Earn up to 3.77% APY2.  No account fees. No minimum balances.

  • Updated: 02 Oct 2024
  • 4 Min Read

Baselane vs. Avail: Which is the Best Landlord Software?

Baselane vs Avail

Deciding between Baselane vs. Avail for your landlord software?

Both platforms promise to simplify your life by automating tasks for rental property management. But how do they stack up against each other? And what’s the best property management software for you as a landlord?

In this article, we’ll delve into what Avail offers and compare it to Baselane’s all-in-one banking, rent collection, and bookkeeping platform.

Key Takeaways

  • Baselane is an all-in-one property management platform with integrated banking, rent collection, bookkeeping, and other property management tools. Avail focuses only on property management.
  • Baselane offers premium features for free; Avail has free and paid plans ($9/unit).
  • Baselane excels in banking and bookkeeping built for real estate investors and landlords.

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Author's Take

As a landlord and investor with 20 units, I’ve tried over 10 rental property management software platforms, including Avail. I was constantly disappointed and let down by the lack of functionality and frictional user experience. I also struggled to juggle 8-10 tools and products just to manage my rentals. That’s why I decided to join Baselane and help build an all-in-one platform that actually saves investors time and money. Now, all my properties are managed on Baselane, and I do all my banking and bookkeeping there.

Baselane Overview

Trusted by over 40,000 landlords and real estate investors, Baselane is your one-stop shop for all things property management. Its all-in-one landlord software (which is free to use) integrates online rent collection, landlord banking, bookkeeping, and more—all in one place.

Baselane provides additional support for property management with lease agreements and security deposit accounts. Looking for rental property loans? Baselane has you covered there, too.

Baselane Key Features

  • Robust banking platform with no monthly fees or minimum balances
  • Unlimited banking accounts for each property, savings, security deposits, and more
  • Physical and virtual debit cards with smart limits
  • Online rent collection with fast payouts in just 2-5 days
  • Automated invoices, rent reminders, and late fees
  • Consolidated ledger for all your transactions
  • One-click categorization for income and expenses
  • Online maintenance requests
  • Transparent and competitive insurance
  • Free rental estimation tool
  • Free rental property ROI calculator

Baselane Pricing

Fees structure

Baselane Pros and Cons

Pros

  • All-in-one platform with banking, online rent collection, accounting, tax reporting, cash flow analytics, lease creation, tenant screening, insurance, and lending (plus more)
  • Instant online account opening
  • High-yield savings accounts for landlords
  • Up to 5% cash back3 rewards on debit card purchases
  • Integration with different tools such as Quickbooks, TurboTax, etc.
  • Unlimited cash flow and financial reports
  • Ideal for both residential and commercial property management
  • Offers rental property loan quotes in minutes
  • Self-service rental property insurance directly through the platform

Cons

  • No mobile app (coming soon)
  • No feature for tenant communication (coming soon)

Avail Overview

Avail is another app for landlords and property managers that provides various features. The platform allows listing syndication on rental property sites, online rent collection, and basic income tracking. Additionally, Avail enables landlords to conduct credit and criminal screenings and generate state-specific leases.

Regarding financial transactions, tenants are responsible for application, screening, and payment fees. If you opt for Avail’s Unlimited Plan, each bank transfer will cost your tenants $2.50.

Avail offers a premium version (Unlimited Plus) for $9/unit per month, which includes next-day rent payments, waived ACH fees, custom applications, leases, and the ability to create a property website.

Although Avail property management software has recently launched some accounting tools, they’re very basic. For example, you cannot link a bank account to automatically import transactions, requiring you to manually input all your expenses. Avail also lacks banking features like security deposit accounts for landlords.

Avail Key Features

  • Online rent payments
  • Next-business day rent payments through FastPay (paid plan only)
  • Maintenance requests
  • State-specific lease templates
  • Rent analysis report available at an additional cost ($19.99)
  • Tenant screening available ($50 per screening, including credit, criminal, and eviction checks)

Avail Pricing

Two subscription plans comparison for property management services. The "Unlimited" plan is $0/unit with features like syndicated listings and tenant portal. The "Unlimited Plus" plan is $9/unit/month, offering additional features like waived ACH fees and customizable leases.

