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Travel · head to head

Chekin vs TripAdvisor

Chekin logo

Chekin

Travel

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

From
€3.95/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TripAdvisor logo

TripAdvisor

Travel

Travel reviews and booking app whose revenue comes from advertising and referral commissions to hotels and OTAs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only TripAdvisor 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.; TripAdvisor review authenticity is an ongoing, not fully solved, problem; both businesses soliciting or buying positive reviews and competitors planting negative ones have been documented issues on the platform.
  • They diverge on capability: Chekin covers Police and authority registration, TripAdvisor covers Reviews and ratings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chekin and TripAdvisor actually diverge.

Attributes where Chekin and TripAdvisor differ
AttributeChekinTripAdvisor
Starting price€3.95/monthFree
Pricing modelPer property per monthFree to browse, revenue from advertising and referral commissions
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, 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 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 TripAdvisor

  • Reviews and ratings
  • Price comparison
  • Viator tours and activities
  • Traveller forums
  • Travellers' Choice awards
  • Trip planning

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

TripAdvisor

  • Researching hotel or restaurant reviews before booking a tripnot Chekin
  • Comparing aggregated hotel prices across multiple booking sites in one placenot Chekin
  • Booking a tour or activity ticket directly through Viator while researching a destinationnot Chekin
  • Reading traveller forum advice for a specific destination before travellingnot 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.

TripAdvisor

  • Review authenticity is an ongoing, not fully solved, problem; both businesses soliciting or buying positive reviews and competitors planting negative ones have been documented issues on the platform.
  • Listing prominence and hotel ranking can be influenced by paid advertising and sponsored placement, so a top result is not necessarily the best-reviewed or cheapest option.
  • The actual hotel booking usually completes on a third party OTA or hotel site, so cancellation, refund and customer service issues are handled by that separate company, not TripAdvisor.
  • Restaurant and attraction data can be outdated in smaller or less-visited destinations, with permanently closed businesses sometimes still listed.
  • As a review aggregator whose revenue depends partly on the businesses being reviewed, the same structural tension applies here as with other review-and-advertising platforms.

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

TripAdvisor

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited browsing, reviews and price comparison

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 TripAdvisor if

  • You need reviews and ratings.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want price comparison.
TripAdvisor review

Questions people ask

Is Chekin or TripAdvisor better?
Neither clearly leads. Chekin starts at €3.95/month and TripAdvisor at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chekin or TripAdvisor?
TripAdvisor has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €3.95/month for Chekin and Free for TripAdvisor.
Does Chekin or TripAdvisor run on more platforms?
Chekin runs on Web, iOS, Android. TripAdvisor runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use TripAdvisor for free?
Yes. TripAdvisor 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 TripAdvisor is typically brought in for.
What can Chekin do that TripAdvisor cannot?
Chekin covers Police and authority registration, Identity verification, Tourist tax calculation, Self check-in and digital keys. TripAdvisor covers Reviews and ratings, Price comparison, Viator tours and activities, Traveller forums.

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.

TripAdvisor: Are TripAdvisor reviews verified?

No, they are user-submitted and not independently verified, though TripAdvisor runs fraud detection systems to catch some fake or paid reviews.

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.

TripAdvisor: Does TripAdvisor charge for bookings?

Browsing and reviews are free; TripAdvisor earns money through advertising and referral commissions when users book through linked OTA or hotel sites, or directly through its own Viator tours.

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.

TripAdvisor: Is ranking purely based on review quality?

No, sponsored placement and paid advertising can affect prominence in results alongside review-based ranking.

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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