Landlord Studio: The best alternative to Stessa

Name: Stessa
Brand: Stessa

Landlord Studio is the Stessa alternative for landlords who want full-featured rental property accounting software with Xero integration, customizable transaction-level reporting, and unlimited AI receipt scanning included on the entry-level paid plan. Automated bank feeds, GPS mileage tracking, and Schedule E tax reporting come standard, so your books, your cash flow, and your tax prep stay one step ahead.

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Landlord Studio is loved by landlords just like you

Overview: Stessa vs Landlord Studio

When you compare Landlord Studio vs Stessa, the key difference comes down to what each rental property management software was built to solve. Landlord Studio was built accounting-first, designed to help self-managing landlords run profitable, cash-flow positive rental businesses with deep, customizable bookkeeping at the core of the platform. Stessa was built as a free portfolio dashboard for real estate investors who want to monitor performance, and it has since added rent collection, tenant screening, and an integrated banking product alongside its accounting tools.

Landlord Studio pairs full rental property accounting software with the day-to-day tools landlords use most, including online rent collection, tenant screening, property listings, lease tracking, and maintenance. Automated bank feeds, AI-powered receipt scanning, GPS mileage tracking, Xero integration, and Schedule E tax reporting come standard on PRO at $12 a month, so the books stay clean as your portfolio grows without bolting on a separate accounting tool or paying a higher tier to unlock unlimited receipt capture.

Stessa was built around portfolio monitoring and embedded banking. Its strengths are a free starting tier, a high-yield cash management account through Thread Bank with FDIC pass-through coverage up to $3M, and partnerships with sister companies RentPrep and Mynd for screening and full-service property management. The trade-off for landlords serious about their books is no Xero integration, single-entry accounting with limited transaction customization, and unlimited receipt scanning sitting behind the $28 a month Pro tier. At the same $12 a month price point, Landlord Studio PRO includes unlimited receipts, full reporting, and the Xero sync, which is why landlords switching from Stessa to Landlord Studio often cite accounting depth as the deciding factor.

What our customers say

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Kirk S

Texas, USA

"I realized that QuickBooks wasn't quite sufficient and I started to look around for an affordable tool to replace my spreadsheets and chose Landlord Studio."

Vicky B

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

"We couldn't live as freely and easily without Landlord Studio. All my tenants are quite happy they get their notifications from Landlord Studio. It's dead easy."

Keith M

Ohio, USA

“My dad’s 75 and has over 20 units – Airbnbs, apartments and commercial. We needed a software to help us and Landlord Studio’s been the one. It’s made it so easy for him.”

Kelly W

Chicago, USA

"I tested out several other programs before purchasing Landlord Studio and I'm very happy with it so far. One of my favorite features is the ability to just snap a picture of a receipt and put it in the correct rental unit expense."

Steven G

London, UK

“Never used software before and was worried, but Landlord Studio has been brilliant. Easy to add properties, simple to use — even my accountant loves it.”

Leanne F

Tallahassee, USA

"Managing 20 rentals alone was overwhelming, but Landlord Studio became my one-stop shop. It simplified bookkeeping, rent, leases, and taxes — even my CPA loves it."

Damian L

Hobart, AU

"Landlord Studio makes property management effortless – tracks rent, expenses & tenant comms. Great for 1 or many properties, my accountant loves it too.”

Katie T

London, UK

"We were looking for an app to help us stay on top of everything, including the maintenance and everything in between. Landlord Studio has been great for that."

Rinda I

North Carolina, USA

"I found Landlord Studio so much easier to understand after I looked at AppFolio, RentRedi, and Buildium. All three of them were so hard to understand."

Elizabeth R

Colorado, USA

"It has been an excellent way of tracking expenses all in one app. I had considered using AppFolio, but that was too complicated for me."

Steven M

Nashville, USA

“I looked at Doorloop, RentRedi, and Appfolio and they all offer the same features, but the customer support was the absolute best on Landlord Studio.”

Federico F

Harringay, UK

"I have chosen a Landlord Studio after going through several tools online. It's also reasonably priced which I like."

Who's Landlord Studio Best For?

Tailored for landlords and property managers, Landlord Studio is a user-friendly software which offers a seamless approach to real estate accounting and property management. From automated rent collection to advanced tax reporting.

Pricing: GO (Free for up to 3 units), Pro ($12/mo), Pro Plus ($28/mo)
Features: Collect rent online, financial reports, real estate accounting, listings
Best Suited For: Self managing landlords with small-medium portfolios.
Key Advantage: Full-featured, user-friendly interface, and affordable pricing.

Who's Stessa Best For?

Stessa is rental property portfolio software built for investors who want a free starting point, a tax-ready dashboard, and embedded banking. It now offers online rent collection, tenant screening through RentPrep, Zillow listing syndication, and maintenance requests, alongside its core income and expense tracking. The platform sits inside the Roofstock group, so investors who also use Roofstock for acquisitions or Mynd for full-service management get a tighter ecosystem.

Stessa pricing: Essentials free, Manage at $12 a month billed annually or $15 a month billed monthly, Pro at $28 a month billed annually or $35 a month billed monthly. Manage adds Schedule E reporting and maintenance tracking, Pro unlocks unlimited receipt scanning and all advanced reports.
Key features: Automatic bank feeds, online rent collection, tenant screening via RentPrep, Zillow syndication, mileage tracking, Schedule E reports, embedded banking with up to 3.24% APY on Pro, and a free Essentials plan with unlimited properties.
Best suited for: Real estate investors who want a free portfolio dashboard and embedded banking, and who do not need Xero integration, general-ledger reporting, or unlimited receipt scanning at the entry-level paid tier.
Key advantage: Integrated cash management with FDIC pass-through coverage up to $3M and a polished free tier. The trade-off is single-entry accounting, no Xero sync, and the most powerful accounting tools sitting behind the top-tier Pro plan.

Landlord Studio, Simplified Accounting Software

Manage your properties on the go via desktop or mobile app.
Save time and money with advanced accounting tools. Connect your bank accounts, digitize receipts and more.
File your accurate end-of-year tax return without the headache with our Schedule E report.
Powerful property management features designed specifically for landlords.

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Feature Comparison

Landlord Studio

Appfolio

Income & expense tracking

Manual expense tracking

Recurring expenses

Automated bank feeds

Smart receipt scanner

Automatic mileage tracker

Portfolio dashboard

Online rent collection

Collect rent online

Receipts and reminders

Collect deposit online

Control partial payments

Tenant auto-pay

Reporting & tax returns

Integration with Xero

Tax reporting

Accountant collaboration

Find & screen tenants

Create a listing

Manage applicants

Screen applicants

Property maintenance

Track Maintenance Tasks

Tenant Portal

Document storage

Native iOS and Android app

Limited functionality

Landlord Studio