When you’ve got a handful of properties to manage, finding the right rental management software can make all the difference. You want a platform that will simplify your tasks and give you more time back at the end of the day. But when you’ve got several companies to choose from, it can be challenging to narrow it down.
In this article, we compare two popular rental property management software, TenantCloud and Stessa, to help you decide which best suits your unique needs.
TenantCloud vs. Stessa: A Quick Comparison
Let’s break down the key differences between both sides:
Feature | TenantCloud | Stessa |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Starting plan from $15/month | Free basic plan + paid plans from $12/month |
| Rent Collection | ACH, credit, debit; autopay option | Free ACH rent collection |
| Tenant Screening | Customizable screening options (credit, background) | None |
| Listing Syndication | Syndicate to Zillow, Rent.com. Apartments.com, and more | Syndicates to Zillow |
| Maintenance Requests | Yes, in-platform tracking and service professionals | No |
| Lease Management | Built-in lease templates and e-signatures | No |
| Financial Tracking | Full-featured accounting tools | Advanced financial management and tax tools |
| Mobile App | Available for landlords and tenants | Landlord app |
| Tenant Communication | In-app messaging and notifications | No |
TenantCloud Overview
TenantCloud is an all-in-one property management platform designed to help landlords and property managers simplify the entire property management process. Its robust suite of features supports a wide variety of portfolios, from single units to several hundred.
Pricing
TenantCloud offers three paid plans starting at $15/month annually, plus a custom business plan. Each plan is designed to scale, with more advanced tools and additional properties in each progressive tier. Whether you’re a do-it-yourself landlord or an enterprise business, you’ll find value in their easy-to-use platform.
- Starter: $15.60/mo, annually
- Growth: $29.30/mo, annually
- Pro: $50.40/mo, annually
- Business: Custom pricing
Key Features
TenantCloud offers a wide range of benefits for do-it-yourself and enterprise property managers alike. Let’s break it down:
- Online Rent Collection: Collect rent automatically via ACH, credit, or debit, putting tenants at ease and minimizing late payments. Tenants who opt-in to rent reporting to build credit will also receive free ACH payments each month they’re enrolled.
- Maintenance Tracking: Tenants can submit maintenance requests via the TenantCloud app, which helps property managers respond quickly and track issues.
- Lease Management: Built-in lease templates and e-signature functionality make managing leases quick and straightforward.
- Listing Syndication: Syndicate your rental property to multiple popular listing websites, such as Zillow, Apartments.com, and Rent.com, providing maximum exposure with less effort.
- Tenant Screening: TenantCloud offers customizable screening options, including in-depth credit, background, rentability report, and eviction checks.
- Accounting Tools: All-in-one accounting includes reconciliation, reporting, and financial tracking, ensuring landlords have full visibility of their portfolio’s financial health.
- Mobile App: Landlord and tenant apps make rent payments, maintenance requests, and communication easy. Now available in your app store.
Stessa Overview
Stessa is a full-scale financial management tool geared towards real estate investors. It is primarily focused on providing in-depth financial reporting and tax management features, but it lacks several of the traditional property management tools found in platforms like TenantCloud.
Pricing
Stessa offers a free “Essentials” version and two paid plans starting at $12/month for more advanced features:
- Stessa Essentials: Free
- Stessa Manage: $12/mo, annually
- Stessa Pro: $28/mo, annually
Key Features
This platform includes highly-ranked financial tools to support real estate investors and property managers.
- Financial Management: Stessa excels at financial reports, such as income statements, expenses, and cash flow reporting. This makes it an ideal tool for real estate investors focused on maximizing ROI and is especially helpful if you’re looking for a QuickBooks replacement.
- Free ACH Rent Collection: Landlords on the Stessa Pro plan can collect rent from tenants via ACH transfers at no additional cost.
- Tax Preparation: Stessa offers several powerful tax tools, including an accountant-ready tax package and Schedule E filing preparation. They also have a feature for you to scan your receipts to deduct at the end of the year.
- Limited Property Management Tools: Stessa offers limited options for property management such as rental property syndication, screening, leases, and online rent collection. It does not include other important features such as maintenance request management, tenant communication, or lease creation tools.
- Stessa App: While Stessa does not offer a separate landlord and tenant app, they do offer a landlord app in your app store.
TenantCloud vs. Stessa: Which one is Best for You?
Both TenantCloud and Stessa provide helpful tools to simplify the property management process. However, which landlord software you choose will depend on your individual needs.
You might like TenantCloud if:
- You’re a landlord guru looking for a comprehensive property management solution to handle all aspects of the rental process, from tenant screening and lease management to rent collection and maintenance requests.
- You manage multiple properties and want all your tasks and properties in one place.
- You value features such as tenant communication, maintenance management, rent reporting, and customizable tenant screenings.
- You'd like to offer rent reporting to your tenants for a small additional fee.
You might want to consider Stessa if:
- You are more focused on real estate investing and want detailed insights into your properties' financial performance.
- You don’t need robust property management tools like maintenance tracking or lease management, but you do require top-notch financial tracking and tax preparation.
- You want to maximize your real estate tax returns more than you want to track and manage your properties.
Remember that finding the best property management software takes time.As with any new platform, it’s always a good idea to test it out for a few months before committing. You may find better results by trying out one at a time and tracking your progress as you go.
TenantCloud: The Best Property Management Software
While Stessa excels in the financial realm, TenantCloud offers a supportive property management solution that combines accounting with essential property management tools.
With TenantCloud, you can manage your properties flexibly while still benefiting from real-time financial reporting and reconciliation features.
Whether you’re managing a single unit or a portfolio of properties, TenantCloud helps you stay organized, save time, and keep tenants happy—all from one user-friendly platform.
