Stessa vs Landlord Studio: Which Should Single-Property Landlords Pick in 2026?
Head-to-head comparison of Stessa and Landlord Studio for landlords with 1-3 rental properties: features, pricing, tax tools, and which one to pick by use case.
About this guide: This comparison is based on publicly available documentation, vendor pricing pages, and feature lists. We don't accept payment for placement.
Intro
Stessa and Landlord Studio are the two free-tier landlord accounting tools that small landlords actually use. They look similar from the outside (mobile app + web dashboard, expense tracking, free for small portfolios) but they solve subtly different problems. Pick the wrong one and you'll either pay for features you don't need or hit a wall in month three.
This is a head-to-head for landlords with 1–3 properties. Larger portfolios should look at REI Hub or AppFolio (different category, different article).
The short answer
Pick Stessa if your priority is bookkeeping + tax (Schedule E export, automatic depreciation, mortgage tracking). Free tier scales without unit caps.
Pick Landlord Studio if you also need tenant-facing features (rent collection via ACH, in-app messaging, lease document storage). Free tier capped at 3 units.
If you want both, run them in parallel. They don't conflict and the free tiers cost nothing.
Detailed breakdown
Bookkeeping and tax
| Feature | Stessa | Landlord Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Unlimited properties | Up to 3 units |
| Automatic bank sync | ✅ free | Paid tier only |
| Schedule E categories | ✅ built-in | ✅ |
| Depreciation tracking | ✅ automatic from basis | Manual entry |
| Year-end tax package | ✅ (export to TurboTax) | ✅ |
| Receipt scanning | ✅ mobile + web | ✅ mobile |
| Mortgage tracking | ✅ | Limited |
Stessa was built bookkeeping-first. It encodes Schedule E line items as native categories and auto-classifies bank transactions into them. Depreciation runs in the background once you enter the property basis. You don't have to remember.
Landlord Studio has the same surface features but the depreciation handling is manual entry (you enter the value, it doesn't compute from basis). For a single rental, that's a 5-minute annual chore. For multiple properties, it scales badly.
Rent collection
| Feature | Stessa | Landlord Studio |
|---|---|---|
| ACH rent collection | ✅ Free (Essentials) | ✅ Free (GO tier) |
| Credit card payments | Paid (Manage/Pro) | Paid (tenant pays fee) |
| Tenant portal | Paid (Manage/Pro) | Paid (Pro) |
| Late fee automation | Paid (Manage/Pro) | Paid (Pro) |
Both tools include online rent collection on their free tiers. Landlord Studio's free GO plan caps at 3 units; Stessa's Essentials has no unit cap. The key difference at paid tiers: Landlord Studio Pro ($12/mo) adds automated rent reminders and a full tenant portal; Stessa Manage ($12/mo) adds maintenance tracking and eSignatures.
Tenant management
| Feature | Stessa | Landlord Studio |
|---|---|---|
| In-app messaging | ❌ | ✅ |
| Lease document storage | ❌ | ✅ |
| Maintenance request tracking | Paid | ✅ |
| Tenant screening | Paid (via Roofstock) | Paid |
If you self-manage and care about a unified tenant communication thread, Landlord Studio is the only sensible choice. Stessa treats tenants as a data field; Landlord Studio treats them as users.
Mobile experience
Both have iOS and Android apps. Both let you photograph receipts on-site and tag them to a property.
- Stessa's mobile app is read-heavy: dashboards, reports, tax exports. Solid but not the daily-driver.
- Landlord Studio's app is built around the property-visit workflow. Log a maintenance call, photograph a receipt, message the tenant, all without opening the laptop.
If you visit properties regularly, Landlord Studio's mobile experience is meaningfully better.
Pricing
| Tier | Stessa | Landlord Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Essentials — unlimited units, bank sync, rent collection | GO — up to 3 units, rent collection, no bank sync |
| Mid | Manage — $12/mo (annual) / $15/mo (monthly) | Pro — $12/mo (annual) + $1/extra unit |
| Top | Pro — $28/mo (annual) / $35/mo (monthly) | Pro Plus — $28/mo (annual) + $1/extra unit |
Pricing verified June 2026 from each vendor's pricing page. Both offer ~20% savings on annual billing. Always confirm on stessa.com/pricing and landlordstudio.com/pricing before deciding.
Who should pick what
| Your situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| 1 rental, want zero-effort tax prep | Stessa |
| 1–3 rentals, need rent collection too | Landlord Studio |
| Self-manage with active tenant communication | Landlord Studio |
| Hands-off portfolio, hire a property manager | Stessa + property manager's preferred PMS |
| Plan to scale to 5+ rentals in 12 months | Stessa (free tier doesn't cap) |
| Already use QuickBooks for other income | Stessa (cleaner Schedule E export) |
| Hybrid — long-term + Airbnb short-term | Stessa + dedicated Airbnb tool |
The combined approach
Nobody talks about this, but you can run both free tiers in parallel without conflict:
- Stessa for bookkeeping authority (bank sync, Schedule E, year-end tax package)
- Landlord Studio for tenant-facing operations (rent collection, messaging, maintenance)
The setup takes 90 minutes and you get the best of both at $0/mo. The only downside is two apps to check, which matters less than you'd think when each has a clear job.
FAQ
Can I switch from one to the other later?
Yes, both export your transaction history as CSV. You'd lose categorization on import (the new tool's categories won't match exactly), but the data isn't locked in.
Which one handles Section 8 / housing vouchers better?
Landlord Studio has more explicit Section 8 workflow (tracking the tenant portion vs voucher portion). Stessa handles it via category tagging but you set it up manually.
Do either of them generate Form 1099 for contractors I pay?
Landlord Studio Premium does this automatically. Stessa requires you to export and run it through a separate 1099 service (TaxBandits, Tax1099, etc.). For 1–2 contractors a year, manual is fine.
Is the data my landlord-tenant communication private?
Both vendors store messages encrypted at rest. Landlord Studio messages aren't subpoena-proof, so for sensitive lease disputes, keep important agreements as signed PDFs in your own storage too.
Can I use either one if I have an LLC for each property?
Yes, both let you tag properties to entities so the reports separate cleanly at year-end. Stessa's entity reporting is more polished; Landlord Studio is functional but plain.
What about Buildium / AppFolio / RentRedi?
Different category. Those are property management systems built for 10+ unit landlords with full accounting integration. Overkill (and overpriced) for 1–3 rentals. We have a separate comparison for that tier.
Bottom line
For a single-property landlord starting today, the right move is "Stessa free for bookkeeping + Landlord Studio free for tenant ops." Costs nothing, takes a Saturday afternoon to set up, and you've eliminated 4–6 hours of monthly admin compared to chasing transfers via text message and tallying receipts in a notebook.
If you only want one app, your priority decides: Stessa for tax-first thinking, Landlord Studio for tenant-first thinking.