Avail Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Free plan available with limited features
  • Auto-generated payment receipts
  • Can syndicate some listings (limited) to increase property visibility
  • Maintenance request management

Cons

  • Expensive for landlords with multiple units ($9/unit)
  • Web interface is not user-friendly and dated
  • Landlords can’t manually mark invoices as paid
  • Doesn’t offer Quickbooks integration
  • Payments are sometimes delayed
  • Lack of how-to tutorials
  • Some users reported lease generation is difficult
  • High payment fees for tenants if the landlord is on a plan ($2.50 per bank transfer, 3.5% processing fee for debit and credit card payments)
  • Can’t block partial rent payments
  • No integrated banking
  • Basic accounting functionality
  • Can’t import transactions from external bank accounts or cards
  • No Avail property management app

Avail vs. Baselane

BaselaneAvail
Pricing$0/month$0-$9/unit per month
Banking
Unlimited Accounts Per Entity✔❌
APY InterestUp to 3.77% APY2 ❌
Cash Back on Debit CardsUp to 5%3 ❌
FDIC Insurance$3M via Thread Bank1 ❌
Virtual Cards & Spend Controls✔❌
ACH, Wires & Mailed Checks✔❌
Recurring Payments & Transfers✔❌
Rent Collection
Collect Rent Directly into Bank Account✔✔
Recurring Invoices✔ ❌
Fast Payments: 2-5 Days✔ Paid tier only
Automated Late Fees & Reminders✔✔
Payment History & Tracking✔✔
Dedicated Tenant Portal✔✔
Flexible Tenant Payment Options✔✔
Tenant Auto-Pay✔ ✔
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Property & Unit Level Tagging✔ ✔
120 Real Estate Specific Income & Expense Categories✔ ❌
Quickbooks Integration✔ ❌
Schedule E Reporting✔ ❌
Receipt Capture✔ ✔
Auto-Generated Tax & Financial Reports✔ ❌
Real-Time Cash Flow Insights✔ ❌

What banks are real estate investors using?

Compare the top banks real estate investors use for managing rentals.

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Final Thoughts: Baselane vs. Avail

After reading this Baselane vs. Avail comparison, it’s clear that both have a lot to offer. But Baselane gives you more bang for your buck (not that you’ll need any bucks) with its all-in-one free platform.


From landlord banking to hassle-free rent collection and simplified accounting, Baselane has you covered.

So why keep juggling bills, rent, and spreadsheets when Baselane can do everything for you? Say goodbye to stress and hello to easy property management—get started for today!

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All-in-one rental property management

  • Banking, Bookkeeping, Rent Collection & more
  • Earn up to 3.77% APY2 and up to 5% cash back3
  • Auto-generated financial and tax reports
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© 2024, Skylight Financial Services Inc. (Baselane). All Rights Reserved.
Baselane is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC insurance is available for funds on deposit through Thread Bank, Member FDIC. The Baselane Visa Debit Card is issued by Thread Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa is accepted.

1Your deposits qualify for up to $3,000,000 in FDIC insurance coverage when placed at program banks in the Thread Bank deposit sweep program. Your deposits at each program bank become eligible for FDIC insurance up to $250,000 , inclusive of any other deposits you may already hold at the bank in the same ownership capacity. You can access the terms and conditions of the sweep program at https://go.thread.bank/sweepdisclosure and a list of program banks at https://go.thread.bank/programbanks. Please contact customerservice@thread.bank with questions on the sweep program.

2The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on your Savings Account is accurate as of 04/05/23. Total balances across Checking Accounts and Savings Accounts are used to calculate APY tier, but only money in Savings Accounts is eligible for interest. Total balances less than $10,000 earn 1.75% APY for Savings Accounts. Total balances between $10,000 and $24,999 earn 2.64% APY for Savings Accounts. Total Balances between $25,000 and $49,999 earn 3.06% APY for Savings Accounts. Total balances of $50,000 or more earn 3.77% APY for Savings Account. These are variable rates and are subject to change based on the target range of the Federal Funds rate. There are no minimum balances or minimum deposits required to earn interest on your Savings Account. Review the Baselane Business Deposit Account Agreement for more information.

3Cash back is credited once per month for all rewards above 1% and credited to your account with a maximum of $2,000 annual spend per calendar year. 1% cash back is credited instantly following purchase with no maximum spend. No minimum spend applies. Terms and conditions apply.

4Some states require an interest-bearing escrow account for security deposits while some don’t require interest. User is responsible to check state laws along with rules for collecting and reimbursing a refundable security deposit. A brief overview of security deposit laws for escrow accounts in all 50 states can be found here.

*All testimonials, reviews, opinions or case studies presented on our website may not be indicative of all customers. Results may vary and customers agree to proceed at their own risk.

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