Innago vs Rentec Direct for Landlords (2026): Free vs Full-Featured
- The short answer
- Quick decision framework
- Pricing: what it actually costs
- Real-world cost scenarios
Innago and Rentec Direct sit at opposite ends of the same question: how much should a landlord pay for property management software? Innago's answer is almost nothing — $0/month software with revenue coming from transaction fees. Rentec Direct's answer is a monthly subscription in exchange for one of the deepest feature sets in the industry, including real general-ledger accounting.
This isn't a fair fight on features alone. Rentec Direct wins that. The real question is whether a small landlord needs what Rentec sells — or whether Innago's free toolkit covers everything that actually matters at 1–10 units. Here's the honest 2026 comparison.
Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission if you sign up for Rentec Direct through our links — it keeps the site running at no extra cost to you.
The short answer
- Innago wins for small landlords who want free and simple. 1–10 units, rent collection, applications, leases, basic accounting, and real human support — all at $0/month. You pay a small fee per ACH transaction instead of a subscription.
- Rentec Direct wins for landlords who need depth. 5–50+ units, serious bookkeeping, full general-ledger accounting, Schedule E reporting, owner portals, and hundreds of integrations. It's a subscription product for landlords whose portfolios have outgrown free tools.
Our full takes: Rentec Direct review and our roundup of the best free property management software.
Quick decision framework
| Innago | Rentec Direct | |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | ~$0/month | Paid subscription (check current pricing) |
| Best for | 1–10 units, budget-first landlords | 5–50+ units, DIY accountants |
| Rent collection fees | Small per-transaction ACH fee | Included in subscription |
| Accounting | Income/expense tracking, reports | Full general ledger, Schedule E |
| Screening | Built-in, applicant-paid | Built-in, applicant-paid |
| Maintenance | Work orders with photo upload | Full work-order system + vendor portal |
| Support | Phone, email, live chat — included free | Phone, email, chat support |
| Learning curve | Gentle | Steeper (more depth) |
Pricing: what it actually costs
Innago. The software itself is free — $0/month, no unit caps advertised. Innago makes money when you move money: a small fee per ACH rent payment (historically around $2 per transaction) and card-processing fees (around 2.99%) plus paid tenant screening. For a landlord collecting rent monthly from 4 units, that's roughly $96/year in ACH fees versus a paid platform's annual subscription. Prices and fees change — check current pricing on their site before committing.
Rentec Direct. A subscription product with tiered plans based on unit count — historically starting in the tens of dollars per month for small portfolios and scaling up, with no long-term contracts. Exact plan prices change over time, so check current pricing on Rentec Direct before you compare. What you're buying is the depth: full accounting, owner/investor portals, automated owner statements, and an integration marketplace.
The breakeven math: at very small portfolios (1–3 units), Innago's per-transaction model is almost always cheaper. Once you're past ~10–15 units — or once you start paying an accountant to clean up a spreadsheet-based mess — Rentec's subscription starts paying for itself in saved bookkeeping hours.
Real-world cost scenarios
Abstract pricing talk is useless without numbers, so here are three realistic landlord profiles. All figures are approximate — check current pricing on each platform's site before you decide.
Scenario 1: 2 units, self-managed. Innago: $0/month software + ~$48/year in ACH fees (2 payments × 12 months × ~$2). Total: under $50/year. Rentec Direct: a monthly subscription running roughly $500–$700/year depending on the plan. Winner: Innago, by a mile. At two doors, nothing Rentec offers justifies a subscription.
Scenario 2: 8 units, growing. Innago: ~$192/year in ACH fees. Rentec Direct: ~$500–$700/year subscription. The gap narrows, but Innago still wins on pure cost — unless your bookkeeping is suffering. If tax season takes you a full weekend of spreadsheet archaeology, Rentec's general ledger probably buys back its cost in saved hours alone.
Scenario 3: 20 units, serious operation. Innago: ~$480/year in ACH fees, and its accounting starts creaking — no owner portals, no automated owner statements, limited reporting. Rentec Direct: a higher-tier subscription, but one that replaces a bookkeeper's monthly cleanup and produces Schedule E–ready reports. Winner: Rentec Direct. At this scale, the software is a rounding error against rent roll, and the accounting depth is the whole game.
The pattern: Innago's per-transaction model is cheapest when unit count is low; Rentec's flat subscription wins when your time or your accountant's time becomes the binding constraint.
What "free" means for your tenants
One nuance landlords miss: Innago's model puts small fees on the payment rails. The ~$2 ACH fee is typically absorbed by the landlord as a cost of doing business, and card payments carry a ~2.99% fee that usually lands on whoever chooses to pay by card. In practice this is invisible to tenants paying by bank transfer — which is nearly everyone in the free-software segment. Don't overthink it: $2 per payment is the cost of one coffee a year per unit. The model is honest, not sneaky — Innago's pricing page has historically been upfront about where the money comes from, which is more than you can say for some "free" platforms that monetize tenant data or surprise upsells.
