Host software, sorted by what it replaces
Software is the cheapest way to buy back hours and the most expensive way to buy the wrong thing. The two facts that decide both are in every row below: what category the tool belongs to, and whether it needs a property management system underneath it.
Pricing is quoted as the vendor publishes it. Where a vendor publishes nothing, the row says so — an estimate in that column would read like a fact.
The list
| Tool | Category | Needs a PMS | Pricing | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 BnBGenius | AI automation (no-PMS extension) | No | $10 per unit per month; first 500 messages free | Cheapest flat-fee AI stack — phone concierge, tasks, reviews, upsells — with no PMS to buy. |
| HostBuddy AI | AI guest messaging | Yes | $5–$7/listing/mo; 14-day trial | Great superhost-built messaging, but needs a PMS underneath and can hallucinate. |
 Boring Host AI | AI comms + voice | Yes | $13/listing/mo, $130/mo floor | Rare small player with AI phone answering, but priced out under 10 listings. |
 Nowistay | AI co-host | No | €12/property/mo; 1 mo free | Autonomous replies in 90+ languages, no PMS needed — young and per-property. |
 Host Pilot | AI receptionist + direct booking | No | €29/mo flat; 30-day trial | AI voice + guest guide with no PMS, but no upsell loop. |
| OnCallClerk | AI phone receptionist | No | Free tier; $29–$299/mo | Cheap flat-rate call answering, but a horizontal tool where Airbnb is one template. |
 ChargeAutomation | Payments + upsell engine | Partial | Free (10% fee); $5/prop+$49/mo → $8/prop+$149/mo | Real free upsell tier; platform fee stings small portfolios. |
 SuiteOp | Guest portal + smart devices + ops | Yes | Not published; ~$6–$8/unit/mo (3rd-party); 1-mo trial | Portal + locks + upsells + tasks in one; demo-gated, aimed at 10+ units. |
 GuestIntro | Digital guest manuals + direct booking | No | Free (1 property); Pro from $6.99/mo; site from $19.99/mo | Genuinely free guidebook + 0% direct booking; never touches your inbox. |
| The Host Co | In-stay upsell storefront | No | Free (7% fee); $18 / $48 / $250 mo | Free storefront for late checkout/services; passive, commission-driven. |
 YourWelcome | In-property upsell tablet | No | $449.99/property/yr (tablet incl.) | Highest-intent upsell surface; priciest per-property, 12-mo contract, hardware. |
| RueBaRue | Guest-ops / area guides | Partial | Not published; ~$5–$10/property/mo (3rd-party) | Auto-built guides + review requests; opaque pricing, tiny team. |
| Zeevou | All-in-one PMS | Yes | Free tier; paid £18.56–£21.66/unit/mo (3/10/50-unit mins) | Real free plan; every paid tier enforces a unit minimum, GBP-centric. |
 Lodgix | Vacation-rental PMS | Yes | From $79.99/mo (1–7 props) + 0.5% OTA fee; 30-day trial | Cheap flat at 5–7 units; $79.99 floor and OTA cut hurt solo hosts. |
 Gustaf.ai | Lite-PMS / automation | No | Free (2 listings); Premium $8/property/mo | Free tier + cheap paid; looks under-maintained, iCal-only sync risk. |
 Revyoos | Review aggregation + AI replies | No | From €5/mo; 14-day trial | SEO review widgets for direct sites; reviews only, EUR/VAT. |
| EZcare | Property-care ops | Partial | Not published (demo); order-metered | Deep on inventory/linen; opaque, dated, PM-oriented. |
 Quibble | Revenue management / pricing | Yes | Not published (quote); flat per-listing | Forecasting + AI photo/sentiment signals; quote-only, needs a PMS. |
| Rankbreeze | Airbnb SEO / rank analytics | No | Not published; $1 trial | Only real Airbnb rank tracker + AirReview extension; empty pricing page. |
| Minoan | Furnishing / procurement | No | Free (trade discounts + Showroom commission) | Free 30–60% furnishing savings + shoppable-stay commission; not a stay upsell tool. |
 Sweeply | Housekeeping / maintenance ops | Partial | €3/room/mo housekeeping; €99/mo min | Cheap per-room, unlimited users; hotel-first, €99 floor kills small hosts. |
 Changeover | Cleaning scheduler | No | From £6/property/mo (annual); 30-day trial | WhatsApp cleaner alerts, no PMS; early-access, shallow feature set. |
| Party Squasher | Occupancy / party detection | No | $249/yr (Std), $309/yr (Pro), sensor incl. | Counts phones to catch parties early; blind to noise/smoke/temp. |
 Host Tools | PMS / messaging automation | No | ~$28–$30/listing/mo; 14-day trial | No-PMS messaging + auto-review publishing; priced per listing. |
 Akia | AI messaging (hotel-leaning) | Partial | Not published (Talk to Sales) | Strong ratings + voice at top tier; zero pricing transparency. |
| iGMS | Airbnb-native PMS / automation | Partial | FLEX $1/booked night (min $20/prop); PRO $18–$21/prop/mo | Closest light-PMS with AI replies; per-property, no free plan. |
