Marcus managed eight units himself and paid for software twice without realising it. He used one platform for listings, another for rent collection, and a spreadsheet for everything else, and the subscriptions added up to more than his smallest unit’s monthly profit. When he finally compared RentRedi and Hemlane side by side, the choice came down to one question: who does the work, him or the platform?
RentRedi is a landlord platform built around a flat monthly price, with listings, applications, tenant screening, rent collection, and maintenance tracking included. Hemlane is a property management platform that charges per unit and adds human help, including leasing coordination and tenant communication, for landlords who want less day to day involvement.
Marcus paid for two platforms and a spreadsheet while one flat plan covered all eight units, and this guide prices RentRedi against Hemlane unit by unit.
You will learn how each platform prices, what features each one includes, and what the difference costs an eight unit landlord in a year. The sections that follow compare the two in order, with a full numbered example at the end.
What Is the Short Answer?
Choose RentRedi if you self manage and want one flat price for the core tools, and choose Hemlane if you want people helping with leasing and tenant communication and will pay per unit for it. The cheapest platform is the one that matches how you actually work, not the one with the lowest headline price.
Match the platform to the work, not the price.
A self managing landlord who buys a full service platform pays for help they never use, while a hands off landlord who buys a tools only platform still does all the work themselves. Count your units, count your hours, and let those two numbers choose.
How Does RentRedi Pricing Work?
RentRedi pricing is flat, meaning one monthly price covers your portfolio rather than charging per unit, which makes it cheaper as you add units. The core plan includes listings syndication, online applications, tenant screening, rent collection by bank transfer, and maintenance request tracking, with optional add ons for extra services.
Flat pricing rewards growth.
For Marcus, the example flat plan cost 20 dollars a month, which is 240 dollars a year for all eight units, or 30 dollars per unit per year. That arithmetic is why flat pricing suits landlords who are still adding doors, because the tenth unit costs nothing extra.
How Does Hemlane Pricing Work?
Hemlane pricing is per unit per month, and the price buys both software and a team that helps with leasing, tenant placement, and ongoing tenant communication. The service tiers differ in how much human help is included, from software with light support up to fuller management assistance for landlords who want to step back.
Per unit pricing buys people, not just software.
For Marcus, the example per unit plan cost 30 dollars per unit per month, which is 240 dollars a month for eight units, or 2,880 dollars a year. That is twelve times the flat plan’s yearly cost, and the question is whether the human help is worth 2,640 dollars a year to him.
Which Features Matter Most?
Listings and screening matter on both platforms, because a vacant unit costs more per week than either platform costs per month. Rent collection with autopay matters next, because it cuts late payments, and maintenance tracking matters once you pass five units, when memory stops working as a system.
Vacancy costs more than software, every time.
Leasing coordination is the feature that separates the two: Hemlane’s team can show units, screen, and place tenants, while RentRedi gives you the tools to do it yourself. If you enjoy showing units and live nearby, that help has little value, but if you manage from another city, it can be the whole decision.
How Do You Get Started This Week?
This week, list your units, your current software costs, and the hours you spend each month on leasing, collections, and tenant messages. Then trial the platform that matches your answers, with real units and real tenants, for at least one rent cycle before you commit the whole portfolio.
One rent cycle tells you more than any demo.
Use the trial to test the two moments that matter: a tenant paying rent, and a tenant reporting a repair. If either moment feels harder than your current method, the platform is wrong for you, no matter how good its feature list looks.
What Should You Review Every Quarter?
Every quarter, compare the platform’s cost against the hours it saved and the vacancies it helped fill. A platform that saves ten hours a month at 30 dollars an hour is worth 300 dollars a month, while a platform that saves nothing is expensive at any price.
Quarterly numbers prevent yearly surprises.
Also review your unit count each quarter, because flat pricing gets cheaper per unit as you grow, while per unit pricing grows with you. Tenant rights and responsibilities still apply however you collect rent, so keep notices and records consistent across any platform change.
A Practical Checklist
Before choosing, confirm the price for your exact unit count, which features are included versus add ons, how screening and card fees are charged, and how you export your data if you leave. After choosing, confirm every tenant is onboarded, autopay is offered, and your books reconcile with the platform’s records in the first month.
