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Travel · head to head

Boostly vs Kayak

Boostly logo

Boostly

Travel

Done-for-you direct booking websites and marketing coaching for short-term rental hosts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kayak logo

Kayak

Travel

Travel search app comparing flights, hotels and car hire across other booking sites, owned by Booking Holdings

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kayak has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Boostly the dominant cost is the one-off build fee, which is quoted rather than published and typically runs into the thousands, so the monthly figure hosts quote to each other badly understates the commitment.; Kayak it is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.
  • They diverge on capability: Boostly covers Custom WordPress site, Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Boostly and Kayak actually diverge.

Attributes where Boostly and Kayak differ
AttributeBoostlyKayak
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree to users, revenue from referral commissions and advertising
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, Android, Web

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 Boostly

  • Custom WordPress site
  • PMS booking widget
  • Direct card payments
  • Marketing curriculum
  • Host community
  • Email capture and nurture
  • SEO groundwork
  • Podcast and content library

Only in Kayak

  • Flight, hotel and car comparison
  • Price alerts
  • Price prediction
  • Flexible date search
  • Trip planning tools
  • Explore/anywhere search

What people use each for

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

Boostly

  • A manager with twenty holiday lets who wants to cut OTA commission on repeat guestsnot Kayak
  • An owner with a strong local brand in a destination where Airbnb visibility is expensivenot Kayak
  • A host who already runs Hostaway and needs a marketing front end rather than another PMSnot Kayak
  • An operator building an email list of past guests to drive off-season occupancynot Kayak

Kayak

  • Comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasingnot Boostly
  • Setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price dropsnot Boostly
  • Searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper farenot Boostly
  • Comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a tripnot Boostly

Where each one falls short

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

Boostly

  • The dominant cost is the one-off build fee, which is quoted rather than published and typically runs into the thousands, so the monthly figure hosts quote to each other badly understates the commitment.
  • It is a website and a marketing programme, not a property management system; you still need and still pay for a PMS underneath it.
  • Results depend entirely on your own effort producing content and email, and a site with no traffic strategy produces no direct bookings regardless of how well it is built.
  • The build is WordPress, which means plugin updates, hosting decisions and the security exposure that comes with the platform, all of which land on you or on a paid maintenance arrangement.
  • Coaching and community are a large share of what you pay for, which is poor value for an operator who already has marketing capability and only wants the booking site.

Kayak

  • It is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.
  • Some airlines opt out of listing on metasearch sites entirely, so Kayak's results are not a complete view of every available fare in the market.
  • Revenue comes from referral commissions, and prominence in results can be influenced by which suppliers pay Kayak more, not purely by lowest price.
  • The actual booking typically completes on a third party site, so problems with a booking, cancellation or refund are handled by that site's customer service, not Kayak's.
  • Displayed prices can change or fail to match by the time a user reaches the booking site, since Kayak is not always querying live inventory in real time for every listed fare.

Pricing, plan by plan

Boostly

On request
  • Boostly direct booking website$undefined/year
    • One-off build and setup fee quoted per customer, commonly in the low thousands
    • Ongoing platform and support subscription billed monthly or annually
    • Marketing programme and community access included

Kayak

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited search and price alerts
    • No subscription tier

Which should you pick?

Choose Boostly if

  • You need custom wordpress site.
  • You also want pms booking widget.
Boostly review

Choose Kayak if

  • You need flight, hotel and car comparison.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want price alerts.
Kayak review

Questions people ask

Is Boostly or Kayak better?
Neither clearly leads. Boostly starts at On request and Kayak at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Boostly or Kayak?
Kayak has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Boostly and Free for Kayak.
Does Boostly or Kayak run on more platforms?
Boostly runs on Web. Kayak runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Kayak for free?
Yes. Kayak has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Boostly starts at On request.
What is Boostly best used for?
Boostly is most often used for a manager with twenty holiday lets who wants to cut ota commission on repeat guests, an owner with a strong local brand in a destination where airbnb visibility is expensive, a host who already runs hostaway and needs a marketing front end rather than another pms, an operator building an email list of past guests to drive off-season occupancy. Of those, a manager with twenty holiday lets who wants to cut ota commission on repeat guests and an owner with a strong local brand in a destination where airbnb visibility is expensive are not what Kayak is typically brought in for.
What can Boostly do that Kayak cannot?
Boostly covers Custom WordPress site, PMS booking widget, Direct card payments, Marketing curriculum. Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, Price alerts, Price prediction, Flexible date search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Boostly: Is Boostly a property management system?

No. It builds direct booking websites and teaches marketing. Your PMS stays where it is and Boostly plugs into it.

Kayak: Does Kayak charge a booking fee?

No, Kayak itself is free to use; it earns referral commissions from the airlines, hotels and sites it sends bookings to.

Boostly: What does it actually cost?

Pricing is not published. The structure is a substantial one-off build fee, commonly quoted in the low thousands of US dollars, plus a smaller ongoing subscription.

Kayak: Do I book directly through Kayak?

Usually the booking completes on the airline, hotel or travel site's own platform after Kayak hands off the click, though some direct booking options exist for select content.

Boostly: Do I own the website?

It is built on WordPress, so unlike a closed platform site you retain something transferable, though moving it off Boostly means taking on hosting and maintenance yourself.

Kayak: Is Kayak owned by an airline or hotel chain?

No, it is owned by Booking Holdings, which also owns Booking.com, Priceline and Agoda.

Boostly: Will it replace Airbnb bookings?

Only to the extent you drive traffic to it. The site converts demand you generate; it does not create demand on its own.

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