Hostex vs Hostfully (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hostex grades higher than Hostfully: 2.6 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hostex grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Hostfully grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hostex
Low-cost channel manager and PMS for short-term rentals
Hostfully
Vacation rental property management software and digital guidebooks
Which one is for you
Pick Hostex if
- Fits if you manage a few rentals and want the lowest channel manager price
- Works for hosts who sync Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo in one calendar
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 2 properties, as Basic stops there
- Watch out: Vrbo, owner statements and open API access start on Pro
- Watch out: only yearly prices were readable, and the monthly-billed prices are not listed here
- Watch out: every rental unit counts as a property, and cutting the count waits for the term to end
- Skip it if you want self-serve checkout on top tier, as Premium shows Contact us
Pick Hostfully if
- Fits if you manage a growing set of short-term or mid-term rentals
- Works for hosts who want guest guidebooks and property software from one company
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price first, as the pricing page leads to a sales demo
- Not for you if you want to try before you pay, since no trial of the software is on record
- Pricey if you take direct bookings: 0.85% a booking on Basic, or 1.8% with a $10 monthly minimum on Premium
- Watch out: accounting, connected devices and Screen & Protect damage cover are add-ons, and AI Assist is still coming soon
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHostexGood | 2.0GPAHostfullyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ABasic is $4.9 a property a month on the yearly view, under 60% of the category's $10 cheaper-quarter line. Pro is $7 and Premium $10.5. | CNo price is published for the property software. The pricing page leads to a sales demo, so the price is only given on a sales call. Direct booking sites charge per booking on top: 0.85%, or 1.8% with a $10 monthly minimum. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 15-day free trial with no card needed. There is no free plan. | FNo free plan and no trial on record for the property software. Only the first digital guidebook is free, and that's a side product, not the software. |
| Features | CChannel sync, a unified inbox, automated messages, a direct booking site, tasks and owner reports. Vrbo, owner statements and API access are on Pro, not Basic. | BChannel sync with 60+ channels, a central calendar, one inbox with AI replies, booking sites, guidebooks, owner and task management, reporting and an open API. That covers the whole job, with accounting and devices as add-ons and AI Assist still marked coming soon. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and channels and properties have to be connected first. | CNo app-store rating on record. You start through a demo and connect channels, owners and tasks, so there's a learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it links to Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia, PriceLabs, Turno and Stripe. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, an open API and 150+ partner integrations, with PayPal and Stripe payments. There's no desktop app. |
| Best for | small hosts on a tight budget | managers who want guest guidebooks with their software |
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: Hostex and Hostfully. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hostfully also covers reports.
At a glance
| Hostex | Hostfully | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $4.9 per property / month, shown on the yearly view | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial, no card needed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hostex | Hostfully |
| Price read from | hostex.io | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hostex
- The pricing page shows a Monthly and a Yearly (save 33%) toggle; only the yearly figures were readable, so monthly-billed prices are not listed here.
- Basic is limited to up to 2 properties; Vrbo integration, owner statements and open API access start on Pro.
- The Premium plan shows a Contact us button rather than a self-serve checkout.
- The pricing page says each rental unit counts as a property, and reducing the property count has to wait until the contract term ends.
Hostfully
- Hostfully publishes no prices for its property management software; the pricing page leads to a sales demo.
- Direct booking sites charge per booking: 0.85% on Basic, or 1.8% with a $10 monthly minimum on Premium.
- Accounting, smart devices and Screen & Protect damage cover are add-ons, and AI Assist is listed as coming soon.
Key features
Hostex
- Channel sync and price calendar
- Updates bookings, rates and availability across connected channels from one calendar, with bulk edits by date, property or platform.
- Unified inbox and HostGPT
- Messages from every booking channel in one inbox, with an AI assistant that learns from a knowledge base and hands questions to staff when it cannot answer.
- Automated messages and reviews
- Triggered and canned messages, automated translation, and review sending and replying for guest reviews from booking channels.
- Direct booking site builder
- Builds a branded booking website with a custom domain and embeddable booking widgets. The pricing page says there is no booking fee.
- Tasks and team accounts
- Assigns cleaning tasks for each reservation, notifies cleaners of changes, and gives team members sub-accounts with set permissions.
- Owner reports and financial tracking
- Records income and expenses, and generates monthly reports to deliver to property owners.
Hostfully
- Channel manager and central calendar
- Syncs listings with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and 60+ channels, and shows every reservation in one calendar.
- Unified inbox and InboxAI
- Guest messages from all channels in one inbox tied to the listing data, with co-hosting support and InboxAI for replies.
- Direct booking sites
- A Basic site at a 0.85% booking fee, or a Premium site at 1.8% of each reservation with a $10 monthly minimum.
- Digital guidebooks
- Guidebooks with property information and paid extras for guests; the first guidebook is free with no credit card.
- Owners, tasks and reporting
- Owner management, task management, user permissions, pre-arrival forms and reporting and analytics within the PMS.
- Open API and integrations
- An open API and 150+ partner integrations, plus payment processing with PayPal, Stripe and Vacation Rent Payment.
Plans
Hostex
Basic$4.9
per property / month, yearly view (monthly figure not read)
For individual hosts, up to 2 properties. Unified inbox, HostGPT AI replies, automated messages and tasks, booking site builder, team accounts and reporting.
Pro$7
per property / month, yearly view (monthly figure not read)
For professional managers. Adds Vrbo integration, guest guide, multi-unit management, Google Vacation Rentals distribution, owner statements and open API access.
Premium$10.5
per property / month, yearly view (monthly figure not read)
For enterprises, sold through contact. Adds dedicated high-performance sync, priority support and onboarding, and custom integrations on request.
Hostfully
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hostfully.com.
Ways to pay less
Hostex
- Annual discount
Save 33% with yearly billing
The pricing page offers a yearly billing option marked as saving 33% against monthly payments.
Hostfully
- Other savings
Fall savings: up to 30% off until October 31
A banner on Hostfully's site offers up to 30% off everything for customers who book a demo by October 31, 2026.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hostex or Hostfully?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hostex starts at $4.9 per property / month, shown on the yearly view, and Hostfully has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Hostex or Hostfully?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Hostex nor Hostfully has a free plan. Hostex has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hostex and Hostfully run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Hostfully 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.