Hospitable vs Hostaway: which PMS fits how you run your rentals?
Both are property management systems for short-term rentals: one place for channels, calendars, guest messages and automations. The biggest difference is not the feature list — it is how each company sells. Hospitable is self-serve with a free plan and published plan structure. Hostaway is quote-based and aimed at managers scaling a portfolio.
At a glance
| Hospitable | Hostaway | |
|---|---|---|
| How pricing is sold | Published plan tiers; the exact per-property price is set by your property count on the pricing page | Not published. Pricing starts with a 3-step quote flow that asks how many listings you manage |
| Free option | Essentials plan is free (no subscription fee): unified inbox and calendar, scheduled guest messages, channel sync for Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and Agoda | No free plan listed on the pricing page |
| Trial | 14 days, all features, no credit card required | Not stated on the pricing page; the flow is quote-first |
| Plan shape | Essentials (free) → Host → Professional → Mogul. Paid plans include a set number of properties in the base price (1 / 2 / 3 by tier in the published comparison table) | Single platform, priced per portfolio by quote |
| Dynamic pricing | On the free plan, free for 3 bookings in the first 30 days, then a per-property fee. Included at no additional cost from the Host plan up | Built into the platform per the homepage, alongside AI guest replies |
| Direct bookings | From the Professional plan: direct booking website with chargeback and damage protection; direct transaction fees apply | Direct booking website builder is part of the platform pitch |
| Scale features | Mogul tier adds owner statements, invoices and payouts, and built-in accounting (or QuickBooks) | 300+ integrations and an open API are the headline; positioned for property managers growing a portfolio |
| Billing discount | Annual billing saves 12% | Not published |
The pricing transparency gap
With Hospitable you can work out the shape of your bill before talking to anyone: pick a tier, set your property count, and the pricing page shows the result. A single host can also start on the free Essentials plan and pay nothing until automations are worth it.
With Hostaway there is nothing to check in advance. The pricing page opens a quote wizard ("How many listings do you manage?") and the number comes back from their sales process. That is normal for software sold to larger managers, but it means a small host cannot comparison-shop Hostaway on price from public information — including on this page. Any exact Hostaway price you see on third-party sites is not from Hostaway's own published pricing.
Where each one is aimed
Hospitable is built to be started alone: free tier first, then paid tiers that add automated messaging and dynamic pricing (Host), direct-booking tooling and smart devices (Professional), and owner management (Mogul). The ladder lets one host grow into it without switching systems.
Hostaway is built to be adopted by a business: integrations breadth (300+), an open API, AI replies and a support operation are the pitch, and onboarding runs through their team. For a manager with dozens of units and staff, that hand-holding can be worth more than a published price list.
Who should pick which
- Pick Hospitable if you run one to a handful of listings, want to start free, and prefer self-serve pricing you can verify before signing up.
- Pick Hostaway if you manage a growing portfolio, need specific integrations from its marketplace, and are comfortable getting a quote before you can compare costs.
- Compare the total, not the tier name: on Hospitable, check whether dynamic pricing and direct-booking fees apply to your plan; on Hostaway, get the quote in writing, including any onboarding fee, before judging it against a published price.