Choosing between Hostfully and Guesty comes down to your portfolio size, budget, and how complex your operations are. Both are well-known vacation rental property management systems (PMS) with strong channel management and automation, but they serve slightly different types of managers.

This guide breaks down how Hostfully compares to Guesty in the areas that matter: features, pricing, usability, integrations, support, and best fit by portfolio size.

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Quick comparison: Hostfully vs Guesty at a glance

Hostfully is generally better for:

• Small to mid-size vacation rental managers (5–150 properties)
• Owners/managers who want strong automation at a lower price point
• Businesses that value flexibility and openness in integrations
• Teams who want a straightforward, less “enterprise-heavy” UX

Guesty is generally better for:

• Mid-size to large professional managers (50+ properties and up to thousands)
• Highly complex operations with multiple brands, teams, and workflows
• Managers who need built-in tools (e.g., guest app, advanced accounting, BI)
• Companies willing to pay more for an “all-in-one” environment

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Core functionality comparison

Both platforms cover the basics expected from a modern vacation rental PMS:

• Unified multi-channel calendar
• Centralized inbox
• Automated messaging and tasks
• Owner statements
• Reporting
• Integrations with OTAs and tools like smart locks, pricing, and cleaning apps

The differences are in depth, flexibility, and cost.

1. Channel management

Hostfully

• Direct integrations with major OTAs:
  • Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia (in many markets), and others
• Calendar sync, availability, and pricing pushed to channels
• Channel-specific content fields (titles, descriptions, amenities)
• Decent support for channel rules and fees
• Focus is on reliable, straightforward multi-channel distribution

Guesty

• Very strong channel management designed for high-volume operators:
  • Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Agoda, Trip.com, and more
• Deeper channel configurations:
  • Per-channel pricing strategies, minimum stays, restrictions
  • Advanced mapping of listing fields for better ranking and conversion
• Tools geared toward multi-brand and multi-country portfolios

Takeaway:
If you’re managing a few dozen listings on the main OTAs, Hostfully’s channel manager is powerful enough. If you’re scaling internationally with multiple brands and need granular per-channel control, Guesty has the edge.

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2. Automation & workflows

Automation features in both:

• Automated guest messaging (inquiry, booking, check-in, checkout, review follow-ups)
• Owner statement automation
• Task creation for cleaning and maintenance
• Webhooks and API for custom workflows

Hostfully automation

• Rule-based triggers based on:
  • Booking events (new, modified, cancelled)
  • Check-in/check-out times
  • Payment status
• Practical examples:
  • Automatically send check-in instructions 3 days before arrival
  • Create a cleaning task when a booking is confirmed or updated
  • Send owner payout summaries monthly
• Good balance of power and usability without overwhelming smaller teams

Guesty automation

• Highly configurable automation center:
  • Complex conditions (channel, listing, reservation value, guest country, etc.)
  • Advanced templates and variables
• Examples:
  • Different message flows per brand, per channel, and per property type
  • Automation tied to custom tags (VIP guest, corporate booking)
  • Multi-step internal workflows for escalations and operations
• Better suited to teams with multiple coordinators and departments

Takeaway:
For most small–mid-sized operators, Hostfully’s automation is more than sufficient. If you have complex, multi-brand, multi-country workflows and want to centralize everything under one roof, Guesty offers more depth.

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3. Property & listing management

Hostfully

• Centralized property profiles:
  • Photos, amenities, house rules, instructions
• Digital guidebooks (a standout Hostfully feature):
  • Interactive guides for each property with maps, instructions, local tips
  • Shareable via link or QR code, improving guest experience and reducing questions
• Simple owner portal for availability and performance views
• Good fit for managers focused on guest experience and efficient communication

Guesty

• Robust property management for larger portfolios:
  • Advanced fields, categorization, and segmentation
  • Support for multiple brands and sub-accounts
• Unified guest app and branded solutions (depending on plan)
• Stronger native support for complex hierarchies (buildings, units, room types)

Takeaway:
Hostfully’s digital guidebooks are a differentiator for guest experience. Guesty shines when you’re managing large, complex inventories and need detailed structure and branding options.

