Stessa
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a DIY landlord with a handful of rentals who wants free bookkeeping plus rent collection in one app.
New check
Comparison
Stessa vs Buildium
Stessa lands on Worth it, and Buildium lands on Depends.
Buildium
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you run a growing residential portfolio and want accounting, leasing, screening, and resident portals in one place.
| Compare | Stessa | Buildium |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | DIY landlords | Growing residential PM companies |
| Who it's not for | Full-service property managers running units for owners | Small landlords with a few units . overkill; a spreadsheet or basic tool wins |
| Privacy | 256-bit SSL and a published responsible-disclosure policy; no known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.15 | No core-platform breaches found in sources; one CSRF CVE in a third-party WordPress 'Listings for Buildium' plugin. |
| Support quality | Evidence inconclusive either way | Repeated Reddit complaints about service |
| Public sentiment | Small landlords on BiggerPockets and Reddit generally like Stessa's simplicity, while threads flag banking complaints and account closures.⁸ | Major review sites rate Buildium highly, but Reddit property-management threads skew sharply negative, especially on support and accounting. |
| Biggest gotcha | Users report account closures . export your data regularly⁶ | Support quality is the loudest complaint; test response times during your trial. |
Pick Stessa when
- DIY landlords
- Small portfolios of 1-10 units
- Buy-and-hold investors wanting free bookkeeping
- Owners who self-manage rent collection
When Stessa is not a fit
- Full-service property managers running units for owners
- Teams needing maintenance work orders and deep PM features
- Compliance-heavy leasing operations
- Single-unit owners . a spreadsheet does the job
Pick Buildium when
- Growing residential PM companies
- Managers wanting built-in accounting
- Teams needing tenant screening and portals
- HOA management
When Buildium is not a fit
- Small landlords with a few units . overkill; a spreadsheet or basic tool wins
- Anyone who prioritizes fast, competent support
- Budget-tight operators . fees stack beyond the advertised price
- Buyers wanting a free tier . none exists
Sources
- Stessa Review: Pros, Cons, Features and Pricingthecfoclub.comreview
- Stessa Review: The Free Tier Is Real. So Is the $28 Walldoortrackr.comreview
- Stessa vs. Buildium: A Software Comparison for Landlordsturbotenant.comreview
review
review
- If you're considering Stessa - be awarereddit.comreview
review
- Stessa for Managing Real Estate Data?biggerpockets.comreview
- Stessa Review 2026: Free Books, Paid Schedule Eaitoolsbakery.comreview
news
news
- Stessa Revenue 2021: $2.9M ARRgetlatka.comnews
official
- Pricingstessa.comofficial
- Securitystessa.comsecurity
- Responsible Disclosure Policystessa.comsecurity