Property management software is a necessity for landlords. It saves you so much time, money, and energy on tedious legwork you’d otherwise have to complete manually.
With that said, there are countless property management software platforms to choose from, so narrowing your decision down to a single one can be a difficult task.
Two popular platforms right now are Innago and Zillow Rental Manager. In this article, we’ll be making an in-depth comparison between these two platforms to get to the bottom of which is the superior option.
Cost
Innago and Zillow are both among them most affordable platforms on the market.
Zillow Rental Manager has no initial fees, but most of its features cost money to use. For example, your first property listing is free to post on Zillow, but each listing after that costs $9.99 per week. Furthermore, the platform offers premium add-ons that come with additional charges.
Zillow also charges $29 for every application and screening report. You must also pay transaction fees for online payments, which cost $9.95 for debit payments or 2.95% when using a credit card. These application and transaction fees can be transferred to applicants and tenants respectively.
Not only does Innago have no initial fees, but it’s completely free for landlords. Innago makes all its money by charging tenants for select services (similar to the charges required by Zillow, although they go straight to your tenants from the beginning).
When a tenant pays a bill using a debit or credit card, for example, they’re charged an additional 2.75% fee. When they pay via ACH, that’s only a $2 fee. Applicants are also charged an application fee for screening reports. This fee is $30 for a credit and criminal report, and $35 to also include an eviction report.
Key Features
You need software that adequately covers all your landlord responsibilities. When it comes to features, Zillow Rental Manager is pretty limited, whereas Innago’s lineup is much more extensive.
Here are Zillow’s core features:
- Rent collection through ACH, credit card, and debit card, and the option for autopay
- Tenant screening and rental application tools
- Leasing tools
- Listing syndication
Here’s a list of Innago’s core features:
- Online rental payments through ACH, credit card, and debit card, and autopay with single-business-day funds delivery available
- Customizable application builder and tenant screening reports
- Online leasing, electronic signatures, status tracking, and unlimited file storage
- Listing syndication, advertising, and marketing tools
- Tenant maintenance request portal with work tracking, photo/video upload, and ticket forwarding to repair personnel
- Automated payment reminders and tenant communication tools
- Invoice automation, recurring billing, and automated late fees
- Financial tracking and reporting, bank deposit history, and exportable data
As you can see here, Innago’s features cover a lot more ground than Zillow Renatal Manager’s features. On Capterra, Innago received 4.8 stars out of 5 for its features in general, while Zillow received 4.3 stars in this metric.
Customer Support
The importance of customer support shouldn’t be overlooked. If you need help using the platform or have any questions pertaining to your account, it’s crucial to be able to get assistance immediately.
Innago provides full email and phone support, and they also have a live chat option during business hours.
One of the nicest things about Innago is that they assign a representative to every account for personalized service. This means you receive your representative’s phone and email information, and you can reach out to that person whenever you run into a problem or have a question. If you need assistance after hours, you can almost always reach someone on Innago’s general support line (if you can’t, someone will get back to you within a couple of hours).
Zillow, on the other hand, doesn’t even offer phone support. The primary way to reach Zillow Rental Manger is to submit a request. Beyond that, Zillow Rental Manger doesn’t provide much else in the way of support.
Overall, Innago earned 4.9 stars out of 5 for its customer service, while Zillow only earned 4.1 stars.
Conclusion
In the Innago vs Zillow Rental Manager comparison, there’s a clear winner.
While both platforms are affordable, Innago offers so much more in the way of features and customer support (and still somehow manages to be even more affordable).
If you want to start using property management software but don’t know which platform to pull the trigger on, there’s no better choice than Innago.
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