Updated November 2, 2026. Independent editorial; how we research.
Stessa is a free-to-start bookkeeping and portfolio tracking app for rental property investors, part of Roofstock, with full-service management available through Mynd. More than 350,000 landlords use it for automatic bank feeds, income and expense tracking, Tax Package and Schedule E reports, rent collection, RentPrep screening and per-property bank accounts provided through Thread Bank. The free Essentials plan covers unlimited properties in one portfolio; Manage costs $12 a month billed annually ($15 monthly) and Pro $28 ($35 monthly). People shop around for structural reasons: budgeting, advanced reports, unlimited portfolios and the top banking yield sit on Pro, eSignatures are metered, the best rates assume your operating cash lives in Stessa's accounts, and it is built for owners tracking their own rentals rather than landlords who want fuller operations or managers who need trust accounting.
Pick the replacement by the job Stessa does for you. If it is bookkeeping tied to a bank account, a landlord banking platform is the closest swap. If it is tax-time reports and receipts, a mobile-first landlord accounting app does the same job with bank feeds and accountant exports. If you mainly need to list, screen, sign leases and collect rent, a free or flat-rate landlord tool covers more day-to-day operations than Stessa does. And if you now manage for other owners, you need trust accounting and owner reporting, which means a property management system rather than an investor app.
| Tool | Starting price | Free trial | Best for | Deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Stessa | Free | No | Rental Property Investors, Landlords | Cloud |
Baselane | Free | Yes | Landlords, Real Estate Investors | Cloud, Mobile |
Landlord Studio | $12/month billed annually ($15 monthly), 3 units included, $1.20 per extra unit | Yes | Landlords, Property Owners | Cloud, Mobile |
TurboTenant | Free | No | Landlords, Real Estate Investors | Cloud |
RentRedi | $12/month (billed annually) | No | Landlords, Real Estate Investors | Cloud, Mobile |
TenantCloud | $15/month (billed annually) | Yes | Landlords, Property Managers | Cloud |
Rentec Direct | $25/month | Yes | Landlords, Property Managers | Cloud |
Buildium | $65/month | Yes | Property Managers, Individual Landlords | Cloud, Mobile |
Landlord banking, AI bookkeeping, and automated rent collection in one financial platform for rental investors.
Why pick it over Stessa: Baselane is the closest like-for-like swap: landlord banking with unlimited checking and savings accounts through Thread Bank, property-level bookkeeping, automated rent collection and an accountant tax package with Schedule E reports on its free Core plan. Smart, at $20 a month on an annual plan with a 30-day free trial, adds auto-tagging, receipt matching and two-day rent deposits. As with Stessa, the value depends on running your cash through its accounts, and it is a finance tool rather than a leasing system.
Mobile-first accounting, rent collection, screening, and tax reports for DIY landlords and small portfolios.
Why pick it over Stessa: Landlord Studio is a mobile-first accounting app for DIY landlords, with bank feeds, AI-assisted bookkeeping, 20+ reports and a Xero integration on Pro, plus listings and rent collection. The free Go plan covers 3 units; Pro is $12 a month billed annually ($15 monthly) for 3 units plus $1.20 per extra unit, with a 14-day trial and no credit card. Per-unit charges make it cost more than Stessa as the portfolio grows, and bank feed counts are capped by plan.
Free property management software for landlords.
Why pick it over Stessa: TurboTenant is the pick if you want more landlord operations than Stessa offers for little or no cost. The free plan covers listings, screening and online rent collection; Essentials and Pro are billed yearly by unit count, from $149 and $199 a year for 1 to 10 units, and Pro adds income verification, tax-ready reports and built-in financial tools backed by its REI Hub accounting acquisition. Its accounting sits inside a broader landlord suite, so check that the reports cover what your CPA expects.
Streamlined property management for landlords.
Why pick it over Stessa: RentRedi charges one flat price for unlimited properties, tenants, teammates and connected bank accounts: $12 a month billed annually, $20 on six-month billing or $29.95 month to month, with accounting, rent collection, listings, maintenance and messaging on every term. Screening is tenant-paid. It suits landlords who want one predictable bill as they add doors, but there is no free plan or trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cloud-based property management software.
Why pick it over Stessa: TenantCloud bundles accounting, rent collection, screening and maintenance in plans that cap leases rather than units: Starter is $15 a month billed annually ($18 monthly) for 10 leases, with Growth and Pro raising the cap to 30 and 60 leases and Business from $100 a month, all with a 14-day trial. Full accounting with tax reports and bank reconciliation needs Pro. It fits small landlords who self-manage leasing; the lease caps are the constraint to watch.
Property management software for landlords and property managers.
Why pick it over Stessa: Rentec Direct is the step up for landlords who want real property accounting with automatic bank sync and QuickBooks data sync. Starter is a flat $25 a month for up to 10 properties, while Rentec Pro and Rentec PM start at $50 a month and scale with units; every edition has a two-week free trial and no long-term contract. Bank and QuickBooks sync are not in Starter, so most Stessa users will land on Pro.
Property management software.
Why pick it over Stessa: Buildium is where to go when Stessa has become a side tool for a growing management business. It runs accounting, leasing, maintenance and communications in one system, with Essential from $65 a month, Growth from $202 and Premium from $420, and a 14-day trial with no credit card. Growth and Premium require Buildium's customized onboarding, and it is far more software, at several times the price of Stessa Pro, than a solo investor needs.
Yes. Stessa's Essentials plan is free with unlimited properties in one portfolio, automatic bank feeds, basic reports, rent collection, screening and maintenance tracking. Manage costs $12 a month billed annually ($15 monthly) and Pro $28 ($35 monthly); Pro adds unlimited portfolios, all advanced reports, budgeting and pro formas, and the highest banking yield.
Stessa is part of Roofstock, the single-family rental investment platform, and its pricing page offers full-service property management through Mynd. Banking inside Stessa is provided by Thread Bank; Stessa itself is not a bank.
Baselane's free Core plan is the closest match, with banking, property-level bookkeeping, rent collection and Schedule E reports. TurboTenant's free plan is better if you mainly need listings, screening and rent collection, and Landlord Studio's free Go plan covers up to 3 units.
Choose software with trust accounting. Rentec PM adds trust accounting and owner management from $50 a month, and Buildium starts at $65 a month with a 14-day trial for a full property management system. Stessa and most landlord apps are built for owners tracking their own rentals.