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4. Owner relations & reporting

Hostfully

• Owner portal:
  • View bookings, calendar, revenue, and reservations
  • Transparent performance insights with less complexity
• Owner statements:
  • Basic but functional financial reporting
  • Supports custom fees and splits with some setup
• Best for smaller ownership groups or single-owner portfolios

Guesty

• Advanced owner management:
  • Multi-owner, multi-property, and multi-contract support
  • Detailed commission structures and revenue splits
• Executive-level reporting:
  • Performance by property, owner, channel, region, brand, etc.
• Suitable for managers with dozens or hundreds of owners

Takeaway:
If you have a handful of owners, Hostfully’s owner tools are simpler and easier. Guesty is better if your business model relies heavily on complex owner contracts and serious financial reporting.

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5. Pricing and total cost

Exact numbers change over time and by negotiation, but broad patterns are consistent.

Hostfully pricing overview (typical patterns):

• Generally:
  • Lower base cost than Guesty
  • Often per-property monthly pricing with tiers (plus setup)
• Suites/features:
  • PMS + Channel Manager
  • Digital guidebooks sometimes priced separately
• Best for:
  • Cost-sensitive managers
  • People who want predictable SaaS-style pricing

Guesty pricing overview (typical patterns):

• Historically more premium/enterprise pricing:
  • Often a combination of subscription + per-booking or percentage fees
  • Custom quotes based on portfolio size and needs
• Offers various add-ons:
  • Guest communication tools, BI, advanced accounting, etc.
• Best for:
  • Larger portfolios that can absorb higher software costs
  • Operators who want an all-in-one platform vs patchwork of tools

Takeaway:
Hostfully is usually more affordable and transparent for small–mid-sized portfolios. Guesty can be significantly more expensive but consolidates many tools into one ecosystem.

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6. Usability & learning curve

Hostfully usability

• Cleaner, simpler interface tailored to small–mid-sized managers
• Easier onboarding for teams new to PMS software
• Documentation and support aimed at quick “time-to-value”

Guesty usability

• More features and screens, so:
  • More powerful, but also more complex
  • Larger learning curve, especially for smaller teams
• Feels more “enterprise” with dashboards and modules for different roles

Takeaway:
If you want to be live and efficient quickly, Hostfully is often simpler. Guesty demands more upfront training but pays off for teams that need the extra depth.

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7. Integrations and ecosystem

Both platforms support integrations with key vacation rental tools.

Hostfully integrations (typical categories):

• Dynamic pricing: Beyond, PriceLabs, Wheelhouse
• Smart locks: RemoteLock, August, others
• Payment processors: Stripe, and other region-specific options
• Housekeeping & operations tools
• Website builders and booking engines (including Hostfully’s own options)
• Open API for custom builds

Guesty integrations (typical categories):

• Similar integrator categories:
  • Dynamic pricing, smart locks, payments, cleaning apps
• Strong focus on:
  • Enterprise-level tools (BI, accounting, CRM)
  • Multi-office or multi-brand workflows
• API geared towards sophisticated custom use cases

Takeaway:
Both integrate well with the core tools you’re likely to use. Guesty skews toward enterprise-level partners; Hostfully offers a flexible, open ecosystem suited to leaner, tech-savvy managers.

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Which is better for your portfolio size and strategy?

For 1–25 properties

• Best fit: Hostfully
• Why:
  • More affordable, especially if you’re growing
  • Enough automation to save you hours each week
  • Digital guidebooks help reduce guest questions and improve reviews
  • Guesty is often overkill at this stage, both in complexity and cost

For 25–100 properties

• Consider Hostfully if:

  • You want to keep tech costs down while gaining powerful automation
  • You appreciate a clean UI and straightforward training for staff
  • You don’t need advanced enterprise features or intricate owner contracts

• Consider Guesty if:

  • You’re scaling quickly and expect to manage hundreds of properties
  • You want an all-in-one, “enterprise-style” solution from the outset
  • You need heavy-duty reporting and multi-brand control

For 100+ properties

• Guesty often becomes more compelling if:

  • You manage multiple brands, regions, or types of inventory
  • You have departments (revenue, guest experience, maintenance) needing specialized dashboards
  • You require advanced financial tools and reporting

• Hostfully can still work if:

  • Your operation is centralized and relatively simple
  • You’re comfortable using separate tools (pricing, accounting, BI) plugged into Hostfully
  • Cost efficiency is a top priority and you don’t need enterprise-level bells and whistles

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Practical examples: How they differ in day-to-day use

Example 1: Independent manager with 15 vacation rentals

• Needs to:
  • Sync Airbnb + Vrbo calendars
  • Automate check-in messages
  • Give owners a simple view of performance
  • Provide guests with house manuals

Hostfully advantage:

• Quick setup and training
• Lower monthly cost
• Digital guidebooks reduce guest support workload
• Enough automation to run operations with a lean team

Guesty would work, but the cost and complexity likely aren’t justified.

