Hostfully vs Smily (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hostfully and Smily 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 which platforms you need.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hostfully
Vacation rental property management software and digital guidebooks
Which one is for you
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
Pick Smily if
- Fits if you manage rentals in Europe and want a property system with payments
- Works for managers who want an owners portal and direct booking site
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price, as none is published
- Watch out: Smily Pay, damage protection and cancellation protection show no price
- Watch out: the site markets a mobile app but does not say which platforms it runs on
- Watch out: help and developer pages sit on the BookingSync domain
- Not for you if you want a free start, as the site directs visitors to a demo
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAHostfullyFair | 2.0GPASmilyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CNo price is published, so there is nothing to place against the category. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | FNo free plan or trial on record, only a request for a demo. |
| Features | 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. | BProperty system, channel manager, payments, AI tools, inbox, direct booking site, owners portal and tasks. Nothing in the core job is missing. |
| Ease of use | CNo app-store rating on record. You start through a demo and connect channels, owners and tasks, so there's a learning curve. | CNo store rating on record, and a demo and setup come before use. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, an open API and 150+ partner integrations, with PayPal and Stripe payments. There's no desktop app. | BWeb only on record, with Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Vrbo and an app center. |
| Best for | managers who want guest guidebooks with their software | European vacation rental managers |
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: Hostfully and Smily. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hostfully also covers reports.
- Smily also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| Hostfully | Smily | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hostfully | Smily |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Smily
- No prices are published; the site directs visitors to schedule a demo.
- The site markets a mobile app but its feature page does not say which platforms it runs on.
- The company calls itself a European vacation rental software, and its help and developer pages sit on the BookingSync domain.
- Smily Pay, damage protection and cancellation protection are listed under its fintech features, with no pricing shown.
Key features
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.
Smily
- PMS and channel manager
- A property management system and a channel manager for Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo and more, which the site says Smily is a preferred partner of.
- Payments and fintech
- SmilyPay, credit card acceptance, payments reconciliation, split payments and revenue distribution, with optional cancellation and damage protection.
- AI tools
- Smart replies in several languages, urgent inquiry detection, AI-written review replies and listing audits, with GDPR-compliant data handling stated.
- Unified inbox and email marketing
- Guest messages from all channels in one inbox, plus automated and personalized email campaigns, remarketing and a CRM.
- Direct booking website
- A customizable booking website, with a performance dashboard, revenue management and dynamic pricing listed alongside it.
- Owners portal, tasks and app center
- An owners portal, task management for teams, and an app center of third-party integrations for cleaning, pricing and guest communication.
Plans
Hostfully
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hostfully.com.
Smily
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smily.com.
Ways to pay less
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.
Smily
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hostfully or Smily?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hostfully has no price we could confirm, and Smily has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Hostfully or Smily?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Hostfully nor Smily has a free plan.
Which platforms do Hostfully and Smily 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.
