Property Management Software
Hostaway
All-in-one vacation rental software for professional hosts
Best for Scale
The automation layer for operators scaling past 10 listings
Contact sales • No free trial
Comparison
Hostaway vs Lodgify
Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.
Property Management Software
Lodgify
Vacation rental software with built-in website builder
Best for Small Hosts
Best website-builder PMS for hosts growing into direct bookings
From $16/listing • Free trial
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Hostaway or Lodgify?
Pick Hostaway if you manage 10+ listings and need broad channel distribution across 8 OTAs with preferred-partner status on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. Pick Lodgify if you run fewer than 15 properties, want transparent per-listing pricing starting at $16/mo, and value a built-in direct-booking website builder over integration depth.
Editorial perspective from the Hostaway side; factual claims about Lodgify are drawn from its review.
Pricing Side-by-Side
Hostaway
Full pricing →Contact sales • No free trial
Standard (quote)
Quote only — ~$40/listing/mo reported
10+ listings typical
Booking fee: Percentage on direct bookings (rate depends on negotiated quote)
- Channel manager for 26+ OTAs
- Unified guest inbox
- Automation engine
- Direct booking site
- Owner portal
- Open API + marketplace access
Enterprise (quote)
Custom
50+ listings, management companies
Booking fee: Negotiated
- Everything in Standard
- Dedicated account manager
- Priority support
- Custom integrations
Lodgify
Full pricing →From $16/listing • Free trial
Starter
$16/property/mo
Booking fee: 1.9% per booking
- Channel management (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com)
- Direct booking website builder
- Calendar sync
- Guest communication
Professional
$40/property/mo
Booking fee: None
- Everything in Starter
- No booking fees
- Advanced automation
Ultimate
$59/property/mo
Booking fee: None
- Everything in Professional
- Priority support
- Advanced features
What each tool does well — and where it falls short
What Hostaway does well
Best-in-class multi-channel reliability — eliminates double bookings
Real-time API sync across Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and dozens more. Operators consistently report it as the most reliable sync in the market, which directly prevents costly double-booking incidents.
Preferred-partner status with Airbnb, Vrbo, AND Booking.com — the 'triple crown'
Hostaway is the only property management platform with preferred/premier partner status across all three major OTAs. Priority API access and faster feature rollouts mean fewer sync errors and access to channel-exclusive tools before competitors.
Owner portal with professional reporting — real value for co-host and management companies
Owners get their own login to view revenue, occupancy, and payout statements in real time, with customizable visibility controls. For co-hosting businesses, this transparency tool is a genuine client-retention feature.
What Lodgify does well
Reliable channel management with real-time calendar synchronization
Lodgify provides instant syncing across Airbnb, Booking.com, and VRBO that prevents double bookings, saving significant time in manual calendar updates.
Easy-to-use direct booking website builder
93% of users rated the interface as simple. The website builder enables property managers to create professional direct booking sites that reduce dependence on OTA commissions.
Strong customer support and onboarding process
Users consistently praise the comprehensive onboarding process along with helpful and friendly customer service staff who assist with platform setup and ongoing issues.
Where Hostaway falls short
1.8% booking engine fee on all direct bookings, introduced November 2024
Hostaway added a 1.8% guest service fee to every reservation through operators' own direct-booking websites. This undercuts one of the main advantages of direct bookings (avoiding OTA commissions) and was rolled out via a terms update that many users missed.
Steep learning curve and significant setup investment — not plug-and-play
Setup requires mapping channels, configuring automation rules, setting up owner statements, and training staff. Reviewers consistently note it takes weeks to become fully operational — a real barrier for small operators or teams without technical staff.
Opaque pricing and contract lock-in reported by users — cancellation is difficult
Hostaway requires a sales call to see numbers. Multiple HotelMinder reviews describe being signed into annual contracts they thought were monthly, and difficulty canceling mid-term. Read the contract carefully.
Where Lodgify falls short
Mobile app stability issues and frequent logouts
Users report persistent mobile app stability problems with frequent logouts and limited mobile support for essential daily operations like cleaning and task management.
Limited reporting and operational management capabilities
Reporting features are limited compared to other hotel management software. Task tracking, maintenance, and owner reporting feel too restricted for complex operations.
Channel syncing issues particularly with VRBO
Some users experience ongoing syncing problems and tedious manual input requirements with VRBO integration, which can disrupt automated workflow processes.
Which Should You Pick
Pick Hostaway if
Multi-property managers running 10-100+ listings across Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com who need reliable multi-channel sync, team task management, and owner reporting in one platform.
Skip Hostaway if
You have fewer than 5 listings, you're budget-sensitive, or you rely heavily on direct booking revenue and can't absorb a 1.8% booking engine fee on every guest transaction.
Pick Lodgify if
Small to mid-sized property managers (2–20 properties) focused on growing direct bookings and channel management automation.
Skip Lodgify if
You manage 20+ properties with complex operational needs, require advanced mobile task management, or need extensive reporting capabilities.
Where Hostaway and Lodgify actually differ
- Hostaway connects to 8 direct OTA channels including Expedia, Agoda, TripAdvisor, and HomeToGo — Lodgify covers 4 (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Google Vacation Rentals), which is sufficient for most small portfolios but limits distribution options as you scale.
- Lodgify publishes tiered pricing from $16/listing/mo (Starter) to $59/listing/mo (Ultimate) with a free trial. Hostaway requires a sales conversation with no published pricing — industry sources report ~$40/listing/mo plus $100–$500 setup fees.
- Hostaway lists 300+ integrations with an open API; Lodgify offers 20+ marketplace integrations with limited API access — a meaningful gap for operators who rely on custom automations or niche vendor connections.
- Lodgify's core differentiator is a drag-and-drop website builder designed to convert direct bookings. Hostaway offers a direct booking engine but charges a 1.8% fee on direct-booking revenue where Lodgify Professional ($40/listing) charges none.
- Lodgify targets 2–20 property operators with self-serve onboarding; Hostaway targets 10–100+ listings with sales-led implementation — users report Lodgify performance issues above 20 properties, while Hostaway's per-unit cost decreases as portfolio size grows.
Common objections
- Lodgify is half the price at the entry level — why pay more for Hostaway?
- At 1–10 listings, Lodgify is genuinely cheaper and probably the right call. At 15+ listings, Hostaway's quote-based pricing often compresses per-unit cost, and its 8-channel distribution, 300+ integrations, and open API start paying back in ways Lodgify's smaller ecosystem cannot match.
- Lodgify has a website builder and no direct-booking fee on Professional — doesn't that make it better for direct bookings?
- If building a direct-booking site from scratch is your primary goal, Lodgify's website builder is a genuine advantage. But if you already have a website or use a separate booking engine, Hostaway's broader channel reach and automation depth will likely drive more total revenue than saving the 1.8% fee.
- Hostaway's quote-only pricing feels like a red flag — is the product overpriced?
- Quote-based pricing is standard for platforms targeting 10+ listing operators. The real question is whether you need what Hostaway offers — triple preferred-partner status, 300+ integrations, and deep automation. If you do, the price is competitive at scale. If you don't, Lodgify's transparent tiers are the simpler path.
Keep Digging
Hostaway
The automation layer for operators scaling past 10 listings
Lodgify
Best website-builder PMS for hosts growing into direct bookings