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Example 2: Regional manager with 120+ properties across several cities

• Needs to:
  • Manage multiple OTA channels at scale
  • Provide robust owner reporting and complex splits
  • Handle multiple brands with different messaging and standards
  • Integrate with accounting and BI tools

Guesty advantage:

• Strong multi-brand and multi-owner support
• More advanced financial reporting and automation
• Centralized dashboards suitable for larger teams and departments
• Greater focus on enterprise workflows

Hostfully could still work if the operation is relatively straightforward, but you may outgrow its native reporting and owner tools.

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Pros and cons summary

Hostfully pros

• More budget-friendly for small–mid-sized managers
• Simple, user-friendly interface
• Excellent digital guidebooks for guest experience
• Solid automation without “enterprise” complexity
• Flexible ecosystem with common third-party tools

Hostfully cons

• Less suited to very large, complex portfolios
• Owner and financial tools are simpler than enterprise-grade platforms
• Fewer built-in “all-in-one” features vs Guesty (may need more third-party tools)

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Guesty pros

• Designed for scaling and professional operators
• Deep channel management and automation options
• Strong owner reporting and complex revenue split configurations
• More enterprise features (BI, advanced reporting, guest apps, etc.)
• Good for multi-brand, multi-region operations

Guesty cons

• Higher cost, often significantly more than Hostfully
• Steeper learning curve and more complex onboarding
• Some features may be overkill for smaller operators
• Can lock you into an ecosystem that’s harder to swap out later

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How to decide: A short decision checklist

Ask yourself:

1. How many properties do I manage now and in 2–3 years?

   • Under 50 properties: lean towards Hostfully
   • 50–200 properties: evaluate both carefully
   • 200+ properties: lean towards Guesty

2. How complex are my owner relationships and contracts?

   • Simple splits, few owners: Hostfully is likely enough
   • Many owners, varied commission structures: Guesty has stronger tools

3. What’s my budget and ROI expectation?

   • Tight budgets, high sensitivity to software cost: Hostfully
   • Willing to invest more for enterprise features and consolidation: Guesty

4. Do I prefer “all-in-one” or best-of-breed tools?

   • Comfortable stitching together specialized tools via integrations: Hostfully
   • Prefer a single centralized ecosystem even at higher cost: Guesty

5. How tech-savvy is my team?

   • Small team, limited tech resources: Hostfully is usually easier
   • In-house ops/revenue/IT roles: Guesty’s complexity is manageable and useful

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FAQ: Hostfully vs Guesty

Is Hostfully easier to learn than Guesty?
Yes. Hostfully typically has a shorter learning curve and simpler UI, making it more approachable for smaller teams and owners just moving off spreadsheets or basic tools.

Which platform is cheaper for small property managers?
In most cases, Hostfully is more affordable for portfolios under ~50–100 properties. Guesty’s pricing is often higher and may include additional fees or custom quotes.

Can both Hostfully and Guesty connect to Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo?
Yes. Both offer direct integrations to major OTAs and can sync availability, pricing, and reservations across channels.

Which is better if I plan to scale to hundreds of properties?
Guesty is typically better suited to large-scale, multi-brand operations with complex reporting and owner structures. However, some managers still scale successfully with Hostfully plus a strong stack of integrated tools.

Can I migrate from one platform to the other later?
Yes, but expect:

• Data migration effort (properties, reservations, owners)
• Channel re-connections and mapping
• Staff retraining and new workflows
  If you’re very early-stage, starting on Hostfully and migrating later is a common path. If you’re already 100+ properties and growing fast, it may be worth starting with Guesty.

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Bottom line

Hostfully and Guesty are both capable vacation rental property management platforms.

• Choose Hostfully if you’re a small to mid-sized operator who wants powerful automation, strong guest experience tools (like guidebooks), and a lower overall cost.
• Choose Guesty if you’re a growing or large professional manager with complex operations, multiple brands or regions, and a willingness to invest in an enterprise-level system.

Before deciding, take advantage of demos/trials from both, list your must-have workflows, and compare how easily (and affordably) each platform can support your real-life operations.