DealCheck vs Stessa vs TrueCap: which one do you actually need?

The three tools, in one sentence each

Before getting into pricing or feature matrices, get the positioning right. These products overlap in places, but their scope and center of gravity differ.

• DealCheck is a per-deal rental underwriting calculator. Inputs: purchase price, rent, financing, expenses. Outputs: cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, monthly cash flow, 10-year pro-forma.
• TrueCap is the same kind of tool — a per-deal rental underwriting calculator — built newer with unlimited free core analyses, editable screening assumptions, selected-rule fit, and a secondary Screening Index.
• Stessa is a property accounting and operations platform with a current acquisition marketplace. Before closing it offers listing filters, buy boxes, comps, projected returns, and editable offer/financing/rent/expense inputs. After closing it adds bank feeds, rent collection, documents, financial reports, and plan-dependent Schedule E.

Compare the workflow in three questions:

1. Do you need listing discovery? Stessa includes an investor marketplace; DealCheck and TrueCap primarily analyze properties you bring.
2. Which acquisition decision workflow fits? Compare each tool's inputs, targets, scenarios, reports, and limits on the current product—not its historical category.
3. Do you want post-purchase operations in the same system? Stessa extends into accounting and landlord operations; DealCheck and TrueCap stay focused on acquisition analysis.

DealCheck vs TrueCap: the focused-analyzer head-to-head

These are the two focused per-deal analyzers. Both take a property address + your inputs and return the standard underwriting metrics. Both have free and paid tiers. The differences come down to free tier depth, pricing structure, and a few feature emphases.

Free tier

TrueCap free gives you the full underwriting engine — cap rate, CoC, DSCR, NCF, monthly cash flow — on every analysis, with no monthly limit and no signup wall. Address auto-fill starts with a HUD area rent benchmark and a FRED owner-occupied 30-year rate benchmark. Property tax remains a manual local input; if left blank, the screen discloses a generic 1.1% purchase-price fallback rather than a state or parcel estimate.

DealCheck Starter includes its core rental, BRRRR, Airbnb, and flip calculators plus professional interactive and PDF reports. Its free plan allows up to 15 saved properties and applies published limits to items such as photos, comps, and templates. An account is required.

Pricing

TrueCap offers a free core analyzer and paid Pro plans. A free signed-in account can create read-only share links and includes one sale and rent comps lookup; Pro includes 50 comps lookups per month plus 10-year cash-flow and equity projections, sensitivity, an Offer Ceiling, and saved-deal comparison. PDF export is included with Pro. See the live pricing page for current rates and limits.

DealCheck currently offers Starter, Plus, and Pro plans. Its core calculators and professional reports are included on Starter; paid plans raise published limits for saved properties, photos, comps, and templates.

Pricing and plan terms can change. Verify the current details on the official DealCheck pricing page, Stessa pricing page, and TrueCap pricing page.

What each does better

• TrueCap: unlimited no-signup core analyses, selected-rule fit and a secondary Screening Index, portfolio rollup across saved deals, pre-tax operating cash flow and loan-coverage screening, sensitivity grid (rent ±10%, vacancy ±5pp, rate ±1pp), target-dependent Offer Ceiling, Screening Index (0-100) with subscore breakdown, address auto-fill via authoritative open data sources you can audit.
• DealCheck: native iOS and Android apps (TrueCap is a PWA), direct property-import from Zillow / Redfin / MLS listings, longer track record in the BRRRR community, broader brand recognition.

For investors who prioritize unlimited no-signup core analyses, editable screening assumptions, and a selected-rule fit and secondary Screening Index, TrueCap may be the better fit. The full TrueCap vs DealCheck comparison page has the row-by-row feature matrix if you want to dig deeper.

Where Stessa overlaps—and where its scope goes further

Stessa's official marketplace now helps investors find, evaluate, and act on listings. It documents investor filters, buy-box alerts, projected rent, rental and sale comps, neighborhood metrics, and a calculator with editable offer price, financing, rent, and operating costs. The calculator reports projected cash flow, cap rate, and ROI; Stessa also publishes a separate returns calculator with NOI, cash-on-cash, DSCR, depreciation, and after-tax outputs.

That is real acquisition underwriting, not a post-purchase-only product. Stessa's broader distinction is that the same brand also serves owned-property accounting and landlord operations. Its current pricing lists bank feeds, reports, document storage, rent collection, maintenance, screening, and plan-dependent Schedule E and eSignatures.

• Evaluate Stessa for: discovering listings, screening opportunities with its data and assumptions, and carrying acquired properties into accounting and operations.
• Evaluate TrueCap or DealCheck for: a dedicated per-deal decision workflow when its target logic, scenarios, reports, or usage model better matches how you underwrite.

A two-tool stack remains reasonable, but it is not mandatory. If you already use Stessa, test its marketplace underwrite before assuming you need a second calculator. If you prefer TrueCap or DealCheck for acquisition, Stessa can still become the system for actuals after closing.

The TrueCap vs Stessa comparison page has the dated, source-linked feature matrix.

Primary Stessa sources reviewed August 27, 2026: the official Investment Property Marketplace, marketplace help article, investment metrics FAQ, returns and income-tax calculator, and pricing page.

A low-cost starting stack

If you're cost-conscious and own 1-3 rentals, this stack can start without a paid subscription:

• TrueCap free: unlimited underwriting, cap rate / CoC / DSCR / cash flow on every deal.
• Stessa Essentials: the current free plan lists unlimited properties, automatic bank feeds, and basic financial reports. Current pricing places Schedule E on Manage and Pro.

Creating a new TrueCap read-only share link remains free but requires sign-in; anyone who receives the link can view it without an account. If you need 10-year cash-flow and equity projections, sensitivity, more comps, or saved-deal comparison, compare the current Pro plans. PDF reports are included with Pro. If you need more from Stessa, compare its current Manage and Pro plans as well.

DealCheck Starter includes the core calculators and professional reports; its paid Plus and Pro plans mainly raise published usage limits. You may still pair it with an accounting platform if you want post-purchase bookkeeping.

Quick decision matrix

If you're just trying to pick:

• "I want to underwrite my first rental this week." Compare a focused analyzer such as TrueCap or DealCheck with Stessa's current marketplace underwrite.
• "I'm comparison-shopping calculators and care about mobile." DealCheck if you need native iOS / Android apps; TrueCap PWA if you're fine installing from the browser.
• "I want unlimited core analyses without signup." TrueCap is designed for that workflow.
• "I want selected-rule context, not just metrics." TrueCap shows selected-rule fit with a secondary Screening Index breakdown.
• "I own 5+ rentals and want clean Schedule E reporting at tax time." Consider Stessa. Pairing it with TrueCap or DealCheck for the next acquisition is optional and depends on the decision workflow you need.
• "I want everything in one tool." Stessa is the broadest of these three across discovery, acquisition, and operations. Compare its acquisition depth with the dedicated workflows in DealCheck and TrueCap.

FAQ

Run a deal in TrueCap free

The easiest way to figure out which calculator you like is to run one of your real deals through it. TrueCap starts from an address. Review the imported facts and starting assumptions, enter the property values that are still missing, and you'll see the modeled underwrite.