TrueCap vs Landlord Studio: underwrite before, track receipts after
By TrueCap · built by a Philadelphia rental investor
Landlord Studio is property management software for independent landlords: listings, tenant screening, online rent collection, and rental accounting with receipt scanning. TrueCap is a pre-purchase underwriting calculator that helps screen an acquisition. Different stages, potentially complementary tools.
Free analyzer: no card or signup
TL;DR
Use TrueCap when
- You're evaluating a property before making an offer.
- You want cap rate, DSCR, cash flow, projection.
- You want standardized economics and Buy Box fit to compare 2-3 deals.
- You're not yet generating receipts to track.
Use Landlord Studio when
- You own rentals and need to track expenses + receipts.
- You want a mobile app for snapping receipts at the property.
- You want Schedule E reports at tax time (Pro and Pro Plus).
- You want online rent collection, receipt scanning and bank feeds (Pro and Pro Plus) in one app.
Feature-by-feature
Side-by-side on every dimension that matters for a comparison-shopping investor.
| Feature | TrueCap | Landlord Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Lifecycle stage | Pre-purchase — underwrite the deal | Post-purchase: find tenants, collect rent, keep the books |
| Cap rate / CoC / DSCR analysis | Yes — full engine, free tier | Free standalone calculators (cap rate, NOI, rental yield, mortgage, BRRRR); not part of its plans |
| 10-year projection | Pro — rent + expense + appreciation | Not among Landlord Studio's listed features |
| Deal score (0–100) | Free — 0–100 score with factor breakdown | Not among Landlord Studio's listed features |
| Starting values (rent/rate/tax) | HUD rent + FRED rate + manual local property tax | A free rent estimator that uses Zillow, HUD and Census data |
| Receipt scanning | No | Yes: a smart receipt scanner on every plan |
| Expense tracking + categorization | No | Yes: income and expense tracking on every plan; bank feeds and automatic categorization on Pro and Pro Plus |
| Schedule E P&L reports | Forward projection only | Yes: Schedule E and other tax-ready reports on Pro and Pro Plus |
| Rent collection | No | Yes, online by card or ACH on every plan, including the free Go plan |
| Mobile app | PWA | Native iOS + Android |
| Free tier | Yes — core cap rate, CoC, DSCR, and cash flow | Yes: the Go plan, for up to 3 units |
| Pricing (paid tier) | Paid Pro; see live pricing for current rates | Pro from $12 a month billed annually ($15 monthly); Pro Plus from $24 a month billed annually ($30 monthly), as of October 2026 |
Landlord Studio plans, prices and features were checked against its pricing page in October 2026. See landlordstudio.com/pricing for current terms.
How TrueCap + Landlord Studio fit together
- Underwrite the property in TrueCap. Cap rate, DSCR, cash flow, projection. Save the deal.
- Close + onboard in Landlord Studio. Set up the property, start logging receipts as you incur expenses.
- Mobile receipt tracking on the go. Contractor invoice on your phone? Snap, categorize, file.
- Annual tax time. Pull the Schedule E report from Landlord Studio (Pro and Pro Plus). Re-run TrueCap to compare actuals vs projection — the gap is your learning for the next acquisition.
Deciding whether to buy, not how to book it? The free break-even calculator shows how long before there is a profit to reconcile, and the full TrueCap analyzer projects the cap rate, cash-on-cash, and cash flow before you own the expenses you'd later be tracking here. Our guide on 60-second underwriting walks through the workflow end-to-end.
Common questions about TrueCap vs Landlord Studio
Quick answers to the questions investors comparison-shopping these tools actually ask.
Is TrueCap a Landlord Studio alternative?
No — different stages. Landlord Studio manages properties you own (listings, rent collection, accounting). TrueCap underwrites properties you're considering buying. They cover different stages, so a landlord can use both.
Landlord Studio vs Stessa — which one?
Both import bank transactions: Stessa lists automatic bank feeds on its free Essentials plan, and Landlord Studio's bank feeds start on Pro. Landlord Studio's receipt scanner and online rent collection are on every plan, and both have a free plan. Compare reports and price on Landlord Studio's pricing page and Stessa's pricing page.
Does Landlord Studio collect rent?
Yes. Landlord Studio collects rent online by card or ACH on every plan, including the free Go plan, and deposits it into your bank account. TrueCap does not collect rent.
Does TrueCap track actual expenses?
No. TrueCap models projected expenses for underwriting (taxes, insurance, vacancy, mgmt, maintenance, capex). It doesn't connect to your bank or accept receipt photos. Landlord Studio, Stessa, or Baselane handle that.
Is Landlord Studio free?
Yes. The Go plan is free for up to 3 units and includes online rent collection. The paid plans are Pro (from $12 a month billed annually, $15 monthly) and Pro Plus (from $24 a month billed annually, $30 monthly), as of October 2026. They add bank feeds, Schedule E and other tax-ready reports, and more document storage. See landlordstudio.com/pricing for current prices.
On price, plainly
Tools in this space run from free to well above TrueCap — check Landlord Studio's live pricing for their current number. What TrueCap's price buys is the decision layer, not more calculation: an Offer Ceiling for your targets, Buy Box fit with reasons, the downside stress test, and assumptions that are source-labeled instead of silently defaulted. Whether that workflow justifies the price depends on your volume, verification process, and existing tools.
Screening listings for investor clients? TrueCap for agents keeps a client roster and screens each deal against the Buy Box of the client you assign it to.
Underwrite the next deal — free.
TrueCap free covers cap rate, CoC, DSCR, and monthly cash flow. Your first complete decision also includes the Offer Ceiling. Pro adds 10-year cash-flow and equity projections, sensitivity, the Offer Ceiling, co-branded share links, and PDF reports; see live pricing for current terms. No card to start.
About TrueCap
TrueCap is built by one person, a rental investor in Philadelphia. It started as the tool he wanted for his own underwriting — a way to get from an address to a source-labeled first-pass answer — and it's still how he runs the deals he considers.