Stessa is the default free bookkeeping tool for small landlords. Here is when it stops working and what to move to.
Stessa is free, clean, and one of the most popular tools for landlords with a few rentals. It connects to bank accounts, auto categorizes transactions, and produces a passable Schedule E report at tax time. For a self managing owner with one or two doors, it is hard to beat at the price point.
Where Stessa stops working is the moment you hand a property to a third party property manager or add a second LLC. Stessa was not designed to reconcile a monthly PM statement against the actual bank deposit you receive, and it does not cleanly segregate multiple entities for investors who hold properties across different LLCs. Those are the two most common reasons Stessa users start shopping for a replacement.
This is not a hit piece. Stessa is a good product for the use case it was designed for. The question is whether your use case has outgrown it.
| Feature | DoorVault | Stessa |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Investors with property managers, multi LLC portfolios | Self managing owners with a few doors |
| PM statement reconciliation | Auto ingest + line by line match to bank deposit | Manual entry only |
| AI document processing | Haiku 4.5 extracts 60+ fields from closing docs, leases, mortgage statements | No AI extraction |
| Multi LLC support | Unlimited entities, per LLC reports, cross entity rollups | Limited, entity grouping awkward |
| Schedule E export | Yes, direct export by entity and property | Yes, basic |
| Bank feeds | Plaid, multiple accounts per entity | Plaid |
| Mortgage intelligence | 16 fields per loan, escrow tracking, servicer statements parsed | Basic loan balance only |
| Price | Free / $29 / $79 / $149 | Free with paid add ons |
| Best for | 3+ rentals with PMs or multi LLC | 1 to 2 self managed rentals |
DoorVault was built for the exact use case Stessa struggles with. PM statement reconciliation is the core feature. AI reads monthly PM reports, matches line items to bank deposits, and flags variances. Multi LLC is first class. Mortgage intelligence tracks every loan against servicer statements automatically.
Baselane combines a landlord banking product with bookkeeping. Strong option if you want rent collection and banking under one roof. Weaker on multi LLC and PM reconciliation, but the banking hook is a real advantage for DIY landlords.
REI Hub is the answer for landlords who want real double entry accounting without learning QuickBooks. Strong on multi entity. Weaker on document automation and AI. Good bridge option for owners moving from spreadsheets toward a real general ledger.
Landlord Studio is a solid mobile first bookkeeping tool for self managers. Similar audience to Stessa but more polished mobile experience. Same limitations around PM reconciliation and multi LLC complexity.
QuickBooks is the general ledger standard for small business accounting. Landlords can configure it to track rentals, but the setup is significant and most owners need a bookkeeper. Overkill for small portfolios, but the right answer at large scale with a dedicated finance person.
Pick Stessa if you self manage 1 to 3 rentals, do your own bookkeeping, and want a free tool that handles the basics without fuss. It is the best free option for that profile and there is no reason to pay for something else until you hit the PM or multi LLC wall. If you stay at 2 to 3 doors and never add a property manager, Stessa will probably serve you for years.
Pick DoorVault if you have three or more rentals, use a property manager on any of them, or hold properties across multiple LLCs. The moment a PM statement shows up in your inbox, the bookkeeping problem changes from transaction categorization to monthly reconciliation, and Stessa was not built for that.
DoorVault reads the PM statement, matches every line item (management fees, maintenance charges, owner draw) to the corresponding bank deposit, and flags variances before they become tax season surprises. Multi LLC is a first class feature. Mortgage intelligence tracks every loan automatically. The AI handles document extraction across closing disclosures, leases, insurance declarations, and mortgage statements.
Start free, upgrade when you outgrow the free tier. The Growth plan at $29 per month is designed for exactly the scaling investor profile that hits Stessa's ceiling.
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