Best Property Management Software of 2026

Here's what we'll cover:

What is rental property management software?

Essential features of rental property management software

Benefits of using rental property management software

How to choose the best rental management software for your property portfolio

Understanding rental property management trends

What you need to know about rental property management software

Rental property management software makes it easier for landlords and real estate professionals to manage rental properties, from tenant screening and online rent collection to handling maintenance requests. It also provides tenants with a single platform to pay rent and communicate with property managers. Our research shows that digital solutions enhance overall tenant satisfaction, potentially leading to longer stays—48% of tenants we surveyed said these tools made living in rentals more convenient and 33% reported faster and more efficient processes. [4]

We’ve spoken to over 3,500 property management software buyers over the past year (of which nearly 2,000 were owners self-managing their properties), and 98% inquired specifically about tenant and lease tracking applications. [1]

To give you an idea of the market's scope, we have over 270 different property management vendors on our site, and we've published more than 2,800 reviews for rental property management products in the past year. [2] The key question for property managers isn’t whether to adopt digital tools but which solution best aligns with their needs.

When it comes to pricing, you’ll find a wide range for all budgets. Advanced options can cost upward of $479 per month, while entry-level plans range from $1 per unit to $52 per month, depending on the number of property listings, portal availability for tenants, and required special features. [3] Over 80% of residential property management software buyers who spoke with our advisors last year budgeted between $50 to $100 a month. [1]

First-time buyers should begin evaluating with a budget, number of properties, and specific use cases in mind. Consult with stakeholders on critical questions, such as:

• Does the software offer a tenant portal for online payments and maintenance requests?

• What reporting and analytics features are available?

• How customizable is the system to fit your property types and workflows?

• What options are available for migrating tenant and property data into the new system?

• Is the software compliant with local landlord-tenant regulations?

Choosing from so many different vendors can be a long, daunting process. In this guide, you'll learn about the essential components of rental property management software, get guidance on how to choose the right solution, and tap into the expertise of our software advisor, Alex Ynfante, who has been leading buyers to the right software for many years.

What is rental property management software?

Rental property management system enables rental property owners and managers to execute a considerable number of essential daily tasks—including managing and tracking tenant information, accounting and billing, maintenance, and posting vacancies online. The tool helps users ensure all operations for a given property run smoothly.

Rental property management software also generates reports on activity, such as monthly rent payments, income, and expenses, to help you monitor your property's financial health.

A common misconception buyers have is that all property management systems are the same in features. However, as Alex Ynfante, our advisor from Software Advice explains, “Some specialize in long-term residential rentals, while others are better for short-term vacation properties. Features like applicant screening and lease tracking, crucial for long-term rental management, may not be available in vacation rental systems.”  Similarly, commercial property management systems will be big on financial reporting and investment tracking than just tenant management.

Essential features of rental property management software

Core rental property management features 

Common rental property management features

Optional rental management software features worth noting

• Tenant screening: Screen new residents by initiating background checks from software, evaluating their credit, criminal, and eviction histories, and making sure you're letting reliable tenants. 

• Tenant portal: Provide a dedicated portal for tenants to submit their queries or maintenance requests, pay rent, and interact with staff.

• Expense tracking: Monitor and record expenses such as purchases or charges incurred.

Benefits of using rental property management software

Based on our conversations with software buyers, one of the biggest benefits of adopting rental property management software is the ability to systemize everything and scale portfolios without proportionally increasing your time commitment. Ynfante, our advisor, notes that “it allows one to keep track of payments and manage all rental units by spending a few hours each month without going through multiple spreadsheets.” 

Beyond freeing up managers’ time to focus on property profitability, rental property management software provides other benefits that directly impact operational efficiency and tenant satisfaction, including:

• Remote management: Cloud-based solutions and mobile applications allow busy landlords or those living away from their properties to manage multiple sites from anywhere using their smartphones or laptops.

• Centralized operations: Owners can check on multiple properties, review tenant complaints, accept payments, and receive property alerts through a single application. 

