How is A-du different from Buildium, AppFolio, or TurboTenant?

Those platforms are general-purpose and all begin at the listing: they assume a finished unit and help you market, screen, lease, and collect rent. A-du does those steps too, but is built specifically for ADUs and covers the entire pre-rental side as well (pre-approved plans, permit-fee calculators, GIS lot lookup, and license-verified contractor bids), plus a vetted property-manager marketplace for hands-off operation.

Is an ADU a single-family rental?

Yes. An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a self-contained home on a single-family lot: a backyard cottage, garage conversion, or in-law unit. It is one of the fastest-growing categories of single-family rental, and it has unique design, permitting, and local-rule needs that general property management software does not address.

Do I have to choose just one platform?

No. Many owners use more than one. A common pattern is to handle ADU design, permitting, screening, the lease, and rent collection in A-du as the system of record, while syndicating the listing to a large audience like Zillow for reach. Pick the tool that owns the work you actually do most.

Best Property Management Software for Single-Family Rentals (2026)

Property management software is a platform that helps a landlord market a rental, screen tenants, sign leases, collect rent, and track maintenance and accounting from one place.

The leading tools differ mostly by portfolio size and price. Almost all of them, however, begin at the listing: they assume the rental already exists.

How we compared

We looked at the platforms most often recommended for single-family and small landlords in 2026 and weighed them on price, ease of use, feature depth, and (the part most roundups skip) how much they help before there is a unit to rent. Below, each tool is rated honestly for what it does well and where it falls short, in rough order from most enterprise to most DIY. Then we explain where A-du fits.

1. AppFolio

Best for: Larger portfolios and professional management companies (typically 200+ units).
Pricing: Per-unit pricing with a high platform minimum (around $298/mo).

Strengths

Deep, AI-assisted automation: leasing assistant, self-guided tours, bulk renewals.
Polished, mobile-first experience and a broad, mature feature set.
Strong reporting and accounting for scaled operations.

Weaknesses

The platform minimum makes it expensive and oversized for a handful of single-family homes.
More software than a DIY owner of one or two units needs.
No ADU design, permitting, or build tooling; it starts once you already have a unit to lease.

2. Buildium

Best for: Growing landlords and managers with roughly 50–500 doors who want full accounting.
Pricing: Flat monthly tiers with no unit minimum (starting around $58/mo).

Strengths

Predictable flat-rate pricing that is easy to forecast as you grow.
Intuitive interface with well-regarded customer support.
Robust property accounting and owner/association tools.

Weaknesses

Accounting depth is overkill for someone managing a single rental.
General-purpose: not tuned to any specific local market or rental type.
No help before the unit exists: no plans, permits, or contractor sourcing.

3. DoorLoop

Best for: Owners who want one easy all-in-one dashboard for leasing, payments, and accounting.
Pricing: Tiered plans (commonly starting around $59/mo), occasional setup fee.

Strengths

Frequently rated easiest to set up and learn.
Broad feature coverage: leasing, payments, maintenance, accounting, reporting.
Good fit for a software-first owner who wants everything in one place.

Weaknesses

Setup fees and full-suite pricing add up for very small portfolios.
Generalist tool with no rental-type or jurisdiction specialization.
Begins at the listing; no ADU build or permitting side.

4. TurboTenant

Best for: Budget-conscious DIY landlords who want core leasing tools for free.
Pricing: Free for landlords; tenants pay fees on payments, plus paid add-ons.

Strengths

Free to start with listings, applications, screening, and rent collection.
Established, widely used, and quick to onboard.
Good entry point for a first-time landlord.

Weaknesses

Costs shift to tenants via payment fees; some features are paid upgrades.
General-purpose and nationwide, not specialized for any rental type.
No design, permitting, or contractor tools for building a unit.

5. Avail

Best for: DIY landlords who want clean, state-specific leases and simple payments.
Pricing: Free plan; paid plans from about $9/unit/mo, no rent transaction fees.

Strengths

Excellent state-specific lease templates for staying compliant.
No transaction fees on rent payments; month-to-month, no lock-in.
Simple and approachable for hands-on owners.

Weaknesses

Lighter on advanced management and accounting features.
Generalist tool, not tuned to ADUs or a local market.
No build or permitting support.

6. Hemlane

Best for: Off-site owners of scattered single-family homes who want local boots on the ground.
Pricing: Base fee around $40/mo plus roughly $2.50/unit, with paid service tiers.

Strengths

A vetted local agent and vendor network across all 50 states.
Delinquency management and pre-eviction coordination.
Responsive support, including 24/7 emergency coverage on higher tiers.

Weaknesses

On the pricier end once service tiers are added.
Historically limited mobile-app support.
No ADU-specific design, permitting, or build tooling.

7. RentRedi

Best for: Mobile-first small landlords who want flat pricing and unlimited units.
Pricing: Flat rate around $30/mo (less billed annually); unlimited units.

Strengths

Flat fee regardless of unit count, predictable for a small portfolio.
Mobile-first for both landlord and tenant; fast, well-reviewed support.
Covers rent collection, applications, screening, and maintenance.