 TIDY | AI ops / cleaning coordination | No | 3.9% of gross bookings + spend, $39/mo min | Unlimited properties on a $39 floor; 3.9% take grows with your revenue. |
 Enso Connect | Guest experience + upsells | Yes | $100–$525/mo (Launch) up to custom | Best upsell/Boarding-Pass story; needs a PMS, priced for 50+ units. |
 Conduit | AI agent platform (voice + chat) | Partial | $649/mo (Starter) / $1,499/mo (Growth, voice) | Real voice AI agent; $649/mo floor. |
 Besty AI | AI property-manager OS | Yes | Not published (demo); custom per-unit | Venture-funded upsell OS; requires Guesty/Hostaway, mixed reliability. |
 Uplisting | PMS / channel manager | Yes | £72/mo flat (1–5); £16/unit (6–40) | Reliable, transparent; £72 flat brutal for 1 listing (AirDNA-owned). |
| Smoobu | All-in-one PMS (EU) | Yes | €29/mo +0.9% fee, or €31.50/mo 0% | Clean, cheap EU PMS; entry plan taxes every booking (HomeToGo-owned). |
| Tokeet | Modular PMS suite | Yes | ~$134.90/mo for 10 rentals; free plan undefined | AI-forward, modular; five-product bundle makes true cost hard to read. |
| Beds24 | Channel manager + PMS | Yes | From ~€15.50/mo + per-channel fees | Cheapest serious channel manager; notoriously complex UI. |
| OwnerRez | Power-user PMS | Yes | From $40/mo (published ladder) + add-ons | No booking/setup fees, deep; $40 floor, dated UI, paid modules. |
 Hostfully Guidebooks | Digital guidebooks | No | Free (1 guidebook); Pro ~$7.99/guidebook/mo | Free-forever first guidebook + marketplace; guidebook only. |
 Touch Stay | Digital guidebooks | No | From ~$15/property/mo (calculator) | Best-known guidebook + AI chat + review prompt; calculator-gated. |
 Chekin | Check-in + legal compliance | Partial | From €3.95/property/mo (3-unit min) + txn fees | Only tool automating EU police/tourist-tax filing; 3-unit min, stacked fees. |
 Properly | Cleaning ops (photo checklists) | No | $12.99–$14.99/property/mo; 30-day trial | Best visual checklists; PMS API paywalled, inspections billed per turnover. |
 Doinn | Cleaning ops + EU vendor marketplace | Partial | Not published (quote); Power-Ups €25+€0.80/prop | Real EU cleaning/laundry marketplace; opaque pricing, 10+ unit tiers. |
| ResortCleaning | Housekeeping software | No | $5/property/mo or $1.39/appt; $20/mo min | Cheapest per-property cleaning; $20 min, utilitarian, no marketplace. |
 Operto | Smart access + ops suite | Yes | Not published (quote) | Best smart-access/hardware story; every plan needs a sales call. |
 StayFi | Guest WiFi data capture / marketing | No | $19/mo software + hardware $99–$303/unit | Captures every guest's email; needs hardware in each unit. |
| Wheelhouse | Analytics + dynamic pricing | Partial | Free tier; Dynamic Sets $12.99/set; pricing 1% or $16.99–$19.99/listing | Free market report + flexible pricing billing; data is a side-product. |
 DPGO | AI dynamic pricing | No | $18/listing/mo, or 0.5%/booking, or $1/night; 30-day trial | Cheapest flexible pricing, no PMS; Airbnb-data biased, occupancy-leaning. |
 RoomPriceGenie | Hotel/B&B RMS | Yes | Not published (quote, annual) | Set-and-forget RMS; hotel-first, no direct Airbnb connect. |
 RemoteLock | Smart access control | Partial | $6/door/mo (Premium) / $12/door (Enterprise) | Brand-agnostic locks + PMS-synced codes; per-door stacks fast. |
 Seam | Smart-lock developer API | No | Free dev tier; $5/device/mo → $50/device/mo | The plumbing under other apps; not a host-facing product. |
 Minut | Noise/occupancy/smoke sensor | No | $5/$10/$15 per unit/mo + sensor hardware | Cheapest, widest sensor + Airbnb partnership; cheap tier feature-gated. |
 Roomonitor | Noise monitoring + human response | No | From €13/mo (noise) + service tiers | Real phone-call escalation + smoke/crowd; Europe-first. |
| AirROI | STR market analytics | No | Free analytics; API pay-as-you-go from $0.01/call | Free AirDNA alternative; younger, less lender-recognized. |
 Autohost | Guest screening / fraud | Partial | Per verification $0.12–$7.25 | Transparent per-check screening; no damage payout attached. |
 Truvi | Screening + damage protection | Partial | Per booking $12.60–$28.75; no subscription | Screening + payout in one, no subscription; costly on short stays. |
 Safely | Per-night STR insurance | Partial | Per occupied night (~$4–$10), quote | Pay-as-you-go $1M liability + screening; opaque quote pricing. |
 Proper Insurance | STR insurance policy | No | Not published (quote); annual policy | Real Lloyd's-backed policy that replaces homeowners; broker-only, ~$2–3k/yr. |
