Checkfront vs Planyo (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Checkfront if

• Fits if you run tours, rentals or activities with limited availability
• Works for operators who sell through online travel agents

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you are small: $99 a month plus a 3% fee on every online booking
• Not for you if you book one-to-one meetings, as it is built for tours and rentals
• Watch out: the page says the price may vary by region and currency
• Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, as none is listed

Pick Planyo if

• Fits if you rent out equipment, rooms or boats by the hour or day
• Works for sites on WordPress or WooCommerce

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you have many resources, as the price rises per resource
• Watch out: prices are in Swiss francs, even where the page shows another currency
• Watch out: text messages cost CHF 10 per 100
• Tight if you pick the commission plan, which needs customer-entered bookings and a CHF 29 minimum in months with a booking
• Skip it if you want a free plan, as only a trial is offered

Checkfront

• Online bookings carry a 3% fee on top of the monthly subscription, which can be passed on to guests.
• The pricing page quotes $99 a month but notes that the price may vary by region and currency.
• There is no free plan or free trial on the pricing page; a demo is requested instead.
• It is built for tours, rentals and activities, not for one-to-one meeting scheduling.

Planyo

• Prices are in Swiss francs; the pricing page converts to other currencies for display, but charges are in CHF.
• The PRO price grows with the number of resources, and shared resources count as seats divided by 2.
• The PRO-COMM commission model needs customers to make valid online bookings, and admin-entered bookings can trigger a higher minimum.
• Text message notifications are extra, at CHF 10 per 100 messages.

Checkfront

Flexible availability

Products can be booked by the day, multiple days, the night, a timeslot or flextime, with capacity limits, rules such as guest minimums and cut-off times, and seasonal pricing.

Booking widgets

Four embed options: a catalog widget, a product widget, a booking widget and a Book Now button, plus WordPress, Drupal and Joomla connections.

Resellers and online travel agents

Connects to channels such as GetYourGuide, Viator, Expedia and Tripadvisor. The vendor says it adds no fee on top of OTA commissions.

Payments

Guests can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDEAL or Alipay, with receipts and invoices sent from the system.

Waivers and guest forms

Built-in online waivers and a custom form builder collect guest information at booking or afterwards.

Automated email and SMS

Reminders and review requests can be sent on custom booking statuses, with Twilio SMS and Slack notifications as add-ons.

Planyo

Embedded availability calendar

Embed a calendar on your own website, or use the personalized site Planyo creates for you.

Flexible pricing rules

Price by season, weekday, length of stay, number of guests or extras, with minimum and maximum rental times.

Shared and unit-based resources

Sell places on a shared resource such as bus seats or dormitory beds, or assign bookings to specific units like rooms.

Notifications and communication

Notifications by email and SMS (100 SMS cost CHF 10) and a customer conversation history all admins can view.

Customer self-service

Customers can view, change and cancel their own reservations, with immediate or manual confirmation.

Mobile apps

iPhone and Android apps for administering an account, plus a customer-facing booking app.

Checkfront

• Checkfront$99

  per month, plus a 3% online booking fee

  The only plan, for every business type. The 3% fee applies to online bookings and can be absorbed or passed on to guests; offline bookings have none.

Planyo

• Planyo PROCHF 29

  per month for 3 resources

  Each extra resource costs CHF 0 to 4 a month, with volume discounts. Months with no rentals are free.

• Planyo PRO-COMMCHF 29

  per month minimum, only in months with a booking

  No subscription: a 0.5% to 1.5% commission on customer-entered bookings, with a CHF 0.30 minimum per booking.

Checkfront

No public discounts listed.

Planyo

• Annual discount

  10% off for 12 months paid up front

  Planyo PRO lists a 10% discount when you pay 12 months up front.