In the competitive world of property management software, finding the right solution that caters to your specific needs can be a challenging task. Two popular choices that have garnered attention among landlords and property managers are Cozy and Avail. Each platform offers a range of features designed to help streamline various aspects of property management, from rent collection to applicant screening. However, it’s worth noting that Cozy was acquired by Apartments.com owner CoStar in 2018 and has since ceased to exist as a standalone property management solution.
Differences in pricing models, unique features, and overall user experience can make the decision between Avail and the Apartments.com (formerly Cozy) platform difficult to navigate. To ease the decision-making process, we will delve into a head-to-head comparison of these rental property management tools. By objectively highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, we aim to empower landlords and property managers in selecting the best software for their needs.
Throughout this comparison review, we will examine various elements, such as the platforms’ respective pricing, features, and user-friendly interfaces. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive analysis of both Avail and Apartments.com (Cozy) to help you make an informed decision on the right property management software for your real estate business. So, let’s dive in and explore what these industry giants have to offer.
About Cozy
Cozy is a user-friendly property management software, designed to streamline various tasks for landlords and property managers. As an online tool, it provides a comprehensive set of features, helping users with tenant screening, rent collection, and more.
One of the key aspects of Cozy is its focus on tenant screening. It makes the process more manageable by allowing landlords to check credit scores, background reports, and eviction history. This helps in making informed decisions about potential tenants. Additionally, Cozy offers a dedicated website for each property listing, which makes marketing and attracting tenants more convenient.
When it comes to pricing, Cozy provides a free-to-use platform for smaller portfolios. A significant advantage is its lesser fees compared to its competitors, such as Avail, for bank transfers, credit card transactions, and tenant screenings. This cost-effective approach makes it popular among landlords managing a few properties.
Integration with other software is also a strong suit for Cozy. It can be seamlessly connected with various accounting tools, helping landlords to keep track of income and expenses. Along with this, Cozy provides an Android app for users who prefer accessing the platform on mobile devices, ensuring convenience and accessibility.
Cozy can be considered as a competitor to software products like TenantCloud and Avail, with its own set of strengths and challenges. While Cozy mainly caters to landlords with fewer properties, alternatives like DoorLoop offer more advanced features and live support for larger portfolios. However, Cozy’s focus on productivity and ease of use remain its key selling points.
In summary, Cozy is a feature-rich and cost-effective property management software that offers a wide range of tools for smaller landlords to efficiently manage their property listings and tenants.
About Avail
Avail is a property management software designed to help landlords and property managers simplify and streamline their rental property management process. This tool offers a comprehensive set of features to manage various aspects of rental properties, including tenant screening, online rent collection, and email reminders for maintenance requests.
One of the significant advantages of Avail is its pricing. It offers both free and paid plans, making it accessible to landlords with different budgets and property management needs. The free plan provides essential features such as online rental listings, tenant screening, and rent collection, while the paid plan includes additional benefits like customizable leases and priority support.
Tenant screening is a critical aspect of property management, and Avail handles this seamlessly. It offers comprehensive renter history checks, including credit reports, criminal background checks, and eviction history. This helps landlords make informed decisions when selecting tenants for their properties.
Integration is another strong point of Avail. It easily integrates with popular platforms like Zillow, ensuring that rental listings reach a wider audience. It also offers an Android app, allowing landlords to manage their properties on the go.
When comparing Avail to other rental property management software tools, it’s essential to consider alternatives like DoorLoop. DoorLoop offers similar features for property management but has a stronger focus on productivity and live support. However, it’s worth noting that Avail has a more flexible pricing structure, making it an attractive option for landlords and property managers with different budgets. Additionally, Avail offers a free trial, allowing potential customers to evaluate the software before committing to a paid plan.
In conclusion, Avail is a comprehensive property management software that offers great value for landlords and property managers, helping them simplify the rental property management process with its range of features, flexible pricing, and seamless integration with popular platforms.
Round 1: Best UX
When comparing Cozy and Avail in terms of user experience (UX), there are several factors to consider, such as rent payments, maintenance management, rent analysis, tenant screening, and rent collection functionalities.
Cozy offers a streamlined and user-friendly interface for both landlords and tenants. Its rent payment feature is intuitive and simple to understand, making it easy for tenants to set up recurring payments and landlords to track payments. In terms of maintenance management, Cozy provides a platform for tenants to submit maintenance requests complete with photos and descriptions, allowing landlords to address issues in a timely manner.
Furthermore, Cozy’s rent analysis tool aids landlords with pricing their rental properties, by offering insights into local rental prices based on comparable properties. Tenant screening is also made simple, with easy-to-understand background and credit checks that help landlords make informed decisions about potential tenants.
Avail, on the other hand, also offers a polished user experience, boasting a comprehensive dashboard that makes managing properties a breeze. Just like Cozy, Avail provides efficient rent payment tools, allowing tenants to set up automatic payments and landlords to monitor them with ease.
