Best Options for Small or DIY Landlords
- September 4, 2026
Best PM Software Under $50/Month
Description
If you’re managing a handful of units, a $150-300/month enterprise platform doesn’t make financial sense – you’d be paying more for the software than you save. This list is for landlords and small property managers who want real functionality without a budget-breaking bill.
We’re defining “under $50/month” loosely here, since most of these platforms price per-unit or have a genuinely free tier that only becomes paid once you scale up – so the real number often depends on your portfolio size, not a flat fee. Always check current pricing on the vendor’s site before committing; software pricing changes more often than review sites update.
Innago – free
Innago doesn’t have a monthly landlord fee at all. It makes money through optional tenant-paid fees instead, so a small landlord can run rent collection, e-signing, tenant screening, and maintenance requests at $0/month. See our full Innago review.
Avail – free to use
Avail is free for the core landlord tools (listing, screening, rent collection); paid add-ons exist but aren’t required to use the platform. See our full Avail review.
Landlord Studio – free (GO tier)
The GO tier covers rent and expense tracking plus basic reporting at no cost. The paid PRO tier adds more automation once you outgrow GO, but plenty of small landlords never need to upgrade. See our full Landlord Studio review.
RentRedi – affordable at small-portfolio scale
RentRedi’s pricing is built around real automation (rent collection, tenant screening, maintenance) without the enterprise price tag of platforms like AppFolio or Buildium – a realistic fit for a small landlord’s budget at typical small-portfolio unit counts. See our full RentRedi review.
Baselane – free core banking and tracking
Baselane’s banking and financial-tracking tools are free to use; it makes money on the banking side, not a landlord subscription fee. If bookkeeping is your actual bottleneck, this is worth checking before you pay for accounting features bundled into a bigger platform. See our full Baselane review.
Hemlane – low per-unit cost
Hemlane’s per-unit pricing model keeps the bill proportional to your actual portfolio size, so a small landlord isn’t paying for capacity they don’t use. See our full Hemlane review.
Complete Landlord Bundle – $39.99 one-time (self-built, not an affiliate link)
Not software at all – a one-time-purchase template system for landlords who’d rather have real structure than another monthly bill. Covers leases, inspections, rent tracking, and maintenance logs. See our full guide to the best options for small or DIY landlords.
The pattern across this whole list: none of these charge a large flat monthly fee regardless of portfolio size, and several are genuinely free at small scale. Once you’re managing enough units that per-unit pricing starts adding up past $50/month, it’s worth comparing against the full-featured platforms – DoorLoop and Rentec Direct – reviewed elsewhere on this site.
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