Rentec's model is simpler to explain to a partner or spouse: one subscription, everything included. No per-payment meter running. Some landlords prefer that predictability even when the math slightly favors per-transaction pricing.
Feature-by-feature
Rent collection. Both collect ACH and card payments with automatic reminders and late fees. Innago's ACH carries a small per-transaction fee; Rentec's payment processing is bundled into the subscription. Rentec adds more granular controls — split payments, automated rent increases, and deeper reporting on delinquencies. For simple monthly collection at a handful of doors, both get the job done; Innago's per-payment fee is the only real cost difference.
Applications and leases. Both offer online applications, customizable forms, state-specific lease templates, and e-signatures. Neither is a standout winner here — this is table stakes in 2026, and both platforms clear the bar comfortably.
Tenant screening. Both run credit, criminal, and eviction checks that the applicant pays for — the industry-standard fair setup. Rentec Direct has a slight edge in volume screening tools if you're filling multiple units at once; Innago's screening is straightforward and gets the same reports.
Maintenance. This is where Rentec pulls ahead. Innago offers work-order tracking with tenant photo/video uploads — genuinely good for a free platform. Rentec adds a full maintenance ecosystem: vendor portals, automated work-order routing, recurring maintenance scheduling, and cost tracking tied into the general ledger. If maintenance is eating your weekends, Rentec's system is the more complete answer. If it's a handful of requests a month, Innago's is plenty.
Accounting. The biggest gap between the two. Innago provides income and expense tracking with dynamic reports — basic but real bookkeeping, far better than a spreadsheet. Rentec Direct runs a full general ledger: double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, owner draws and contributions, property-level P&Ls, and Schedule E–friendly reporting. It's the closest thing to QuickBooks built specifically for landlords. For a deep dive on the bookkeeping angle, see our Rentec Direct review. If you're also weighing other managed options, our Hemlane vs Rentec Direct comparison covers the DIY-versus-assisted decision.
Listings marketing. Both syndicate listings to rental sites. Neither is exceptional here — free and mid-tier platforms both trail the dedicated listing powerhouses on reach and polish. Expect solid, not spectacular.
Support. Innago is unusually good for free software: direct phone, email, and live-chat support included. Rentec Direct also offers solid support channels. Neither leaves you hanging — an underrated point in both platforms' favor.
Ease of use. Innago's interface is simpler and faster to learn; it has less to learn because there's less product. Rentec Direct's interface is dated but functional, and the learning curve is real — plan a few days of setup before it feels natural. Depth costs time.
Who should pick which
Pick Innago if:
- You manage 1–10 units and want $0/month software
- Your bookkeeping needs are basic income/expense tracking
- You'd rather pay per transaction than commit to a subscription
- You want free human support without paying for a plan
- You're self-managing and doing your own maintenance coordination
Pick Rentec Direct if:
- You manage 5–50+ units and need real general-ledger accounting
- You want owner/investor portals and automated owner statements
- Maintenance volume justifies work-order automation and vendor portals
- Your accountant keeps asking for cleaner books (or Schedule E is painful)
- You've outgrown free tools and want one platform that scales
Pick neither if: you want hands-off help with the actual landlording — leasing, repairs, tenant communication. Neither Innago nor Rentec manages anything for you; they're software, not services. For hybrid managed options, see our Hemlane vs Rentec Direct comparison.
Setup and onboarding reality
Innago is the faster win: most landlords are collecting rent within a day or two — add properties, invite tenants, connect a bank account, done. The simplicity that limits it at scale is exactly what makes onboarding painless.
Rentec Direct demands more upfront. Expect to spend a weekend (or a few evenings) configuring your chart of accounts, property hierarchy, and owner statements before the platform feels like yours. The payoff is a system that mirrors how your business actually runs — but don't start the migration the week rent is due. Landlords who invest the setup time tend to stay for years; landlords who skip it end up using 10% of what they pay for. If your portfolio is simple enough that a weekend of configuration sounds absurd, that's Innago telling you something.
Migration notes
Moving from Innago to Rentec Direct is the common upgrade path as portfolios grow — most landlords make the jump when per-transaction fees plus bookkeeping headaches exceed the subscription cost, usually around 10–15 units. Export your tenant and payment data before switching; both platforms support CSV exports of core records. Going the other direction (Rentec to Innago) is rare and usually driven by downsizing a portfolio back under ~5 units.
Bottom line
Innago and Rentec Direct aren't really competing for the same landlord. Innago is the best free option for small, budget-first landlords — at 1–10 units, its $0/month toolkit with per-transaction fees is the cheapest credible way to run a rental business, and its included human support embarrasses most paid platforms. Rentec Direct is the right call once depth matters — full general-ledger accounting, owner portals, and maintenance automation that free tools can't match, worth every penny of the subscription once your portfolio or your bookkeeping pain crosses the threshold.
The simple rule: under ~10 units with simple books, start with Innago. The moment you hire a bookkeeper, dread tax season, or add doors faster than your spreadsheet can handle, graduate to Rentec Direct.