Comparison
Settl vs Avail
Avail is a landlord management tool. Renters are just the subject. Settl puts the renter in control: build your profile once, share it with anyone.
Get your Settl profileSide-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Settl | Avail (CoStar) |
|---|---|---|
Who owns the profile? With Avail, the landlord owns the screening data. You are the subject, not the customer. Settl gives you a profile you build, review, and share on your own terms. | You (the renter) | The landlord |
Portable across properties? One Settl profile works with any landlord. Avail requires you to apply fresh through each landlord who uses their platform. Most private landlords do not. | Yes | No |
SSN required? Avail requires your Social Security Number for credit screening, exposing it to each landlord you apply to. Settl uses SSN internally for its soft pull credit check only. Your SSN is never shared with landlords or shown on your report. | No | Yes |
Hard credit pull? Settl performs a soft pull VantageScore 4.0 credit check (zero score impact). Credit tier and range shown on report. No hard pull. Avail uses a soft pull but still requires your SSN, which is shared with the landlord. | No | Soft pull via SSN |
Bank-verified income? Income read directly from your bank account, not a document you submit. 84% of landlords regularly see fake pay stubs (NMHC 2024). Bank-direct verification cannot be forged. | Yes | No |
Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio Settl calculates monthly debt obligations as a percentage of gross income and displays it on the report, color-coded from Excellent to Elevated. Tenant-controlled opt-in only. No other portable screening tool offers this layer. Subsidy holders are automatically excluded per source-of-income law. | Yes | No |
Verified cash reserves? How many months of rent you have saved. A tenant with 3–5 months of reserves can absorb a job loss or emergency without missing rent. | Yes | No |
Rent payment history? 12 months of actual bank transactions proving rent was paid. More reliable than eviction records, which include dismissed cases and pandemic-era filings. | From bank (12 months) | No |
You control who sees it? Settl lets you share a private link and revoke access at any time. With Avail, once you submit your application the landlord controls your data entirely. | Yes | No |
Works without a landlord inviting you? Settl lets you build your profile today before you find a place, so you can move instantly when you do. Avail only works after a landlord invites you to their property listing. | Yes | No |
Turnaround How quickly your verified profile is ready to share. Avail timing depends entirely on when the landlord sets up the application in their portal. | < 10 minutes | Depends on landlord |
The Fundamental Difference
Avail
Built for Landlords
Avail is a property management platform. Screening is one feature among many. Rent collection, maintenance requests, lease templates. You're not the customer. The landlord is. You have no control over how your data is used or stored after you submit.
Settl
Built for Renters
You build your Settl profile. You decide who sees it. You share a link. The landlord doesn't need to use any specific platform. And instead of a credit score, we show bank-verified income, cash reserves, and 12 months of rent history.
What landlords actually want to know
"Can they afford this unit?"
Avail answers this with a credit score. A backward-looking metric based on credit card payments. Settl answers it with your current bank balance, verified monthly deposits, and 12 months of actual rent payments. Which would you trust?
See what your profile looks likeWhich Is Right for You?
Choose Settl if…
- You want to apply to multiple properties
- You don't want to share your SSN
- You want bank-verified income in your profile
- You want to move fast when you find a listing
- Your landlord is not on Avail (most are not)
Avail might work if…
- Your specific landlord uses Avail and requires it
- You've been invited by the property manager
- You only need to apply to one property
The Real Differences
✔️ FCRA-compliant criminal background checks included
Settl includes national + county criminal background checks via CIC. State-specific lookbacks are enforced (3– 10 years depending on state). Arrest records are never shown. Fair Housing Act individualized assessment notices are built into every report.
💰 Cash reserves signal financial discipline
Savings behavior tells you something a credit score cannot: whether a tenant has a financial buffer. A tenant with 3–5 months of reserves can absorb a job change, a medical bill, or a slow month without missing rent. Last month's bank statement tells you more about stability than a decade-old record ever could.
📋 Payroll-verified directly from your employer
Settl connects directly to payroll providers like ADP, Gusto, Paychex, and thousands more, covering 170M+ U.S. workers. Employment and income are confirmed from two independent sources: your bank account and your employer's own payroll system. No pay stub required. No document to forge. Two data streams that must agree.
⚖️ FCRA compliance handled for you
Settl includes FCRA-compliant criminal background checks (national + county via CIC, state lookbacks enforced, no arrests shown) and 7-year eviction history. Fair Housing Act individualized assessment notices are built into the report. As a registered CRA under FCRA, Settl handles the compliance framework — the required disclosures and adverse action guidance are included in every report.
Your profile. Your data. Your terms.
Build a bank-verified renter profile in under 10 minutes. Share it with any landlord. No platform required.
Get your Settl profile