Collecting rent is one of the things people think of when they say “I could never be a landlord!” They imagine banging on doors, watching the mail for checks, juggling PayPal or Venmo requests, etc, and having to provide receipts to their tenants. This week we look at PayRent vs Cozy rent payment for rental property owners and managers.
Large and mid-sized property management companies, of course, have online payment portals. Clearly the demand exists for a Cloud-based software product to simplify and automate the process of rent collection for small-portfolio landlords as well.
PayRent and Cozy Rent are two leaders in the emerging marketplace of proptech tools for landlords. Both of them purport to be easy, affordable Cloud-based services to collect rent from tenants. So how do they work, and which one is better for your portfolio?
May 2021 Update:
Since Cozy has merged with Apartments.com, new landlords will have to sign up directly with Apartments.com to use the Apartments.com Rental Manager Tools. You can read more about our experience with the Apartments.com sign-up process.
- With no subscription plan and a simple pricing structure, PayRent helps property owners and managers collect rent online safely, reliably and automatically.
- Strength: Rent Collection
- Free property management software that includes features for you to market your rentals, choose the right tenants, collect rent, share leases and documents, and bill automatic late fees.
- Strength: Rent Collection
Read More: Why Landlords Should Use An Online Rent Payment Service
PayRent Rent Payment
PayRent was founded in San Diego, CA and launched at payrent.com in 2017. In 2018 the company formed a strategic partnership with the Apartment Owners Association of California and integrated with Chase WePay to simplify onboarding.
How Does It Work?
PayRent is a user-friendly online platform that allows landlords to automate and manage their rent collection process from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
PayRent also allows landlords to offer tenants a payment portal to make rent payments using multiple payment methods, including ACH (eCheck), debit card, or credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express).
The portal includes functionality for partial rent payments, as well as bill-splitting for roommates. PayRent also includes the functionality to block payments, useful in the event of an eviction.
Tenants can automate rent payments so they never forget, and landlords can automate payment reminder notifications to tenants so they don’t have to constantly send messages manually.
Also Read: Collecting Rent Online: Video Extra
The software generates automated messages to help both landlords and tenants keep track of all transactions, including “payment due” and “payment received” notices generated automatically.
Finally, PayRent tracks all transactions and can generate reports for the landlord to easily maintain his/her books.
Other great features include fund verification to prevent declined or “bounced” transactions. There’s no daily transaction limit, and personal information is not stored in the PayRent cloud, making it very secure.
One important feature PayRent doesn’t have is automation of late fees. As of right now, late fees have to be manually entered by landlords using PayRent.
Also Read: The Top 6 Benefits of Rental Property Management Software for Small Landlords
How Much Does It Cost?
One of the best features of PayRent is that there is no onboarding fee and no monthly fee. Nor is there a fee for landlords to have rents transferred into their connected bank account.
PayRent charges per payment collected. The rate is 0.25% of each ACH payment, up to a maximum fee per transaction of $5.
For credit card transactions, PayRent charges 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction.
PayRent offers landlords the option to absorb this cost themselves, or to pass that cost on to the tenant.
If the tenant shoulders the cost, that makes PayRent completely free to the landlord. Of course, whether or not this will turn tenants off and make them less likely to lease or renew is up to each landlord to determine.
Along with PayRent, Avail, Buildium, and RentecDirect are our winners: The Best Online Rent Payment Service for Small Landlords
How Fast Do You Get Paid?
How fast rent funds take to deposit into the desired bank account is a big factor for many landlords, and one of the key points when comparing PayRent vs Cozy rent payment. PayRent transfers cash to your connected bank account in an industry-leading three days.
Are There Other Features?
Depending on how you look at it, this could be one of the biggest benefits of PayRent—it is strictly a Cloud-based rent-collection and accounting portal. The platform is a very simple and user-friendly way for landlords to collect rent.
Landlords who don’t want any more bells and whistles may appreciate this. If they are just looking for an easy and affordable way to automate and streamline rent collection, PayRent has them covered.
In other articles we examine many other products tailored to the needs of landlords who are looking for a full-service software product.
- With no subscription plan and a simple pricing structure, PayRent helps property owners and managers collect rent online safely, reliably and automatically.
- Strength: Rent Collection
Cozy Rent Payment
Founded in 2012 in Portland, OR, Cozy will soon merge with mega-site Apartments.com. By 2021, Cozy will be integrated into Apartments.com Rental Tools. Current Cozy users will be converted to apartments.com users. Features in addition to those Cozy offers now have been promised, though complete details are not yet available. We’ll write more about that as the transition from Cozy to Apartments.com progresses.
How Does It Work?
Cozy’s mission is to be a free all-in-one Cloud-based back office for landlords.
