Softwr

Travel · head to head

Beds24 vs Bokun

Beds24 logo

Beds24

Travel

Low-cost, highly configurable channel manager and booking system for technical operators

From
€15.9/month
Rated
-
Bokun logo

Bokun

Travel

Tour and activity booking platform tied to Viator distribution, from free to $499 a month

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Bokun has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Beds24 support is helpful on how to use the product but slow and thin on genuine defects, and the ticketing system does not accept screenshots or attachments properly, which makes reporting a real bug laborious.; Bokun viator bookings are exempt from the booking fee while your own direct bookings are not, so the pricing structure rewards selling through the parent marketplace rather than through your own site.
  • They diverge on capability: Beds24 covers Broad channel connections, Bokun covers Channel manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beds24 and Bokun actually diverge.

Attributes where Beds24 and Bokun differ
AttributeBeds24Bokun
Starting price€15.9/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by property and unit countPer month plus a booking fee
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Beds24

  • Broad channel connections
  • Customisable booking page
  • Rate and availability rules
  • Automated messaging
  • Open API
  • Invoicing and payments
  • Multi-property management
  • Access control

Only in Bokun

  • Channel manager
  • Booking widgets
  • Marketplace
  • Product and availability setup
  • Offline bookings
  • Vouchers and redemption

What people use each for

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

Beds24

  • A twenty-unit apartment operator who wants multi-channel distribution for under fifty euros a monthnot Bokun
  • A hostel needing Hostelworld and dorm-level bed inventory alongside the major OTAsnot Bokun
  • A developer building a custom guest app on top of a booking system with an open APInot Bokun
  • An owner with unusual rate logic, such as per-person pricing or seasonal minimum stays, that packaged tools cannot expressnot Bokun

Bokun

  • An operator already doing significant Viator volume who wants that channel to cost nothing in software feesnot Beds24
  • A city tour company reselling partner products and taking commission through the Bokun marketplacenot Beds24
  • An operator wanting a fixed monthly subscription rather than a percentage of every booking as FareHarbor chargesnot Beds24
  • A business taking most bookings by phone, which incur no Bokun booking fee at allnot Beds24

Where each one falls short

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

Beds24

  • Support is helpful on how to use the product but slow and thin on genuine defects, and the ticketing system does not accept screenshots or attachments properly, which makes reporting a real bug laborious.
  • There is no built-in dynamic pricing engine, so revenue management means paying separately for PriceLabs or an equivalent and accepting a second system to maintain.
  • No website builder is included; the booking page is templated but a marketing site has to be built and hosted elsewhere.
  • Initial configuration is genuinely difficult and largely self-serve, and operators regularly report days rather than hours to get channel mappings and rate rules correct.
  • Housekeeping, task management, smart lock support and any hospitality CRM are absent or require third-party tools, so it is a distribution engine rather than an operations platform.

Bokun

  • Viator bookings are exempt from the booking fee while your own direct bookings are not, so the pricing structure rewards selling through the parent marketplace rather than through your own site.
  • The booking fee sits on top of the monthly subscription, so an operator on Start pays $49 plus 1.5% of direct online revenue and the plan price alone understates the cost.
  • The free plan is limited to a single user and constrained features, so any business with staff has to move to a paid tier almost immediately.
  • Adopting it deepens commercial dependence on Tripadvisor and Viator, which is uncomfortable if your strategy is reducing OTA commission exposure.
  • Reporting and back-office depth are lighter than dedicated operator platforms, so businesses with complex resource scheduling or multi-site operations often need workarounds.

Pricing, plan by plan

Beds24

€15.9/month
  • Single property$15.9/month
    • One property with one rental unit
    • Channel manager and booking page included
    • All core features, no tier gating
  • Additional property$undefined/month
    • About EUR 3 per extra property added to the account
    • Same full feature set
    • No separate distribution charge
  • Additional unit$undefined/month
    • About EUR 1 per extra rental unit within a property
    • Applies to multi-unit buildings and dorms
    • No revenue share on bookings

Bokun

Free
  • FreeFree
    • One user
    • No monthly fee
    • No Bokun booking fee
  • Start$49/month
    • Up to 5 users
    • 1.5% booking fee on direct online bookings
    • No booking fee on Viator bookings
  • Plus$149/month
    • Up to 10 users
    • 1.25% booking fee on direct online bookings
    • No Bokun fee on Viator bookings
  • Premium$499/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 1% booking fee on direct online bookings
    • No Bokun fee on Viator bookings

Which should you pick?

Choose Beds24 if

  • You need broad channel connections.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want customisable booking page.

Choose Bokun if

  • You need channel manager.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want booking widgets.

Questions people ask

Is Beds24 or Bokun better?
Neither clearly leads. Beds24 starts at €15.9/month and Bokun at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beds24 or Bokun?
Bokun has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €15.9/month for Beds24 and Free for Bokun.
Does Beds24 or Bokun run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Bokun for free?
Yes. Bokun has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Beds24 starts at €15.9/month.
What is Beds24 best used for?
Beds24 is most often used for a twenty-unit apartment operator who wants multi-channel distribution for under fifty euros a month, a hostel needing hostelworld and dorm-level bed inventory alongside the major otas, a developer building a custom guest app on top of a booking system with an open api, an owner with unusual rate logic, such as per-person pricing or seasonal minimum stays, that packaged tools cannot express. Of those, a twenty-unit apartment operator who wants multi-channel distribution for under fifty euros a month and a hostel needing hostelworld and dorm-level bed inventory alongside the major otas are not what Bokun is typically brought in for.
What can Beds24 do that Bokun cannot?
Beds24 covers Broad channel connections, Customisable booking page, Rate and availability rules, Automated messaging. Bokun covers Channel manager, Booking widgets, Marketplace, Product and availability setup.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beds24: Why is Beds24 so much cheaper than Lodgify or Uplisting?

Because it does not pay for onboarding, guided setup or a website builder. You configure it yourself from raw settings pages, and that labour is the difference.

Bokun: Are Viator bookings really free of Bokun fees?

Yes on the paid plans. Direct online bookings through your own widget carry 1% to 1.5% depending on tier.

Beds24: Is the channel manager restricted on the cheap plan?

No. Unlike most competitors, Beds24 does not gate distribution behind a higher tier; the price scales with property and unit count rather than feature access.

Bokun: Can I pass the booking fee to customers?

Yes, on the paid plans the fee can be added to the customer price rather than absorbed.

Beds24: Does it include dynamic pricing?

No. You connect PriceLabs or a similar tool, which is an additional subscription.

Bokun: Who owns Bokun?

Viator, which is part of Tripadvisor.

Beds24: Is there an API?

Yes, a documented REST API, and it is one of the main reasons technical operators pick Beds24 over packaged alternatives.

Bokun: Is the free plan usable in a real business?

Only for a solo operator. It is one user with limited features.

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