Comparison
The Lessor vs TurboTenant
TurboTenant is one of the best-known free landlord platforms, used by over a million self-managing landlords. If your main job is filling a vacancy, they are hard to beat. The Lessor is built for the part that comes after: running the property month to month, and keeping books you can hand to an accountant.
TurboTenant figures below are their published list prices as of September 2026. Check their site before deciding — pricing changes.
What TurboTenant does well
- Listing syndication to dozens of rental sites, which The Lessor does not do at all. If you need to advertise a vacancy, TurboTenant is the better tool.
- Mature tenant screening with credit, criminal and eviction reports, fraud detection and income verification.
- 50+ state-specific lease templates on the paid tiers.
- A phone-and-chat support team in Colorado, and an optional full-service management offering.
Where The Lessor wins
Real bookkeeping at $0
TurboTenant puts accounting tools in its Pro tier, which starts at $199 a year and rises with unit count. The Lessor gives you double-entry books, a P&L, a balance sheet, a trial balance, fixed-asset depreciation and loan amortization on the free plan.
Month to month, not a yearly cheque
TurboTenant Premium is billed as a single annual charge — the $12.42/month figure is $149 a year divided by twelve. The Lessor is $14.99 a month when you outgrow the free plan, cancellable any time.
Commercial leases included
CAM reconciliation, rent roll, aging and sales tax are built in from the Portfolio plan. TurboTenant is residential-only.
You choose who pays the transfer fee
On The Lessor, the 0.8% bank-transfer fee (capped at $5) can be absorbed by you instead of charged to your tenant, per lease.
Side by side
| The Lessor | TurboTenant | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $0, then $14.99/month | $0, Essentials from $149/year |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Annual only on Premium |
| Accounting / books | Full double-entry books on the free plan | Pro tier only, from $199/year |
| Balance sheet & trial balance | Yes | No |
| Listing syndication | No | Yes, dozens of sites |
| Tenant screening | Application intake plus an optional external screening link (Enterprise) | Built-in credit, criminal and eviction reports |
| Commercial property support | Yes, with CAM reconciliation | No |
| Fixed assets & depreciation | Yes | No |
Who should not switch
- You are mainly advertising vacancies. TurboTenant's listing reach is genuinely better and The Lessor does not syndicate listings.
- You need full in-house screening reports on demand. Ours is an application pipeline with an optional external screening link, not a screening bureau.
- You want a phone support line. The Lessor is small; you get the person who built it, not a call centre.
Questions people ask
Try it on one property before you move anything
Free forever on your first two properties. No credit card required.