Of course, a big part of this is the rent-collection platform. Cozy is easy to set up and easy to use. It supports both one-time and recurring payments. Renters who don’t want to forget to pay rent can set up automated recurring payments; landlords can send automated reminders.
Cozy supports eCheck, credit card, and debit card payments. It keeps records of transactions and can generate instant reports on total or individual payment activity. It supports split payments from roommates, but not partial payments or payment blocks.
Also Read: The Best Rental Property Management Software: Product Overviews
The back office can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, and landlords are notified immediately by email of any activity.
Cozy does support automation of late fees. Once the landlord inputs the parameters of his/her late fee policy, Cozy will automatically assess late fees once the due date elapses and add the late fee to the tenant’s balance due.
Complying with data security regulations, Cozy stores no personal information on its servers, making it just as secure as online banking.
How Much Does It Cost?
Cozy advertises itself as a free web app, and for landlords it is free. Tenants can pay rent by eCheck for no additional fee, but they do owe a 2.75% fee for credit card payments. There is no option for the landlord to absorb this cost.
Landlords who wish to receive expedited bank transfers – in 3 days instead of 4-7 – have the option of paying a monthly subscription of $2.99/unit per month. An additional paid feature is their Rent Estimation tool, which costs $19.99 per report. Cozy also makes money by selling renters insurance directly to tenants.
Also Read: The Best Free Property Management Software for Small Landlords in 2020
How Fast Do You Get Paid?
As we mentioned above, Cozy transfers cash from your Cozy account to your linked bank account in 4-7 business days, unless a landlord is paying for the express payment service.
Also Read: TenantCloud vs Avail Rent Payments: Property Management Software Comparison
Are There Other Features?
Yes, in addition to rent payment, Cozy includes the following features:
- Marketing your Rental. Advertise your vacancy with built-in syndication on Doorsteps.com and Realtor.com. Apartments.com syndication is probably soon to come with the merger.
- Tenant Application. Tenants can fill out their applications quickly online. Where it is legal (Seattle, for example has a “first in time” law) landlords can then compare applications side-by-side.
- Tenant Screening. As a part of applying online landlords can require tenants to pay for and provide background and credit reports.
- Renters Insurance. Requiring tenants to carry renter’s insurance is a key risk-management step that many landlords skip. Cozy makes it easy by providing the option to make it mandatory for tenants to upload insurance information. Tenants can also use your Cozy portal as an easy way to purchase renter’s insurance through Cozy partner Assurant.
- Expense Tracking. Cozy tracks income through rent payments on the platform, and lets landlords make record expenses by property and category.
- Maintenance Requests. Cozy also includes a messaging portal that renters can use to submit maintenance requests.
- Rent and Property Analysis. Want to know the market rent or fair market value of a property, either before or after the purchase? Cozy offers rent and property analyses for an extra fee.
Also Read: Manage Maintenance on Rental Property using Property Management Software
Also Read: Reporting and Accounting Tools: Best Accounting Software for Landlords
PayRent vs Cozy Rent Payment: Which Is Better?
As we’ve discussed before, comparing PayRent vs Cozy rent payment services comes down to what your priorities are. Following is a synopsis of each product’s merits.
PayRent
Pros:
- A simple, quick way to collect rent payments
- Easy for landlords and tenants to sign up
- No paid subscription required
- Free to the landlord
- Ultra-fast 3-day payouts, without extra cost to landlord
- Able to accept partial payments and block payments
- Can choose to absorb transaction fees or pass them on to the tenant
- Automation
- Tracking and bookkeeping
Cons:
- Features are limited to rent payment
- No late fee automation
- Higher transaction fees, though these are payable by landlord or tenant
- With no subscription plan and a simple pricing structure, PayRent helps property owners and managers collect rent online safely, reliably and automatically.
- Strength: Rent Collection
Cozy Rent
Pros:
- Free to the landlord
- Automated late fees
- A range of features, including marketing, application and screening, maintenance requests, and expense tracking
- Lower transaction fees, unless landlord subscribes ($2.99/unit/mo) in order to receive expedited payments.
Cons:
- No option for the landlord to absorb transaction fees for tenants
- Slower bank transfer times
- No partial or blocked payments
- Free property management software that includes features for you to market your rentals, choose the right tenants, collect rent, share leases and documents, and bill automatic late fees.
- Strength: Rent Collection
Verdict: PayRent vs Cozy Rent Payment
Both software products represent a great value. Landlords looking for a quick, easy-to-use cloud-service solution to collect rent easily should strongly consider PayRent. Landlords looking for a more end-to-end service may find Cozy or one of the other property management software tools we’ve reviewed abetter choice.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and Landlord Gurus may earn a commission. Our mission remains to provide valuable resources and information that helps landlords manage their rental properties efficiently and profitably. We link to these companies and their products because of their quality, not because of the commission.
