these files yourself! You can take the template and edit in your information, prices, and lease rules to have ready for your potential renters!
Mobile Friendly
Are you a landlord that does a lot of work from your phone? It’s common nowadays for people to use mobile devices more than they do desktop or laptop computers. I know you won’t be swearing off your computer anytime soon, but it may be a priority of yours to have property management software that is mobile friendly.
This can come in handy when you’re conducting yearly inspections or if you have to physically go and collect rent from multiple units. Each software has different features on their mobile apps and websites, but it’s important that it can complete the tasks you need with ease while you’re on the go.
If this feature is important to you, it’s the one you need to be on the lookout for because a lot of property management software is known for their lack of functioning properly on mobile devices. Software can do so many amazing tasks via a computer, it can be difficult for the developers to make that mobile friendly, due to money and software restrictions.
On the other end of that, some software run incredibly well on mobile devices and can handle a number of tasks from a mobile device. If you find yourself reaching for your phone a lot while you’re on the clock, pay attention to this feature when searching for this kind of software!
Maintenance Requests
Handling maintenance requests can be one of the most time consuming and expensive parts of owning property. Not only that, but you have to schedule a time with the tenant that works for both of you to assess the request and then decide if you can fix it yourself or if you have to hire someone out.
You could sit down at your desk and look over work orders and do all the work yourself, but why not allow software to help you out? Many of the software you read about will let your renters put in their maintenance requests online.
These forms usually allow the renter to add in photos and choose a date and time that they’re available. Some property management software even have the feature of letting you assign the task to a specific vendor or employee once you’ve read over the issue at hand.
My favorite part of this feature is that you can track progress online. Not only will you be able to track it but the maintenance employee and the tenant will also be able to check it! It will show live progress of the project and there are areas where notes can be added. If you want to improve communication between yourself, your team and the tenants, this feature is a must!
Some of the software listed above will allow you to pay your maintenance employees or people you’ve hired right from the software. On top of that, it will keep track of all payments coming in and out of your business for maintenance, without you having to do a thing!
Customer Service
If you’re not familiar with the software, it’s best to find one that has great customer service. As a landlord or property owner, it’s safe to assume you’re great with people, and you deserve software with customer service that’s there when you need help!
The software I reviewed above all have incredible customer service. If you have trouble learning how to use it or have a question later on, they’ll be able to help you. They are trained and educated to know their software inside and out to aid with any necessary troubleshooting.
They are trained to be friendly while helping people who are frustrated and will give you answers in a short amount of time so you can be on your way to go about the rest of your day. It’s also great to know that many customer service representatives are available 24/7 to help you day or night.
Knowing the software inside and out will make you a better landlord or property manager. You’ll be able to answer questions your tenants may have and be able to quickly perform any required tasks you need to tackle using the software.
Accounting Help
One of the most confusing parts about owning property comes down to dealing with numbers. If you’re a landlord or property manager, you’ve probably had to do your fair share of accounting work. Using property management software will help you with accounting without you needing to spend money on additional accounting software or pay for an account.
Just like keeping everything organized, property management software can be used to manually enter in accounting files, but this is a task you can hand over almost entirely to the software itself. This will save you time, money, and energy so you can focus on doing things you enjoy instead of punching in numbers for hours on end.
The software can tackle things like paying your staff, filling out your 1099 tax forms and handle any reconciliations from the bank that are required. Property management software can also have the feature of collecting rent automatically from tenants, which we’ll discuss in detail shortly.
If you’re looking to free up your time, save some money and have a smaller workload, find software that can help with your accounting needs!
Different Property Types
A lot of property owners own several different types of property to make the most money. This is a great tactic, but you may want to know that some software only works with certain types of properties. This just might help you decide between getting one software over another.
Some offer plans and tiers for commercial property, while others are focused on student housing or residential units. Most property management software available will work with all types of properties available, but it’s just a good thing to keep in mind when you’re looking around for software that will be best for you and the type of property you’re working with.
Rent Services
Rent is collected so many different ways for landlords. Some keep a rent collection box in every unit, others require rent to be turned in by hand, and some will even collect it door to door. While all of these practices are great, software brings in a new form of paying rent that everybody will love!
It’s much safer than a rent collection box or a situation that has you walking around with everyone’s rent in hand. Property management software allows renters to pay their rent online, right from their own home. This saves them a trip to the bank, possible ATM fees, and lets them know their rent went directly to you, instead of sitting in a collection box by their mailbox.
This can help you in many ways, including saving you time from having to count and manually type in every rent payment you receive. The software will keep a log of rent payments, when the rent was paid, by whom, and who owes a late fee.
Both you and your renters will enjoy this feature. It saves you both time and energy, so it’s a feature you definitely want to be on the lookout for when trying to find the best software for property management.
Price And Add-Ons
Chances are, you already know that just about everything costs money and few things are actually free. All of the software I reviewed above provide free initial services but may charge extra for add-ons.
This will help you decide which software to go with, since some provide one feature for free, while others like Cozy, provide multiple. The prices can rise the more units you have and can even change based on where those units are located.
Speaking of add-ons, a lot of software will add-on services like credit and background checks for potential tenants, listing properties for sale online, and more. Be sure to read the fine print before you decide on which software to use to make sure it can tackle the tasks you have in mind, without costing you much, if anything at all.
[box]Yes, add-ons can be great, but if you can get another great software option with multiple functions for free, why not go for that? We recommend QuickLease Pro![/box]
Reporting
You’ve read a lot about how these software options can save you time, but it is nothing quite like the time you’ll save from all of your reporting duties. Taking time to fill out or handle reports can be a mundane task and it’s one that software can do for you.
Reports software can help you include occupancy data, your budget, work orders, or anything else that you write up reports for. The software will not only handle the report for you but it will be organized and filed it an easy to access place.
How Many Units You Have
Just like how your property type can make a difference as to which software you choose, the number of units you have plays a part to. Some software have limits to the number of units you can have, while others allow you to have as many as you’d like.
This is a crucial thing to look into before choosing software, as you wouldn’t want to get one that doesn’t accept the number of units you have. When it comes to software that you pay for, you’ll find that the more units you have, the more you have to pay.
You shouldn’t just be thinking about the units you have now, but you need to think about any you might buy in the near future. This will save you the hassle of having to find new software and start all over again, just because you bought a new property. This will allow you to grow as a business, while still keeping everything well organized using the software.
Final Words
Once you begin using one of the eight best free property management software options you read about above, your work life will become a lot easier. Depending on which software you choose to use, you won’t have to worry about things like marketing your vacant units, hassling tenants for their rent, or dealing with all of the accounting information that comes with being a property owner.
I can’t think of anyone that doesn’t want to make their job easier, so why not give one of these software options a try? Some of the software you read about can be accessed and used by yourself, your tenants, and your maintenance team. This makes communication and payments easier than they’ve ever been before.
Use one of these free software options to open your day up for more enjoyment and save you time and money along the way. Good luck!