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Buildium vs Stessa

Buildium logo
Buildium
A small-to-mid-market property management platform (RealPage-owned) with no unit minimum and strong association management features.
$58/mo (Essential)
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Stessa logo
Stessa
Stessa automates bookkeeping for rental property investors with bank-connected transaction tracking, online rent collection, and Schedule E tax reporting. A generous free tier covers unlimited properties, making it the go-to for self-managing landlords who have outgrown spreadsheets.
Free (Pro from $28/mo)
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Buildium vs Stessa: feature comparison

FeatureBuildiumStessa
Online Rent Collection✓✓
Tenant Screening✓✓
Maintenance Request Tracking✓✓
Owner Portal✓✗
Accounting & Reporting✓✓
Lease E-Signature✓✓
Listing Syndication✓✗
Mobile App (iOS + Android)✓✓

Buildium — Pros & Cons

Pros

  • No unit minimum — solo landlords welcome
  • Strong HOA/COA association management
  • Intuitive UI with short learning curve
  • Accounting, leasing, and maintenance all included

Cons

  • Essential tier caps features — Growth tier adds up
  • Less suited to commercial properties
  • Support response times can vary
  • Mobile app less featured than web

Stessa — Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Free tier covers unlimited properties with automated bank sync and daily transaction reconciliation
  • Schedule E tax reports generate automatically, cutting year-end accountant hours significantly
  • Pro plan ($28/mo) bundles 7 eSignatures/month with advanced portfolio-level reporting
  • Built-in maintenance request tracking added recently, removing the need for a separate landlord communication tool

Cons

  • No listing syndication — vacant units must be marketed on Zillow Rental Manager or Apartments.com as a separate step
  • Tenant screening is outsourced to RentPrep, adding friction and an extra sign-in versus AppFolio's or Buildium's native screening
  • eSignature quota is capped at just 1 per month on the $12/mo Manage plan; active landlords will quickly need the Pro tier
  • U.S.-only platform — international landlords and portfolios with properties outside the United States are not supported
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