Guesty alternatives: vacation rental software that fits your portfolio

Why do people look for a Guesty alternative?

Most reasons come from how Guesty sells its plans, as listed on its pricing page.

• Lite has a small ceiling: Guesty Lite starts at $9 per listing per month, with a 14-day free trial. Guesty says it fits 1 to 3 listings.
• Pro needs a quote: Guesty Pro is for 4 to 199 listings. It has no public price. Guesty prices it by your number of listings, and optional tools cost extra.
• Some tools sit in a bundle: Guesty Ultimate is a bundle of premium tools. It includes ReplyAI, PriceOptimizer, Locks Manager, Accounting and Advanced Analytics. The page shows an offer to save 40% on this bundle, with no end date listed. The bundle price also needs a quote.
• Direct bookings are fee-free: Guesty says it charges no percentage fee on direct reservations. Your payment processor still charges its normal fee.

So a host with 10 homes cannot see a Guesty price without a sales call. That is normal for this type of software. But it makes costs hard to compare before you talk to sales.

What are the best Guesty alternatives?

These tools cover most short-term rental businesses. Each price comes from the vendor's own pricing page.

Blur Studio (best value)

A ready-built, well-tested core with a different pricing model: no per-seat fees, and it covers almost all the features you'd actually need, usually working out to the best value for money. On top of that, Blur Studio builds owned customizations, meaning you can ask for it to be modified to your exact specifications, and you own those modifications outright. Learn more over a quick call with me, Ranjit.

• Best for: Businesses that need software that works without barriers, no unnecessary fees and options to customize it to their needs.

Lodgify

Lodgify is known for its booking website builder. Its Basic plan is $14 a month for one property. Starter is $26 a month for up to two properties. Professional is $47 a month and Ultimate is $68 a month. Paying yearly costs less than paying monthly.

Lodgify charges no booking fee on any plan. It does charge a 1% transaction fee on payments guests make online. Ultimate adds task management, owner statements and a guest app. You can try it free for 7 days without a card.

• Best for: Hosts with a few homes who want a direct booking website.

Hostaway

Hostaway does not list prices. Its page says pricing grows with your portfolio. It also says plans include core features, more than 300 integrations, AI automations and 24/7 support. You book a call to get a quote.

• Best for: Growing managers who are already comparing quotes from Guesty Pro.

Hostfully

Hostfully lists prices per property. Growth starts at $15 per property per month for 1 to 50 listings, plus a platform fee. It also charges a 1% payment gateway fee and a 0.85% direct booking fee. Pro starts at $25 per property per month for up to 199 listings, also with a platform fee. Pro removes those two fees and adds a dedicated customer success manager.

Monthly billing is not discounted, so Hostfully suggests a yearly plan.

• Best for: Managers who want a per-property price they can see before a call.

Hospitable

Hospitable has a free plan called Essentials. It covers unlimited properties, a shared inbox, automated messages and sync with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and Agoda. Paid plans are Host, Professional and Mogul, and each charges for extra properties. Host adds an AI message helper and dynamic pricing, but it caps you at two properties. Professional adds accounting, either inside Hospitable or through QuickBooks. Mogul adds an owner portal with owner payouts and statements.

Watch the fees on the free plan. Hospitable takes 10% on custom upsells on Essentials, and 7% on the paid plans. There is a 14-day free trial of all features.

• Best for: Hosts who want to start free and pay only when they need more.

OwnerRez

OwnerRez sells one plan priced per property on a sliding scale. You enter your number of homes, and the page shows a monthly price. It bills monthly with no contract and no setup or booking fees. Some tools cost extra and are billed by use. These include property management, QuickBooks sync, hosted websites, SMS and its AI tool, Rezzy AI. New accounts get 14 days free.

• Best for: Owners who want to pay only for the tools they turn on.

Smoobu

Smoobu bills in euros and shows US dollar prices as estimates. Its FAQ says one unit starts as low as €28 a month, and each extra unit starts from €9.60 a month. Annual plans save 10%, and two-year plans save 20%. The Professional plan includes a channel manager, a booking website, online check-in and full API access. Its Prepaid version charges no booking fee. Its Flex version adds a booking commission. There is a 14-day free trial with no card needed.

• Best for: Small hosts who want a low price and do not mind euro billing.

How do Guesty alternatives compare on price?

