PayHOA vs Stessa
PayHOA scores 7.9/10 vs 7.0/10. Best for: Self-managed HOA boards and condo associations that want to handle dues, violations, and voting without hiring a management company.
PayHOA scores higher overall at 7.9/10 vs 7.0/10. PayHOA is the go-to pick for self-managed HOA and condo boards. The feature set is built exactly for association work, including e-voting, violations, and architectural requests, and 5,000+ associations already use it. The transaction fees on dues collection can sting, especially for credit card payments at 3.25%. If your association collects $100K+ in annual dues, do the math on those fees before committing.
PayHOA 
Stessa Rank
#5 of 31
Rank
#21 of 31
Features
9/17
Features
12/17
Starting at
$49/mo
Starting at
$0/mo
User reviews
4.6/5 (629)
User reviews
4.5/5 (450)
What they cost
| PayHOA | Stessa | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting at | $49 /mo | Free /mo |
| Free trial | No | Free tier available |
| Number of plans | 5 | 3 |
What the pricing really means
At first glance, Stessa looks cheaper at $0/month vs $49/month. But sticker price is only part of the story. Look at what is included on the base plan, how many users you get, and whether you need add-ons to get the features you actually need. The $99/month plan that requires $200 in add-ons is actually more expensive than the $250/month plan that includes everything.
Where PayHOA wins
- Purpose-built for HOAs with e-voting, violation tracking, and architectural request workflows
- Trusted by 5,000+ associations, which is a strong adoption signal for niche software
- $49/month for up to 25 units works out to under $2/unit for small associations
- 565 Capterra reviews at 4.7 stars gives real confidence in the product
Where Stessa wins
- Free tier includes unlimited properties and automatic bank feeds. An investor with 30 doors can track income and expenses at $0/mo
- Schedule E tax reports generate automatically. Your CPA gets exactly what they need at filing time without you building a spreadsheet
- Dashboard is built for investors, not property managers. You see net cash flow, cap rates, and returns per property at a glance
- Cash management account pays 3.98% APY on idle funds. If you hold $20K in reserves, that is roughly $800/year in passive interest
Where PayHOA falls short
- Transaction fees add up fast, 3.25% + $0.50 per credit card payment and $1.95 per eCheck
- Not a rental property manager, no lease management, tenant screening, or vacancy tools
- Pricing jumps $50 at each tier break, so a 26-unit HOA pays double what a 25-unit one does
- No API for custom integrations or connecting to external accounting software
Where Stessa falls short
- Bank feed imports occasionally drop or miscategorize transactions. Plan to review and recategorize 5-10% of entries manually each month
- Tenant portal (resident.stessa.com) is new and basic compared to dedicated PM tools. Tenants can pay rent and submit requests, but the feature set is still maturing
- Free plan locks you to one portfolio with basic reports only. The $28/mo Pro plan is needed for multi-portfolio tracking
- Support response times vary wildly. Some tickets get answered in hours, others sit for days with no reply
Who is each product built for?
PayHOA
Target: Up to 500 units
PayHOA is the go-to pick for self-managed HOA and condo boards. The feature set is built exactly for association work, including e-voting, violations, and architectural requests, and 5,000+ associations already use it. The transaction fees on dues collection can sting, especially for credit card payments at 3.25%. If your association collects $100K+ in annual dues, do the math on those fees before committing.
Stessa
Target: 1-50 units
Buy Stessa if you are a real estate investor who cares about financial tracking and tax-ready reports. The free tier with bank feeds and Schedule E reports is genuinely useful. A basic tenant portal now exists at resident.stessa.com, but Stessa is still primarily a financial tracking tool. Skip if you need full property management with deep tenant features.
Feature comparison
| Feature | PayHOA | Stessa |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant Management | ||
| Tenant screening | ||
| Online rent collection | ||
| Lease management | ||
| Tenant portal | ||
| E-signatures | ||
| Property Operations | ||
| Maintenance requests | ||
| Owner portal | ||
| Property inspections | ||
| Vendor management | ||
| Vacancy advertising | ||
| Finance & Reporting | ||
| Accounting/bookkeeping | ||
| Bank account management | ||
| Insurance tracking | ||
| Reporting/analytics | ||
| Platform | ||
| Document storage | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| API access | ||
Common questions
PayHOA scores 7.9/10 vs Stessa's 7.0/10 in our ranking. PayHOA is the better pick for Up to 500 units. Stessa is better if you need real estate investors with 1-50 rental properties who want free income/expense tracking and tax-ready schedule e reports, not full property management.
PayHOA starts at $49/month. Stessa starts at $0/month. Watch for add-on costs — the base price often does not include all features. Pricing last verified 2026-04-01.
PayHOA: No free trial. Stessa: Free tier available. Always test with your actual workflow before committing to an annual plan.
PayHOA covers 9 of 17 features we track. Stessa covers 12 of 17. Stessa has broader feature coverage, but more features does not always mean better — pick the tool that covers what your business actually needs.
No, PayHOA does not have a mobile app. Stessa does have one.
Yes. The main effort is migrating your data (customer lists, job history, invoices). Plan for 1-2 weeks of overlap where you run both. Most property management tools can import CSV data. Ask both vendors about migration support before you sign.
The bottom line
Pick PayHOA if...
Self-managed HOA boards and condo associations that want to handle dues, violations, and voting without hiring a management company
Pick Stessa if...
Real estate investors with 1-50 rental properties who want free income/expense tracking and tax-ready Schedule E reports, not full property management