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Paper checks and manual ledgers are relics of the past. Over half (54%) of US landlords now collect rent online. Yet, most still rely on generic payment apps like Venmo or Cash App. These tools were never designed for tracking income or handling security deposits.
While those apps offer more of a peer-to-peer payment solution, Baselane is a fintech-native banking and rent collection platform built for landlords — not splitting dinner and drinks.
Key Insights:
- Baselane focuses on rental property finances with FDIC-insured banking and automated rent collection.
- The product’s financial focus means it lacks some basic landlord tools (there’s no option to advertise your vacancies, and there’s no tenant-focused maintenance request system).
- Baselane offers two pricing tiers. The first is its free “Core” tier, which provides access to its basic financial functionalities. In the paid tier, called “Smart,” landlords gain access to a range of automation features, among others.
Streamline Your Rental Property Management
Marketing. Applications. Leases. Payments.
What is Baselane?
Baselane is a free online platform for rental property finances, combining banking, rent payment processing, and bookkeeping all under one roof. Landlords can expect a purpose-built experience with FDIC-insured bank accounts (via Thread Bank), automated rent collection services, cash-back rewards, and property-specific financial tracking and reports, just to name a few.
However, Baselane is not an all-in-one property management software. It cannot help you market a property, show it, or field maintenance requests. Instead, it prioritizes financial control and is best suited for those who want to streamline their rent and money management while using other solutions for advertising rentals or handling repairs.
User Interface and Experience
Landlords in need of a clean user interface can rejoice. The overall UI design is modern and intuitive for most users, especially those familiar with personal finance apps. Baselane’s dashboard also consolidates your information onto one screen, allowing you to get a quick pulse on your portfolio.
One current problem with Baselane that should improve in the future is the lack of a mobile app. Baselane must be accessed via a web browser as of 2025, though a mobile app is currently in development. The website is responsive on mobile devices, but the lack of a native app is inconvenient for some users.
Important Features
Rent Collection
If you’re using Venmo, Zelle, check, wire, or any other rent collection system, you’re in for a treat. Baselane’s rent collection feature automates the entire rent payment process.
Landlords can invite tenants to a dedicated tenant portal. From there, tenants can pay online via ACH transfer, debit, or credit card.
| Baselane Rent Payment Costs | |
|---|---|
| ACH Transfers | $2 Landlords can pay or pass to tenant |
| Credit / Debit Cards | 3.49% Fee (charged to tenants) |
Once set up, Baselane will send monthly rent invoices and reminders to tenants automatically, so they don’t forget.
And if you’re the type of landlord who dreads having to talk to tenants about late payments, you’ll appreciate this feature: Baselane can levy a late fee as configured, which will help smooth over potentially awkward conversations.
Additionally, Baselane maintains a rent ledger per property, allowing you to easily view paid, pending, or past-due payments at a glance.
Everything about rent collection is a “set-and-forget” type of system that should spare you the monthly hassles of chasing checks and manually tracking who’s paid.
Landlord Banking & Accounts
Baselane’s edge comes with its built-in banking system. You can open a Baselane bank account that’s FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (and up to $3M with their deposit sweep program).
Within the platform, you can also create multiple sub-accounts to partition funds, like a separate account for each property’s income, one for security deposits, one for CapEx reserves, etc., making it easy to keep yourself organized.
The platform also offers a very competitive interest rate on deposits, ranging from 3-4% APY.
Bookkeeping & Analytics
Baselane makes bookkeeping for rentals surprisingly easy. Every payment or expense is automatically linked to the correct property. The reports update in real time, showing income, expenses, and profit for each property or your entire portfolio. You can even attach receipts and pull tax-ready summaries when it’s time to file.
If you own an investment property, you’ll find Baselane a great choice for providing the investment metrics you need, such as data on purchase price versus current market value, ROI, cap rate, and cash-on-cash return.
Tenant Screening
One downside with Baselane is that it doesn’t manage rental listings or applications, but it does have integrated tenant screening to help vet applicants.
Through Baselane’s dashboard, landlords can initiate a TransUnion SmartMove screening, which takes only a few minutes and provides a full credit report, criminal background check, eviction history, income insights, and a custom ResidentScore for the applicant. The screening report is typically free for the landlord, but the applicant is required to pay a fee of approximately $25.
Tenant Portal
Baselane also includes a tenant portal as part of its rent collection process. Your tenants can create a login (or use a link) to access their portal for your property. From there, they can view all the information you would expect, such as their current rent balance, due date, and past payments.
The portal sends tenants automated email reminders when the due date approaches or if a payment is late, and can notify them of any late fee applied. There is also an AutoPay feature that tenants can set up to avoid accidental late payments.
Baselane Plans and Pricing
Baselane has the best, most straightforward pricing available: free.
There is no sign-up fee or ongoing subscription fee for Baselane’s Core tools, including banking, rent collection, tracking, and bookkeeping. All landlords get full access to all features upon signing up.
Additionally, landlords have the option to sign up for their “Smart” plan for $25/month or $20 when billed annually. It includes “advanced automations for hands-free finances,” but it’s not necessary for the majority of landlords.