• Detailed record-keeping: The software maintains a record of all communication and transactions, helping prevent disputes between tenants and owners over payment, lease terms, and other issues. Users can also add notes about late payment and accurately record details about offline or cash transactions.

• Improved tenant experience: Tenants can conveniently submit maintenance requests and track their status online, access important documents like lease agreements and rent receipts, and make payments electronically. 

• Cost and time savings: Through online payment features, both tenants and landlords save time on rental payment tracking and processing. Digital maintenance reporting cuts down response time and prevents costly escalation of property issues.  

• Compliance with law: Owners can receive alerts about pending tax and insurance payments, incomplete maintenance jobs, screen tenants effectively, and document renewals, helping them stay compliant with federal and local regulations. 

How to choose the best rental management software for your property portfolio

Step 1: Define your requirements

Before selecting a rental management system, it’s important to outline your portfolio’s specific needs. These will guide you toward a system that aligns with your current operational demands and supports your long-term goals.

Portfolio-specific functionalities

Each property management software is designed with specific use cases in mind. Select a system that aligns with your property type and portfolio size to avoid paying for unnecessary features or missing out on crucial ones.

• If you are a small landlord managing just a few (1-9) units, your primary needs likely center on online rent collection and accurate record keeping, such as digital lease signing and tracking. Look for software that tracks all rent payments, maintains important documentation on one platform, and allows auto-pay setup for tenants.

• For solo owners or property managers in charge of managing multiple (10-49) sites, improving communication becomes crucial as the tenant base grows. Seek software that sends regular and automated reminders to tenants for things, such as rent due dates, expiring leases, and maintenance updates. Ensure it offers efficient ways to manage a larger number of tenant interactions. 

• Large portfolio managers (with 50+ units) typically face a different set of challenges. With numerous properties to oversee, in addition to efficient communication tools, you need software that helps rent out your units quickly and maintain profitability. Look for property marketing abilities, financial reporting to oversee business health, and a tenant portal for renters to raise issues easily.

• If you’re a long-distance property manager residing in a foreign country or looking out for properties from afar, look for solutions that offer comprehensive remote property management tools. This could include detailed virtual tours, automated tenant screening, and mobile apps for handling most tasks from your smartphone or tablet. Seek solutions that help you manage all operations without incurring additional travel or communication costs. 

The above portfolio categories aren’t rigid. Your needs will likely span across them. The key is to critically evaluate which features are must-haves for your operation and which would be nice-to-haves.

How much should you spend on rental property management software?

Many property managers, especially those with small unit counts, worry that property management software is beyond their budget. However, our advisor Ynfante notes, “There are multiple affordable options available for smaller portfolio sizes.” 

Your expenses will primarily depend on the number of units you manage and the features you need. These pricing models are common in rental property management software: 

• Per unit, per month: Pricing is based on the number of units managed, where costs can range from as low as $1 per unit to $15 per unit for more comprehensive solutions. Some vendors may have minimum unit requirements or levy a minimum monthly charge.

• Flat monthly or annual subscription: Software is priced at a set monthly or annual rate regardless of the number of units managed. 

• Tiered pricing: Multiple pricing tiers, each offering a different set of features and number of units. These can start at $125 per month for basic plans and go up to $1,264 per month for advanced capabilities. 

Smaller portfolios often benefit from per unit or subscription pricing as it allows paying only for what they use to avoid overspending. Larger portfolios may prefer tiered or custom pricing plans for easy scalability and access to sophisticated tools and advanced features.

Our data shows that residential or single-family property managers budget an average of $92 per month for software, while apartments or multi-family managers allocate around $39 per month. This difference in budgeting could be because it's often cheaper per unit to manage many apartments in one building than to manage separate houses spread out in different locations. Overall, over 60% of residential property managers our software advisors talked to in the past year budgeted between $50 to $100 per month. [1]

When considering costs, also look at the total cost of owning the software, such as the upfront costs (including one-time setup fee for installation and data migration), ongoing expenses (for customer support), and extra charges for additional modules (like resident screening). 

