Baselane vs Landlord Studio: Banking vs Tracking for Landlords in 2026?
Baselane is a landlord banking platform. Landlord Studio is a rental property tracker. Both are popular with DIY landlords — but they solve different problems.
Baselane wins if you want landlord banking with native rent collection and automated tracking. Landlord Studio wins for simple mobile-first expense tracking without switching banks.
Baselane and Landlord Studio are frequently compared by independent landlords looking for a better way to manage their rental property finances. They both track rental income and expenses. They both have mobile apps. But they represent fundamentally different approaches.
Baselane is a banking product. It gives you an FDIC-insured business account purpose-built for rental income — with rent collection, property-specific virtual cards, high-yield savings, and expense categorization baked in.
Landlord Studio is a tracking product. It connects to your existing bank accounts and gives you a clean interface to log income, track expenses, manage leases, and generate basic reports — all without moving your money.
The choice between them often comes down to one question: do you want to change where your money lives, or just how you track it?
Quick Verdict
| Baselane | Landlord Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Landlords wanting native banking + rent collection | Landlords wanting lightweight tracking without changing banks |
| Free plan | Yes (banking included) | Yes (3 properties max) |
| Paid tier | Baselane Plus (~$15/month) | Landlord Studio Pro (~$12–20/month) |
| Banking | Yes (FDIC-insured) | No |
| Rent collection | Yes (native, ACH) | Yes (via partner) |
| Expense tracking | Yes (auto-categorized) | Yes (manual + receipt scan) |
| Portfolio analytics | Limited | Limited |
| Mobile app | Good | Excellent |
| Tenant management | Basic | More complete |
Choose Baselane if: You want your rental money to live in a purpose-built landlord account with automated categorization.
Choose Landlord Studio if: You want to track finances without switching banks, especially on mobile.
Baselane Overview
Baselane launched in 2020 with the thesis that landlords deserve real banking infrastructure — not just software bolted onto generic bank accounts.
What Baselane Does Well
Landlord banking is the core product. Baselane offers FDIC-insured checking accounts with features landlords actually need: virtual property cards (one per property for clean expense separation), ACH rent collection, and automatic transaction categorization using real estate expense categories.
Rent collection is native. Tenants pay online, money lands in your Baselane account, and the transaction is automatically tagged to the right property. No third-party payment processor middleman.
Virtual cards per property mean you can issue a dedicated debit card to each property. Property 1’s repair expenses go on Property 1’s card — zero manual allocation.
High-yield savings on your reserves earns a competitive APY. Meaningful if you’re holding security deposits or capital reserves.
Free banking — the core banking product is free. You pay only if you upgrade to Baselane Plus for advanced features.
Where Baselane Falls Short
- You have to actually move money to Baselane for the system to work. That’s a friction point for landlords happy with their current bank.
- Financial analytics are less developed than Stessa or even Landlord Studio’s reporting.
- Tenant management features are minimal.
- Customer support has had scalability issues as the user base grew.
→ Open a Baselane account free
Landlord Studio Overview
Landlord Studio offers a clean mobile-first experience for tracking rental property income and expenses. It’s built for landlords who want to stay organized and generate basic reports without the complexity of full property management software.
What Landlord Studio Does Well
Mobile experience is class-leading. The iOS and Android apps are consistently rated among the best for rental property management. Logging expenses, scanning receipts, and reviewing financials from your phone is genuinely fast.
No banking change required. Connect your existing bank accounts, or simply log transactions manually. Landlord Studio works with whatever financial setup you already have.
Tenant management is more complete than Baselane. Lease tracking, rent reminders, tenant contact management, and maintenance request handling are all included.
Simple and fast to set up. Many users are fully configured within an hour. The onboarding is designed for landlords who aren’t software-savvy.
Receipt scanning lets you capture paper receipts on your phone and attach them directly to expense records — no desktop required.
Where Landlord Studio Falls Short
- Free plan is capped at 3 properties — restrictive for growing portfolios.
- Auto-categorization is less accurate than Baselane’s banking-native approach.
- No portfolio-level investment analytics.
- Tax reporting is basic — no Schedule E worksheet comparable to Stessa.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Banking & Money Management
Winner: Baselane — This is Baselane’s entire product. Landlord Studio has no banking component.
Expense Tracking Accuracy
Winner: Baselane — Automated categorization from a banking account where you actually spend is more accurate than after-the-fact logging.
Mobile Experience
Winner: Landlord Studio — Cleaner app, better receipt scanning, more polished UI.
Rent Collection
Winner: Baselane — Native ACH rent collection that lands directly in your Baselane account. Landlord Studio relies on third-party integrations.
Tenant Management
Winner: Landlord Studio — Lease tracking, maintenance requests, and tenant management are more developed.
Free Plan Generosity
Winner: Baselane — Free banking with unlimited properties. Landlord Studio limits free users to 3 properties.
Ease of Setup
Winner: Landlord Studio — Works with your existing setup. Baselane requires opening a new account.
Who Should Choose Baselane?
✅ Landlords building their financial infrastructure from scratch — Baselane is an ideal foundation for landlords setting up new systems who want to start with purpose-built banking.
✅ Landlords who want everything in one place — If your rental income flows through Baselane, categorization is automatic and accurate.
✅ Landlords who want native rent collection — Baselane’s ACH collection is integrated end-to-end without third-party friction.
✅ Landlords with 4+ properties — Baselane’s free banking scales without the property limits Landlord Studio’s free tier imposes.
→ Open a Baselane account free
Who Should Choose Landlord Studio?
✅ Landlords happy with their existing bank — No need to switch. Landlord Studio tracks expenses wherever they happen.
✅ Mobile-first landlords — The best smartphone experience in the tracking category.
✅ Landlords who want lightweight tenant management — Lease tracking, maintenance requests, and tenant contacts alongside income/expense tracking.
✅ New landlords with 1–3 properties — Simple, clean, and easy to learn.
Can You Use Both?
Yes — and many landlords find the combination works well. Use Baselane for banking and native rent collection, then connect your Baselane account to Landlord Studio (or Stessa) for additional tracking and reporting. Both free tiers make this zero-cost.
Final Verdict
Baselane wins if you’re willing to use it as your banking home base. The automated tracking, native rent collection, and property-specific virtual cards deliver real operational value — especially if you’re just setting up your financial systems.
Landlord Studio wins if you want clean, mobile-first tracking without changing your banking setup. The better mobile app and tenant management features are genuine advantages for hands-on landlords.
The key question: are you willing to move your rental money to Baselane? If yes, Baselane is almost certainly the better all-in-one system. If no, Landlord Studio is an excellent tracking layer on top of whatever you’re already using.
→ Open a Baselane account free
📊 More Property Management Comparisons
- Stessa vs Baselane — Tracking vs. banking for landlords
- Stessa vs Landlord Studio — Two tracking platforms compared
- TurboTenant vs Avail — Free PM platforms head-to-head
- Full Property Management Software Roundup — All 10 top platforms compared
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