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. |
| Do I have to talk my tenants into switching? Their plan is free to you and costs one conversation with your tenant. Whether that's a good trade is your call, not ours — but it's the trade, and it isn't on the pricing page. | No. That's the whole design — we read your bank feed, so nobody has to change anything. | Yes, if you want rent tracked automatically. Your tenant has to move onto TurboTenant's rail. |
| And if my tenants don't switch? They do support offline payments, and we're not claiming otherwise. The question is who does the typing every month. | Nothing changes. The match happens whether or not anyone moved. | You record each payment by hand. Their help centre covers check, cash, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal and Section 8 — one charge at a time. |
| 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 10 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? Both of us price in steps rather than per door. Theirs is the better deal between about 6 and 10 units; ours is cheaper below 6 and again above 10. Read from their own 'Priced to grow with you' table — several review sites claim TurboTenant has no per-unit pricing, and their pricing page says otherwise. | Almost never. The same price whether you have 1 unit or 10. It only changes when you pass 10 units, and again at 25. | Also in steps: 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.