Ynfante advises not to get lost in pricing details initially. “User-friendliness of the software is as important. You may gravitate toward the cheapest solution, but may not fully realize the limitations in usability, functionality, or even customer support.”

Consider regulations when selecting your rental property management software

Landlords need to follow all applicable federal regulations, such as fair housing law, to avoid being discriminatory or biased when screening tenants. They have to understand when, why, and how important it is to accommodate the needs related to service animals as per the law. 

State laws make it more complicated as the requirements differ with cities and even municipalities. For example, some states, like New York, may be tenant-friendly, capping rent increases and setting specific notice periods to raise that. Similarly, they may impact when and how you can evict someone.

With rental property management software, you can manage tenant applications and run comprehensive screening reports from one platform, making it easier to comply with fair housing and other local laws while identifying the best tenants. Digital documentation, processes, and communication ensure proof that tenants and contractors are kept in loop on relevant matters. 

Your best bet is to find a rental property management solution that is compliant with your federal and local legal obligations and has built-in checks and reminders to help you stay within the bounds of the law.

Plan around integration options

Another important consideration when selecting rental property management software is how the system will integrate with your existing tech tools or rental administration needs. 

Do you use external payment processors to facilitate online payments? Do you list your rentals for marketing on specific channels? Do you communicate with tenants over email? Do you use a separate accounting tool? If so, you’ll need a system that allows effortless integration with any of these platforms. 

More than 91% of property management buyers our advisors spoke with in the past year demanded all-in-one functionality suites. [1] Well-integrated rental management suites combine various applications such as accounting, record-keeping, communication, and maintenance tracking into one system. In contrast, solutions that serve one specific function (such as receiving and tracking online rent payments) are either used in conjunction with other tools or in a standalone capacity.

Step 2: Make a shortlist of rental property management software

With so many rental property management software options to choose from, narrowing the right choices for your portfolio can be challenging—but with the right resources and support, it doesn’t have to be.

Get qualified help from an advisor

At Software Advice, our advisors like Ynfante have experience helping hundreds of landlords and property managers identify solutions that match their needs and budgets. As one of our advisors explains, "We help property managers condense weeks of research into 15-minutes, offering five personalized recommendations that check all your boxes, based on a portfolio scale, budget, and functionality needs.”

If you need guidance, you can chat online now with an advisor or schedule a phone call. In just a few minutes, our advisor will help you identify a shortlist of options that align with your practice’s requirements.

Explore our FrontRunners list of rental property management

If you’re not ready to talk to an advisor just yet, you can also start compiling your shortlist of rental property management software with our FrontRunners report. Only products that earn top user ratings make it to this list. To be eligible for consideration, a product must:

• Have at least 20 unique user reviews in the last 24 months

• Be a stand-alone rental property management system, not just a partial tool

• Offer key features like 

  • online rent collection, 

  • keeping track of leases, and 

  • maintenance request management.

Check out our full methodology description for more details on how the report is compiled.

Step 3: Pick your best option

Once you’ve got a shortlist, vendor demos are the next step. These are your chance to see the tools and features in action, understand what they cost, and decide whether one is worth your money. To get the most out of these demos, you need to be prepared.

Getting ready for software demos

Set up demo sessions with each software on your shortlist. Use this time to learn more about their features, costs, help options, training, and anything else that matters for your rental administration.

Some questions you could ask vendors during demos:

• How do you help new users get started? 

• Can I customize this software to fit my workflows?

• Is there an app I can use on my mobile or tablet?

• Do you help move current tenant and property information into the new system?

• How does your software help me follow housing laws in my area?

• Can you show me how to do common tasks like processing rent or dealing with repair requests?

Understanding rental property management trends

AI and automation: Property management software are incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) for tasks like tenant screening, predictive maintenance, and chatbots to address common tenant questions 24/7, freeing up the property managers’ time for more complex issues.

