Accounting & Tax
Stessa
Financial tracking and tax optimization for real estate investors
Best for Small Hosts
Free accounting tool for solo real estate investors
From $0/mo • No free trial
Comparison
Stessa vs Avalara MyLodgeTax
Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.
Accounting & Tax
Avalara MyLodgeTax
Full-service lodging tax compliance for short-term rental operators
Best for Scale
Set-and-forget tax compliance for operators who can absorb the per-property cost
From $27/listing • No free trial
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Stessa or Avalara MyLodgeTax?
Pick Stessa if you need free, tax-ready financial tracking for your rental portfolio — income and expense categorization, Schedule E reports, and optional integrated banking. Pick Avalara MyLodgeTax if your primary pain point is lodging tax compliance — registration, filing, and remittance — across multiple jurisdictions. They solve different problems and many operators use both.
Editorial perspective from the Stessa side; factual claims about Avalara MyLodgeTax are drawn from its review.
Pricing Side-by-Side
Stessa
Full pricing →From $0/mo • No free trial
Essentials
$0/mo
Unlimited
- Unlimited properties
- Basic financial reports
- Bank feeds
- Online rent collection
Manage
$12/mo (annual) or $15/mo (monthly)
Unlimited
- Everything in Essentials
- Advanced reporting
Pro
$28/mo (annual) or $35/mo (monthly)
Unlimited
- Everything in Manage
- High-yield cash balances (3.98% APY)
- FDIC coverage up to $3M
Avalara MyLodgeTax
Full pricing →From $27/listing • No free trial
Standard
$27/property/mo
One-time $299 setup fee per property
1-5 properties
- Automated tax calculation across 11,000+ jurisdictions
- License and permit registration management
- End-to-end tax return filing and remittance
- Native PMS integrations (OwnerRez, Streamline)
Commercial
Custom quote
6+ properties (commercial pricing)
- Everything in Standard
- Volume-based discounts on per-property fee
- Dedicated account support
- Multi-state portfolio reporting
What each tool does well — and where it falls short
What Stessa does well
Comprehensive financial tracking with tax optimization
Stessa automatically categorizes transactions and generates tax-friendly reports, making tax preparation straightforward for real estate investors.
Free plan with unlimited properties
The Essentials plan offers significant value with unlimited property tracking, basic financial reports, and rent collection at no cost.
Integrated banking with competitive yields
Pro plan includes high-yield cash balances (3.98% APY) with FDIC coverage up to $3M, directly connected to property accounting.
What Avalara MyLodgeTax does well
Manages the entire tax lifecycle from registration through remittance
Avalara handles license registration, tax calculation, return filing, and payment to applicable jurisdictions — eliminating the need to manually navigate multi-state obligations.
PMS integrations enable hands-off compliance workflows
Native connections to OwnerRez and Streamline automatically import booking data, removing manual entry from the compliance process.
Enterprise infrastructure supporting up to 40,000+ properties
Commercial pricing tiers for 6+ property portfolios and architecture built for scale mean the platform grows with your business.
Covers 11,000+ tax jurisdictions across the US
Operators expanding into new markets don't need to research local tax requirements manually — Avalara's jurisdiction database handles the complexity.
Where Stessa falls short
Persistent technical issues with bank connections
Users report recurring problems with bank account verification and transaction syncing that customer support cannot permanently resolve.
Limited functionality for complex operations
The software lacks recurring bill/income features and detailed account tracking needed for sophisticated real estate portfolios.
Poor customer support responsiveness
Users on free plans experience slow email-only support, with reported resolution timeframes extending to months for simple issues.
Where Avalara MyLodgeTax falls short
Per-property costs compound quickly for growing portfolios
At $27/month plus $299 one-time setup per property, a 10-property portfolio runs $270/month and $2,990 upfront before any volume discounts apply.
Customer support receives consistent negative feedback
Users report long wait times, unclear escalation paths, and being directed to paid third-party support to resolve issues.
Scope limited strictly to lodging and occupancy taxes
Won't handle 1099 filing, HOA applications, or zoning compliance — operators still need separate solutions for those obligations.
Which Should You Pick
Pick Stessa if
Individual real estate investors seeking comprehensive financial tracking and tax preparation with unlimited properties on a budget.
Skip Stessa if
You run multi-entity portfolios requiring complex accounting, need dedicated tenant mobile apps, or require robust third-party integrations.
Pick Avalara MyLodgeTax if
Professional property managers with 5+ properties needing comprehensive compliance automation across multiple jurisdictions.
Skip Avalara MyLodgeTax if
You have 1–4 properties — the $299 setup fee and $27/month per listing make the math hard to justify at small scale.
Where Stessa and Avalara MyLodgeTax actually differ
- Stessa is a financial tracking platform that categorizes transactions and generates tax-ready reports; Avalara MyLodgeTax is a lodging tax compliance service that calculates, files, and remits occupancy taxes.
- Stessa offers a free Essentials plan with unlimited properties and paid tiers from $12–$35/mo flat; Avalara charges $27/mo per property plus a $299 setup fee per property, making it significantly more expensive at any portfolio size.
- Stessa connects to bank feeds for automatic transaction import; Avalara integrates with OwnerRez and Streamline to pull booking data for tax calculations but has no financial tracking or banking features.
- Stessa's Pro plan includes integrated banking with competitive APY and up to $3M FDIC coverage; Avalara offers no banking, expense tracking, or financial management tools.
- Avalara covers 11,000+ lodging tax jurisdictions and handles license registration and return filing; Stessa does not calculate, file, or remit any lodging taxes.
Common objections
- Does Avalara MyLodgeTax replace the accounting I do in Stessa?
- No. Avalara handles one narrow but critical function — lodging tax compliance. It does not track your rental income, categorize expenses, generate Schedule E reports, or give you a picture of portfolio performance. You still need a financial tracking tool like Stessa for day-to-day accounting.
- Stessa is free and Avalara costs $27/mo per listing — can I just handle tax compliance myself?
- You can, but the complexity scales with your jurisdictions. If you operate in one or two straightforward locations, self-filing may be manageable. Once you cross into multiple states or counties with different rates, filing frequencies, and license requirements, the risk of missed deadlines and penalties rises fast. Stessa will show you revenue but cannot tell you what you owe or file on your behalf.
- My OTA already collects lodging taxes — do I really need Avalara on top of Stessa?
- OTA tax collection is not universal. Airbnb and Vrbo handle taxes in many jurisdictions but leave gaps, especially for direct bookings. Avalara covers those gaps. Stessa can show you what your OTA collected, but it cannot verify whether your full tax obligation in each jurisdiction has been met.
Keep Digging
Avalara MyLodgeTax
Set-and-forget tax compliance for operators who can absorb the per-property cost