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Travel · head to head

Bokun vs Roomsy

Bokun logo

Bokun

Travel

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
R

Roomsy

Travel

Per room hotel and hostel PMS with published prices and monthly minimums

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Roomsy every tier has a monthly floor, so a twelve room property on Essential pays $80 rather than $48 and the advertised per room rate is only real above the break-even room count.
  • They diverge on capability: Bokun covers Booking widgets, Roomsy covers Booking calendar.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bokun and Roomsy actually diverge.

Attributes where Bokun and Roomsy differ
AttributeBokunRoomsy
Pricing modelPer month plus a booking feePer room per month

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Bokun

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

Only in Roomsy

  • Booking calendar
  • Online booking engine
  • Hostel bed management
  • Invoicing and reporting
  • Multi-property

Both cover

  • Channel manager

What people use each for

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

Bokun

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

Roomsy

  • A twenty five room motel wanting OTA sync and a direct booking engine on a published price with no sales callnot Bokun
  • A hostel needing dorm bed inventory rather than room-only modellingnot Bokun
  • An owner running a very small property who wants a free booking calendar and engine before paying anythingnot Bokun
  • A two-property operator wanting one login and consolidated occupancy figures without enterprise pricingnot Bokun

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Roomsy

  • Every tier has a monthly floor, so a twelve room property on Essential pays $80 rather than $48 and the advertised per room rate is only real above the break-even room count.
  • Channel management is not on the free or Starter tiers, so the cheapest paid plan cannot connect to Booking.com and buyers regularly select it and then have to upgrade.
  • Some OTA connections are routed through SiteMinder rather than built directly, which introduces a third party into your distribution and a second place for a sync failure to occur.
  • There is no revenue management or dynamic pricing, so rates are manual and go stale unless someone maintains seasonal rules by hand.
  • There is no native point of sale or food and beverage module, so a property with a bar or restaurant runs a separate till and reconciles revenue outside the system.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Roomsy

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Booking calendar
    • Reporting
    • Invoicing
  • Starter$2/month
    • $2 per room per month
    • $40 monthly minimum
    • Booking engine and core PMS
  • Essential$4/month
    • $4 per room per month
    • $80 monthly minimum
    • Two-way channel manager to major OTAs
  • Pro$6/month
    • $6 per room per month
    • $160 monthly minimum
    • Additional users and advanced reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Bokun if

  • You need booking widgets.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want marketplace.
Bokun review

Choose Roomsy if

  • You need booking calendar.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want online booking engine.
Roomsy review

Questions people ask

Is Bokun or Roomsy better?
Neither clearly leads. Bokun starts at Free and Roomsy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bokun or Roomsy?
Bokun starts at Free and Roomsy at Free.
Does Bokun or Roomsy 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?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Bokun best used for?
Bokun is most often used for an operator already doing significant viator volume who wants that channel to cost nothing in software fees, a city tour company reselling partner products and taking commission through the bokun marketplace, an operator wanting a fixed monthly subscription rather than a percentage of every booking as fareharbor charges, a business taking most bookings by phone, which incur no bokun booking fee at all. Of those, an operator already doing significant viator volume who wants that channel to cost nothing in software fees and a city tour company reselling partner products and taking commission through the bokun marketplace are not what Roomsy is typically brought in for.
What can Bokun do that Roomsy cannot?
Bokun covers Booking widgets, Marketplace, Product and availability setup, Offline bookings. Roomsy covers Booking calendar, Online booking engine, Hostel bed management, Invoicing and reporting. Both handle Channel manager.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Roomsy: What does a thirty room hotel pay?

$120 a month on Essential, which is above the $80 floor. Below twenty rooms you pay the floor instead of the per room rate.

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.

Roomsy: Which plan includes the channel manager?

Essential at $4 per room per month with an $80 minimum. Free and Starter do not include it.

Bokun: Who owns Bokun?

Viator, which is part of Tripadvisor.

Roomsy: Is the free plan usable?

For a booking calendar, invoicing and a direct booking engine, yes. Without OTA connections most properties will outgrow it quickly.

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

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

Roomsy: Does Roomsy take commission on bookings?

No. You pay the subscription only.

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