← All comparisons
Side-by-side comparison
Rentari.ai vs Apartments.com Rental Manager
Apartments.com Rental Manager (formerly Cozy, owned by CoStar Group) is free for the landlord with $29 applicant-paid screening. Rentari.ai is also free for unlimited units (with tenant screening and applications included; lease creation and Stripe rent collection unlock on Prime) and adds an AI co-pilot, real accounting with Schedule E export, vendor portal, 50-state lease compliance, and identity verification on three sides.
Pricing and feature claims about Apartments.com Rental Manager reflect publicly listed information on apartments.com as of 2026. Apartments.com is owned by CoStar Group, Inc. and is a trademark of CoStar Realty Information, Inc. Rentari.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apartments.com or CoStar Group.
The short answer
Both free. Apartments.com is broad and basic. Rentari.ai is narrow and deep.
Pick Rentari.ai if you
- Want AI that drafts every screening, lease, renewal, and rent notice for one-click approval.
- Need real accounting (Schedule E export, bank-feed reconciliation), not basic income/expense tracking.
- Need a vendor portal with W-9 collection and 1099 tracking.
- Want 50-state lease compliance with automatic statute watch.
- Want identity verification on tenants, vendors, AND owners.
Stay on Apartments.com if you
- Own a single rental and just want basic free tools with the largest possible listing reach.
- Value the brand recognition (Apartments.com is one of the most-trafficked rental sites in the US).
- Don't need an AI co-pilot, vendor management, or maintenance triage.
- Are OK with the free version's limited accounting features.
- Already have leases drafted elsewhere and just need to collect rent and screen tenants.
Side by side
Public pricing and feature claims. Verify on each vendor's site before you decide.
| Rentari.ai | Apartments.com Rental Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Target user | Self-managing landlords, scaling as you grow, AI-augmented workflow. | Independent landlords, 1-10 units, brand-trust shoppers. |
| Free tier | Yes Up to 5 units, screening + applications included. | Yes Unlimited units, basic features for landlord. |
| Paid tier | Prime $10/mo for 1-5 units ($8/mo annual), then a flat $2 per extra unit up to 200. | Free for landlord. Premium listing upgrades available (price varies). |
| How it's funded | Subscription revenue from Prime + Concierge tiers. | Premium listing upsells + $29 applicant fees + tenant card-payment fees. |
| AI co-pilot that prepares decisions | Yes | No |
| 50-state lease compliance with statute watch | Built in. Automatic statute watch. | State-specific lease templates. Manual updates. |
| Tenant screening | FCRA-safe pass-through. No markup. | $29 applicant-paid (TransUnion). Free to landlord. |
| Online rent collection | Included. Landlord keeps 100% of rent. | Free ACH for landlord. 2.75% fee on card payments (paid by tenant). |
| Listing reach | Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com. | Direct Apartments.com integration. One of the most-trafficked rental sites in the US. |
| Accounting depth | Schedule E export, bank-feed reconciliation, ledger. | Basic income/expense tracking. Limited reports. |
| Vendor portal (W-9, 1099) | Built in. | Not offered. |
| Identity verification | Tenants, vendors, AND owners. | Tenant screening only. |
| AI maintenance triage | Handles 80 to 100% end-to-end. | Basic maintenance request handling. |
| Audit trail of AI decisions | Every AI draft logged beside your final approval. | Not applicable. |
| Visual damage ID | Yes | Not offered. |
| Brand recognition with tenants | Growing brand. Rentari.ai-branded portals. | Industry-leading. One of the most-trafficked rental marketplaces in the US. |
| Setup time | Under 5 minutes. | Free signup in minutes. |
| Express Pay (faster ACH) | Standard ACH included. | Free Express Pay for faster rent transfer. |
Honest take
Where Apartments.com Rental Manager genuinely wins
Apartments.com is one of the biggest rental marketplaces in the country. Their landlord tools leverage that reach in ways no startup can match. Three real strengths:
- 1.Listing reach. Apartments.com gets ~30+ million monthly visitors. Listing your rental there directly (not via syndication) reaches more potential applicants faster than any standalone listing platform can.
- 2.Free Express Pay. Faster ACH rent transfers at $0 to landlord. Most platforms charge a fee for accelerated payments.
- 3.Brand trust. Renters know Apartments.com. Application friction is lower because applicants recognize the platform. New landlords especially benefit from the brand backing.