Limitations to Baselane
No platform is perfect, and Baselane has some notable limitations given its finance-first design. Below are the main drawbacks we found, which landlords should consider:
- There are no property advertising features available to help you find tenants.
- If a toilet breaks at 2 AM, Baselane isn’t the tool you’ll use since it has no maintenance request tracking or work-order system.
- Baselane works great as a financial platform, but you’ll miss out on features like showing scheduling, online property condition reports, and in-app tenant communication.
- Baselane doesn’t have a dedicated mobile app in 2025. All tasks must be done through the web interface.
Because of these feature gaps, some landlords turn to other solutions to complement or replace Baselane. TurboTenant is one such alternative that excels in the areas Baselane lacks.
TurboTenant is a free property management platform known for its landlord-focused features, including rental advertising, online rental applications, tenant screening, maintenance requests, and communication tools, as well as rent collection. Clearly, there is some carryover between the platforms.
Landlords who require end-to-end management features may find TurboTenant a better overall fit, or even choose to use TurboTenant alongside Baselane. Let’s look at some reviews.
User Reviews
Baselane has very positive reviews online and averages around 4.7/5 on Trustpilot.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Rent collection + accounting in one place | Some users say the platform feels confusing at first |
| The interface is simple and uncluttered | Difficult to add or remove properties |
| Free core services | Slow response times/difficulty reaching support |
| Automatic reminders & payments | Lacks important tools like maintenance tracking and tenant messaging |
| Interest-earning balances |
Users like that Baselane is free and saves them time on financial admin. The discontent largely comes from those who ran into its limitations, like needing more features or faster support.
Baselane vs. TurboTenant
Baselane and TurboTenant are both popular free platforms for DIY landlords, but they cater to different needs. Baselane is best characterized as a financial management tool for rentals, whereas TurboTenant is a more comprehensive all-in-one property management solution that covers the entire tenant lifecycle.
If you’re trying to choose between them or are considering using both, here is a quick comparison:
| Baselane | TurboTenant | |
|---|---|---|
| User Interface and Experience | Modern, clean dashboard. Great for landlords who want a finance-focused platform | Simple interface that is intuitive for new users |
| Maintenance and Repair Management | None | Tenants submit requests online; landlords can track, update, and resolve issues |
| Communication Tools | Limited to automated rent reminders and payment notices | In-app messaging and notifications |
| Financial Management and Reporting | Comprehensive | Expanding via TurboTenant Accounting |
| Free Plan Available | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile App | No app | Landlord and tenant mobile apps |
In-Depth Comparison
Pricing
Both Baselane and TurboTenant are highly affordable, with a free version that covers the essentials.
Baselane’s Smart plan is $25/month ($20 if billed annually) and includes additional features like advanced auto-tag rules, AI tools, fast rent deposits, VIP priority support, and more.
TurboTenant offers a Pro plan at $119/year and a Premium plan at $149/year, which unlocks perks such as unlimited free state-specific lease agreement PDFs, a forms pack, income insights, and priority support with expedited rent payouts, among other benefits.
App
TurboTenant offers a dedicated mobile app for landlords and a separate app for renters, both of which are available on iOS and Android.
Baselane is still working on its native mobile app. Their platform still works on mobile devices, but you must use your browser, which can be somewhat inconvenient.
Support
You can expect email, chat, and phone support with Baselane, but if you want priority chat for urgent issues, you’ll need the $25/month plan.
TurboTenant has email and chat support. Phone support is available for higher-tier plans.
Advertising (Finding Tenants)
Here, the difference is night and day: TurboTenant is built to help you fill vacancies, whereas Baselane offers no tenant-finding tools.
TurboTenant allows you to create a rental listing within the platform and then automatically syndicate it to dozens of popular listing websites. Sites include Apartments.com, Rent.com, Redfin, and many others. Plus, AI-generated listings help you make a more appealing ad. And this is all available in the free plan.
Baselane offers nothing in this department. It cannot post or promote rental listings. If you choose Baselane, you’ll be managing your advertising through other means.
Maintenance
Property maintenance is another area where Baselane is hands-off, and TurboTenant steps in.
TurboTenant includes a maintenance request system as part of its platform. Tenants can submit maintenance tickets through their tenant portal or app. The landlord then gets notified and can track the status of the request.
Baselane provides no maintenance or repair tracking tools. Tenants will need to submit any maintenance requests to you via phone call, text, email, or another system you have in place.
Baselane won’t document or remind you of repairs, nor will it pay vendors (beyond you manually using your Baselane bank account to pay a bill, which is just like any bank).
The Final Word: Baselane Reviews
If you’re looking for a software solution that can help you with the financial side of your business, Baselane has a lot of features and tools you’ll find helpful.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more end-to-end property management tool for listings, lease agreements, maintenance, rent, and move-out checklists under one roof, you may find more value with TurboTenant.
Either way, both offer a free tier, so you can give each a shot today. Just sign up for a free TurboTenant account and see how we’re streamlining property management from vacancy through move-out.
Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only and is published by TurboTenant. It is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Laws and regulations for landlords vary by state and locality and may change over time. Always consult a qualified attorney, accountant, or local housing authority before making decisions related to your rental property. The publisher and authors assume no responsibility for actions taken based on the information provided.
