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Travel · head to head

Enso Connect vs Smoobu

Enso Connect logo

Enso Connect

Travel

Guest experience layer for short-term rentals with digital check-in and paid upsells

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Smoobu logo

Smoobu

Travel

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

From
€29/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Enso Connect the roughly five per cent commission on upsell revenue means the better the product works the more it costs, and a portfolio generating meaningful ancillary revenue pays far more than the per-listing headline suggests.; 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: Enso Connect covers Digital check-in, Smoobu covers Channel manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Enso Connect and Smoobu actually diverge.

Attributes where Enso Connect and Smoobu differ
AttributeEnso ConnectSmoobu
Starting price$9/month€29/month
Pricing modelPer listing per month plus upsell commissionPer 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 Enso Connect

  • Digital check-in
  • Guest identity verification
  • Keyless entry
  • Upsell marketplace
  • Unified inbox with AI replies
  • Branded guidebooks
  • Conditional guest journeys
  • PMS integrations

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.

Enso Connect

  • A manager selling early check-in and late checkout systematically instead of case by casenot Smoobu
  • An apart-hotel wanting hotel-style verification and deposits on Airbnb bookingsnot Smoobu
  • An operator issuing door codes automatically and revoking them at checkoutnot Smoobu
  • A portfolio in a ski or beach market monetising equipment hire and local experiences during the staynot 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 Enso Connect
  • An owner wanting automated check-in instructions and pre-arrival messages sent per channel without logging into each extranetnot Enso Connect
  • A small manager who needs guest invoices that meet German documentation requirements without adding a separate accounting toolnot Enso Connect
  • A host testing dynamic pricing through the bundled trial before deciding whether to subscribe to PriceLabs separatelynot Enso Connect

Where each one falls short

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

Enso Connect

  • The roughly five per cent commission on upsell revenue means the better the product works the more it costs, and a portfolio generating meaningful ancillary revenue pays far more than the per-listing headline suggests.
  • It requires a property management system underneath it, so it is always a second subscription and a second integration rather than a consolidation.
  • Small operators rarely reach the upsell volume that justifies the setup effort, and configuring conditional guest journeys properly is a project rather than an afternoon.
  • Guest data and messaging pass through another vendor, which adds a data protection assessment for European operators and another party to the breach surface.
  • Smart lock and PMS coverage is good for the mainstream products but thin outside them, so an operator on a less common lock brand or a regional PMS may find the automation does not reach their stack.

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

Enso Connect

$9/month
  • Core$9/month
    • Per listing per month
    • Digital check-in and verification
    • Branded guidebook
  • Full guest journey$16/month
    • Per listing per month
    • Conditional journeys and smart lock integration
    • Upsell marketplace enabled

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 Enso Connect if

  • You need digital check-in.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want guest identity verification.

Choose Smoobu if

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

Questions people ask

Is Enso Connect or Smoobu better?
Neither clearly leads. Enso Connect starts at $9/month and Smoobu at €29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Enso Connect or Smoobu?
Enso Connect starts at $9/month and Smoobu at €29/month.
Does Enso Connect or Smoobu run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Enso Connect best used for?
Enso Connect is most often used for a manager selling early check-in and late checkout systematically instead of case by case, an apart-hotel wanting hotel-style verification and deposits on airbnb bookings, an operator issuing door codes automatically and revoking them at checkout, a portfolio in a ski or beach market monetising equipment hire and local experiences during the stay. Of those, a manager selling early check-in and late checkout systematically instead of case by case and an apart-hotel wanting hotel-style verification and deposits on airbnb bookings are not what Smoobu is typically brought in for.
What can Enso Connect do that Smoobu cannot?
Enso Connect covers Digital check-in, Guest identity verification, Keyless entry, Upsell marketplace. Smoobu covers Channel manager, Website builder, Guest messaging, Unified calendar.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Enso Connect: Does Enso Connect replace my PMS?

No. It sits on top of Hostaway, Guesty or a similar platform and handles the guest-facing journey only.

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.

Enso Connect: How does the upsell commission work?

Enso Connect takes a percentage, around five per cent, of upsell revenue processed through the platform, on top of the per-listing subscription.

Smoobu: How many properties does the entry price cover?

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

Enso Connect: Is it worth it for five properties?

Usually not. The per-listing cost is low but the configuration effort and the upsell volume needed to see a return favour portfolios of twenty units and up.

Smoobu: Does it include dynamic pricing?

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

Enso Connect: Can it take deposits and verify guests on Airbnb bookings?

Yes, that is one of the main reasons operators add it, since Airbnb itself does not give hosts that control.

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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