Where it stops fitting: no AI co-pilot, no real accounting beyond basic tracking, no vendor portal, no maintenance triage with dispatch, no identity verification on vendors or owners, no statute watch. Once you outgrow basic rent collection + screening, Apartments.com doesn't scale with you.
Where we win
Where Rentari.ai wins
- AI prepares every call. Screening, lease, renewal, late-rent notice, maintenance triage. You approve. The audit trail defends.
- Real accounting. Schedule E export, bank-feed reconciliation, full ledger. Apartments.com offers basic tracking only.
- 50-state lease compliance built in. Automatic statute watch.
- Vendor portal. W-9 collection, 1099 tracking, job acceptance, photo proof of work.
- Identity verification on three sides. Tenants, vendors, AND owners.
- AI maintenance triage with vendor dispatch. Handles 80 to 100% of tickets end-to-end.
- Visual damage ID. Computer-vision repair estimates from photos.
Pricing snapshot
List-rate pricing as of 2026.
Rentari.ai
From $0
- Free Forever: Up to 5 units, screening + applications included.
- Prime monthly: $10/mo for 1-5 units, then a flat $2 per extra unit up to 200.
- Prime annual: $8/mo equivalent for 1-5 units, then a flat $1.60 per extra unit (up to 200).
- 200+ units: custom Enterprise quote.
- Concierge: from $200/mo.
Apartments.com Rental Manager
$0 (landlord)
- Basic listing: Free.
- Premium listing upgrades: Paid (larger ad, up to 6 videos, maximized visibility). Price varies.
- Tenant screening: $29 paid by applicant (TransUnion credit, criminal, eviction).
- Rent collection: Free ACH for landlord. 2.75% card fee paid by tenant.
- Express Pay: Free, faster ACH transfer.
Owned by CoStar Group. Formerly Cozy.
FAQ
The questions landlords actually ask.
I am already on Apartments.com Rental Manager. Should I switch?
If the free Apartments.com landlord workflow covers your needs and you value the direct listing integration with Apartments.com search, stay. Switch if you want an AI co-pilot to prepare decisions, real accounting with Schedule E export, vendor portal with W-9 and 1099 tracking, 50-state lease compliance with automatic statute watch, or identity verification on vendors and owners.
Is Apartments.com really free?
For the landlord, yes. Basic listing, rent collection, and screening tools are all free for property owners. Funded primarily by listing-promotion upsells (premium listing packages) and the $29 tenant application fee paid by each applicant. Rent collection via ACH is free; debit/credit card payments by tenants incur a 2.75% fee paid by the tenant.
What happened to Cozy?
Cozy was acquired by Apartment List in 2019 and then folded into Apartments.com's Rental Manager when CoStar Group acquired the Apartment List landlord assets. The Cozy product no longer exists as a standalone tool; its core features (free rent collection, screening) live on inside Apartments.com Rental Manager. If you're searching for "Cozy alternative," Apartments.com Rental Manager is the closest functional equivalent today, and Rentari.ai is the AI-augmented next-step from there.
How does the screening cost work?
Applicants pay $29 directly to Apartments.com to run their TransUnion credit, criminal, and eviction reports. The landlord pays nothing for screening. Rentari.ai passes FCRA-safe TransUnion screening through at cost with no platform markup; on the Free Forever tier the landlord chooses whether to pass that cost to applicants or absorb it.
Does Apartments.com have an AI co-pilot like Rentari.ai?
No. Apartments.com Rental Manager is a free landlord workflow tool from CoStar Group but does not include an AI co-pilot that prepares decisions. Rentari.ai's AI drafts every screening, lease, renewal, and late-rent notice and surfaces a one-click approve or decline card with a full audit trail.
Is the AI safe for legal stuff like leases and adverse-action notices?
The AI never sends anything on your behalf. It prepares the draft, runs the FCRA-safe workflow, and surfaces the proposal in your inbox with a one-click Approve / Decline card. Every draft is logged beside your final answer in the audit trail. Nothing financial or legal commits without your explicit approval.
Try Rentari.ai free.
More than basic.
Free Forever covers up to 5 units with tenant screening and applications included, real accounting, vendor portal, and 50-state lease compliance. Keep listing on Apartments.com for reach; manage on Rentari.ai for depth.