| Waivo | Damage waiver | No | Not published (per booking) | No-deductible damage waiver, no guest contact; sister of Proper, young. |
 Avantio | Agency-grade PMS | Yes | From €14/property/mo, €295/mo min (<20 props) | Zero-commission per-property; €295 min means 20+ units only (Planet-owned). |
 Track | Enterprise PMS suite | Yes | Not published (demo) | PMS + CRM + call center for large managers; opaque, implementation-heavy. |
 Streamline VRS | Enterprise PMS | Yes | Not published (demo) | Feature-dense enterprise PMS; sales-gated (Inhabit-owned). |
| Rentals United | Channel manager | Partial | Not published (quote, 5+ props) | Widest 90+ channel reach; extra layer on a PMS (Guesty-owned). |
 Hospitable | Full PMS | No | Free Essentials; paid per-property (hidden) | Mature all-in-one, but AI locked to top "Mogul" tier and real cost is opaque. |
 Guesty | Enterprise PMS | No | From $9/listing/mo; Pro/Ent custom | Built for management companies — heavy, sales-led, overkill for 1–5 listings. |
| Hostaway | Enterprise PMS | No | Not published (quote only) | Well-capitalized giant with zero pricing transparency and annual contracts. |
| Lodgify | PMS + website builder | Yes | ~$16–$59/rental/mo (+1.9% fee on Starter) | Best direct-booking site builder, but the cheap tier taxes every booking. |
 Duve | Hotel-grade guest experience | Yes | From $120/$150/$200/mo minimum | Branded guest app + 0% upsell commission; $120–200 floor, hotel-leaning. |
| Turno | Cleaning marketplace | No | Free (1 prop / marketplace-only); $10/mo BYO cleaners | Largest cleaner marketplace; cleaning-only, free tier keeps narrowing. |
 Breezeway | Property-ops platform | Partial | Free (1 prop); from $19/unit/mo + add-ons | Deepest ops feature set; $19/unit + quote-only tiers, PM-oriented. |
| PriceLabs | Dynamic pricing | Partial | $19.99/listing/mo (RoW $9.99) | Industry-standard revenue tool; pricing only, scales linearly. |
 Beyond Insights | Market analytics + pricing | Partial | Free benchmarking; paid 1%–1.25% of bookings | Free search-demand benchmarking; % of bookings gets pricey at scale. |
| AirDNA | STR market data | No | Free tier; paid from ~$20/mo (market-size dependent) | Category-standard data + Rentalizer; scraped estimates, per-market stacking. |
 Airbnb Smart Pricing | Native dynamic pricing | No | Free (built-in) | Free and zero-setup; biases to occupancy, Airbnb-only, black box. |
| Escapia | PMS (Expedia Group) | Yes | Not published (demo) | Deep Vrbo/Expedia data access; an OTA owning your PMS is a conflict/lock-in. |
 PointCentral | Smart-property platform (Alarm.com) | Partial | Not published (quote) | Enterprise locks + energy + water + video; capex + per-unit, no self-serve. |
| August / Yale Home | Smart-lock hardware (ASSA ABLOY) | No | Hardware only $179.99–$279.99, no subscription | Native Airbnb code integration, no monthly fee; single-property, US/CA only. |
What the order means
The order is this desk’s reading of what each tool covers, how much of it works without a property management system behind it, and how openly it prices. It is not a benchmark score, and no vendor pays for a position.
Pricing is quoted as the vendor publishes it. Where a vendor publishes nothing, the row says so rather than carrying an estimate that would read like a fact. Twenty-five of the 74 tools tracked are listed here.
How host software is priced
- Per listing, per month — the default. Cheap at one property, the main cost line at twenty.
- Usage-based — messages, jobs or bookings. Fine while you are small, worth modelling before a busy season.
- Percentage of revenue — usual for pricing tools. It scales with your success, which is either fair or expensive depending on the year.
For what a per-unit tool costs against a percentage of revenue, compare the best airbnb pricing tools with the fee bands above.
Choosing between tools
01 Do I need a property management system at all?
Below roughly a handful of listings, usually not: a pricing tool and a messaging tool cover most of the hours. The column that says whether a tool needs a PMS exists because that is the fork in the road.
02 One suite or several small tools?
Suites cost less to run and more to leave. Small tools cost more attention and can be replaced one at a time. If you are still learning what you need, replaceable is worth paying for.
03 Why do so many vendors hide their pricing?
Because the number depends on listing count and add-ons, and because a quote lets them meet you where you are. It is not automatically a bad sign — but it is a reason to get the total in writing before connecting a calendar.
Some outbound links on this page are commercial. Placement in the register is not for sale.