Hospitable vs. Hostaway: How Do They Compare?

Last updated: September 2026

Hospitable and Hostaway are both established platforms for vacation rental hosts, but they're built for different scales of operation. Here's how they compare, and where Lodgify fits as an alternative.

Who is it for?

Hospitable

Hospitable is designed for hosts with small to medium-sized portfolios, typically 1–20 properties. It's built around automated guest messaging and day-to-day operations rather than deep property-management or enterprise tooling.

Hostaway

Hostaway targets larger, established property management companies with more complex needs. Its pricing and setup reflect an operation that already has scale, rather than a lightweight or self-serve product.

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify is built for independent hosts and small-scale property managers who want to run their rental business without the complexity of enterprise software. Every plan and its price are public, so there's no sales call required to find out what it costs.

How much does it cost?

Hospitable

Hospitable offers a free Essentials plan with unlimited properties, covering calendar sync, a unified inbox and basic automation, with no per-property fee.

Paid plans start at Host, $29/month for 1 property (up to 2, at $10/month for the second), Professional at $59/month for 2 properties (additional properties $15/month each), and Mogul at $99/month for 3 properties (additional properties also $15/month each).

Dynamic Pricing is included at no extra cost on Host, Professional and Mogul.

Hostaway

Hostaway doesn't publish pricing publicly; it provides custom quotes based on your portfolio and needs. Third-party reports and reviews suggest it's one of the more expensive options on the market, with small-portfolio pricing commonly cited in the $40–50 per property per month range. Confirm current figures directly with Hostaway, since no official rate card exists.

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify offers 4 transparent plans, each with clear pricing and no surprises about what's included. Basic is the lower-priced entry plan, starting at $14/month (billed annually), with a unified calendar and AI-powered unified inbox for hosts with 1 property. Starter, Professional and Ultimate scale up from there, starting at $26, $42 and $62/month respectively.

Starter, Professional and Ultimate include commission-free direct bookings through your Lodgify website: you pay your Lodgify subscription instead of an additional booking commission, though payment processing fees may still apply. (Bookings made through Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com still carry those platforms' own host fees, which Lodgify doesn't control.)

Dynamic Pricing is included on Professional and Ultimate, with a trial available on Starter and Basic. It adjusts your nightly rates automatically based on demand, seasonality and market signals, so your calendar stays competitively priced without manually checking rates every day.

What are the main differences?

Onboarding

Hospitable

Hospitable includes a free self-serve setup and a free orientation call during the trial. A more hands-on guided program, Rapid Rollout, is available as a paid 1:1 option for hosts who want extra support.

Hostaway

Hostaway's onboarding is reported at €250/month or €100/year for the process, taking roughly 3–5 weeks with unlimited calls included.

Alternative: Lodgify

Starter, Professional and Ultimate include free, personalized 1:1 onboarding with a product expert, who helps set up your account, import your listings and connect your channels. Basic uses guided self-onboarding.

Guest messaging and AI

Hospitable

Hospitable's Host plan includes AI Guest Issue Alerts that flag guest problems needing attention. Mogul adds Inbox AI, which fully automates guest messaging rather than just suggesting replies.

Hostaway

Hostaway offers message API integrations across major channels plus email, text and WhatsApp support, unified in one inbox. Hostaway AI drafts contextual guest message suggestions based on conversation history and property details, alongside automation recommendations and predictive pricing insights.

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify's unified inbox brings every guest conversation, across all your booking channels and your own website, into one place, with saved replies, automated messages, a built-in AI writing assistant and WhatsApp messaging from the same dashboard.

Beyond the inbox, Lodgify AI Co-Host is in early access. It surfaces relevant insights and recommendations across your bookings, guests, tasks and revenue, so you stay in control and can act on what needs attention rather than digging for it.

Website builder

Hospitable

Hospitable's direct booking site, Hospitable Sites, isn't available on the Host plan; you need Professional or Mogul to access it. It offers fewer templates and customization options than more specialized website builders.

Hostaway

A basic website builder is included, sufficient for accepting direct bookings, but with fewer templates and customization options than some competitors. Hostaway doesn't provide a custom domain, so you'll need to register one through an external provider.

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify's website builder is included on Starter, Professional and Ultimate, and lets hosts launch a bookable website under their own domain. It's fully customizable, with templates, widgets and unlimited pages, and every site takes direct bookings from day 1.

Hosts who already have a WordPress, Squarespace or Wix site can embed the Lodgify booking widget instead, turning an existing site into one that takes direct bookings.

Channel manager

Hospitable

Hospitable connects to Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and Agoda, with a centralized calendar. Google Vacation Rentals integration isn't available on the Host plan.

Hostaway

Hostaway syncs calendars automatically across major platforms via two-way API, though Airbnb listings specifically must be managed through Hostaway as the "master calendar." Listings themselves aren't synced automatically; changes need to be pushed manually to each channel, and listings can only be imported from Airbnb (though they can be exported to other channels).

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify's channel manager includes direct API connections to Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com across every plan, with real-time syncing of calendars, rates and content. Lodgify holds preferred partner status with all of them.

Additional or local channels can be connected through iCal.

Mobile app

Hospitable

Hospitable's mobile app is rated 4.2 stars on Google Play and 3.1 stars on the App Store.

Hostaway

Hostaway's mobile app is rated 4.0 stars on Google Play and 4.3 stars on the App Store.

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify's mobile app is rated 4.6 stars on Google Play and 4.3 stars on the App Store. Ultimate-plan users can also download the Lodgify PM app to connect with cleaners, check-in agents and rental managers, and guests can use the Lodgify Guest app for guidebooks, Wi-Fi passwords and check-in details.

Can I try them before I buy?

Hospitable

Hospitable offers a 14-day free trial. There's no option for a 1:1 demo call, though its Contact page offers a form to reach the sales team.

Hostaway

No free trial. Hostaway offers a demo call, and paid trial periods are available on request; demo accounts are limited and don't show the full feature set.

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify offers a free 7-day trial, extendable on request, with no credit card required, plus a live personalized demo with a product expert and an interactive demo online.

Ratings

Here's how each platform is rated on Trustpilot:

• Hospitable: 3.9 stars | 667 reviews
• Hostaway: 4.8 stars | 2,487 reviews
• Lodgify: 4.7 stars | 4,358 reviews

Which should I choose?

Hospitable, Hostaway and Lodgify all offer capable tools, but for different operating models. Hospitable focuses on messaging automation for smaller portfolios, with a free tier and dynamic pricing included across its paid plans. Hostaway scales toward larger, more complex operations, with pricing that's fully custom and no published rate card.

Lodgify is built for hosts and small-scale property managers who want a complete platform, channel manager, direct booking website, guest messaging and payments, with transparent, public pricing and no added complexity. If that's what you're looking for, try Lodgify for free.