A checklist used every time beats a memory trusted sometimes.
A Numbered Example: What Eight Units Cost on Each Platform
Take Marcus, who self manages eight units and compares an example flat plan against an example per unit plan.
Step 1: Price the flat plan at 20 dollars a month, which is 240 dollars a year for all eight units, with listings, screening, collection, and maintenance tools included. The flat price does not change when Marcus adds his ninth unit.
Step 2: Price the per unit plan at 30 dollars per unit per month, which is 240 dollars a month for eight units, or 2,880 dollars a year, with leasing coordination and tenant communication help included. The per unit model grows with your portfolio, so the gap widens with every door you add.
Step 3: Subtract the flat yearly cost of 240 dollars from the per unit yearly cost of 2,880 dollars, giving a difference of 2,640 dollars a year before valuing the extra help.
Step 4: Value the leasing help at about 100 dollars a month, or 1,200 dollars a year, based on the showing and placement hours Marcus would otherwise spend himself. The valuation is honest only if Marcus truly spends those hours himself.
Step 5: Subtract the help value of 1,200 dollars from the per unit cost of 2,880 dollars to get an adjusted cost of 1,680 dollars, which is still 1,440 dollars a year more than the flat plan’s 240 dollars.
The net result is 1,440 dollars saved a year by choosing the flat plan, for a landlord who self manages and lives near his units. For a landlord managing from another city, the same 1,440 dollars may be cheap for the help, which is why the answer depends on the landlord, not the logo.
How Do the Rules Change by State?
Platform choice does not change state law, but state rules change which platform features matter, especially around screening, fees, and notices. In California, screening fee caps and strict notice rules make compliant screening and written notices more valuable. In New York, tenant protection rules make careful documentation and lawful fee handling essential. In Texas, the rules are generally lighter, but lease terms and federal fair housing law still bind every decision a platform helps you make.
State rules change the deadline, the form, and the penalty, so a step that is safe in one state can fail in another. How long the eviction process really takes shows why timing and written proof matter together when a tenancy turns difficult. Choose a platform whose screening, notices, and records fit your state’s rules, not just your budget.
What Does Doing Nothing Cost You?
Doing nothing costs the subscriptions you already pay for overlapping tools, plus the hours a single platform would save. Marcus paid for two platforms and a spreadsheet habit, which cost him more than 400 dollars a year and ten hours a month, while one platform would have cost 240 dollars and saved most of those hours.
Overlap is the most expensive software of all.
One month of vacancy on a single unit costs more than a year of either platform, which puts the whole comparison in perspective. When a tenancy must end, Notice to vacate rules set the timeline that protects the remaining rent, and platform records prove the payment history behind that timeline.
What Mistakes Should You Avoid?
Do not choose on headline price alone, because a flat plan without the help you need and a per unit plan with help you never use are both expensive in different ways. Do not skip the trial, because a platform that looks good in a demo can fail on your real tenants, your real bank, and your real repair workflow.
The most expensive mistake is usually the quiet one.
Do not lock your data in, because a platform that will not export your leases, payments, and tenant records owns your history. Do not switch platforms mid tenancy without telling tenants clearly, because a tenant who cannot pay is a tenant who will pay late.
Common Questions
Can I switch platforms later? Yes, but export your data first, overlap the systems for one rent cycle, and tell tenants the exact switch date, because a messy switch creates missed payments that look like tenant problems.
Do both platforms handle screening? Yes, both offer screening, but fee responsibility and report depth differ, so compare the screening terms, not just the platform price, before you decide. Check whether screening fees fall on you or the applicant, because that changes the yearly total.
Which suits a first time landlord? A flat tools platform suits a hands on beginner with few units nearby, while a per unit service suits a beginner managing from far away, because the help replaces experience you have not built yet.
What if I outgrow my choice? Outgrowing is a good problem, because flat pricing gets cheaper per unit as you grow, while per unit services can be renegotiated or replaced once your own systems mature.
The Bottom Line
Count your units, count your hours, trial one rent cycle, and choose the platform that matches how you work. For Marcus, the flat plan saved 1,440 dollars a year, and for a distant landlord the per unit help may be worth every dollar, because the right platform is the one you actually use.
The landlord who matches the tool to the work saves money twice, once on price and once on hours.
