Best Rental Property Accounting Software for Small Landlords (2026)

For most landlords with 1 to 20 units, the deciding question is whether the software produces a Schedule E report: income and expenses broken out by property, ready for your tax return.

Baselane's free Core plan is the only $0 option we found that names a Schedule E report. Hemlane's free Starter plan offers "full rental accounting," but doesn't mention Schedule E.

Baselane is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank.

Best for: a free Schedule E report, Baselane Core. For paid rental bookkeeping with Schedule E, look at REI Hub, Stessa Manage, Landlord Studio Pro or Rentastic, each about $9 to $20 a month billed yearly.

If you want paid, dedicated rental bookkeeping, these list Schedule E on plans costing about $9 to $20 a month (billed yearly):

• REI Hub
• Stessa Manage
• Landlord Studio Pro
• Rentastic

General small-business software like QuickBooks works too, but its pricing page doesn't mention rentals or Schedule E.

All prices below come from each vendor's own pricing page, checked October 28, 2026. We haven't tested these products hands-on, and this isn't tax advice.

Comparison table

Pricing checked Oct 28, 2026. "Yearly" means the per-month price when billed annually.

Hemlane's prices here are its annual-billing rates, the default view on its pricing page ("Save up to 20% with annual billing"); month-to-month billing costs more, checked Oct 28, 2026.

The options in detail

Stessa: the best-known free-to-start option

Stessa's free Essentials plan covers basic tracking. Schedule E reports start on Manage:

• Manage ($12/mo billed yearly, or $15 monthly) adds Schedule E reports, 1 e-signature a month and faster rent payouts.
• Pro ($28/mo yearly, or $35 monthly) adds unlimited receipt scans and 7 e-signatures a month.

The free plan includes unlimited properties, bank feeds and basic reports, but only 5 receipt scans a month. See Stessa vs QuickBooks. Visit Stessa

Baselane: Schedule E free, built around banking

Baselane's free Core plan includes Schedule E reports and an accountant tax package. That makes it the cheapest way we found to get a named Schedule E report.

• Banking: provided through Thread Bank. Rent paid into a Baselane account avoids the tenant ACH fee.
• Smart ($20/mo billed yearly, 30-day trial): adds AI tagging, a balance sheet, cost segregation and 2-day rent payouts (5 days on Core).
• Tenant ACH fee: Baselane's fee table shows $2–$5, but its FAQ says $2.

See Baselane vs Stessa. Visit Baselane

REI Hub: double-entry bookkeeping priced by unit count

REI Hub is built for rental bookkeeping. It tracks fixed assets and depreciation and produces Schedule E.

• Free: $0, "for those with minimal transactions." It includes Schedule E and tax reports, but not automatic transaction import or booking rules.
• Professional, billed yearly: $9 a month up to 3 units, $15 up to 10, $27 up to 20, $48 unlimited.
• Billed monthly: $15, $25, $45 or $80 for the same unit bands.
• Trial: 14 days on Professional.

TurboTenant owns REI Hub. If you want an accountant-style ledger without learning QuickBooks, start here. Visit REI Hub

Landlord Studio: free for 3 units

Landlord Studio's free Go plan covers 3 units and 1 user.

• Pro: $15 a month or $144 a year for 3 units, plus $1.20 a month per additional unit ($1 a month on annual billing). Adds bank feeds, Xero integration and Schedule E reporting.
• Pro Plus: $35 a month.

The pricing page also shows GBP prices; the figures here are from its US table. There's a 14-day trial with no card. Visit Landlord Studio

Rentastic: low-cost bookkeeping with a mobile app

Rentastic has two paid plans:

• Core: $5 a month billed yearly ($60) or $7 monthly, for 2 properties and 2 bank accounts. Includes P&L, cash flow and balance sheet reports, receipt scanning, mileage tracking and a deal analyzer.
• Unlimited: $238 a year or $29 monthly. Adds unlimited properties, Schedule E and C reports, and AI auto-classification.

