Stessa vs TurboTenant (2026): Free Plans, Schedule E and Fees Compared

Stessa and TurboTenant both give small landlords a free plan with online rent collection, but they start from opposite ends. Stessa is a bookkeeping app that added rent collection, listings and screening. TurboTenant is a leasing app (listings, applications, screening and leases) that added accounting on its top plan. Which is cheaper depends mostly on whether you need a Schedule E report and how many units you have.

Short answer: Pick Stessa if your main job is bookkeeping: it's free for unlimited properties, and Schedule E costs $15 a month month to month on Manage ($12 billed yearly). Pick TurboTenant if your main job is filling vacancies: its free plan covers listings, screening and rent, and Pro adds Schedule E from $199 a year.

Best for:

• Best for free bookkeeping with bank feeds: Stessa Essentials, because it's $0 for unlimited properties.
• Best for free listings, applications and screening: TurboTenant Free, because applicants pay the screening fee.
• Best for Schedule E at 11 or more units: Stessa Manage, because its price doesn't rise with units and TurboTenant Pro does.
• Best for one app that leases and keeps books at 1–10 units: TurboTenant Pro, at $199 a year with tenant ACH fees typically waived.

We haven't used either app with our own rentals. This comparison is based on each company's public pricing, feature and help pages.

Prices at a glance

TurboTenant has no month-to-month option. Its paid prices rise by unit band: Pro is $199, $399, $699 or $999 a year for 1–10, 11–30, 31–60 or 61+ units. Every Stessa plan covers unlimited properties at one price.

What each free plan gives you

Stessa Essentials is built around your books. It includes automatic bank feeds, unlimited document and receipt storage, basic financial reports and a basic accountant tax package. It also has rent collection with autopay, late fees and a rent roll, plus vacancy marketing with syndication to Zillow, applications and screening, and maintenance tracking. Receipt scanning is capped at 5 a month, and state-specific leases cost $15 each.

TurboTenant Free is built around renting the unit. It includes unlimited listings, applications and tenant screening, move-in and move-out condition reports, maintenance requests and online rent collection with a rent roll. It doesn't include accounting reports. Leases and e-signatures start on Essentials.

If you have a vacancy now, TurboTenant's free plan covers more of the leasing work. If your units are full and tax season is coming, Stessa's free plan covers more of the money side.

Schedule E: what it costs on each

Both apps put the Schedule E report behind a paid plan.

On subscription price alone, Stessa Manage costs less at every size, and the gap widens as you grow. TurboTenant Pro also adds Form 8825, income verification through Snappt and unlimited bank accounts, and it typically waives the tenant's $2 ACH fee.

Because Stessa bills Manage month to month, you could pay for a few months around tax season instead of a full year. We didn't find anything on Stessa's page that rules this out, but check its downgrade terms first.

Rent collection fees

Note: TurboTenant's pricing page shows a 3.49% card fee in its Free column, while a help article lists card payments as an Essentials feature.

An example at 5 units, rent paid by ACH 12 times a year (60 payments):

• Stessa Essentials, rent into a Stessa account: $0 subscription, $0 tenant fees.
• Stessa Essentials, rent to your own bank: $0 subscription, up to $120 in tenant fees (60 × $2).
• TurboTenant Free: $0 subscription, $120 in tenant fees (60 × $2).
• TurboTenant Pro: $199 subscription, tenant ACH fees typically $0.

The Stessa cash account is provided through Thread Bank. Stessa isn't a bank itself, and FDIC coverage depends on pass-through conditions. Read the details in our Stessa pricing guide before you move rent there.

Screening and leases

TurboTenant's applicant-paid screening is $55 on Free and $45 on paid plans. You can choose to pay it yourself. Check your state's screening-fee cap before you rely on the default. Essentials and Pro include unlimited leases and e-signatures.

Stessa includes applications and screening on every plan. Its screening partner is RentPrep, whose packages run $29 to $49 on RentPrep's own page; Stessa's pricing page doesn't list screening prices. Leases are $15 each on Essentials. Manage adds unlimited state-compliant leases, 60+ legal forms and one eSignature a month, and Pro raises that to seven.

Which should you pick?

• Your units are full, and you want clean books for free: Stessa Essentials.
• You want Schedule E and have more than 10 units: Stessa Manage ($15 monthly or $144 a year) beats TurboTenant Pro ($399+ a year).
• You have a vacancy and want listings, screening and a lease without paying: TurboTenant Free, then Essentials when you need leases.
• You want leasing and Schedule E in one app at 1–10 units, and tenants pay by ACH: TurboTenant Pro at $199 a year, since the waived ACH fees can offset part of the price.
• You want both: you can run TurboTenant Free for leasing and Stessa Essentials for books, both at $0. Expect to enter rent twice or link the bank account that receives it.

TurboTenant also owns REI Hub, a separate bookkeeping app; see REI Hub vs Stessa if you want accounting only.

Visit Stessa · Visit TurboTenant

How we checked

On October 28, 2026, we read Stessa's pricing page and rent collection help article, and TurboTenant's pricing page and its help articles on plan costs and payout times. Every price, fee and plan feature above comes from those pages, and our Stessa pricing and TurboTenant pricing guides list the sources. The yearly totals and the 5-unit fee example are our own math using those published rates. Neither company pays us, and we don't rank by commission.

FAQ

Is Stessa or TurboTenant cheaper?

Both have free plans. For Schedule E, Stessa Manage ($15 a month month to month, or $144 a year billed yearly) costs less than TurboTenant Pro ($199 a year at 1–10 units, rising to $399 at 11–30 units).

Does TurboTenant do accounting like Stessa?

Only on Pro, which adds an accounting suite with Schedule E, Form 8825, P&L and NOI reports. The free plan and Essentials have no accounting reports.

Can Stessa list and screen tenants?

Yes. Stessa's free Essentials plan includes vacancy marketing with syndication to Zillow, rental applications and screening through RentPrep.

Can I pay for TurboTenant monthly?

No. TurboTenant's Essentials and Pro plans are billed once a year only. Stessa's paid plans can be billed month to month or yearly.

Can I use Stessa and TurboTenant together?

Yes. You can run TurboTenant Free for listings, screening and leases and Stessa Essentials for bookkeeping, both at $0. You may need to enter or match rent payments in both.

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