Hostfully vs. Hostaway: How Do They Compare?

Last updated: October 2026

Hostfully and Hostaway are both established platforms built for larger property management operations. Here's how they compare, and where Lodgify fits as a simpler alternative.

Who is it for?

Hostfully

Hostfully is built for larger property management companies — its pricing structure and feature set make more sense for a portfolio of properties than for a single host running one or two.

Hostaway

Hostaway also primarily serves operators running multiple properties. Its pricing and more complex interface reflect an operation that already has some 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?

Hostfully

Hostfully prices per property rather than per plan. Growth starts at roughly $15 per property per month, with a 1% payment gateway fee and a 0.85% direct booking fee. Pro starts at roughly $25 per property per month, plus a separate platform fee. Enterprise pricing is quote-only.

Hostaway

Hostaway doesn't publish pricing; every plan is quote-based and scoped to your portfolio and features. Third-party reports and reviews put small-portfolio pricing in the rough range of $40–50 per property per month. 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

Hostfully

Hostfully may charge a separate implementation fee depending on your setup, with onboarding support available weekdays during U.S. business hours.

Hostaway

Hostaway's onboarding has been reported at a flat $500 fee, taking roughly 3–5 weeks to complete. However, third-party estimates put the onboarding fee at much higher, so it's worth checking before signing up.‍

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

Hostfully

Hostfully's unified inbox covers Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and direct booking sites, but doesn't support WhatsApp. Its AI-powered messaging tool, InboxAI, drafts guest responses using your listing and guidebook data.

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

Hostfully

Hostfully offers a direct booking website and widget, but with more limited customization than more specialized website builders, and the site must run on the Hostfully platform. Non-technical users may need help customizing it further.

Hostaway

A basic website builder is included, sufficient for accepting direct bookings, but with fewer templates and customization options than some competitors.

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

Hostfully

Hostfully provides a centralized calendar for managing bookings across platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo, though API connections for some channels may carry additional fees depending on your 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.

Setting your rental rates

Hostfully

Hostfully lets hosts set rental rates in the currency of their choice, selected per listing.

Hostaway

Hostaway lets you set nightly rates across channels like Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo, but doesn't automatically convert currency between them — a rate entered as 100 will show as $100 on one channel and £100 on another, which is worth accounting for if you list across multiple currencies.

Alternative: Lodgify

Lodgify's payment system supports multiple currencies and a range of pricing structures — per night, per week, per month, per weekday, per person, or seasonal — so hosts can set rates in whatever structure suits their business.

Mobile app

Hostfully

Hostfully's mobile app is available on iOS and Android and is rated 2.5 stars on Google Play and 3.7 stars on the App Store.

Hostaway

Hostaway's mobile app offers a centralized inbox, reservation calendar and task manager, and 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 4.2 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.

Customer support

Hostfully

Hostfully doesn't list a direct phone number; support runs through chat and email at support@hostfully.com.

Hostaway

Hosts can reach Hostaway through a contact form or a phone line for their region.

Alternative: Lodgify

Support scales with your plan: self-service on Basic, human email support on Starter, phone support on Professional, and priority support via live chat, email and phone on Ultimate. All trial users and subscribers can also reach the Contact team by phone across the U.S. and Canada, the U.K., Spain and Italy.

Can I try them before I buy?

Hostfully

No free trial. Hostfully offers a free 30-minute demo instead.

Hostaway

No free trial. Hostaway offers a paid trial period or a demo call/account on request, though 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 personalized demo with a product expert and an online interactive demo.

Ratings

Here's how each platform is rated on Trustpilot:

• Hostfully: 4.9 stars | 398 reviews
• Hostaway: 4.8 stars | 2,487 reviews
• Lodgify: 4.7 stars | 4,403 reviews

Which should I choose?

Hostfully and Hostaway both offer capable tools built for larger, more established operations, with pricing and setup that reflect that scale — Hostfully through per-property pricing and Hostaway through fully custom quotes.

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.