Parqay vs TurboTenant: an honest comparison
Two different answers to rental management: TurboTenant gives self-managing landlords free software for long-term rentals, while Parqay pairs property management with a built-in marketplace that fills vacant parking and space with paying bookings.
The short answer
Pick TurboTenant if you are a self-managing landlord with long-term residential rentals and you want free software with tenant screening, syndication to major listing sites, and state-specific leases. Pick Parqay if your portfolio includes parking, guest suites, or coworking space and you want one system that collects rent, keeps double-entry books, and fills vacancies with hourly, nightly, and monthly bookings. If credit and background checks or Zillow-class syndication are must-haves today, TurboTenant is the better choice, because Parqay does not offer either.
Feature comparison
Here is how the two platforms line up on the features landlords ask about most. Parqay entries reflect what is live on the platform today, and TurboTenant entries come from its published pricing and product pages, verified July 25, 2026.
| Parqay | TurboTenant | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free to start; marketplace revenue share | Free plan plus flat annual tiers; tenant-paid fees |
| Entry price | Free to sign up and list | $0; Essentials from $149 per year |
| Free tier | Yes, entire platform free to start | Yes, free forever with unlimited listings |
| Accounting | Built-in double-entry ledger; Schedule E expense categories | Schedule E and Form 8825 reports; auto-import on Pro |
| Trust accounting | Not offered | Not advertised |
| Tenant screening | Not offered | Yes; credit, criminal, eviction; applicants pay $45 to $55 |
| Listing syndication | Not offered; Craigslist autoposting for parking only | Yes, posts to dozens of listing sites |
| Maintenance | Work orders with photos and AI-assisted triage | Yes, requests plus optional coordinated maintenance |
| Owner portal | Not offered | Not advertised; built for self-managing landlords |
| Reporting | Expense summaries with CSV export; no rent roll or P&L | Schedule E, Form 8825, insights dashboard on paid plans |
| Flexible-term leasing | Yes; hourly, nightly, and monthly terms | Standard and month-to-month leases; no nightly pricing |
| Built-in demand marketplace | Yes; parking, stays, coworking, plus SMS concierge | No; relies on third-party listing sites |
| Ancillary revenue generation | Yes; vacant space earns marketplace bookings | Not offered |
| Migration support | Team-assisted migration from your data export | Self-serve setup; no published migration service |
Where TurboTenant is stronger
TurboTenant is stronger wherever the job is classic long-term rental management by a self-managing landlord. It offers real capabilities Parqay does not have today, and it has the track record of a platform that TurboTenant says serves more than 1 million landlords (turbotenant.com), with a 4.6 out of 5 rating from 107 reviews on Capterra (capterra.com/p/147659/Turbo-Tenant).
Tenant screening
Credit, criminal, and eviction checks are built in at no cost to the landlord; applicants pay a $45 to $55 fee depending on the landlord's plan, and the Pro plan adds income verification. Parqay does not offer screening at all.
Listing syndication
TurboTenant posts a rental to dozens of listing sites from one form, with lead management and automatic pre-screeners. Parqay only autoposts parking listings to Craigslist.
Leases and forms
State-specific lease agreements, addendums, and a landlord forms pack, with unlimited lease agreements and e-signatures on paid plans. Parqay has e-sign leases but no state-specific template library.
Accounting reports
Schedule E and Form 8825 outputs, fixed asset and depreciation tracking, and automatic transaction import and categorization on Pro. Parqay's ledger is double-entry but does not offer rent roll or per-unit P&L reports.
Predictable flat pricing
The paid plans are flat annual fees that do not scale with your rent, and the free plan has no time limit and no contract.
Where Parqay is stronger
Parqay is stronger when your property earns money in more than one way. It is the only one of the two with a built-in demand marketplace: paying guests book your vacant parking, guest suites, and coworking space by the hour, night, or month, and every booking posts to your ledger automatically.
TurboTenant is documented as not designed for short-term rental operators and lacks nightly pricing (credaily.com/reviews/turbotenant-review). Parqay handles hourly, nightly, and monthly terms natively, with monthly billing plus a pay-in-full option for longer stays, an SMS concierge that converts inbound texts into bookings, and automatic Craigslist posting for parking listings.
The business model is aligned with yours. Parqay is free to start and earns a percentage of marketplace bookings, so it makes money when your space does, rather than charging a subscription whether units sit empty or full.
Migration is done with you, not left to you. The Parqay team imports your properties, tenants, and leases with you from an export of your current system.
Pricing compared
TurboTenant is flat-rate and Parqay is revenue-share. TurboTenant's free plan is $0 forever, with paid plans starting at $149 per year, while Parqay is free to start and earns a percentage of marketplace bookings.
TurboTenant's published pricing at turbotenant.com/pricing: the Free plan is $0 per month with unlimited listings, applications and screening, rent collection, and maintenance requests. Essentials is $149 per year and Pro is $199 per year for 1 to 10 units, scaling by portfolio size up to $349 (Essentials) and $999 (Pro) per year at 61 or more units. Renters pay the screening fee ($55 on the free plan, $45 with a Premium landlord), a $2 ACH fee on the free plan (waived on Premium), and 3.49% on card payments; the landlord Forms Pack is $199 on the free plan and included on paid plans. Prices verified as of July 25, 2026.
Parqay is free to sign up and list. Parqay earns a percentage of marketplace bookings plus a small guest service fee, with the exact rates shown in your dashboard before you commit to anything. There is no subscription tier to outgrow.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I import my data from TurboTenant?
- Yes, with help. The Parqay team migrates your properties, tenants, and leases with you from an export of your TurboTenant account. There is no one-click importer, so plan a working session with the team rather than a self-serve upload.
- Is Parqay really free?
- Yes, signing up and listing is free. Parqay earns a percentage of marketplace bookings plus a small guest service fee, and the exact rates are shown in your dashboard. There is no subscription.
- Does Parqay offer tenant screening?
- No. Parqay does not offer credit, criminal, or eviction checks. TurboTenant includes all three, with the fee typically paid by the applicant. If screening inside your management software is essential, TurboTenant covers it and Parqay does not.
- Does Parqay syndicate listings to Zillow or Apartments.com?
- No. Parqay does not syndicate to Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, or Zumper. Parking listings are automatically posted to Craigslist, and the rest of Parqay's demand comes from its own marketplace, where renters and guests book directly.
- What does TurboTenant actually cost?
- The Free plan is $0. Essentials is $149 per year and Pro is $199 per year for 1 to 10 units, rising with portfolio size to $349 and $999 per year at 61 or more units. Renters pay a $45 to $55 screening fee and card payments carry a 3.49% fee, per turbotenant.com/pricing, verified July 25, 2026.
- Can Parqay handle short-term and hourly bookings?
- Yes. The Parqay marketplace books parking, stays, and coworking by the hour, night, or month, and every booking posts to your ledger. TurboTenant is built for long-term residential leases and is documented as not designed for short-term rental operators.
- Does Parqay do trust accounting or owner statements?
- No. Parqay does not offer trust accounting, owner portals, owner statements, or 1099s. Its double-entry ledger and Schedule E expense categories are built for owners managing their own properties, not for property managers holding client funds.
- Which platform is better for a landlord with only long-term rentals?
- Usually TurboTenant. If every unit is a long-term residential rental and you want screening, syndication, and state-specific leases at a flat price, TurboTenant is the stronger fit. Parqay makes sense when you also have parking or space that could be earning.