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Rental property management becomes much easier and more efficient when you have the right online property management software to simplify and streamline your business systems and busy schedules- but who has the time to go through each one to find the right fit?

There are many programs and software solutions for property managers, but it is not a one-size-fits-all deal. It can be tempting to go with the first big name you come across to save time on the search.

Luckily, we are here to help!

If you have been hunting for your perfect property management software solution, you may have found Stessa. It is a helpful platform with plenty of benefits, but several alternatives could do more for your business.

Below, we have highlighted five great Stessa competitors & alternatives for your consideration- complete with an overview of the central features, leading benefits, and how much they cost.

Let's get started!

About Stessa

Stessa

Before we discuss the best five Stessa alternatives, we wanted to give a quick overview of Stessa itself. 

Stessa is primarily a property accounting tool rather than an all-around software solution for property managers. It is a mostly free program, which is generally its biggest appeal, but you give up a lot in the way of features and capabilities if you don't want to pay a fee.

Small-to-mid-scale property investors or tenant management teams that need easy-to-use, simple, and efficient accounting software tailored to the real estate industry can probably get by with the free Stessa tools. That said, it is far from ticking all the boxes of comprehensive property management.

Stessa Features

First, let's look at the features Stessa does offer. You can access the software through a desktop or mobile app, which is convenient for teams or individuals who are often on the move.

Here are the key features that make Stessa worth consideration.

  • There is an owner portal to give investors and managers a convenient and accessible way to oversee and stay updated with their property portfolio and its activity.
  • It offers useful rent-tracking and expense-tracking tools- along with other financial reports for income, cash flow, and other money-related tasks.
  • The software helps you arrange client-paid tenant screening.
  • You can handle document management through the app, including storing templates and past communications with tenants.
  • Stessa also has a tax management system and supports online rent payments.

This is all great if you are only interested in an accounting solution, but it is not the best choice if you want software that provides all the property management tools you need to run your business successfully.

Stessa has almost no features for tenant or employee management. Other than a few basic leasing tools, it doesn't help with the other day-to-day industry tasks and trials.

Stessa Pricing

One of the good things about Stessa is that you can access pretty much everything the software offers completely free of charge. If you want to gain a few extras (including DocuSign, advanced reporting tools, and templates), you can pay $20 per month for the Pro Package.

Paying the subscription annually saves you a little money, reducing the price to $16 per month.

Top Five Stessa Alternatives

Now that we know more about Stessa and what it offers, let's explore the five best Stessa alternatives that cover other areas of real estate management and may be the right fit for you and your business.

1: DoorLoop

DoorLoop homepage

DoorLoop's award-winning platform offers a complete software suite of robust features for end-to-end property management. It ticks all the boxes, going above and beyond what you usually get from this type of software, which is why it takes the top spot on this list of Stessa alternatives.

With DoorLoop, you get everything you need for a streamlined, convenient, and successful management experience for residential and commercial properties at every point in the renting and leasing journey.

The software is affordable, user-friendly, and comprehensive, so it is an excellent choice for teams who want a one-stop digital platform that makes life simpler when handling the ins and outs of their rental properties.

DoorLoop Features

We talked about DoorLoop having it all, but what exactly does that look like? To list every aspect of the software would take a while, so here are the best bits that are most beneficial to the majority of property management teams.

  • The built-in tenant communication portal makes it easy to stay connected with renters.
  • Screening tenants is also super easy with DoorLoop.
  • Detailed financial reporting tools help you monitor and control income, cash flow, expenses, and tax.
  • Rent collection is possible online through the DoorLoop platform directly into your business bank accounts.
  • You can manage maintenance requests using a special communications system that includes building maintenance tracking, contracts with workers, and updates for tenants.
  • Arrange automated postings, email coms, payment requests, and receipts among other things.
  • Integrate the software with QuickBooks for a comprehensive suite of accounting functions.
  • Get the support you need with compliance management for residential and association properties.
  • Ensure the whole team is on the same page with DoorLoop's integrated workplace management system.

From lease management to rent collection and everything in between, DoorLoop helps landlords and property managers with residential lettings, industrial & commercial properties, and property portfolios of any size to maximize property performance and productivity.

To make things even more convenient for everyone involved, DoorLoop has an exceptional range of integrations with every real estate rental listing website worth its salt and many service providers in the industry.

In summary, it is the most detailed residential and commercial property management software for rental businesses, big or small. Versatile pricing and ultra-attentive customer service agents only add to the list of reasons to pick this platform.

