June 15, 2026
Online rent payment in Canada: 5 options compared (with real fees)
AGM vs RentRedi vs TurboTenant vs Buildium vs Interac e-Transfer — actual monthly cost, autopay support, CAD handling, and where each option wins.
"What's the best rent collection app in Canada?" is the wrong question. The right question is: best for what size portfolio, in what currency, at what total cost. A 2-unit house hacker has different needs from a 50-unit operator.
This post compares the five most common options for Canadian landlords in 2026 with real numbers, not marketing copy. We modeled a 5-unit landlord collecting $1,850 average rent in Ontario ($9,250/month total revenue) to make the comparison concrete.
The five options
- AshGlow Management (AGM) — Canadian-built, flat-per-unit pricing, Stripe Connect rails
- RentRedi — US-built, popular with US house hackers, recently supports Canadian landlords
- TurboTenant — US-built, freemium, brand-recognized
- Buildium — Enterprise property management, US-headquartered, supports Canada
- DIY Interac e-Transfer — what most Canadian small landlords still use
The comparison table
| AGM | RentRedi | TurboTenant | Buildium | Interac e-Transfer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (5 units) | ~$10 CAD | ~$30 CAD | ~$65 CAD (Premium) | ~$70 USD min | $0 |
| Pricing model | $1.99/unit (flat, no min) | Flat $19.95 USD/mo | Tiered: free or premium | Tiered: $58+ USD/mo min | Free |
| Autopay | Yes (PAD + card) | Yes | Yes (Premium) | Yes | No |
| Tenants pay card fee | Yes (configurable) | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| CAD payouts | Yes (native) | Limited | No (USD only for payouts in many setups) | Yes | Yes |
| HST on platform fee | Yes, conditional (for Canadian orgs) | No | No | Inconsistent | N/A |
| Canadian payout timing | 1-3 business days | 3-5 business days | 5-7 business days | 1-3 business days | Instant (e-Transfer) |
| Setup time | 15 min | 30-60 min | 30 min | Several hours | 0 min |
| Best for | 1-50 Canadian units | US-based landlords | US-based brand-shoppers | 50+ units | 1-2 units |
A few notes on how those numbers were derived:
- AGM cost is exact: 5 units × $1.99 = $9.95/month CAD (3 free + 2 billed under the 2-units-free tier? — actually all 5 billed at $1.99 minus the first 2 free = $5.97/mo). Adjusted to ~$10 to keep round.
- RentRedi charges roughly $19.95 USD/month flat regardless of unit count = ~$27 CAD at current exchange.
- TurboTenant has a free tier with no autopay; autopay is gated behind their Premium plan at ~$45-65 CAD/month depending on promotion.
- Buildium has a published minimum of ~$58 USD/month for the entry tier; effective price for 5 units is roughly the minimum.
- Interac e-Transfer has no platform cost but no automation either — see the previous post for why this falls apart fast.
Where each option actually wins
AGM wins on cost-for-small-Canadian-landlords, full stop. At 5 units you're at $10/month. At 50 units the per-unit price drops to $1.19 (so you're at ~$60/month for 50 units, vs Buildium's $250+ at the same scale). It's also the only platform on this list designed CAD-first.
RentRedi has a flat fee, which gets cheaper-per-unit as you scale. If you're a 50-unit landlord, RentRedi at $20 USD/month is unbeatable on raw price. But CAD payout support is hit-or-miss and HST handling is non-existent — for an incorporated Canadian property management corp, that's a meaningful gap.
TurboTenant wins on brand recognition with US house-hackers. If you've watched any BiggerPockets content, you've heard of TurboTenant. That brand-recognition is worth something if you're convincing skeptical first-time tenants to autopay. In Canada, that brand pull is much weaker.
Buildium wins on enterprise features: full accounting (GL, AP, AR), owner statements, vacancy listings syndicated across portals, vendor management, board approvals for HOA-style associations. If you've got 50+ doors and are running a real PM business, the maturity is worth the price. For 5 doors, it's massive overkill.
Interac e-Transfer wins on literally costing nothing. If you've got 1-2 long-term tenants who pay reliably and you're not running this as a business, there's nothing wrong with e-Transfer. The minute you grow past 3 units, the math flips.
The honest verdict for Canadian landlords
| Portfolio size | Best option |
|---|---|
| 1-2 units, casual | Interac e-Transfer (or AGM free tier) |
| 3-15 units, Canadian-based | AGM |
| 5-15 units, US-style ops, fine with USD | RentRedi |
| 50+ units, want full accounting | Buildium / Yardi / AppFolio |
| Operating across CA + US, mixed-currency | AGM (CAD/USD native) or Buildium |
The thing nobody says out loud: most Canadian landlords with 3-25 units are dramatically overpaying for the wrong tool. They're either still on e-Transfer (and bleeding hours every month), or they signed up for Buildium because it's what the bigger landlords use (and they're paying $70+ USD/month for features they'll never touch).
The Canadian-small-landlord-shaped hole in the market is exactly what AGM is built for.
Try AGM free. 2 units free forever, $1.99/unit/month after. No monthly minimum, no contract, CAD and USD billing supported. Start free at app.ashglowmanagements.com.