Maintenance management within Avail is equally streamlined, with an organized system for submitting and tracking maintenance requests. In addition, Avail offers a robust rent analysis tool that identifies the optimal price range for a rental property, based on factors such as location, size, and amenities. Tenant screening is likewise comprehensive with credit, background, and eviction checks available for landlords to make informed decisions.
Both software products excel in the realm of user experience and offer features that cater to the needs of landlords and tenants alike. Whether it’s rent payments, maintenance management, rent analysis, tenant screening, or rent collection, both Cozy and Avail deliver on providing a seamless and efficient UX for managing rental properties.
Round 2: Features Comparison
When comparing Cozy and Avail, both of these property management software solutions offer a wide range of features tailored primarily for landlords and property managers. Let’s dive into some key features from each platform.
Cozy offers a user-friendly platform for landlords to manage their properties efficiently. One of its biggest strengths is its tenant screening capabilities, which include comprehensive background and credit checks. Additionally, Cozy provides a seamless rent payment system, making it easy for tenants to pay their rent online.
Another useful feature offered by Cozy is the rental application tool, where potential renters can fill out their applications, attach relevant documents, and send them directly to the landlord. Moreover, Cozy allows for easy storage and management of photos and attachments related to your properties. However, it’s important to note that Cozy is now part of Apartments.com.
Avail also brings a robust set of features to the table. Like Cozy, it offers efficient rent payment processing, with the added bonus of next-day rent payments for those who subscribe to their premium service. Furthermore, Avail stands out when it comes to lease management, as it provides state-specific lease templates and lease documents, ensuring compliance with local laws.
An invaluable feature of Avail is its maintenance management capabilities. Landlords and tenants can communicate and track maintenance requests through the platform, making it easy to stay organized and resolve issues promptly. Avail also offers financial tracking and expense tracking tools, helping landlords keep a close eye on their property-related cash flows.
In summary, both Cozy and Avail provide an extensive array of features designed to simplify property management tasks. While Cozy excels in tenant screening and rental applications, Avail shines in lease management, financial tracking, and maintenance management. Ultimately, choosing the right platform depends on your specific needs and priorities as a landlord or property manager.
Round 3: Price
When comparing Cozy and Avail, pricing is a crucial factor for landlords and property managers to consider. Both property management software platforms offer online rent collection services with their plans, but there are some differences in their pricing structures.
Cozy, which is now integrated with Apartments.com, offers a free service for landlords to collect rent online. However, since the acquisition, the complete list of Cozy’s current pricing options is not as clear as it used to be. The platform does not charge ACH fees for bank transfers, making it a cost-effective solution when it comes to online rent payments.
On the other side, Avail provides two pricing plans for residential property managers. The first one, called “Unlimited,” costs $0 per unit per month and includes syndicated listings, credit and criminal screening, state-specific leases, online rent payments, and maintenance tracking. The second plan, “Unlimited Plus,” provides the same features as the Unlimited plan but offers additional functionality such as next-day ACH transfers, custom listing applications, and more. Unlimited Plus comes at $5 per unit per month.
One of the differences in pricing between Cozy and Avail is related to ACH fees. While Cozy does not charge for ACH transactions, Avail charges $2 per ACH transaction for tenants when using the free Unlimited plan. However, the Unlimited Plus plan removes these fees and offers faster processing times for online rent payments.
Ultimately, the choice between Cozy and Avail comes down to which platform provides the most essentials for landlords at the best price point. While Cozy offers a free solution for online rent collection without ACH fees, Avail provides more comprehensive property management features in their paid plans. Landlords and property managers should carefully consider the pricing options and features provided by each platform before making a decision.
Battle Decision: Cozy Winner
When comparing Cozy and Avail, there are several factors to consider. However, Cozy emerges as the winner in this SaaS battle due to its user experience, features, and pricing.
Cozy offers a streamlined user experience that makes it easy for property managers and landlords to navigate the platform. Its intuitive interface allows users to manage properties, tenants, and maintenance requests with ease. In contrast, Avail has received mixed reviews regarding its user interface, with some users finding it confusing and difficult to navigate.
When it comes to features, Cozy provides a robust set of tools that cater to the needs of property managers and landlords. Some of these features include online rent collection, tenant screening, rental applications, and more. Additionally, Cozy integrates with Apartments.com, enabling users to advertise their properties on a popular platform. Although Avail shares some similarities with Cozy in terms of features, certain aspects, such as advertising vacancies, are not as comprehensive as Cozy’s offerings.
Pricing is a crucial factor when choosing a property management software, and Cozy shines in this regard. Cozy offers free basic services, allowing landlords to manage their properties without additional expenses. However, for more advanced features, such as tenant screening, Cozy charges a fee. On the other hand, Avail uses a freemium model with monthly subscription plans for various levels of service. While this can be advantageous for some users, it may be more expensive for others, depending on their needs.
In conclusion, Cozy wins the battle against Avail due to its superior user experience, comprehensive features, and competitive pricing. The choice of Cozy as the winner reflects a confident, knowledgeable, neutral, and clear assessment of both property management platforms.
