Why Paying Your Cleaner Directly Beats a Payment Middleman
Good cleaners need to be paid properly and promptly
Cleaning a turnover well takes real attention to detail. The cheapest cleaner is rarely the best one, and the biggest reason a reliable cleaner keeps showing up is simple: they get paid correctly and on time.
Direct payment is usually simpler for both sides
Many cleaners prefer to be paid immediately through Venmo or Zelle, on the terms they have already agreed with the host. The money moves directly, without waiting for a third-party platform to process and release it. For a host who already has a trusted cleaner, there is little reason to put another company between the invoice and the pay.
The real payment job belongs to the host
The host's job is not to outsource payment to an app. It is to check that the cleaner's invoice is right and pay it immediately. That direct, dependable habit is what helps keep a good cleaner loyal — not a payment processor taking a fee between the cleaner and what they earned.
The pricing difference
Turno is free for one property when you use your own non-marketplace cleaner. With multiple properties, it costs $10/month per property, or $8/month per property when billed annually ($96/year per property). In-app cleaner payments also carry a per-transaction fee with a $1.50 minimum, whether or not the cleaner came from Turno's marketplace. Turnover Time costs $5/month for 1 property up to $26/month for 7, and you keep paying your cleaner directly with no payment-processing fee from Turnover Time.
Sources: Turno's published pricing and its host fee guide.
Coordination and payment do not need to live in the same app
Turnover Time handles schedules, cleaning requests, changes, reminders, and clean confirmations. It deliberately does not process cleaner pay. For the wider product differences, read the Turno alternative guide for small hosts or the full Turnover Time vs. Turno comparison.
Bottom line
Use software to keep the work organized. Pay the person doing that work directly, correctly, and without delay.