Free vs Paid PG Management Software: How to Work Out the Real Cost

Owners usually compare PG software by its monthly price. That number matters, but it can hide the costs that grow with your PG: a fee for every bed you fill, a charge on every rupee of rent paid online, or message packs once a free quota runs out. This guide explains each charge, shows real examples, and gives you a worksheet to work out the full yearly figure. For a product-by-product comparison, see best PG management software in India.

How free and paid PG software is priced

Every PG management app you look at will use one of these models, or a mix. None is good or bad on its own; what matters is how the bill changes as your PG grows.

Charges that sit outside the subscription

• Payment gateway charges. When rent is paid through a payment link or autopay, a gateway processes it. Charges usually depend on the payment method (UPI, debit card, credit card, net banking), and may be paid by you or passed on to the tenant.
• Platform fee on rent. Some software takes a small percentage of rent processed through it, separate from the subscription.
• Tenant charges. Convenience or processing fees paid by tenants are not on your bill, but tenants notice them and some will ask you to waive them.
• WhatsApp message charges. Some products include a message quota and then sell message packs.
• Setup, data entry and training. One-time fees for onboarding, importing tenants or training staff.
• Add-ons. Paid leads, tenant verification, e-stamped agreements, deposit cover or a branded app.
• GST. Software prices may be quoted plus 18% GST.
• Lock-ins and refunds. Prepaid yearly plans save money but may not be refundable if you switch.

Real examples from official pricing pages

These examples show what each pricing model looks like in practice. They are not a ranking, and they are not complaints about any vendor; most of these details are published openly so owners can compare. All were read on 23 October 2026 and may have changed since.

Total-cost worksheet for PG software

Fill in one column per product you are considering. Use the vendor’s written quote, not a sales call summary. Count only what you will actually use in the next twelve months.

Worked example with illustrative figures

Example, illustrative figures only, not any vendor’s price: a 40-bed PG with an average rent of ₹7,500 a bed, assumed full all year. Yearly rent volume is 40 × ₹7,500 × 12 = ₹36,00,000. We compare three setups. Setup 1 charges ₹50 per bed per month plus GST, and tenants pay the owner directly. Setup 2 charges a flat ₹1,000 a month plus GST; 60% of rent is paid through its gateway at an assumed 1% charged to the owner, and 1,000 WhatsApp messages go beyond the free quota at an assumed ₹0.50 each. Setup 3 is a free owner subscription where tenants pay the owner directly.

• In Setup 2, the payment charge (₹21,600) is larger than the subscription and GST together (₹14,160). If the gateway charge is passed to tenants instead, your cost falls to ₹14,660, but your tenants pay ₹21,600 between them.
• Setup 1 grows with occupancy: at 50 beds the same ₹50 fee becomes ₹30,000 plus ₹5,400 GST, or ₹35,400 a year.
• A flat fee beats a per-bed fee once beds exceed the flat fee divided by the bed fee: here ₹1,000 ÷ ₹50 = 20 beds.
• Setup 3 costs nothing in fees, but someone still records cash and checks UPI proof against your bank app. Payment links do that matching for you, which is what the gateway charge buys.

Once you have a yearly software figure, divide it by 12 and add it as a monthly cost in the PG cash planning calculator, next to electricity, staff and maintenance, so you can see it against the rent you actually expect to collect.

When paying for PG software makes sense

Free is not automatically better. A paid tool is worth it when it does a job you would otherwise pay for in staff time or lost rent, and your worksheet shows the saving is larger than the cost. Paid products commonly offer some of these:

• Online rent collection by payment link or autopay, with payments matched to tenants automatically
• Mess, meal plans, attendance or gate modules for student hostels
• A web dashboard for an office or accounts team
• Excel import, or a team that enters your rooms and tenants for you
• Lead management, a booking website or listing on a marketplace
• A dedicated account manager or support agreement for large portfolios

What free forever means in EasyAavaas

EasyAavaas is free forever for owners, managers, staff and tenants. There is no paid tier, no time limit, no per-bed or per-property fee, no limit on properties or beds, no setup fee and no commission on rent. EasyAavaas covers the cost of the WhatsApp rent reminders and notices it sends. The WhatsApp assistant is included at no charge after the EasyAavaas team activates it for your account; message them on WhatsApp at +91 78787 65818.

It costs nothing on rent because it never handles rent: tenants pay you directly by UPI, cash or bank transfer, and you record the payment or verify the proof they upload. That also means there are no payment links, autopay, receipt PDFs or automatic bank matching. The full list of what is included is on the EasyAavaas pricing page.

Questions to ask any vendor before you pay

1. What will I pay in total for my number of beds in year one, including GST?
2. Does the price change when I add beds, properties or staff?
3. Who pays the payment charge on rent, and at what rate for UPI, cards and net banking?
4. Do you take any percentage of rent?
5. How many WhatsApp messages are included, and what do extra messages cost?
6. Is there a setup fee, and is the first payment refundable if I leave?
7. How do I export my tenants and payment history if I switch?