Hostaway vs Lodgify

Lodgify keeps it simple: Starter at $30/month (with a 2% payment processing fee), Professional at $50 (fee waived), Ultimate at $70 adding owner statements and a custom domain. No sales calls, no setup fees, and it scored 9/10 on value in our rubric — among the best in the category.

Hostaway’s custom pricing starts around $40 per listing with an estimated $160/month minimum plus a $100–500 setup fee, and scored 6/10 on value — not because it’s a rip-off, but because you’re buying an operations platform whether you need all of it or not. Under roughly 10 listings, Lodgify’s math is simply better; past that, Hostaway’s volume discounts and revenue tooling start paying for themselves.

Lodgify started life as a website builder and it shows: rental-optimised templates, a real booking engine with payment processing, built-in SEO and marketing tools, and a booking widget you can embed anywhere. For hosts building an OTA-independent revenue stream, it’s the most complete direct-booking package at this price.

Hostaway includes a capable direct booking site and checkout, but it’s a feature, not the product’s soul — design flexibility and SEO tooling are thinner. Hostaway operators often pair it with a custom WordPress site instead, which works well but adds cost and maintenance Lodgify includes out of the box.

Hostaway scored 9/10 on automation: AI handling up to 93% of guest and staff messaging, task assignment for cleaners and maintenance, review automation and financial workflows. It’s built to remove humans from repetitive operations.

Lodgify scored 7/10 — automated messages and payment reminders cover the basics, but team workflows and task automation are minimal. That’s fine for a self-managing host with a cleaner on WhatsApp; it’s a ceiling for anyone running staff across multiple properties.

Hostaway holds preferred-partner status with Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com simultaneously and scored 14/15 on sync reliability. Lodgify syncs the majors (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia) and scored a respectable 11/15 — dependable for a small portfolio, but with less headroom and slower conflict resolution when things get busy.

For 1–5 listings on the big OTAs, both keep calendars clean. Past that, Hostaway’s sync depth is one of the reasons operators upgrade.

Hostaway scored 9/10 on team & scale: granular roles, owner statements, white-label options, enterprise reporting, and an architecture proven past 10,000 listings. Lodgify scored 7/10 — multi-property support is solid and the Ultimate tier adds owner statements, but reporting is rudimentary and team workflow tooling is minimal.

The honest test: if you employ people, you’ll feel Lodgify’s limits within a season. If it’s you and a cleaning crew, Lodgify is plenty.

Lodgify scored 8/10 on usability and 7/10 on setup — you can trial it free, build your site from a template, and connect channels the same week, though some design customisation feels restrictive. Hostaway scored 7/10 and 6/10: no free trial, a demo-led purchase, and a 2–8 hour guided onboarding. Reasonable for an operations platform; friction for a small host.

Both scored 8/10 on support quality and reliability in our rubric, but coverage differs: Hostaway offers 24/7 phone support across six continents, while Lodgify’s support is responsive on chat and email with priority handling reserved for the Ultimate tier. Both platforms held uptime well in our testing.