Stessa vs RentRedi: Best Software for DIY Landlords in 2026?
Stessa dominates portfolio tracking and tax prep while RentRedi excels at day-to-day tenant management. We compare both to help you pick the right tool.
Stessa wins for financial tracking and tax prep; RentRedi wins for full-cycle tenant management with a mobile-first experience.
Stessa and RentRedi both target independent landlords, but they approach the job from opposite directions.
Stessa is a financial-first platform. It tracks income, expenses, and portfolio performance — then makes tax season painless with Schedule E-ready reports. It’s built for landlords who think like investors.
RentRedi is an operations-first platform. It handles tenant screening, rent collection, maintenance requests, and lease management — all from a polished mobile app. It’s built for landlords who manage day-to-day.
The overlap is smaller than you’d think. Here’s how to choose.
Quick Verdict
| Stessa | RentRedi | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Portfolio tracking + tax prep | Tenant management + operations |
| Free plan | Yes (generous) | No (starts ~$12/month) |
| Paid tier | Stessa Pro (~$20/month) | $12–$25/month depending on plan |
| Rent collection | Yes (via partner) | Yes (native ACH, card, cash via REI) |
| Tenant screening | No | Yes (TransUnion reports) |
| Maintenance tracking | No | Yes (with photo/video upload) |
| Tax reports | Excellent (Schedule E ready) | Basic |
| Portfolio analytics | Yes (NOI, cash flow, cap rate) | No |
| Mobile app | Functional | Excellent (4.8★) |
Choose Stessa if: You want the best financial visibility across your portfolio and the easiest tax prep.
Choose RentRedi if: You actively manage tenants and need screening, maintenance tracking, and rent collection in one app.
Where Stessa Wins
Portfolio Analytics
Stessa’s core strength is giving you a real-time financial dashboard across all your properties. NOI, cash flow, vacancy rates, cap rates — it’s all calculated automatically from your connected bank accounts and tagged transactions.
RentRedi doesn’t offer portfolio-level analytics. It tracks rent payments and basic income/expense, but it won’t calculate your cap rate or generate net operating income reports.
Tax Preparation
This is Stessa’s killer feature. It auto-categorizes expenses into IRS Schedule E line items, generates exportable reports, and integrates with major tax software. Landlords consistently cite tax season as the #1 reason they chose Stessa.
RentRedi offers basic income/expense tracking, but you’ll need to do significant manual work (or a separate tool) to get tax-ready reports.
Free Tier
Stessa’s free plan is remarkably generous — unlimited properties, automatic transaction importing, and the core portfolio dashboard. You only hit the paywall for advanced features like document storage and market data.
RentRedi has no free tier. Plans start at around $12/month (billed annually), which is reasonable but not free.
Where RentRedi Wins
Tenant Screening
RentRedi offers integrated TransUnion screening: credit reports, criminal background checks, and eviction history. Tenants apply and pay for their own screening through RentRedi’s portal.
Stessa doesn’t offer tenant screening at all. If you use Stessa, you’ll need a separate service for this.
Maintenance Management
RentRedi lets tenants submit maintenance requests with photos and videos, track work orders, and manage vendor communication — all through the app. This is a major time-saver for hands-on landlords.
Stessa has no maintenance management features. It’s purely a financial tracking tool.
Mobile Experience
RentRedi’s mobile app is genuinely excellent — 4.8 stars across app stores. It’s designed for landlords who manage from their phone. Tenant communication, maintenance approvals, and rent tracking all work smoothly on mobile.
Stessa has a mobile app, but it’s more of a companion to the web dashboard than a standalone management tool.
Rent Collection Flexibility
RentRedi supports ACH, credit/debit cards, and even cash payments through a REI (retail) network — giving tenants who don’t have bank accounts a way to pay. Stessa’s rent collection works through a partner integration and is more limited in payment methods.
When You Need Both
Here’s the thing: Stessa and RentRedi aren’t really competitors. They solve different problems. Many landlords use both — Stessa for financial tracking and tax prep, RentRedi for tenant-facing operations.
If you can only pick one:
- Fewer than 5 units, self-managing tenants? → RentRedi. You need the operational tools more than portfolio analytics.
- 5+ units, focused on growth and returns? → Stessa. Financial visibility becomes critical as you scale.
- Any portfolio size, hate tax season? → Stessa. Nothing else makes Schedule E this easy.
Pricing Breakdown
Stessa
- Free: Unlimited properties, transaction importing, portfolio dashboard, basic reports
- Stessa Pro (~$20/month): Market rent data, document storage, advanced reports, priority support
RentRedi
- Monthly: ~$25/month
- Annual: ~$12/month (billed yearly)
- All plans include: Tenant screening, rent collection, maintenance tracking, lease management
Stessa’s free tier makes it easy to start. RentRedi’s annual pricing makes it affordable but requires upfront commitment.
The Bottom Line
Stessa is the best financial tracking tool for landlords. Period. If you care about portfolio performance, clean books, and easy tax prep, it’s the clear choice.
RentRedi is the best operational tool for hands-on landlords. If you’re actively managing tenants — screening applicants, collecting rent, handling maintenance — it’s the more complete solution.
For many landlords, the answer is both. Stessa handles the money side; RentRedi handles the people side. They don’t overlap enough to conflict.
Try Stessa free → | Try RentRedi →
📊 More Property Management Comparisons
- Stessa vs Baselane — Financial tracking vs. integrated banking
- Stessa vs TurboTenant — Investor tools vs. free landlord management
- TurboTenant vs RentRedi — Free vs. affordable full-suite
- TurboTenant vs Avail — Two popular free platforms compared
- Full Property Management Software Roundup — All 10 top platforms compared
🏢 Explore Other Niches
- Best HOA Management Software 2026 — For community and association managers
- Best Salon & Spa Management Software 2026 — For beauty professionals
PickStack researches and tests tools independently. Some links may be affiliate links — we only recommend tools we’d use ourselves.