There's a 7-day free trial with no card, and a 7-day money-back guarantee. The pricing page mentions a free plan that accounts drop back to, but doesn't list what it includes. Visit Rentastic

Hemlane and Rentec Direct: accounting inside a full property manager

• Hemlane's free Starter plan includes what it calls full rental accounting: bank sync, cash flow report and income statement, plus listings and screening. Its pricing page doesn't name a Schedule E report, so confirm before tax season. Visit Hemlane

• Rentec Direct lists property and tenant accounting and Schedule E tax reports in its edition comparison.

  • Starter is a flat $25 a month for up to 10 properties.
  • Bank-transaction sync and QuickBooks sync are Pro features (from $50 a month).
  • There's no free plan, but there's a two-week free trial.

  Visit Rentec Direct

TurboTenant Pro: accounting bundled with rent collection

If you already collect rent on TurboTenant, Pro adds a full accounting suite with Schedule E and Form 8825, P&L and NOI. It costs $199 a year for 1–10 units and typically waives the $2 tenant ACH fee. See TurboTenant pricing. Visit TurboTenant

QuickBooks Online: if you already have a CPA who uses it

QuickBooks is general business accounting:

• Free plan: 1 user, no accountant access and no app.
• Paid plans: Simple Start is $38 a month (the page also showed a promotional price), Essentials $85, Plus $140, Advanced $340.

Its pricing page doesn't mention rental properties or Schedule E. You'd set up classes or locations per property yourself. See Stessa vs QuickBooks. Visit QuickBooks

Yearly cost at 5 and 15 units

These are subscription costs only, on annual billing where it's offered. We left out Landlord Studio, whose Pro price rises by $1 a month per unit above 3 on annual billing; see Landlord Studio vs Stessa for its costs by unit count.

How to choose

• You want $0 and a Schedule E report: Baselane Core.
• You want dedicated bookkeeping with depreciation: REI Hub, or Stessa Manage.
• You have 1–3 units: Landlord Studio Go is free for up to 3 units. Rentastic Core is $60 a year for 2 properties and lists iOS and Android apps.
• You want rent collection and books in one tool: TurboTenant Pro, Hemlane or Rentec Direct.
• Your CPA already uses QuickBooks: stay on QuickBooks, and ask whether they'd accept a rental tool's Schedule E export instead.

If you track everything in a spreadsheet today, see Schedule E: spreadsheet vs software.

How we checked

On October 28, 2026, we read the pricing pages of:

• Stessa
• Baselane
• REI Hub
• Landlord Studio
• Rentastic
• Hemlane
• Rentec Direct
• TurboTenant
• QuickBooks

Prices change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.

FAQ

What's the best free rental property accounting software?

Baselane's free Core plan includes Schedule E reports and an accountant tax package. Stessa's free Essentials plan covers basic tracking but puts Schedule E on Manage. Hemlane's and Landlord Studio's free plans also include accounting, within their limits.

Do I need QuickBooks for rental properties?

No. Rental-specific tools like Stessa, Baselane, REI Hub, Landlord Studio and Rentastic organize income and expenses by property and produce Schedule E-style reports. QuickBooks' pricing page doesn't mention rentals.

Which tool handles depreciation?

REI Hub lists fixed assets and depreciation. Baselane Smart lists cost segregation. For the depreciation figures you actually file, follow your tax preparer's advice.

Is Stessa still free?

Stessa's Essentials plan is free. Schedule E reports, e-signatures and unlimited leases are on Manage ($12 a month billed yearly) and Pro ($28 a month billed yearly).

Can my rent collection app do my books?

Sometimes. TurboTenant Pro includes Schedule E and Form 8825 reports. Hemlane and Rentec Direct include accounting. Free rent apps like Avail and Innago are lighter, so pair them with a bookkeeping tool.

Related

• Accounting software
• Baselane vs Stessa
• Stessa vs QuickBooks
• Schedule E: spreadsheet vs software