DoorLoop Pricing

Surely- all this must cost a fortune, right? Absolutely not!

DoorLoop subscriptions start at just $49 each month for up to 20 properties. Even the basic plan covers all the essentials, but you can upgrade to $99 per month for the Pro version.

If you want the best of the best, the price is still only $149 per month, which is excellent value for money considering everything that comes with it.

After 20 properties, the price is $20 more for an additional 20, so the software extends to support larger companies with fuller portfolios.

There is no free version, but you get a whole lot of bang for your buck. You can request a free demo to check the software out for yourself before committing.

2: Innago

Innago

If you are looking for a robust set of property and lease management solutions for a small-scale portfolio that keeps things simple, then Innago is worth consideration. Although not as comprehensive as DoorLoop, it covers the fundamental requirements for landlords and property managers who work with a few properties and need the tools to help streamline their daily operational processes.

Innago is an excellent starting point for those new to property management and who don't want to spend much on their software at first. Overall, it is a fairly successful tool, especially for tenant management, owner communications, and simple financials.

Innago Features

Simple efficiency is the name of the game as Innago. Most of the features available are pretty straightforward, but they go straight to the heart of what makes a property management team work- helping landlords and teams stay on top of things and run a productive business.

Here are a few of the highlights.

  • There is a built-in tenant portal and an owner portal.
  • You can use Innago to track income and arrange online rent payment collection.
  • Innago also offers a few simple financial tools, including invoice and statement formats, tax management, and cash flow reports.
  • It has a pretty impressive tenant tracking system that includes some helpful lease management tools, such as credit and background checks.
  • Handle property maintenance requests quickly and easily.

Innago Pricing

As far as monthly charges go, Innago is technically free- since there is no subscription fee. This is a bonus for new property management businesses that don't have a high budget.

However, it is not entirely without payment. Innago takes 2.99% of all credit or debit card transactions used in rent collection, and there is a $2 fee for every ACH payment (you can decide whether you pay this or the client does. Also, every background check for criminal, eviction, or credit history costs between $30 and $35.

In short, Innago is an affordable first step into cloud-based property management software that provides essential support for smaller rental businesses or independent landlords.

3: Rent Manager

Rent Manager

Next on our list is Rent Manager- another impressively well-rounded property management software solution that is particularly helpful for accounting and finance management in the rental industry. If the property accounting features of Stessa appeal to you, but you want something a bit more versatile, this could be the way to go.

Rent Manager is an all-in-one web portal that covers accounting, marketing, leasing, maintenance, reporting, and the business aspects of property management. It handles personal and portfolio details to keep daily business moving smoothly and conveniently for managers, owners, landlords, investors, and renters.

Rent Manager Features

This is one of the more impressive feature sets in the property management software world, especially for property rental businesses that need a central hub for all their activities. It doesn't have quite as in-depth a program as DoorLoop, but it is a very strong contender.

Here are some of the standout features.

  • A robust maintenance tracking and management program streamlines the request-to-repair process.
  • Rent Manager offers an excellent training and customer support program.
  • The marketing and leasing portal makes it easy to handle everything from listing to tenant screening.
  • You can even create your own website to share your available properties using Rent Manager.
  • The integrated accounting system at Rent Manager is one of the best there is. It can be used to manage all your financial tasks.
  • Online rent collection, payment status tracking, vendor payments, and owner contributions are all managed through the program.

Rent Manager Pricing

The pricing system works a little differently at Rent Manager and is charged per unit per month. Depending on what package you choose, each property costs $1, $1.50, or $2.50 each month, but there are minimum spends that apply.

On the basic package, you need to spend at least $200 each month. The minimum spend on the plus package is $300, and the premium package has a minimum limit of $450.

It is also worth noting that the implementation package doubles the cost per unit.

Because of the pricing setup, Rent Manager is not suitable for small businesses or independent landlords. The value for money is pretty good if you have 200 or more units in your property portfolio.

4: RentRedi

RentRedi

RentRedi is another great all-rounder that offers a robust set of features to help landlords and property managers handle their businesses. It is particularly good for communications and maintaining a seamless workflow between managers, owners, and renters.

Another great thing about RentRedi is how well it adapts to commercial or residential society. If your business handles commercial and mixed properties rather than just residential, having a tool like this one can make a significant difference.