Tool	Starting price, as of October 2026	How it charges	Free trial
Guesty	Lite from $9 per listing a month; Pro by quote	Per listing	14 days (Lite)
Lodgify	From $14 a month for 1 property	Per plan, 1% fee on online guest payments	7 days
Hostaway	Quote only	Grows with portfolio	Not listed
Hostfully	From $15 per property a month, plus a platform fee	Per property	Demo instead
Hospitable	Free Essentials plan	Per property on paid plans	14 days
OwnerRez	Sliding scale, shown in its calculator	Per property, billed monthly	14 days
Smoobu	From €28 a month for 1 unit	Per unit, billed in euros	14 days

What is a good Lodgify alternative?

People leave Lodgify for two main reasons. Some outgrow the plans built for one or two homes. Others want deeper tools for cleaning teams and owners.

• For a free start: Hospitable's Essentials plan covers unlimited properties at no monthly fee.
• For a per-unit price: Smoobu prices by unit, and each extra unit starts from €9.60 a month.
• For pay-as-you-need tools: OwnerRez lets you add tools one at a time.
• For a larger portfolio: Hostfully, Hostaway and Guesty Pro all serve managers with dozens of homes.

How does Guesty actually compare on price?

As of October 2026, Guesty starts at roughly $99 per unit a month, well above Hostaway's roughly $49 per unit and Lodgify's roughly $16 per unit (Guesty does offer a cheaper Lite tier for US-based customers, around $16 to $23 a month, with fewer features). On a 10-property portfolio, that gap alone can run to several thousand dollars a year. Price is not the whole story though. Independent review counts put Hostaway's rating slightly ahead of Guesty's, and plenty of hosts stay on Guesty specifically for its channel manager depth and automation at larger portfolio sizes. If your portfolio is small, the price gap is the first thing worth testing against the feature gap.

How do you pick vacation rental software?

Start with your portfolio and how you get bookings. Then test each tool on a real week.

• Count your homes: Several plans cap the number of properties. Price out the size you expect in two years.
• Add up the fees: Look past the plan price. Check booking fees, payment fees, upsell fees and message fees.
• Check your channels: Make sure the tool syncs with every site where you list.
• Look at owner reports: If you manage homes for owners, test the owner statement with a real month.
• Test the guest inbox: Send test messages and check how fast the replies go out.
• Ask about export: Find out how you get your bookings, guests and reviews out if you leave.

If you also run a small hotel or inn, my guide to hotel management software covers tools built for rooms. For long-term rentals, see my guide to property management software.

When does building your own rental software make sense?

Most hosts should buy one of the tools above. They are mature, and they handle channel sync, which is hard to build well.

Custom software starts to pay off in a few cases.

• Owner payouts with odd rules: Each owner has a different split, fee or cleaning charge, and you fix statements by hand each month.
• A cleaning and maintenance crew: Your team needs its own app with photos, checklists and pay for each clean.
• Many tools that do not share data: Your PMS, smart locks, accounting and guest messages each hold part of the picture.
• A strong direct booking brand: You want a site and guest app that look and work exactly your way.

Many hosts do well with a mix. Keep your property management system for channel sync. Then add custom parts on top. Some tools make this easier. Smoobu lists full API access, and Hospitable lists AI agents through MCP, a standard way to connect AI tools to software. An AI helper can answer guest questions from your house manuals. A custom client portal can show owners their numbers in real time.

How does Blur Studio approach rental tools?

I start with a week of your real work. Who answers guests? Who books the cleaners? Where do owner statements break? Which tasks does your team still do in a spreadsheet? If a ready-made tool covers it, I say so and point you to the best fit. If there is a gap, I build that part and connect it to the tools you keep. The code and accounts stay with your business. For a wider look at the choice, read my guide on build vs buy software. If you manage longer-term rentals rather than short-term stays, my guide to property management software covers that different category.

Need something completely custom?

Everything above is a path to get it running quick and cheap. But sometimes the honest answer is that none of those quite fit, and what you actually need is something custom that you own, built uniquely for your business from the ground up, with AI thoughtfully designed into the parts of it that your processes actually benefit from. An asset that grows in value, not a generic, one-size-fits-all boilerplate that's an expense with a lock-in. This is a complete bespoke build, and it's something I do very well. Get in touch to know more.