Comparison
RentLedger vs Spreadsheets
Live rent ledger vs DIY spreadsheet
Spreadsheets are free and familiar — until a formula breaks, a receipt goes missing, or April arrives. Here is what you gain by moving a 1–20 unit portfolio to purpose-built rent tracking.
| Feature | RentLedger | Excel / Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | from $15 USD USD/mo | $0 (+ your time) |
| Professional PDF receipts | Auto-generated — currency, dates & regional footnotes | Manual templates |
| Late payment alerts | Dashboard highlights | Manual scanning |
| Upcoming rent schedule | Through lease end (Solo+) | Manual rows each month |
| Searchable payment history | Built-in | Ctrl+F across tabs |
| Multi-property rollup | Automatic | Fragile formulas |
| Year-end export | One click (Pro) | Weekend reconstruction |
| Audit trail | Timestamped records | Version chaos |
Our verdict
Spreadsheets work for one room rental. At 3+ units, software pays for itself the first time you avoid a dispute or cut CPA cleanup fees.
When Excel / Google Sheets wins
Keep a spreadsheet if you have a single tenant and rarely need receipts — but download our free receipt tool for occasional proof of payment.