Hostfully vs Hostaway vs Guesty: which STR PMS wins in 2026?
Blog · Comparison · 11 min read
Published 2026-06-07
By TrueCap · built by a Philadelphia rental investor
A 3-way comparison of Hostfully, Hostaway, and Guesty: channel managers, automation, pricing tiers, and which fits 1, 10, or 100 short-term rentals.
The three platforms in one sentence each
- Hostfully — STR property management with guest-experience features (digital guidebooks, branded direct-booking sites). Plans are pitched from 1 listing up (Growth: 1–50 listings). Pricing starts at $15 per property per month plus a platform fee, and scales with property count.
- Hostaway — STR property management with direct channel integrations (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia) and dynamic pricing partnerships (PriceLabs, Wheelhouse, Beyond Pricing). Quoted by listing count. Pricing is not published and varies by features.
- Guesty — STR property management that spans solo hosts to professional managers running multi-owner portfolios. Three plans: Guesty Lite (1–3 listings, from $9/month plus 1% per reservation), Guesty Pro (4–199 listings, quoted), and Guesty Enterprise (200+ listings, custom).
What each one offers
Hostfully
- Digital guidebooks for guests — Hostfully says your first guidebook is always free.
- Direct-booking website builder you can customize with your own logo, colors, and brand.
- 24/7 customer support on the Growth plan; Pro adds a dedicated customer success manager and additional onboarding support.
- Integrations, by each vendor's own count: Hostfully advertises 150+ integrations and Hostaway 300+.
Hostaway
- Unified inbox across Airbnb / Vrbo / Booking.com / Google, plus email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
- 300+ integrations by Hostaway's own count. Its Marketplace page advertises 200+ partner-built integrations, including the dynamic-pricing tools PriceLabs, Wheelhouse, and Beyond.
- Automation — automated messages triggered at check-in, during the stay, or at checkout, plus messaging templates and automated reviews.
- Guest-facing features: a direct-booking website builder and a guest portal.
Guesty
- Enterprise plan built for portfolios of 200+ listings, with enterprise-grade security.
- Owners portal for STR managers running properties for other owners (automated owner statements, custom permissions).
- Open API for custom integrations (Pro and Enterprise).
- Tradeoff: pricing is quote-only at the Pro and Enterprise levels; only Lite has a published price.
Pricing comparison (as of 2026)
- Hostfully — starts at $15 per property per month plus a platform fee, scales by property count. No free tier, demo available.
- Hostaway — pricing isn't published; you get a quote based on listing count. No free tier.
- Guesty — Lite starts at $9/month plus 1% per reservation (1–3 listings, 14-day free trial); Pro and Enterprise are quote-only.
For solo STR operators, Guesty Lite (from $9/month plus 1% per reservation) and Hostfully (from $15 per property per month plus a platform fee) publish entry prices; Hostaway keeps a waitlist for markets and portfolio sizes it does not serve yet. For mid-market and larger operators, compare quotes — Hostaway and Guesty Pro don't publish prices, and Hostfully starts at $15–$25 per property plus a platform fee.
What if you have only 1-3 STRs?
Guesty Lite is built for 1–3 listings, and Hostfully says it serves hosts with a single listing; Hostaway keeps a waitlist for markets and portfolio sizes it does not serve yet, so ask before you plan around a single listing. Also look at:
- Lodgify — built for hosts with one property or more, builds direct-booking website, channel manager.
- Smoobu — single-property pricing.
- Direct Airbnb tools — if you only list on Airbnb, the platform's native tools (messaging, calendar, scheduled messages) may be enough. No monthly subscription, though Airbnb deducts its service fee from each payout.
Where TrueCap fits — the underwriting layer
Hostfully, Hostaway and Guesty sell property management software for rentals you operate. Before you buy an STR, the workflow is:
- Pick a target market (Mashvisor or AirDNA for regional Airbnb data).
- Find a specific property (MLS, off-market, or an investor marketplace).
- Pull an STR revenue projection for the address (AirDNA Rentalizer — limited on AirDNA's free plan; the customizable version comes with its paid Market Research plan).
- Plug that monthly revenue into TrueCap's rent field. Override the HUD long-term rent default. Run the underwrite (cap rate, DSCR, cash flow; the 10-year projection is a paid feature).
- Review the model, verify local rules and property-specific evidence, and make the acquisition decision outside the analyzer. Set up an operations platform only if you proceed.
TrueCap's sensitivity grid, when your access includes it, varies rent by ±10%, vacancy by ±5 percentage points, and interest rate by ±1 percentage point. These are editable model scenarios—not a forecast of STR revenue, ADR, occupancy, or lender pricing.
Quick decision matrix
- "I have 1-3 STRs." Lodgify or Smoobu (or direct Airbnb), or Guesty Lite, which is built for 1–3 listings.
- "I have 3-15 STRs." Hostfully (Growth plan pitched at 1–50 listings, first guidebook free) or Hostaway (quoted by listing count).
- "I have 5-50 STRs and want the 300+ integrations Hostaway advertises." Hostaway.
- "I manage 50+ STRs as a business, possibly for other owners." Guesty Pro or Enterprise (owners portal from Pro up), or Hostaway, which also lists an owner portal.
- "I'm about to BUY an STR." TrueCap (free) + AirDNA (Rentalizer). Underwrite first, manage second.
FAQ
Which STR PMS is best for 1-3 short-term rentals?
Guesty Lite is built for 1–3 listings, and Hostfully says it serves hosts from a single listing up; Hostaway keeps a waitlist for markets and portfolio sizes it does not serve yet, so ask before you plan around a single listing. Lodgify and Smoobu are also worth comparing at this size, and if you only list on Airbnb, its own tools may be enough. As you grow, Hostaway (quoted by listing count), Hostfully (Growth plan pitched at 1–50 listings) and Guesty Pro (4–199 listings) all become options.
Hostfully vs Hostaway — which one?
Hostfully pitches its plans from 1 listing up, and Hostaway quotes by listing count. Hostfully offers digital guidebooks, the first one free, and both list a direct-booking website builder. Hostaway advertises 300+ integrations against Hostfully's 150+. Look at both before you choose.
Hostaway vs Guesty — which is more enterprise?
Guesty spans sizes — Lite for 1–3 listings, Pro for 4–199, Enterprise for 200+ — and its Pro plan adds an owners portal for managers running multiple owners. Hostaway quotes by listing count, advertises 300+ integrations and lists an owner portal and owner statements. Guesty's owners portal lets you set custom permissions per owner. If you manage STRs for other owners, compare the two portals.
Do any of these underwrite STR deals?
All three sell property management software for STRs you operate (channels, pricing, guest messaging, cleaning). For pre-purchase underwriting (cap rate, DSCR, cash flow on a property you're considering buying as an STR), use TrueCap, DealCheck, or a spreadsheet. AirDNA's Rentalizer provides an STR revenue projection you can enter in TrueCap's rent field.
Where does TrueCap fit in the STR workflow?
Upstream of property operations. Enter a reviewed STR revenue scenario in TrueCap, run a preliminary cap-rate, model-DSCR, and cash-flow screen, and verify regulations, costs, demand, financing, and property-specific evidence before deciding whether to proceed. An analyzer result is not a recommendation to buy.
Underwrite the STR before you pick the PMS
Don't pick a PMS before confirming the deal pencils. Hostfully, Hostaway and Guesty manage STRs that exist. TrueCap (free) + AirDNA let you model whether the property pencils as an STR before you commit. Run that step first.