Lodgify vs Hostaway vs Guesty: The Real Cost (Including Onboarding Fees)
Two of these three hide their price behind a sales demo and bill a one-time onboarding fee at signup. Here is what hosts with 1-50 listings actually pay in year one, sourced and dated.
Real pricing
| PMS | Sticker / mo | Onboarding | Year-1 real | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostaway | Quote-only; not vendor-published. Operator-reported (rakidzich, 2026-05-30): roughly $125-175/mo at 1-4 units, $175-250/mo at 5-9 units, ~$15-25 per door at 10+ | $300-$1,000+ one-time, operator-reported (rakidzich, 2026-05-30); not vendor-published | Software (operator-estimated) + one-time onboarding $300-$1,000+ (operator-reported, not vendor-confirmed) | 5-50 listings wanting deep channel reach |
| Lodgify Professional | $40 per property/mo (cheaper annually); Starter $16, Ultimate $59 | $0 (free onboarding included on Professional/Ultimate) | ~$480/property/yr at monthly rate (less annually) + $0 onboarding. No booking fee on Professional | Direct-booking-first hosts who want a published price and a real website |
| Guesty Lite | From $9/listing/mo (1-3 listings), vendor-published. Other fees not publicly listed | Lite onboarding terms not separately published | From ~$108-$324/yr at 1-3 listings. Any per-booking fee not publicly listed | 1-3 listings wanting self-serve signup without a sales call |
| Guesty Pro | Quote-only; not vendor-published | $300-$1,500 one-time, ~$1,200 typical (aggregator-reported, not vendor-published) | Software (not publicly listed) + onboarding $300-$1,500, ~$1,200 typical year-one (aggregator-reported, rakidzich 2026-05-30); Enterprise onboarding $2,500+ | Growing portfolios (4-199) wanting the widest channel reach |
The sticker price is a trap on two of these three
The single most important difference between these platforms is not features. It is whether you can find out what they cost without a sales call. Lodgify publishes flat per-property pricing: Starter $16, Professional $40, Ultimate $59 per property per month (cheaper annually), per its Capterra pricing page as of 2026-05-30.
Hostaway and Guesty Pro are quote-only. Hostaway publishes no public pricing at all; its model is per-listing, surfaced only after a demo (hostaway.com/pricing, 2026-05-30). Guesty publishes only its Lite tier (from $9/listing/mo for 1-3 listings); Pro (4-199 units) and Enterprise (200+) are quote-only (guesty.com/pricing, 2026-05-30).
Where we cite per-listing dollar figures for the quote-only tiers, they come from third-party cost aggregators and operator reports, not the vendors. We flag them as estimates, not confirmed rates. See Hostaway if you are comfortable booking a demo to get an exact number.
The onboarding fee at signup
The line item that surprises hosts is the one-time onboarding fee, billed at signup to migrate listings and connect channels. Lodgify does not charge one: onboarding is free on Professional and Ultimate (Capterra, 2026-05-30).
Hostaway is operator-reported at $300-$1,000+ one-time, described by aggregators as varying with portfolio size and data complexity, not a flat rate. The often-quoted '$500' figure is not vendor-confirmed (rakidzich.com, 2026-05-30).
Guesty's onboarding is the steepest. Aggregator and host reports put Pro onboarding at $300-$1,500 one-time, with roughly $1,200 typical in year one, and Enterprise at $2,500+ (rakidzich.com, 2026-05-30). One cost aggregator also lists a host-reported Pro quote of '$2,000 initiation and $60/month per listing, minimum 2 listings,' attributed to a Reddit discussion without a captured date (costbench.com, 2026-05-30). These figures are not vendor-published; treat them as directional.
Channel reach: Guesty widest, Lodgify narrowest
All three connect Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com. The depth diverges from there, per StayStra's 2026 comparison (2026-05-30):
- Guesty: 40+ channels — the widest direct channel coverage of the three.
- Hostaway: 26+ direct integrations — including Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com. A booking engine is included; Hostaway charges a percentage on direct bookings through it (rate not publicly listed).
