If you manage rental properties, you've probably run into both KeyLoft and Avail while searching for software to keep your operation organized. They look similar on the surface — both promise to help landlords track tenants, rent, and paperwork — but underneath, they take very different approaches. Avail is a full-featured web platform owned by Realtor.com, designed for landlords who want a cloud-based hub with online rent collection and tenant portals. KeyLoft is a free iOS app built for solo landlords who want to manage everything from their phone, without subscriptions, accounts, or an internet connection.
This comparison is honest. Avail does a lot of things well, especially if you have multiple units and want tenants interacting with a portal. KeyLoft wins on price, simplicity, and privacy. The right pick depends on how you actually work. Let's break it down.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | KeyLoft | Avail |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free forever | Free tier + $7/unit/month (Unlimited Plus) |
| Works Offline | Yes, 100% offline | No, requires internet |
| Account Required | No account, no signup | Yes, email registration |
| Best For | Solo landlords, 1–20 units | Landlords wanting tenant portals, online payments |
| Platform | iOS (iPhone & iPad) | Web browser (responsive) |
| Key Features | Lease tracking, rent log, maintenance, expenses, documents | Listings, applications, leases, online rent, tenant portal |
| Data Privacy | Stored locally on your device | Stored on Avail/Realtor.com servers |
Pricing
Avail offers a free tier called Unlimited, which gives you the basics: listings, applications, lease templates, and ACH rent collection (though tenants pay a fee for ACH). The paid tier, Unlimited Plus, runs $7 per unit per month and unlocks features like fast payments, custom applications, waived ACH fees, and next-day rent deposits. For a landlord with five units, that's $35 a month, or $420 a year, every year.
KeyLoft is free. No tiers, no upgrades, no per-unit fees. Download the app, start managing properties. There is no premium version waiting to upsell you, no trial countdown, no ads. It's a self-funded app built by someone who wanted a tool that didn't nickel-and-dime small landlords.
Here's the real cost over time:
| Plan | Monthly (5 units) | 1 Year | 3 Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| KeyLoft (Free) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Avail Unlimited (Free tier) | $0 (tenants pay ACH fees) | $0 | $0 |
| Avail Unlimited Plus | $35 | $420 | $1,260 |
To be fair: if you're collecting rent online and value next-day deposits, Avail's paid plan delivers things KeyLoft simply doesn't try to do. But if your goal is bookkeeping and organization, you're paying $1,260 over three years for features you may never use.
Save money. Try KeyLoft free today. Download KeyLoft for Free — no account needed, works 100% offline.
Features
Avail is a broader platform. It's built to handle the entire rental lifecycle from listing the unit to screening tenants to collecting rent. You can syndicate listings to Realtor.com, Zumper, and Zillow, run credit and background checks, build state-specific lease agreements, and let tenants pay rent through ACH or card. There's a tenant portal where renters can submit maintenance requests, view documents, and pay. If you want one tool that handles marketing through move-out, Avail covers a lot of ground.
KeyLoft is narrower on purpose. It focuses on what most small landlords actually do day-to-day: track who's renting which unit, log rent payments as they come in (cash, check, Zelle, Venmo, whatever), record maintenance issues and their costs, store lease dates and renewal deadlines, and keep a clean expense log for tax time. It doesn't list your property or run credit checks — you'd use Zillow Rental Manager or a screening service for that. What KeyLoft does, it does fast, with no friction, and entirely on your phone.
If you run a service business alongside your rentals, you might also look at Stintly for freelance time tracking and small business finance, or TrestleBook for contractor billing and job costing on construction projects. KeyLoft is built in the same spirit: simple, offline, free.
Want to try KeyLoft for free? Download KeyLoft for Free — no subscription required.
Offline & Privacy
This is where the two apps split most sharply. Avail is a cloud platform. Every action — logging a payment, viewing a lease, sending a message — requires an internet connection and a round-trip to Avail's servers. Your data lives on those servers, owned by Realtor.com (which is owned by News Corp). If their site goes down, you can't access your records. If you cancel, you need to export your data before you lose access.
KeyLoft stores everything locally on your iPhone or iPad. No cloud sync (unless you opt into iCloud backup, which is end-to-end encrypted and under your Apple ID). No login. No data sent to any company's servers. You can sit in a basement showing a unit, lose signal entirely, and still pull up the lease, log a rent payment, or check the last maintenance call. Out at a property with no cell coverage? Doesn't matter. The app works.
For landlords who care about data privacy, this is a meaningful difference. KeyLoft can't sell your tenant data because it never sees it. There's no analytics pipeline, no marketing email list, no third-party integrations slurping metadata. It's a tool you own, on a device you own.
Who Should Use Avail
Avail is the right choice if:
- You want to list vacancies on major rental sites with one click.
- You want tenants to apply, get screened, and sign leases online through a portal.
- You want online rent collection with ACH and card payments, and you're willing to pay $7/unit/month for next-day deposits and waived fees.
- You manage from a desktop and prefer browser-based tools to mobile apps.
- Your tenants are comfortable with portals and prefer paying online over Zelle or check.
- You want one platform handling listing, screening, leasing, and rent collection without piecing tools together.
For mid-size portfolios where the per-unit fee pays for itself in saved time and reduced friction with tenants, Avail is a legitimate workhorse. The Realtor.com backing means it's stable, well-funded, and unlikely to disappear.
Who Should Use KeyLoft
KeyLoft is the right choice if:
- You manage 1–20 units and don't need a tenant portal.
- You already collect rent through Zelle, Venmo, check, or cash and don't want to add a payment processor.
- You want a free tool with no subscription, no upsells, and no ads.
- You manage your properties from your phone — on-site, at the office, in your truck.
- You care about owning your data and keeping it off corporate servers.
- You want something that opens fast, works offline, and doesn't require a login every time.
- You're a solo operator, house hacker, or small landlord who finds full platforms overkill.
KeyLoft is built for the landlord who keeps a spreadsheet and a folder of leases and just wants something better than that — without graduating to enterprise software.
The Bottom Line
Avail is a capable platform, especially if you want online rent collection, tenant portals, and listing syndication bundled together. For landlords who treat rentals like a small business with full digital workflows, the $7/unit/month can be worth it.
KeyLoft wins on three things that matter to a lot of solo landlords: it's free forever, it works without internet, and it respects your privacy by keeping data on your device. If you don't need a tenant portal or built-in online payments, you're paying Avail for features you'll never touch. KeyLoft gives you the core bookkeeping and tracking you actually use, with zero ongoing cost.
The honest recommendation: try KeyLoft first. It takes 30 seconds to install and nothing to set up. If you discover you need listing syndication or a tenant portal, you can always add Avail later — or use both. But most small landlords will find KeyLoft does everything they need, and the money they would have spent on subscriptions stays in their pocket where it belongs.
Ready to switch? Download KeyLoft for Free — it takes 30 seconds and costs nothing.