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Travel · head to head

Bokun vs Wheelhouse

Bokun logo

Bokun

Travel

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wheelhouse logo

Wheelhouse

Travel

Dynamic pricing and market data for short-term rental operators

From
$19.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bokun has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Wheelhouse the two plans cross over at roughly $2,000 of monthly booking revenue per listing, and Wheelhouse does not flag which plan is cheaper for you, so most users are on the wrong one.
  • They diverge on capability: Bokun covers Channel manager, Wheelhouse covers Dynamic nightly pricing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bokun and Wheelhouse actually diverge.

Attributes where Bokun and Wheelhouse differ
AttributeBokunWheelhouse
Starting priceFree$19.99/month
Pricing modelPer month plus a booking feePer listing per month or percentage of revenue
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS

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 Bokun

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

Only in Wheelhouse

  • Dynamic nightly pricing
  • Strategy controls
  • Market reports
  • Dynamic Sets
  • Channel push
  • Portfolio view

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 Wheelhouse
  • A city tour company reselling partner products and taking commission through the Bokun marketplacenot Wheelhouse
  • An operator wanting a fixed monthly subscription rather than a percentage of every booking as FareHarbor chargesnot Wheelhouse
  • A business taking most bookings by phone, which incur no Bokun booking fee at allnot Wheelhouse

Wheelhouse

  • A host with two cabins in a seasonal market who wants rates shaped by booking pace rather than a fixed summer and winter ratenot Bokun
  • A manager with sixty units wanting one pricing strategy applied across a portfolio with per-unit floorsnot Bokun
  • An owner with a low-occupancy listing who prefers to pay 1% of revenue rather than a fixed monthly fee in quiet monthsnot Bokun
  • An analyst benchmarking a new acquisition against neighbourhood occupancy and ADR before setting an offer pricenot 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.

Wheelhouse

  • The two plans cross over at roughly $2,000 of monthly booking revenue per listing, and Wheelhouse does not flag which plan is cheaper for you, so most users are on the wrong one.
  • Dynamic Sets, the tool for defining accurate comparable sets, is charged separately at $12.99 per set per month, so genuinely good market analysis costs more than the pricing engine itself.
  • Data quality depends on local listing density, and in thin or rural markets the recommendations become unreliable because there are too few comparables to model against.
  • Rate pushes depend on channel and PMS connections, and a lag or failed sync means a stale price sits live on the OTA with no obvious alert to the operator.
  • The strategy controls that make it attractive to professionals also mean the tool underperforms if left on defaults, so an operator who wanted to set and forget will not get the benefit they paid for.

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

Wheelhouse

$19.99/month
  • Pro Flex$undefined/month
    • 1% of booked revenue
    • $2.99 minimum monthly fee
    • Billed at reservation time, refunded on cancellation
  • Pro Flat$19.99/month
    • $19.99 per listing per month
    • $16.99 per listing at 10 to 49 listings
    • Custom pricing above 50 listings
  • Dynamic Sets$12.99/month
    • $12.99 per set per month
    • Navigator mapping interface
    • Eighteen filter categories for comparable selection

Which should you pick?

Choose Bokun if

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

Choose Wheelhouse if

  • You need dynamic nightly pricing.
  • You work on Web, iOS.
  • You also want strategy controls.
Wheelhouse review

Questions people ask

Is Bokun or Wheelhouse better?
Neither clearly leads. Bokun starts at Free and Wheelhouse at $19.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bokun or Wheelhouse?
Bokun has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bokun and $19.99/month for Wheelhouse.
Does Bokun or Wheelhouse run on more platforms?
Bokun runs on Web, iOS, Android. Wheelhouse runs on Web, iOS.
Can I use Bokun for free?
Yes. Bokun has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wheelhouse starts at $19.99/month.
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 Wheelhouse is typically brought in for.
What can Bokun do that Wheelhouse cannot?
Bokun covers Channel manager, Booking widgets, Marketplace, Product and availability setup. Wheelhouse covers Dynamic nightly pricing, Strategy controls, Market reports, Dynamic Sets.

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.

Wheelhouse: Which plan should I be on?

Flat below about $2,000 of monthly revenue per listing is the more expensive option; above that Flat is cheaper. Compare 1% of your actual monthly booking revenue against $19.99.

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.

Wheelhouse: Does it push prices to Airbnb directly?

Yes, and to Vrbo, plus through connected property management systems.

Bokun: Who owns Bokun?

Viator, which is part of Tripadvisor.

Wheelhouse: Is there a free option?

You can create an account and see market reports without paying, but rate automation requires a paid plan.

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

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

Wheelhouse: Is there a contract?

No lock-in. Flex is billed at reservation time and refunded if the booking cancels.

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