- Lodgify: Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Expedia — the narrowest OTA spread, but that is by design. Lodgify's core product is a website builder, and Professional carries no booking fee.
If your strategy is OTA-maximalist, Guesty covers the most surface. If it is direct-booking-first, Lodgify's no-booking-fee Professional tier and website builder change the math.
Where Lodgify breaks down: sync at scale
Lodgify's most consistent negative-review theme is channel sync. Airbnb and Booking.com sync issues, including reported double bookings and financial discrepancies, are described as the most consistent source of negative reviews and tend to affect larger portfolios more acutely, per Truvi's review roundup (2026-05-30). For balance: Truvi reports Lodgify still holds 4.8/5 across more than 4,000 reviews, so this is a scale-specific risk, not a blanket failure.
The practical read: a host with 1-5 listings chasing direct bookings is squarely in Lodgify's sweet spot. A host pushing 20-50 listings across multiple OTAs is exactly where the sync complaints cluster, and where Hostaway's 26+ channels or Guesty's 40+ become the safer engine. Lodgify rewards the direct-booking host more than the OTA-heavy one at volume.
Support: what is actually published
Lodgify publishes phone support on its Professional and Ultimate tiers, with priority support on Ultimate (Capterra, 2026-05-30). Hostaway and Guesty support hours, 24/7 phone availability and team sizes are not publicly confirmed by the sources we reviewed, so we do not assert them here. If live phone coverage matters for your operation, confirm it directly with each vendor during a demo.
For a host running 10-30 listings where a sync failure means a guest at a locked door at midnight, responsive support is not a luxury. Verify the support channels and hours in writing before you commit.
"The onboarding process was smooth and well organized. The onboarding agent was friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive, which made the transition much easier for my agency, Bliss Caribe." — Zinni G., General Manager, Capterra, 2026-02-12
Year-one math: what you actually pay at 10 listings
Sticker price hides the real cost. Stacking software plus the onboarding fee at a 10-listing portfolio (all figures for quote-only tiers are aggregator/operator-sourced, not vendor-confirmed):
- Lodgify Professional: $40/property/mo (less annually), $0 onboarding, no booking fee on Professional. The only fully published, no-surprise number (Capterra, 2026-05-30).
- Hostaway: per-door pricing operator-estimated at ~$15-25/door at 10+ units, plus a one-time onboarding fee of $300-$1,000+ (rakidzich, 2026-05-30). Exact totals require a quote.
- Guesty Pro: software not publicly listed, plus onboarding of $300-$1,500 (~$1,200 typical year-one, rakidzich 2026-05-30). The priciest of the three to start.
Bottom line: Lodgify is the only one where the full year-one number is published. For Hostaway and Guesty, treat every dollar figure here as directional until you have a written quote.
What real hosts say
The onboarding process was smooth and well organized. The onboarding agent was friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive, which made the transition much easier for my agency, Bliss Caribe.
I've tested using Tokeet and Reservation Key (each for one year), and have just made the switch to OwnerRez.
FAQ
Which is cheapest for 1-3 listings?
Guesty Lite is the only self-serve published entry at small scale, from $9/listing/mo (guesty.com/pricing, 2026-05-30). Lodgify Starter at $16/property/mo is also published. Hostaway is quote-only at any size.
Do any of these charge a setup or onboarding fee?
Lodgify includes free onboarding on Professional and Ultimate (Capterra, 2026-05-30). Hostaway and Guesty Pro have one-time onboarding fees that are operator/aggregator-reported ($300-$1,000+ for Hostaway, $300-$1,500 for Guesty Pro per rakidzich, 2026-05-30) and are not vendor-published. Confirm the exact figure in your quote.
Which has the most channels?
Guesty, at 40+ channels, has the widest direct coverage, followed by Hostaway at 26+. Lodgify connects Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com and Expedia (StayStra, 2026-05-30).
Can I see Hostaway or Guesty Pro pricing without a sales call?
No. Hostaway publishes no public pricing and Guesty publishes only its Lite tier; Pro and Enterprise are quote-only as of 2026-05-30.