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Travel · head to head

Cloudbeds vs Hostfully

Cloudbeds logo

Cloudbeds

Travel

Cloud-based hospitality management platform unifying PMS, channel management, and booking engine

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hostfully logo

Hostfully

Travel

Vacation rental property management platform with per-property pricing and digital guidebooks

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cloudbeds pricing requires custom quote; no published pricing tiers visible, making budgeting and comparison difficult; Hostfully the advertised per property price excludes a platform fee that is not published anywhere on the pricing page, so no listed figure is a real monthly cost until sales quotes it.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cloudbeds and Hostfully actually diverge.

Attributes where Cloudbeds and Hostfully differ
AttributeCloudbedsHostfully
Starting priceOn request$15/month
Pricing modelquotePer property per month
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APIWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Cloudbeds

Nothing recorded that Hostfully does not also cover.

Only in Hostfully

  • Channel management
  • Digital Guidebooks
  • Owner portal
  • Direct booking engine
  • Unified inbox
  • Pipeline and lead management

What people use each for

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

Cloudbeds

  • Independent hotels and boutique hospitality businesses automating PMS and distributionnot Hostfully
  • Vacation rental hosts (Airbnb, VRBO) consolidating multi-channel bookings and messagingnot Hostfully
  • Hostels and backpacker accommodations using commission-free booking engine to reduce dependency on OTAsnot Hostfully
  • Small-chain hospitality operators managing multiple properties from one interfacenot Hostfully
  • Properties seeking revenue management and dynamic pricing without enterprise-level PMS costsnot Hostfully
  • Hospitality businesses using AI-driven guest messaging and support automationnot Hostfully

Hostfully

  • A manager with thirty units who wants channel sync, an owner portal and a direct booking site under one subscriptionnot Cloudbeds
  • A host who only wants professional check-in and local recommendation guidebooks and will buy Digital Guidebooks without the PMSnot Cloudbeds
  • An operator pushing guests towards direct bookings who needs the Pro tier because the Growth tier taxes exactly that revenuenot Cloudbeds
  • A property manager onboarding third-party owners who need visible reporting on their own unitsnot Cloudbeds

Where each one falls short

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

Cloudbeds

  • Pricing requires custom quote; no published pricing tiers visible, making budgeting and comparison difficult
  • Per-property pricing model means costs scale rapidly for multi-property management; portfolio growth increases operational expenses
  • Revenue Intelligence (AI pricing) locked behind premium tier; base offering lacks dynamic pricing automation
  • Limited offline functionality; properties with poor connectivity face operational challenges
  • Chatbot and messaging automation require configuration; setup complexity increases for non-technical operators

Hostfully

  • The advertised per property price excludes a platform fee that is not published anywhere on the pricing page, so no listed figure is a real monthly cost until sales quotes it.
  • The Growth tier charges 1% on payments and 0.85% on direct bookings, so the operators most focused on direct revenue are penalised on the cheaper plan and effectively forced to Pro.
  • Pricing is per property, so a portfolio of small low-revenue units pays the same per listing as high-revenue ones and studio-heavy portfolios carry a disproportionate cost.
  • Accounting is lighter than manager-grade competitors, with no full trust accounting, so client fund segregation has to be handled outside the platform.
  • Digital Guidebooks are sold and priced separately from the PMS, so the product Hostfully is best known for is an additional line on the invoice rather than part of the subscription.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cloudbeds

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Cloudbeds review.

Hostfully

$15/month
  • Growth$15/month
    • 1 to 50 listings
    • $15 per property per month plus a platform fee
    • 1% payment gateway fee
  • Pro$25/month
    • 1 to 199 listings
    • $25 per property per month plus a platform fee
    • No payment gateway fee
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • 200 or more listings
    • Custom volume pricing plus a platform fee
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cloudbeds if

  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Cloudbeds review

Choose Hostfully if

  • You need channel management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want digital guidebooks.
Hostfully review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudbeds or Hostfully better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudbeds starts at On request and Hostfully at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudbeds or Hostfully?
Cloudbeds starts at On request and Hostfully at $15/month.
Does Cloudbeds or Hostfully run on more platforms?
Cloudbeds runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. Hostfully runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Cloudbeds best used for?
Cloudbeds is most often used for independent hotels and boutique hospitality businesses automating pms and distribution, vacation rental hosts (airbnb, vrbo) consolidating multi-channel bookings and messaging, hostels and backpacker accommodations using commission-free booking engine to reduce dependency on otas, small-chain hospitality operators managing multiple properties from one interface. Of those, independent hotels and boutique hospitality businesses automating pms and distribution and vacation rental hosts (airbnb, vrbo) consolidating multi-channel bookings and messaging are not what Hostfully is typically brought in for.
What can Cloudbeds do that Hostfully cannot?
Hostfully covers Channel management, Digital Guidebooks, Owner portal, Direct booking engine.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cloudbeds: Does Cloudbeds have a commission-free booking engine?

Yes. Cloudbeds provides a commission-free booking engine allowing guests to reserve directly on the property website without OTA transaction fees. This reduces distribution costs compared to Booking.com and Airbnb.

Source
Hostfully: What is the platform fee?

Hostfully does not publish it. Ask for the total monthly figure for your listing count in writing before comparing plans.

Cloudbeds: What channels does Cloudbeds distribute to?

Cloudbeds distributes to 450+ booking channels including Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, and regional OTAs, all managed from one interface.

Source
Hostfully: Which tier is cheaper in practice?

Pro, for anyone with real direct booking volume. Growth is $10 less per property but adds 1% on payments and 0.85% on direct bookings.

Cloudbeds: Does Cloudbeds provide revenue management?

Yes. Revenue Intelligence uses AI-powered demand forecasting (95% accuracy) to recommend dynamic pricing, maximising revenue per available room (RevPAR).

Source
Hostfully: Can I buy guidebooks alone?

Yes. Digital Guidebooks are priced separately and are commonly bought without the PMS.

Hostfully: Is there a minimum property count?

No stated minimum, but per property pricing plus a platform fee makes it uneconomic for one or two units.

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