RentRedi Features

  • There are plenty of great marketing tools to help create fast, effective listings that grab potential renters' attention.
  • The RentRedi platform has a built-in building maintenance tracking and management portal.
  • Automatic rent collection can be set up by tenants through the mobile tenant portal, complete with reminders and receipts.
  • RentRedi also has a quite good set of accounting and finance tools your team can use to track income, outgoings, taxes, and budgets.
  • You can store and edit documents through your RentRedi portal.
  • It also syncs with Google Calendars and has several other useful integrations.
  • Landlords also get their own portal that gives them complete control over applications, tenant screening, lease management, and much more.
  • You can set up your own database marketing page or connect to other sights in RentRedi's marketing syndicate.
  • Online chat support is available for users, although it doesn't always get the best reviews.

RentRedi Pricing

One of the things people love most about RentRedi is the uncomplicated payment structure and complete feature access across the board. This is pretty rare, with most systems offering fewer features on lower-priced plans.

RentRedi includes all its great features in all plans- the difference comes in how long you subscribe for. Access costs $19.95 for pay-as-you-go month-to-month contracts but drops to $15 per month if you sign up for six months in advance. The cheapest plan is the annual one, which offers all the same things for just $9 per month or $108 per year. Opting for the annual plan rather than paying monthly saves you $132 per year, so it is worth considering.

5: Landlord Studio

Landlord Studio

Our final Stessa alternative is another system that lends itself best to beginners, independent landlords, or small property management teams. Landlord Studio does not compete with the likes of DoorLoop and Rent Manager on feature set and versatility, but it does have that streamlined simplicity and high-performance efficiency in the places that matter the most.

If you run a mid-to-large-scale rental operation, this is probably not the one for you, but if you only handle a few properties or are a new team just starting, Landlord Studio has a lot to offer.

We also gave it the last spot on our list because it is a low-cost platform, just like Stessa, but offers a little more variety than most other software solutions in its price range.

Landlord Studio Features

As we already mentioned, Landlord Studio doesn't have as many features as some of the other Stessa alternatives and competitors on our list. That said, it still does a pretty good job of offering a user-friendly and effective system for small-scale property management.

These are the notable features available to those using this software.

  • You get some simple but useful reporting tools, including expense tracking and rental statistics.
  • The online rent collection system is straightforward and fuss-free for an easy and manageable solution for landlords and tenants.
  • Some basic accounting features make it more convenient to prepare for taxes and keep the books balanced.
  • Landlord Studio has built-in document storage.
  • Application handling and tenant screening are some of the best features of the Landlord Studio software.
  • You can access your portal through a desktop or mobile device for property management on the move.
  • Although basic, the maintenance ticketing and management system is easy to use and is robust enough to make handling repair requests and working with vendors a little simpler and more efficient.

As you can see, it covers most of the fundamentals, but a few notable things are missing. There are no communication tools, and they don't provide portals for tenants or owners. It is also limited in its payment features, which may or may not cause an issue for your business.

Generally speaking, Landlord Studio is a good choice for someone who just wants a tool to help keep themselves and their small team organized and on the same page, but it is not robust enough to offer enough support on a larger scale.

Landlord Studio Pricing

Low budget? No problem. Landlord Studio is aimed at small or new businesses that may not have much capital to spend on software at this point in their business journey. As such, it offers almost all of its features free of charge for portfolios with three properties or fewer.

Once you have more than three units, you move to the pro plan. The monthly cost starts at $12 and goes up $1 for every new property you add.

Every new user gets to try the pro plan for free for 14 days. At the end, if they have fewer than three units, they can choose whether to stick with pro and pay the fee or switch to the go plan (the free tier).

Even if you decide to pay, Landlord Studio remains a very affordable choice. The value for money is decent, but you have a far more restricted feature set than you would have if you chose a platform such as DoorLoop.

What Property Management Software is Right for You?

DoorLoop features

To make the final decision on the property management software solution that fits your business, you need to weigh up your requirements and your budget to see which offers the best balance.

There is no point picking a free platform if it can't actually do what you need it to, and it is equally unproductive to pay over the odds for something if you don't require the extra features or don't have a large enough property portfolio to make it worthwhile.

That is what makes DoorLoop such a great choice. It is versatile with flexible pricing tiers that adapt to ensure the best value for money for every client, and they can customize their plan to fit them to a T.

It is fast, efficient, feature-rich, and focused on delivering the best experience for everyone who uses it.

Don't just take our word for it- schedule a free DoorLoop demo to see how it can benefit your business moving forward.

David is the co-founder & CMO of DoorLoop, a best-selling author, legal CLE speaker, and real estate investor. When he's not hanging with his three children, he's writing articles here!

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