Hospitable vs Hostaway (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Hospitable: it is first in our ranking of vacation rental tools, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hospitable grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hospitable
Guest messaging, channel sync and operations for short-term rentals
Free plan · from $25.52/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Hospitable if
- Fits if you host on Airbnb and spend most of your time answering guests
- Works for hosts who want a free plan that doesn't cap the number of properties
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: AI is capped at 10 uses a week, and there's no API, integrations, lock control or direct booking
- Pricey if you grow: Host stops at 2 properties, and each extra property costs $10 to $30 a month by plan
- Not for you if you need owner statements without a sales call, since they need Mogul, which is sold through a demo
- Watch out: direct bookings start on Professional and cost 1%, or 4% plus 3% processing, per booking
- Watch out: the free plan gets only AI and community support, and upsells on it carry a 10% fee
Pick Hostaway if
- Fits if you manage several listings and answer guests over SMS and WhatsApp as well as Airbnb
- Works for managers who send owners a statement every month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price first, as every price is a quote based on your listing count
- Not for you if you'd rather try it alone, since sign-up goes through a demo and no free trial is on record
- Watch out: the quote form is built for 2 or more listings and sends single-listing hosts to a separate page
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHospitableGood | 2.0GPAHostawayFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CHost is $25.52 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly, for one property, which is this category's middle. A second property is $10. Professional is $51.92 yearly for 2, and owner statements need Mogul at $99 a month for 3, plus $30 for each extra. | CNo price is published. The pricing page asks how many listings you have and returns a quote, so the price only comes from Hostaway's sales team, and we can't set it against this category's $25.52 middle. |
| Free plan and trial | BEssentials is free for unlimited properties, with channel sync, one inbox, scheduled messages and cleaning tasks, so one host could live on it. AI stops at 10 uses a week, upsells carry a 10% fee, and dynamic pricing is $15 a property after 30 days. | FNothing free on record. Sign-up goes through a demo or quote request, and the site shows no free plan and no trial. |
| Features | BChannel sync, one inbox with AI replies, cleaning tasks with teammate payouts, dynamic pricing, lock and thermostat automation, a direct booking site, and owner statements and accounting on Mogul. The whole job is there, spread across four plans. | BChannel sync over direct connections, one inbox for channel, email, SMS and WhatsApp messages, AI replies, dynamic pricing, owner statements and an owner portal, a booking site and an open API. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. |
| Ease of use | CNo app-store rating on record. You connect your channel accounts and set up message schedules and cleaning workflows first, so there's setup to do. | CHostaway rates 4.3 on the US App Store from 447 ratings, which puts it at C on our ease ladder. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with an API and MCP on paid plans and QuickBooks, PriceLabs and Stripe connections. There's no desktop app, and the free plan has no API access. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, an open API and 300+ marketplace integrations, QuickBooks among them. There's no desktop app. |
| Best for | Airbnb hosts who mostly answer guests | property managers answering guests on many channels |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Hospitable and Hostaway. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hospitable also covers tasks.
- Hostaway also covers reports and whatsApp messaging.
In commonWebiOSAndroidPublic APIAI featuresShared inboxChannel manager
At a glance
| Hospitable | Hostaway | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $25.52 per month for 1 property, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | Essentials: unlimited properties, unified inbox and automated messages, Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and Agoda sync, and cleaning workflows. AI is capped at 10 uses a week; no API, smart devices or direct booking. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of all features, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hospitable R&D BV | Hostaway |
| Price read from | help.hospitable.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hospitable
- Host is limited to 2 properties; beyond the included properties, each paid plan charges $10 to $30 per extra active property.
- Direct bookings are only on Professional and Mogul, at a 1% commission (Basic) or 4% plus 3% processing (Premium) per booking.
- Owner portals, owner statements and accounting integrations need the Mogul plan, which is sold through a demo.
- Essentials has AI and community support only; API access, integrations and smart devices need a paid plan.
Hostaway
- Hostaway publishes no prices: the pricing page asks for your listing count and returns a quote.
- Sign-up goes through a demo or quote request; the site shows no self-serve plan or free trial.
- The quote form is built around managers with 2 or more listings and sends single-listing hosts to a separate page.
Key features
Hospitable
- Unified inbox and automated messages
- Guest messages from every connected channel in one inbox, with scheduled messages, Q&A auto-replies and a guest portal.
- Channel sync
- Connects Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and Agoda on every plan, with iCal imports and Google Vacation Rentals listing for direct bookings.
- AI replies and Copilot
- Suggested and automatic AI replies, a knowledge hub and AI issue alerts; Essentials is limited to 10 AI uses a week.
- Tasks and teammate payouts
- Cleaning and teammate workflows with a tasks app, and payouts to cleaners for a fee of 2.5% per clean on Essentials or 1.5% on paid plans, capped at $5.
- Smart devices
- Professional and Mogul generate smart lock codes and run thermostat automations, with 2 or 4 devices included per property and $5 for each extra.
- Direct booking and owner tools
- A direct booking website from Professional, at 1% or 4% plus 3% per booking; owner portals, statements and accounting come with Mogul.
Hostaway
- Channel manager and multi-calendar
- Syncs listings, rates and availability with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Google and Expedia over direct API connections, with regional channels through the marketplace.
- Unified inbox
- Messages from Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com sit in one inbox with email, SMS and WhatsApp, alongside templates and automated messages.
- AI Replies and AI CoHost
- AI Replies drafts answers to common guest questions and can send them automatically. AI CoHost, new, reads live account data and suggests next steps.
- Dynamic pricing
- Adjusts nightly rates for season and events across channels, alongside coupons, promotions and upsells.
- Owner statements and reporting
- Financial and occupancy reports, owner statement templates with automated delivery, an owner portal and a QuickBooks connection.
- Direct booking site and open API
- A website builder with a booking engine and widgets for existing sites, an open API, and 300+ marketplace integrations.
Plans
Hospitable
Essentials$0
Free for unlimited properties. Upsells carry a 10% processing fee, and dynamic pricing is $15 per property a month after a short trial.
Host$25.52
per month for 1 property, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
For solo hosts, up to 2 properties at $10 for the second. Adds AI message replies, dynamic pricing, the metrics dashboard and API and MCP access.
Professional$51.92
per month for 2 properties, billed annually ($59 billed monthly)
Each extra property is $15. Adds a direct booking website, smart lock and thermostat automation and guest payment collection.
Mogul$99
per month for 3 properties, billed monthly
Each extra property is $30. Adds owner portal, payouts and statements, accounting with QuickBooks, and commission tracking. Sold through a demo.
Hostaway
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hostaway.com.
Ways to pay less
Hospitable
- Annual discount
Save 12% with annual billing
Hospitable's pricing page lists a 12% saving for annual billing: Host is $25.52 a month instead of $29, and Professional $51.92 instead of $59.
Hostaway
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hospitable or Hostaway?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Hospitable starts at $25.52 per month for 1 property, billed annually ($29 billed monthly), and Hostaway has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Hospitable or Hostaway?
As of Oct 24, 2026, only Hospitable has a free plan. Hostaway does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.