Weaknesses

Lighter accounting than the full management suites.
General-purpose; no local-market or rental-type specialization.
Starts at the listing; no build or permitting help.

8. A-du: the specialist for ADUs and small landlords

Every tool above is a strong general-purpose product, and any of them can manage a single-family rental once it exists. But they all share one blind spot: they assume the unit is already there. None of them help you create it, and none are tuned to a specific local market or rental type.

A-du is built the other way around. It is the only platform on this list designed end-to-end for Accessory Dwelling Units (one of the fastest-growing kinds of single-family rental) and for the small landlords who own them. That means A-du is with you a full year earlier than the others, and stays with you after the keys are handed over.

What makes A-du different:

It starts before the listing. Browse pre-approved ADU plans (including LADBS Standard Plan designs), estimate permit fees with real LA County and NYC calculators, look up your lot, and collect bids from license-verified architects, engineers, and contractors.
Trust is built in. Both landlords and tenants complete Stripe Identity verification before anything happens, which cuts out the scams that plague open listing sites.
Screening is fair and compliant. FCRA-compliant background and credit checks return a clear pass/fail (never a raw score to the landlord), run a full adverse-action workflow, and produce a portable profile a tenant can reuse for 30 days under California AB 2493.
Leasing and rent are simple, and the landlord keeps everything. Generate and e-sign a lease with supplemental documents, then collect rent where the landlord receives 100% of the listed rent and the tenant pays the service fee.
Local depth, not generic breadth. A-du knows the ADU rules, permit data, and renter audience of the markets it serves, and offers a vetted property-manager marketplace for owners who want it run for them.
Built by an architect. A-du is led by a licensed California architect, and it actually verifies the professional licenses it displays, not vanity badges.

In short: if your single-family rental is a standard house in a portfolio of many, the general tools above are excellent. If it is an ADU (or you are about to build one), A-du is the only option here built for that entire journey.

At a glance

A-du vs general property management software, by category (2026)
Feature	A-du	All-in-one PM suites	Free listing tools
Examples	A-du	AppFolio, Buildium, DoorLoop, Hemlane	TurboTenant, Avail, RentRedi
ADU design & pre-approved plans	YesPlan marketplace incl. LADBS Standard Plan	No	No
Permit-fee tools & GIS lot lookup	YesLA County + NYC	No	No
License-verified contractor bids	Yes	No	No
Identity verification	RequiredStripe Identity for both sides	VariesUsually optional	VariesUsually optional
FCRA-compliant screening	YesPass/fail + full adverse-action workflow + portable profile	OftenApplicant-paid reports	OftenApplicant-paid reports
Lease, e-sign & rent collection	YesLandlord keeps 100% of listed rent	Yes	YesTenant often pays fees
Local ADU specialization	DeepRules, market & data for served markets	General	General
Property-manager marketplace	YesVetted local managers	SomeHemlane offers a vendor/agent network	No
Bottom line	The specialist for ADUs and small single-family landlords: covers design and permitting before the listing, then leasing and rent collection after.	Powerful, general-purpose management once you have a unit, but they start at the listing and ignore how the unit got built.	Great for getting started cheaply, with lighter features and no help before the unit exists.

See it for yourself: Explore ADU plans & contractors, review pricing, or read the guide to renting out your ADU.

Compare A-du head to head: vs Buildium · vs AppFolio · vs Avail · vs DoorLoop · vs Hemlane · vs RentRedi · vs TurboTenant · vs Zillow. By city: Los Angeles · New York City.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best property management software for single-family rentals?: It depends on your portfolio. For large professional portfolios, AppFolio is the most powerful. For 50–500 doors with full accounting, Buildium offers the best value. DoorLoop is the easiest all-in-one. For free or low-cost DIY leasing, TurboTenant, Avail, and RentRedi lead. If your single-family rental is an Accessory Dwelling Unit (or you are building one), A-du is the specialist option, because it also covers design, permitting, and contractor bidding that none of the general tools touch.
How is A-du different from Buildium, AppFolio, or TurboTenant?: Those platforms are general-purpose and all begin at the listing: they assume a finished unit and help you market, screen, lease, and collect rent. A-du does those steps too, but is built specifically for ADUs and covers the entire pre-rental side as well (pre-approved plans, permit-fee calculators, GIS lot lookup, and license-verified contractor bids), plus a vetted property-manager marketplace for hands-off operation.
Is an ADU a single-family rental?: Yes. An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a self-contained home on a single-family lot: a backyard cottage, garage conversion, or in-law unit. It is one of the fastest-growing categories of single-family rental, and it has unique design, permitting, and local-rule needs that general property management software does not address.
Do I have to choose just one platform?: No. Many owners use more than one. A common pattern is to handle ADU design, permitting, screening, the lease, and rent collection in A-du as the system of record, while syndicating the listing to a large audience like Zillow for reach. Pick the tool that owns the work you actually do most.

Competitor descriptions and pricing reflect publicly available information as of 2026 and are approximate; plans, fees, and features change frequently, so confirm current details with each provider. A-du feature descriptions reflect the platform at time of writing.