SmartLeaseFlow vs TurboTenant
TurboTenant is free because your tenant pays. That works well if your tenants will move onto their rail. If yours pay by Zelle, check or cash, there's nothing for it to see.
What TurboTenant is: A large, genuinely capable platform for self-managing landlords — listings, applications, screening, leases and rent collection — free to the landlord on its base plan.
| What a landlord actually asks | SmartLeaseFlow | TurboTenant |
|---|---|---|
| Do I know who paid if my tenant pays by Zelle, check or cash? This is the whole reason SmartLeaseFlow exists. Everything else on this page is secondary. | Yes — we read your bank feed and match each deposit to a tenant. | No. Payments made outside TurboTenant aren't tracked automatically. |
| Does my tenant have to sign up for anything? | No. They keep paying you the way they already do. | For rent tracking, yes — the tenant pays through TurboTenant. |
| What does it cost me? Their base plan is free to the landlord. Ours isn't, because we don't charge your tenant to make up the difference. | $12/mo up to 5 units · $29/mo up to 25 · $79/mo up to 100 | Free plan $0. Essentials from $149/yr, Pro from $199/yr — both billed annually. |
| What does my TENANT pay? Their published renter pricing. The cost doesn't vanish — it moves to the person living in your unit. | Nothing. We never touch your tenant. | $55 to be screened ($45 on a paid plan), $2 per ACH rent payment on the free plan, 3.49% on card payments on every plan. |
| Does the price go up as I add doors? Read from their own 'Priced to grow with you' table. Several review sites claim TurboTenant has no per-unit pricing; their pricing page says otherwise. | Only at a band boundary — the same price for 1 unit or 5, then 25, then 100. | Yes. Pro is $199/yr for 1–10 units, $399 for 11–30, $699 for 31–60, $999 for 61+. |
| Can I connect more than one bank account? | Yes, on every paid plan. | One on Free and Essentials; unlimited on Pro. |
| Move-in / move-out condition photos? Both do this. Ours is opinionated about one state's statute; theirs is general. | Yes, built around California's AB 2801 photo rules specifically. | Yes — online condition reports are included on all plans. |
| Schedule E at tax time? | Yes, on every paid plan, from your bank feed. | Yes — Schedule E and Form 8825, with automatic transaction import on Pro. |
| Tenant screening? | Not built in. Run your usual service and record the result here. | Yes — credit, criminal and eviction checks, tenant-paid. |
To be fair to TurboTenant
Real tenant screening — credit, criminal and eviction checks. We have none. Listing syndication to 25+ sites. We don't advertise vacancies at all. Lease agreements with e-signature, state-specific. We store documents; we don't generate leases. A rent collection rail, autopay and a mobile app. We have none of those. Over a million landlords and years of iteration behind it.
Every TurboTenant figure on this page was read from their own pricing page on August 31, 2026. Prices and features change — check theirs before deciding, and if anything here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we'll correct it. SmartLeaseFlow is not affiliated with TurboTenant, and TurboTenant is their trademark.