Best Tenant Screening Services for Landlords (2026)
What credit, criminal, and eviction screening actually costs in 2026: SmartMove, Avail, TurboTenant, RentPrep, and First Advantage. Price per report, who pays, and what each package includes.
About this guide: Package prices were checked against each provider's live pricing page in June 2026 and linked next to each service. Where a price came from a third-party source rather than the provider's own page, it is marked. Screening prices change, so confirm the current figure before you order a report. Rankings are editorial. No provider pays for placement and we earn nothing if you sign up.
Intro
Tenant screening is the one place where being cheap is expensive. A bad tenant costs months of lost rent and a possible eviction. A screening report costs $25 to $55. The real decisions are which checks you actually need, and who pays for them.
Five services cover the small-landlord market: TransUnion SmartMove, Avail, TurboTenant, RentPrep, and First Advantage. They split into two groups: standalone report services you order one at a time, and screening built into a property management tool you already use.
Quick comparison
| Service | Price | Who pays | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmartMove (TransUnion) | $25 / $40 / $48 by tier | Landlord or applicant | Credit, criminal, eviction (higher tiers) |
| Avail | about $55 | Landlord's choice | Credit, criminal, eviction |
| TurboTenant | about $55 ($45 on Premium) | Applicant by default | Credit, criminal, eviction |
| RentPrep | $29 / $49 | Landlord or applicant | Credit and/or full background |
| First Advantage | from about $25, contact sales | Account-based | Credit, criminal, eviction, income, ID |
The short answer
SmartMove if you want the most control over cost. Three tiers let you buy only the depth you need, starting at $25 for a basic credit-plus-criminal check, and you choose whether you or the applicant pays. Source: mysmartmove.com/pricing.
Avail or TurboTenant if you already list and collect rent there. The screening rides on your existing workflow, the applicant usually pays, and the report attaches to the application automatically. See how they compare on everything else in our free property management software guide.
RentPrep if you specifically want a human-reviewed background check. Its full background package is landlord-pay, which matters in tight markets (more on that below).
First Advantage only if you run a larger portfolio and want an account-based provider with income and identity verification built in. Pricing is quote-based.
What the price actually buys
A screening report is really three separate checks bundled together:
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Credit. A score plus the report. SmartMove uses its own ResidentScore, tuned for rental risk rather than lending. This is the check most landlords weight highest.
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Criminal. A nationwide search. Coverage and recency vary by provider, and some states limit what you can use, so read the report, do not just read the pass/fail.
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Eviction. Prior eviction filings and judgments. This is often the single most predictive check, and on SmartMove it only appears on the higher tiers, so check what your chosen package includes before assuming it is there.
Who pays, and why it matters
This is the decision that affects your applicant funnel, not just your wallet.
When the applicant pays (the TurboTenant default), screening costs you nothing, but it adds friction. In a competitive market, applicants are paying $35 to $75 per application across several listings, and that cost makes some of them drop out. A roundup of landlord threads on portabletenant.com describes the recurring complaint: applicants feel they are "paying repeatedly for the same background information." There is a second-order risk too. BBB complaints against TurboTenant from late 2025 and early 2026 describe applicants paying a $55 fee for listings that were delisted moments later, with the fee non-refundable. That churn makes some good applicants wary of paying upfront at all.
When you pay, you remove that friction and widen your applicant pool, at a real per-applicant cost. For a single hard-to-fill unit, eating the fee can be the cheaper choice.
Detailed breakdown
TransUnion SmartMove: most control over cost
SmartMove sells three tiers: SmartCheck Basic at $25 (ResidentScore plus national criminal), Plus at $40 (adds full credit report and eviction), and Premium at $48 (adds Income Insights and an identity check). You choose whether you or the applicant pays, there is no subscription, and most reports come back the same day once the applicant verifies their identity. Source: mysmartmove.com/pricing.
Best for: landlords who want to pay only for the depth they need on each applicant.
Avail: screening inside the workflow
Avail bundles credit, criminal, and eviction into a single screening for about $55 per applicant, and you decide whether you or the applicant pays. The number comes from third-party reviews rather than a figure printed on Avail's own screening page, so treat it as approximate and confirm at order time.
Best for: landlords already listing and collecting rent on Avail.
TurboTenant: applicant-paid by default
TurboTenant's screening (powered by RentButter) runs about $55 per applicant, or roughly $45 if you carry the Premium plan. The applicant pays by default, and the package covers credit, criminal, and eviction. Source: turbotenant.com/tenant-screening.
Best for: landlords who want screening built into a free listings-and-applications tool.
RentPrep: human-reviewed background checks
RentPrep sells a Credit Report Only package at $29 (full credit plus ResidentScore, landlord or tenant pays), a Full Background Check at $29 (criminal, eviction, SSN, judgments and liens, landlord-pay only), and a Complete Screening Package at $49 that combines both. Income verification is a $10 add-on. Source: rentprep.com/guide/packages-pricing.
Best for: landlords who want a background check reviewed by a person, and who are willing to pay for the full version themselves.
First Advantage: portfolio-scale screening
First Advantage runs an account-based model aimed at property managers, with per-report pricing that starts around $25 but is mostly quote-based, so you contact sales for a real number. Packages can include credit, criminal, eviction, rental history, income verification, and identity fraud detection. Source: fadv.com.
Best for: larger operations that screen at volume and want income and identity checks bundled in.
When to pay vs pass the fee
- Hot market, strong applicant pool: let the applicant pay. You have demand to spare.
- Slow-to-fill unit: pay the fee yourself to remove the dropout risk.
- Borderline applicant: spend the extra for the eviction and income checks. That is the check most likely to catch the problem you actually care about.
FAQ
What is the single most useful check? For most landlords, the eviction history, often paired with income verification. A credit score tells you how someone handles debt. An eviction filing tells you how a prior landlord experience actually ended.
Can I screen without the applicant's involvement? No. Consumer screening requires the applicant's consent and usually their identity verification, which is why services like SmartMove route part of the process through the applicant.
Is applicant-paid screening fair? It is standard and legal in most places, but local rules vary. Some jurisdictions cap application fees or require you to refund unused ones, so check your state and city rules.
Do I still need to read the full report? Yes. A clean score with an eviction filing or a thin credit file still needs your judgment. Use the report, not just the headline result, and apply your criteria consistently to every applicant.