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Travel · head to head

Apaleo vs Bolt

Apaleo logo

Apaleo

Travel

API-first hotel property management platform sold per room with a monthly floor

From
€8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bolt logo

Bolt

Travel

Estonian ride hailing app with dense coverage across Europe and expanding operations in Africa, positioned as a lower-cost Uber alternative

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bolt has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Apaleo the €400 monthly floor means a property under fifty rooms pays well above the headline €8 per room, so a twenty five room hotel pays €16 per room and the advertised rate is misleading at the small end.; Bolt coverage, while broad across Europe and expanding in Africa, does not extend to North America, most of Asia or South America, so it is unavailable as an option in large parts of the world.
  • They diverge on capability: Apaleo covers Open REST API, Bolt covers Ride hailing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Apaleo and Bolt actually diverge.

Attributes where Apaleo and Bolt differ
AttributeApaleoBolt
Starting price€8/monthFree
Pricing modelPer room per monthFree app, pay per ride with dynamic pricing
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIiOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Travel).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Apaleo

  • Open REST API
  • Apaleo Store
  • Multi-property inventory
  • Apaleo Pay
  • Unit group model
  • Night audit and accounting export

Only in Bolt

  • Ride hailing
  • Bolt Food
  • E-scooters and e-bikes
  • Lower driver commission model
  • Bolt Business
  • Scheduled rides

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Apaleo

  • A serviced apartment group building its own branded check-in and access flow that needs full PMS control through an API rather than a vendor-built kiosknot Bolt
  • A European hotel group standardising twenty properties on one system with central rate management and DATEV-ready accounting exportsnot Bolt
  • A new-build lifestyle hotel operating with no permanent front desk, where door locks, kiosks and messaging come from specialists and the PMS is the record of truthnot Bolt
  • A revenue team that wants to plug Duetto or IDeaS into live inventory without paying a per-connection interface feenot Bolt

Bolt

  • A rider in Europe or Africa wanting a lower-cost alternative to Uber where both apps operatenot Apaleo
  • Someone in a city where Uber does not operate but Bolt does, particularly in parts of Central and Eastern Europe or Africanot Apaleo
  • A business traveller whose company uses Bolt Business for expensed corporate ridesnot Apaleo
  • A rider wanting e-scooter or e-bike rental in a supported European city through the same app used for ridesnot Apaleo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Apaleo

  • The €400 monthly floor means a property under fifty rooms pays well above the headline €8 per room, so a twenty five room hotel pays €16 per room and the advertised rate is misleading at the small end.
  • Apaleo ships no point of sale, no spa or golf module and no conference and banqueting system, so full service hotels must buy and integrate three or four more products before the stack is complete.
  • Because the model assumes you assemble the guest-facing layer from the Store, the real monthly cost is the platform fee plus several third-party subscriptions, and that total is nowhere on the pricing page.
  • Support and documentation lean towards developers, so an operator without technical capacity or an implementation partner will find configuration and troubleshooting harder than with a conventional PMS.
  • The product and integration ecosystem is strongest in German-speaking Europe, and North American buyers will find fewer local integrations for payments, tax rules and accounting than a US-focused PMS offers.

Bolt

  • Coverage, while broad across Europe and expanding in Africa, does not extend to North America, most of Asia or South America, so it is unavailable as an option in large parts of the world.
  • Fares are dynamic with demand-based surge like the rest of the category, so the lower-cost positioning against Uber does not hold on every route or at every time of day.
  • Feature availability, especially Bolt Food and micromobility rental, varies considerably by city, so the app experience is inconsistent across the markets it operates in.
  • As a smaller company than Uber globally, driver and vehicle availability can be noticeably thinner in some cities, particularly outside major urban centres.
  • Bolt has faced regulatory and labour scrutiny in some European and African markets over driver classification and commission structures, similar to the challenges other ride hailing platforms have faced.

Pricing, plan by plan

Apaleo

€8/month
  • Apaleo Platform$8/month
    • €8 per room per month
    • Minimum €400 per month regardless of room count
    • All APIs included at no extra cost

Bolt

Free
  • BoltFree
    • App is free; riders pay per trip at dynamic, demand-based fares
    • Fares often positioned lower than Uber in overlapping cities, but not guaranteed on every route
    • No published flat rate card, fares vary by city, time and route

Which should you pick?

Choose Apaleo if

  • You need open rest api.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want apaleo store.
Apaleo review

Choose Bolt if

  • You need ride hailing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want bolt food.
Bolt review

Questions people ask

Is Apaleo or Bolt better?
Neither clearly leads. Apaleo starts at €8/month and Bolt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apaleo or Bolt?
Bolt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €8/month for Apaleo and Free for Bolt.
Does Apaleo or Bolt run on more platforms?
Apaleo runs on Web, API. Bolt runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use Bolt for free?
Yes. Bolt has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Apaleo starts at €8/month.
What is Apaleo best used for?
Apaleo is most often used for a serviced apartment group building its own branded check-in and access flow that needs full pms control through an api rather than a vendor-built kiosk, a european hotel group standardising twenty properties on one system with central rate management and datev-ready accounting exports, a new-build lifestyle hotel operating with no permanent front desk, where door locks, kiosks and messaging come from specialists and the pms is the record of truth, a revenue team that wants to plug duetto or ideas into live inventory without paying a per-connection interface fee. Of those, a serviced apartment group building its own branded check-in and access flow that needs full pms control through an api rather than a vendor-built kiosk and a european hotel group standardising twenty properties on one system with central rate management and datev-ready accounting exports are not what Bolt is typically brought in for.
What can Apaleo do that Bolt cannot?
Apaleo covers Open REST API, Apaleo Store, Multi-property inventory, Apaleo Pay. Bolt covers Ride hailing, Bolt Food, E-scooters and e-bikes, Lower driver commission model.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Apaleo: What does Apaleo actually cost for a sixty room hotel?

€480 per month for the platform at €8 per room, plus payment processing from 0.6% and whatever Store integrations you add. Below fifty rooms you pay the €400 floor.

Bolt: Where does Bolt operate?

Primarily across Europe, with particularly dense coverage in Central and Eastern Europe, plus an expanding presence across African markets including Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Apaleo: Is API access charged separately?

No. All APIs are included in the per room fee, which is unusual in the PMS market where interface fees per connection are common.

Bolt: Is Bolt cheaper than Uber?

Often, in cities where both operate, but not guaranteed on every route since both use dynamic, demand-based pricing that varies by time and location.

Apaleo: Does it include a channel manager?

No. You connect one from the Store, such as SiteMinder, and pay that vendor separately.

Bolt: Does Bolt deliver food?

Yes, Bolt Food operates in many but not all of the cities where the ride hailing service is available.

Apaleo: Can it run a full service hotel?

Only with additional systems. There is no native POS, spa or events module.

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