Affordable property management software is a real category and a real trap, because the products in it are priced in several different ways and only one of them is genuinely cheap for a small portfolio. A monthly figure that looks low can be the smallest part of what the product earns from you. This page is how to read a quote back into what you will actually pay in a year.
The per-unit floor is the number that bites
Most products price per unit with a monthly minimum. Below the minimum you are paying for units you do not have, which is why a landlord with six units often pays the same as one with twenty. Divide the minimum by your actual unit count before comparing anything. That figure, not the headline per-unit rate, is your real price at your real size.
Where a cheap product earns the rest
Payment processing margin, tenant-paid convenience fees, application fee revenue, screening report markups and paid add-ons for the features you assumed were included. None of these are improper, and all of them mean the subscription price is not the whole price. Ask what the product earns per rent payment and per application, and add it to your annual figure.
Free tiers and what they cost instead
Several products are free to the landlord and charge the tenant, or free with a longer settlement time and a fee to get the money sooner. Both are real trades rather than tricks. The question is whether you want your tenants paying a fee to pay rent, because that is a term of the tenancy in practice even when it never appears in the lease.
The three points where cheap turns expensive
When you outgrow the minimum and the per-unit rate applies to everything. When you need an export and discover it is partial. And when a feature you now depend on moves to a higher tier. Ask about all three during evaluation. The answers are usually given readily; they are simply not volunteered.
Questions people ask about affordable property management software
Is the cheapest product usually the right one for a small portfolio?
Often yes, provided the minimum is low and the export is complete. Those two answers matter more than the feature list at this size.
Should tenants pay the transaction fee?
It is common for cards and less common for bank debit, and some states restrict what may be added to rent. Check the state rule before adopting it as policy.
What is a fair annual figure for ten units?
Work it out rather than take a benchmark: minimum or per-unit rate, whichever is higher, plus twelve months of payment margin, plus screening if you pay for it.