Integrated smart home features: There’s a growing demand for tech-savvy homes, especially security apps and smart locks, among younger tenants. They are more willing to pay higher rent for smart amenities integrated into existing software systems. Nearly 75% of tenants said advanced technology features would influence their decision to sign a rental agreement. [4]

Virtual and augmented reality: Some property management platforms now offer virtual tour capabilities, allowing potential tenants to view properties remotely with great satisfaction. Augmented reality measurement features help tenants see how their furniture would fit in their space, even before committing to a lease. This trend accelerated during the pandemic and continues to be popular among the new generation of property managers and renters. 

These trends aren’t just fancy add-ons, but reshaping how the rental industry is evolving and making things easier for both property managers and tenants.

Related rental property management software

By property type

• Commercial property management Software

• Real Estate Property Management Software

• Vacation Property Management Software

By function

• Property Management Accounting Software

• Lease Management Software

• Facility Management Software

• Maintenance Management Software

• Real Estate CRM Software

About our contributors

Author

Amita Jain is a senior writer for Software Advice, covering finance technology with a focus on expense management and accounting solutions for small-to-midsize businesses. After completing her master’s in policy studies from King’s College London, she began her career as a journalist in New Delhi, India, where she garnered first-hand knowledge of the startup space and the education sector. She spent nearly half a decade covering high-level events hosted by the United Nations and the Government of India. Her work has been featured in Careers360, among other publications.

Amita’s research and writing for Software Advice is informed by more than 130,000 authentic user reviews and over 30,000 interactions between Software Advice software advisors and software buyers. Amita also regularly speaks to leaders in the finance and accounting space so she can provide the most up-to-date and helpful information to small and midsize businesses purchasing software or services.

When she’s not contemplating tech solutions for SMBs, Amita finds her zen in swimming, doodling, and indulging in animated sitcoms and science fiction.

Editor

Parul Sharma is a content editor at Software Advice with expertise in curating content for various niches, including SaaS, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. With over half a decade of experience in content writing and editing, Parul has the expertise to simplify complex terms into engaging, valuable content for targeted audiences. She completed her graduation and post-graduation in English literature from Delhi University and was awarded the Dr. Asha Sahni Memorial Award for being the highest scorer in her graduating class.

Parul has contributed to the news, lifestyle, education, and health verticle of DNA India, India’s premier media channel. Outside of work, she can be found curating healthy recipes, coloring in mandala books, and spending quality time with her family.

Advisor

Alex Ynfante is a software advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2022, and he is based in Austin, TX.

Alex works directly with small businesses leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking CRM and property management software through one-to-one conversations and provides a short list of potential matches. His favorite part of being a software advisor is navigating the tough software landscape with buyers and providing them genuinely valuable insights.

With a background in the sales and service industries, Alex holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications and is currently pursuing a business degree.

Sources

1. Software Advice advisor call notes: Findings are based on data from telephonic conversations that Software Advice’s advisor team had with small-to-midsize businesses seeking property management tools. For this report, we analyzed phone interactions from August 23, 2023, to August 23, 2024. 

2. Software Advice reviews data: Reviews are collected from verified users for individual software products. For this report, we analyzed reviews from August 23, 2023, to August 23, 2024. 

3. Software Advice software pricing data: Only products with publicly available pricing information and qualified software products within the category, as of Nov. 29, 2023, are included in the pricing analysis.

4. Software Advice's 2024 Tenant Experience Survey was conducted in June 2024 among 4,800 respondents in the U.S. (n=400), Canada (n=400), India (n=400), Brazil (n=400), Mexico (n=400), the U.K. (n=400), France (n=400), Italy (n=400), Germany (n=400), Spain (n=400), Australia (n=400), and Japan (n=400). The goal of the study was to identify the pain points tenants face and explore software solutions property managers can use to address them. Respondents were screened to currently rent their primary residence.