Avail reviews split along one line. Landlords who rate the software on Capterra give it about 4.6 out of 5, and they mostly talk about how easy it is to list a unit, build a lease and get set up. Trustpilot shows 3.7 out of 5 from 422 reviews, with 60% five-star and 18% one-star, and the one-star reviews are nearly all about money: rent held for verification, deposits that took longer than expected, an account locked for weeks. This review works from Avail's own pricing page and FAQs, read for this piece, then reads the pattern in what landlords write. We sell rental listings, not rent collection, so we gain nothing from whether you sign up there.
If what you need this month is a tenant for an empty unit, you can list the vacancy on RentPlace for $39 a month and stop paying once it is rented, or score the ad you already have in the Listing Grader first.
The short verdict
Avail is a good free tool for a landlord with one to about ten doors who wants listing, screening, a state lease and online rent in one place and does not mind that tenants and applicants carry the fees. The paid plan, Unlimited Plus, is good value only at one or two doors. It is the wrong buy for anyone who manages for owners, for a landlord whose mortgage payment depends on rent landing on a fixed day in the first month of a lease, and for anyone who expects fast email support when an account is under review.
How much does Avail cost landlords?
Avail costs a landlord nothing on its Unlimited plan, for any number of units. Unlimited Plus is $9 per unit per month, which is $108 a unit a year. Everything else is charged to the tenant or the applicant unless you choose to pay it.
| Item | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited plan | $0 a unit | Nobody |
| Unlimited Plus | $9 a unit a month | Landlord |
| Rent by bank transfer | $2.50 on Unlimited, free on Plus | Tenant |
| Rent by card | 3.5% on both plans | Tenant |
| Credit, criminal and eviction reports | Varies by state, about $55 for all three | Applicant, or you |
| CreditBoost rent reporting | $3.95 per month reported | Tenant, optional |
Two numbers in that table are worth a second look. Plenty of older reviews still give Unlimited Plus as $5 or $7 a unit, and Avail's own page now says $9. And Avail does not print a screening price at all. Its FAQ says the cost depends on state law, and a landlord on Avail's own community forum reports $55 per applicant for the full bundle, which they called more than most competitors charge. The full ladder by door count and every fee is on our Avail pricing page.
Is Avail legit?
Yes. Avail is a real, established landlord platform owned by Move, Inc., the company that runs Realtor.com, which bought it in December 2020. Its site header now reads "Part of the Realtor.com network", and Avail says more than a million landlords have used it. Screening runs through TransUnion with a soft pull, so it does not dent the applicant's credit score.
Being legit is not the same as being trouble-free, and the complaints below are the ones a landlord should read before connecting a bank account.
What Avail reviews praise
The praise is consistent and specific. Landlords say they listed a unit in an afternoon and had it on 19 rental sites, including Realtor.com, Redfin and Zumper, without creating an account on each. They like the state-specific lease templates with e-signing, which on the free plan already cover most of what a small landlord needs. And they like that the whole cycle, from listing to application to lease to rent, lives in one dashboard their tenants can use from a phone browser.
The price is the other half of the praise. For a landlord with three or four doors, a free plan that covers listing, screening requests, leases, rent and maintenance tickets is hard to beat, and many five-star reviews are from people who never needed to upgrade.
What Avail reviews complain about
Nearly every recent one-star review on Trustpilot is about rent. One landlord describes a tenant scheduling the first payment for the 31st, Avail asking for proof of the bank account that same day, and the payment then moving to a later date while the mortgage was due. Another reports an account locked for several weeks during an identity review that asked for a photo ID, a live photo, a Social Security number and proof of ownership, with each email reply taking more than ten days. A third, who otherwise liked the product, wrote that Avail "slow pays to get you to enroll in FastPay".
Avail answers most of these publicly and explains that verification and ACH processing are separate steps. That is accurate, and it is also the point: a new tenant's first payment can sit in a review and then take three to five business days to clear, and FastPay only applies after that first bank payment has gone through.
| Complaint | How often it appears | What to do before relying on it |
|---|---|---|
| First rent payment held for verification | The most common one-star theme | Have the tenant pay a small deposit through Avail a week before the first rent |
| Slow ACH deposits without FastPay | Regular | Budget three to five business days, or keep a month of the mortgage in reserve |
| Account locked during identity review | Occasional, long when it happens | Finish identity and ownership checks before the tenant moves in |
| Screening too expensive for applicants | Raised on Avail's own forum | Request only the reports you will act on, or pay the fee for the finalist |
The other gap is upstream of all this. Avail sends your listing out widely, and the leads come back as messages and showing requests that tell you little about the renter. The same forum thread that complained about the $55 fee asked Avail for pre-screening questions on the first inquiry, before a showing gets booked.
Is Avail Unlimited Plus worth it?
Usually not past two doors. Plus costs $108 a unit a year, and the bank-transfer fee it waives costs each tenant $30 a year, so at every portfolio size the plan costs 3.6 times the fees it removes. What you are really buying is next-day deposits, your own application questions and lease clauses, a branded property website and faster support.
At one door that bundle costs $108, less than any rival's paid plan. At ten doors it costs $1,080. A landlord growing past that size, or starting to manage for owners, is usually better served by property management software priced flat instead of per unit, with owner statements and inspections, which Avail is not built for.
Avail against TurboTenant and RentRedi
| Avail | TurboTenant | RentRedi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan for the landlord | Yes, any number of units | Yes | No, 30-day money-back |
| Paid plan at 1 door | $108 a year | $199 a year for Pro | $144 a year annual |
| Paid plan at 10 doors | $1,080 a year | $199 a year for Pro | $144 a year annual |
| Tenant ACH fee on the cheapest setup | $2.50 | $2 | $1 |
| Screening price published | No, varies by state | Yes | Yes, $39.99 or $49.99 |
On the free plans the three are close, and the choice comes down to which dashboard you prefer. On paid plans the pricing model decides it. Avail multiplies by every door, TurboTenant charges by band and RentRedi charges one flat price. We break the first pair down door by door in Avail vs TurboTenant pricing, and the other two sides are on our TurboTenant pricing and RentRedi pricing pages. If TurboTenant is the other name on your shortlist, read our TurboTenant review before deciding. Two free options bill differently again: Innago passes a $2 ACH fee to tenants (see Innago pricing), and RentSpree charges the landlord $3 per recurring payment (see RentSpree pricing).
Who Avail fits and who it does not
Use Avail if you own one to about ten doors, you run the tenancy yourself, and a free plan with listing, leases and rent in one place matters more to you than which side carries the fees. Finish the identity and bank checks before your first tenant moves in, and treat the first rent payment as late until it lands.
Pay for Plus only at one or two doors, or if next-day deposits matter more than $9 a door. Look elsewhere if you manage for owners, if you are past about ten doors and want paid features, or if a delayed first payment would put your own mortgage at risk.
Whichever you choose, the costly part of the year is the weeks a unit sits empty. Avail hands you messages and showing requests to sort. On RentPlace a renter answers your move-in date, income band, occupants, pets and lease length before the message can send, and each unit sits on a vacancy board with its days empty beside it. A landlord with a vacancy can list it for $39 a month for up to five listings, stop paying once it is rented, and keep Avail for the lease and the rent. If you run listings for a team, our team plans start at $99 a month.