Softwr

Travel · head to head

Chekin vs Smoobu

Chekin logo

Chekin

Travel

Guest check-in, identity verification and police registration for European rentals

From
€3.95/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Smoobu logo

Smoobu

Travel

All-in-one channel manager and PMS for hosts with a handful of holiday rentals

From
€29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Smoobu the Flex plan carries a 0.9% fee on every booking, which on an apartment turning over €40,000 a year costs more than the entire annual subscription saving, and the pricing page presents Flex as the cheaper option.
  • They diverge on capability: Chekin covers Police and authority registration, Smoobu covers Channel manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chekin and Smoobu actually diverge.

Attributes where Chekin and Smoobu differ
AttributeChekinSmoobu
Starting price€3.95/month€29/month
Pricing modelPer property per monthPer unit per month

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 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 Smoobu

  • Channel manager
  • Website builder
  • Guest messaging
  • Unified calendar
  • Invoicing and e-invoicing
  • Mobile apps

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 Smoobu
  • An Italian host needing Alloggiati Web submissions and city tourist tax collected from the guest rather than absorbednot Smoobu
  • A property with no staffed reception issuing door codes only after identity documents have been verifiednot Smoobu
  • An operator wanting damage deposits taken and released automatically instead of chasing bank transfersnot Smoobu

Smoobu

  • A host with three apartments in Berlin who needs Airbnb and Booking.com calendars kept in sync and wants a direct booking site to cut OTA commissionnot Chekin
  • An owner wanting automated check-in instructions and pre-arrival messages sent per channel without logging into each extranetnot Chekin
  • A small manager who needs guest invoices that meet German documentation requirements without adding a separate accounting toolnot Chekin
  • A host testing dynamic pricing through the bundled trial before deciding whether to subscribe to PriceLabs separatelynot 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.

Smoobu

  • The Flex plan carries a 0.9% fee on every booking, which on an apartment turning over €40,000 a year costs more than the entire annual subscription saving, and the pricing page presents Flex as the cheaper option.
  • Pricing is per unit, so a ten unit portfolio pays roughly €31.50 plus nine additional units at about €9.60, and the headline monthly figure covers a single apartment only.
  • Write access is charged per account beyond the included seats, so a cleaner, a co-host and an owner all needing to edit bookings turn into a recurring per seat cost.
  • There is no trust accounting or owner statement generation, so anyone managing units on behalf of third-party owners has to build payout reporting outside the system.
  • Housekeeping and maintenance dispatch is minimal compared with manager-grade platforms, so cleaning coordination happens in WhatsApp or a separate tool once you are past a few units.

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

Smoobu

€29/month
  • Professional Flex$29/month
    • One unit included
    • 0.9% fee on every booking
    • Channel manager, website builder, messaging
  • Professional Prepaid$31.5/month
    • One unit included
    • No booking fee
    • Website builder, invoicing, chatbot, API access
  • Teams Pro+$49.5/month
    • Everything in Prepaid
    • E-invoicing
    • Two write-access accounts, extra accounts from about €12 each

Which should you pick?

Choose Chekin if

  • You need police and authority registration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want identity verification.
Chekin review

Choose Smoobu if

  • You need channel manager.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want website builder.
Smoobu review

Questions people ask

Is Chekin or Smoobu better?
Neither clearly leads. Chekin starts at €3.95/month and Smoobu at €29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chekin or Smoobu?
Chekin starts at €3.95/month and Smoobu at €29/month.
Does Chekin or Smoobu run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Smoobu is typically brought in for.
What can Chekin do that Smoobu cannot?
Chekin covers Police and authority registration, Identity verification, Tourist tax calculation, Self check-in and digital keys. Smoobu covers Channel manager, Website builder, Guest messaging, Unified calendar.

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.

Smoobu: Which plan is actually cheaper, Flex or Prepaid?

Prepaid, for almost anyone with real occupancy. The 0.9% booking fee on Flex exceeds the subscription difference once annual revenue passes a few thousand euros.

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.

Smoobu: How many properties does the entry price cover?

One. Every additional unit adds roughly €9.60 per month.

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.

Smoobu: Does it include dynamic pricing?

Only two months free on the Teams tier. Ongoing dynamic pricing means subscribing to PriceLabs or similar.

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.

Smoobu: Is there a contract?

Billing is monthly, yearly or two-yearly, with 30 days notice required to cancel; longer terms buy 10% or 20% off.

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