Travel · head to head
Chekin vs Kayak
Chekin
Travel
Guest check-in, identity verification and police registration for European rentals
- From
- €3.95/month
- Rated
- -
Kayak
Travel
Travel search app comparing flights, hotels and car hire across other booking sites, owned by Booking Holdings
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Kayak has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Chekin there is a three unit minimum on the published plans, so a single-property host cannot buy the entry tier at the advertised rate.; 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: Chekin covers Police and authority registration, 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 Chekin and Kayak actually diverge.
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 Chekin
- Police and authority registration
- Identity verification
- Tourist tax calculation
- Self check-in and digital keys
- Deposits and damage protection
- Upsells and branded guest app
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.
Chekin
- A manager with twenty apartments in Barcelona who must file guest data with the Ministry of the Interior for every arrival and cannot do it manually at scalenot Kayak
- An Italian host needing Alloggiati Web submissions and city tourist tax collected from the guest rather than absorbednot Kayak
- A property with no staffed reception issuing door codes only after identity documents have been verifiednot Kayak
- An operator wanting damage deposits taken and released automatically instead of chasing bank transfersnot Kayak
Kayak
- Comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasingnot Chekin
- Setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price dropsnot Chekin
- Searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper farenot Chekin
- Comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a tripnot Chekin
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Chekin
- There is a three unit minimum on the published plans, so a single-property host cannot buy the entry tier at the advertised rate.
- The compliance value is regional; outside Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece there is often no authority integration to use and the product becomes an ordinary check-in form at a per property price.
- Transaction fees sit on almost every money-handling feature, including 1.5% plus EUR 0.99 on payments and 10% on unified inbox transactions, so the effective cost is far above the subscription for anyone using them.
- It is a layer on top of a PMS rather than a replacement, so you are paying a second per property subscription alongside your existing platform and reconciling two sources of guest data.
- Identity verification and self check-in sit behind the Premium tier and Premium only includes one premium feature, so an operator wanting both verification and digital keys must move to Enterprise.
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
Chekin
€3.95/month- Basic$3.95/month
- Minimum three units
- Online check-in and legal compliance filing
- Tourist taxes
- Premium$5.95/month
- Everything in Basic
- One premium feature of your choice
- Options: identity verification, self check-in and digital keys, branded guest app, digital guidebooks or e-invoicing
- Enterprise$7.95/month
- All premium features included
- Identity verification, self check-in, branded app, guidebooks, e-invoicing
- Custom pricing above volume thresholds
Kayak
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited search and price alerts
- No subscription tier
Which should you pick?
Choose Chekin if
- You need police and authority registration.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want identity verification.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Chekin or Kayak better?
- Neither clearly leads. Chekin starts at €3.95/month and Kayak at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Chekin or Kayak?
- Kayak has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €3.95/month for Chekin and Free for Kayak.
- Does Chekin or Kayak run on more platforms?
- Chekin runs on Web, iOS, Android. 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. Chekin starts at €3.95/month.
- What is Chekin best used for?
- Chekin is most often used for a manager with twenty apartments in barcelona who must file guest data with the ministry of the interior for every arrival and cannot do it manually at scale, an italian host needing alloggiati web submissions and city tourist tax collected from the guest rather than absorbed, a property with no staffed reception issuing door codes only after identity documents have been verified, an operator wanting damage deposits taken and released automatically instead of chasing bank transfers. Of those, a manager with twenty apartments in barcelona who must file guest data with the ministry of the interior for every arrival and cannot do it manually at scale and an italian host needing alloggiati web submissions and city tourist tax collected from the guest rather than absorbed are not what Kayak is typically brought in for.
- What can Chekin do that Kayak cannot?
- Chekin covers Police and authority registration, Identity verification, Tourist tax calculation, Self check-in and digital keys. Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, Price alerts, Price prediction, Flexible date search.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Chekin: Why would I buy this rather than use my PMS check-in form?
Because it files guest data with national police registration systems and calculates local tourist tax, which PMS check-in forms do not do.
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.
Chekin: What does it really cost?
From EUR 3.95 per property per month with a three unit minimum, plus 1.5% plus EUR 0.30 on deposits, 1.5% plus EUR 0.99 on payments, 1% on upsells and 10% on unified inbox transactions.
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.
Chekin: Does it work outside southern Europe?
The check-in, verification and key features do. The automated authority filing that justifies the price largely does not.
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.
Chekin: Can I get both identity verification and digital keys on Premium?
No. Premium includes one premium feature. Both requires Enterprise at EUR 7.95 per property per month.
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