Это не стоит стресса.

not

Breakdown of Это не стоит стресса.

• это: it
• стресс: the stress
• стоить: should

Questions & Answers about Это не стоит стресса.

Why does the sentence start with Это? What does it refer to?

Это is a neutral “this/it” used to point to a situation, action, or idea already known from context (e.g., an argument, a task, a decision). It’s a very common way to say “This/It isn’t worth …” in Russian.
You can often drop it in conversation if the context is clear: Не стоит стресса. (more casual, more elliptical)

What exactly does не стоит mean here? Is it the same verb as “to cost (money)”?

Yes, it’s the same verb стоить = “to cost / to be worth.”
In this pattern не стоит + [Genitive], it’s usually idiomatic: “isn’t worth (the trouble/stress/etc.).”
So Это не стоит стресса = “It’s not worth the stress.”

Why is стресса in the genitive case?

Because стоить requires the thing “costing/being worth” to be expressed in the genitive:

• стоить (чего?) → стресса, времени, денег, усилий
  So it’s not “genitive because of negation” here; it’s simply the verb’s normal government.

What form is стоит? What tense/person is it?