Hostaway vs Hostbuddy (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hostaway and Hostbuddy share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features and platforms, where Hostaway grades higher, or value for money and the free plan, where Hostbuddy does.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hostbuddy
AI guest messaging for vacation rental hosts, connected to your PMS
Which one is for you
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
Pick Hostbuddy if
- Fits if you already run a PMS and want guest questions answered for you
- Works for hosts who get the same questions again and again
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need bookings or a calendar, since it only handles messages
- Not for you if you have no PMS, as it connects to one
- Tight if you have many properties, because the price is per property
- Watch out: Pro keeps 30 days of history and 2 guest journeys, and the annual price isn't shown
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAHostawayFair | 2.0GPAHostbuddyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | B$7 a property a month on monthly billing, under the $10 cheaper quarter of rental tools. The price multiplies with each property. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record. Sign-up goes through a demo or quote request, and the site shows no free plan and no trial. | C2 weeks free on every plan. The listing doesn't say whether a card is needed, and there's no free plan. |
| Features | 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. | DOne narrow job, guest messaging, and it needs a PMS for the rest. No bookings, calendar or channels. |
| Ease of use | CHostaway rates 4.3 on the US App Store from 447 ratings, which puts it at C on our ease ladder. | CNo store rating on record. You connect your PMS and fill in its knowledge base. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, an open API and 300+ marketplace integrations, QuickBooks among them. There's no desktop app. | CWeb only. The listing names no integrations. |
| Best for | property managers answering guests on many channels | AI replies to guest messages |
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: Hostaway and Hostbuddy. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hostaway also covers reports, channel manager and whatsApp messaging.
- Hostbuddy also covers chat assistant and chatbots.
At a glance
| Hostaway | Hostbuddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $7 per property / month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 2 weeks free on every plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hostaway | HostBuddy AI |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | hostbuddy.ai |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Hostbuddy
- It handles guest messaging, not bookings, calendars or channel distribution; a property management system is needed.
- Price is per property, so a large portfolio multiplies the monthly cost.
- Conversation history, guest journeys, team seats and webhooks vary by tier, and Pro limits history to 30 days.
- The pricing page shows an annual option described as two months free but the annual price was not displayed.
Key features
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.
Hostbuddy
- AI-powered guest messaging
- Answers guest questions through conversational AI connected to your property management system, with support for many languages.
- Knowledge base and tone
- Higher tiers let you customize the knowledge base the AI draws on, plus its tone of voice and reply delay.
- Past conversation learning
- The assistant can learn from earlier host and guest conversations, and it sends action-item notifications when staff must step in.
- Gap night upsells
- The comparison table lists gap night upsells and guest journeys, which are scheduled message flows for a stay.
- Smart inbox and calendar
- A smart inbox with conversation history, plus a calendar view, are listed in the tier comparison.
- Website chat widget
- A chat widget for your own site and multi-property configuration appear in the feature comparison.
Plans
Hostaway
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hostaway.com.
Hostbuddy
Pro$7
per property / month, billed monthly
AI guest messaging, PMS integration and smart inbox for individual hosts; 30 days of history, 2 guest journeys and 3 team members.
Elite$10
per property / month, billed monthly
For growing managers: 60 days of conversation history, up to 5 guest journeys and unlimited team members.
Ultimate$12
per property / month, billed monthly
For large portfolios: unlimited guest journeys and business insights, with Slack notifications, webhooks and early feature access.
Ways to pay less
Hostaway
No public discounts listed.
Hostbuddy
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
The pricing page toggle labels annual billing as 2 months free; the annual price per property was not displayed on the page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hostaway or Hostbuddy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hostaway has no price we could confirm, and Hostbuddy starts at $7 per property / month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Hostaway or Hostbuddy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Hostaway nor Hostbuddy has a free plan. Hostbuddy has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hostaway and Hostbuddy run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Hostaway lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.