RentAdminly vs Stessa — Pricing, Features, and Honest Verdict | RentAdminly
Honest 2026 comparison of RentAdminly and Stessa. Both are free for landlords — but they solve different problems. Stessa is the bookkeeping layer; RentAdminly is the operations platform. Here's when each makes sense, and when to use both.
RentAdminly vs Stessa
Stessa is one of the few genuinely-free tools in the landlord space, and it is excellent at what it does: connecting your bank accounts and auto-categorizing transactions for Schedule E. But it is a bookkeeping platform, not a PM platform — there is no rent collection, no tenant portal, no maintenance workflow, and no leasing pipeline.
Where Stessa is strong
- Free for the core bookkeeping layer (Stessa Pro tier adds paid features but the free tier is real)
- Auto-import from connected bank accounts — transactions categorize themselves over time
- Clean, focused per-property P&L and Schedule E exports
- Owned by Roofstock, with deep ties into the SFR investor ecosystem
Where Stessa disappoints small portfolios
- No native rent collection — tenants pay you elsewhere (Zelle, check, Venmo) and Stessa just records the deposits
- No tenant portal — tenants cannot pay rent, submit maintenance requests, or e-sign a lease through Stessa
- No maintenance request workflow — Stessa is a ledger, not an operations tool
- No lease generator — you bring your own lease or use a separate tool
- No tenant screening (TransUnion or otherwise) — you handle screening separately
- Pro features (advanced reporting, premium support, eSign) are paid add-ons
Where RentAdminly wins
- We are 100% free forever and we cover both the operations layer (rent, leases, screening, maintenance, tenant portal) and the bookkeeping layer (AI receipt scanning, Schedule E categorization)
- Tenants pay rent through autopay inside our portal — you do not have to chase Zelle or reconcile checks manually
- Tenant screening (TransUnion), 50-state lease generator, and maintenance ticketing are built in with no add-on fees
- PM-firm workflows — clients (owners), monthly statements, payouts, W-9 capture, 1099 prep — are included on the free plan
- If you already love Stessa for bookkeeping, you can absolutely use both: Stessa for the bank-connected ledger, RentAdminly for everything else
Pricing as of early 2026
Stessa offers a free 'Essentials' plan and a paid 'Pro' tier. The free plan covers the core auto-bookkeeping use case. Pro adds advanced reporting, premium support, eSign on documents, and other add-ons; pricing has changed over time — confirm on Stessa's site. RentAdminly is free forever for the full platform including operations and bookkeeping.
RentAdminly is 100% free forever with unlimited properties. The only cost on the platform is the standard ACH bank-processing fee on rent transactions.
Feature comparison
| Feature | RentAdminly | Stessa |
|---|
| Monthly subscription | $0 forever (full platform) | $0 free tier; Pro tier paid |
| Per-property fee | None | None on the free tier |
| Trial / time limit | None — free forever | None on the free tier |
| Native rent collection (ACH autopay) | Included | No — tenants pay elsewhere |
| Tenant portal | Included | No tenant-facing portal |
| Maintenance request workflow | Included | Not included |
| Lease generator (50-state) | Included | Not included |
| Tenant screening (TransUnion) | Included | Not included |
| AI receipt scanning (Schedule E) | Included (GPT-4 vision) | Manual receipt entry on free tier; OCR on paid tier |
| Bank-account auto-import | Not the primary model — we focus on receipt-scan and rent-ledger | Yes — core strength |
| PM-firm workflows (clients, statements, 1099s) | Included on free plan | Not the focus — Stessa is for self-managing landlords |
| Mobile app | iOS + Android (PM workflows included) | iOS + Android |
Pick Stessa when
- Your bookkeeping pain is your only pain — you already collect rent some other way and you just want a clean ledger
- You want bank-connected auto-import as your primary categorization model
- You are deep in the Roofstock / Stessa ecosystem and want an integrated experience
Pick RentAdminly when
- You want native rent collection, tenant portal, leases, screening, and maintenance — not just bookkeeping
- You want AI receipt scanning included on the free plan, not behind a Pro tier
- You are a small PM firm and need owner statements, payouts, W-9 capture, and 1099 prep
- You would rather run one tool than stitch Stessa plus a separate rent-collection tool plus a screening tool plus a lease tool
Frequently asked
- Should I use Stessa or RentAdminly — or both?
- If your only pain is bookkeeping, Stessa's free tier is excellent. If you also want native rent collection, a tenant portal, leases, screening, and maintenance — RentAdminly covers the full stack on the free plan. Some landlords run both: Stessa as the bank-connected ledger and RentAdminly for everything tenant-facing. There is no wrong answer.
- Does Stessa collect rent for me?
- No. Stessa is a bookkeeping platform — your tenants pay you elsewhere (Zelle, check, ACH from a separate provider) and Stessa records the deposit. RentAdminly includes native ACH autopay so tenants pay through the platform directly.
- Is Stessa really free, or is the free tier a trick?
- Stessa's free Essentials tier is real — the company makes money on the Pro tier and ecosystem partnerships. The free tier is enough for many bookkeeping-only landlords. Just know that operations features (rent collection, tenant portal, maintenance, leases, screening) are not part of the platform at any tier.
- Is RentAdminly really free, or is it a trial?
- 100% free forever — unlimited properties, no per-property fee, no trial expiration. Standard flat ACH bank-processing fee per rent transaction (typically passed through to the tenant).
https://rentadminly.com/compare/stessa