Stessa Review: What Is Stessa and Is It Worth It?

Stessa is rental property software built around the books: bank feeds, income and expense tracking and tax reports, with listings, screening, leases and rent collection added on. It says it has "350,000+ landlords" (Stessa). This Stessa review explains what you get on each plan, where the free plan stops, and who should use something else. Prices for 1, 5 and 10 units are on Stessa pricing.

What is Stessa and what is it used for?

Every plan includes "an unlimited number of properties" (Stessa pricing). The free Essentials plan has automatic bank feeds, basic financial reports, vacancy marketing, tenant screening, maintenance requests and tracking, online rent collection, and state-compliant lease agreements "at cost to you" (Stessa). Listings syndicate to Zillow on all plans (Stessa).

Stessa plan limits that matter

From Stessa's pricing page, read November 2, 2026: portfolios and e-signatures (by plan), lease templates ($15 each), receipt scans (5 a month), phone support (Pro only) and tax package by plan (Stessa). Stessa notes its plan terms "are subject to change, including pricing" (Stessa).

The lease line is the easiest way to decide between Essentials and Manage. On Essentials each state lease template costs $15; Manage costs $144 a year billed annually. That buys 9.6 templates, so if you sign fewer than about ten leases a year and do not need the Schedule E report, Essentials is cheaper. Annual billing saves 20% (Stessa): Manage is $144 a year paid yearly or $180 paid monthly, and Pro $336 or $420.

Stessa tenant screening

Screening runs through RentPrep inside Stessa. A credit report alone is $29, a full background check alone is $29 (landlord pay only, reviewed by an FCRA-certified screener), and the complete package is $49; income verification adds $10, or $15 with employment (Stessa leasing page). The full method behind those reports is in our RentPrep review.

Is Stessa legit and safe?

Yes. Stessa publishes its plans and banking terms. Like Baselane, it "is not an FDIC-insured bank"; its banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC, and its savings rates are variable, effective as of September 17, 2026 (Stessa).

Stessa banking rates by plan

From the rate disclosure on Stessa's pricing page, effective September 17, 2026 and variable. Middle tiers sit between these figures.

For most small landlords the rate is a side benefit, not a reason to choose a plan: on $9,000 of reserves, 1.44% instead of 0.57% earns about $78.30 more a year, less than the $192 Pro costs over Manage on annual billing.

Stessa or Baselane?

From each company's pricing page, read November 2, 2026. See the Baselane review.

What you get without paying

From Stessa's pricing and leasing pages, read November 2, 2026.

That is a full working setup for a landlord who files with an accountant: the bank feeds and reports give the preparer what they need, and the paid tiers mostly add convenience. The plan question is really whether you want Stessa to produce the Schedule E itself.

What Stessa costs per unit at 1, 5, 10 and 20 units

Yearly prices ($144 and $336) divided by 12 and by unit count; Stessa prices every plan flat for unlimited properties.

Is Stessa good for one rental?

Yes. Essentials is free with unlimited properties, so one rental costs nothing to track, and bank feeds remove most manual entry. The one cost to watch is leases: at $15 per state template, a single annual renewal costs $15 a year on Essentials, far less than Manage's $144. Upgrade only if you want Stessa to produce the Schedule E rather than handing your accountant the basic tax package.

What Pro adds for the extra money

Pro costs $192 a year more than Manage on annual billing. For that you get unlimited portfolios (useful if you hold properties in separate LLCs), all advanced reports, project and budget tracking (Stessa), unlimited receipt scans, seven e-signatures a month instead of one, live phone support and a CapEx line in the tax package. Paying monthly instead of yearly costs $36 more a year on Manage and $84 more on Pro.

If you own one or two properties under your own name, none of that is needed. If you hold several LLCs and scan dozens of receipts a month, Pro is where the per-portfolio limits stop getting in the way.

Essentials or Manage: the lease test

Manage only beats paying per lease at about ten leases a year. Most small landlords sign far fewer, so the real reason to upgrade is the Schedule E report, the 60+ legal forms or the one e-signature a month.

What screening adds up to

With three applicants for one vacancy and the complete package plus income verification for each, screening comes to $177 ($49 + $10, three times). The credit-only and complete packages offer landlord and tenant pay options, so you can pass this on where your state allows; the background-check-only package is landlord pay only.

Computed from the RentPrep prices on Stessa's leasing page, read November 2, 2026.

Stessa compared with its closest alternatives

Each from that company's pricing page, read November 2, 2026. All are flat prices regardless of units.

Stessa pros and cons

Who should pick Stessa, and who should not

• Pick Essentials if you want free bookkeeping across several properties and file your own taxes with your accountant's help.
• Pick Manage if you want the Schedule E report or sign about ten or more leases a year.
• Look elsewhere if you need many e-signatures or live phone help without paying for Pro.
• Skip it if leasing is your main job and books are secondary; a leasing-first app such as RentRedi covers more of the tenant side for the same $144.

Questions to ask before you upgrade

1. Does my accountant need the Schedule E report or the basic package?
2. How many leases will I sign this year?
3. Will 5 receipt scans a month cover my expenses?
4. Is a 20% annual saving worth a year's commitment?

Stessa alternatives