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Travel · head to head

Hopper vs Protel

Hopper logo

Hopper

Travel

Travel booking app known for price prediction and paid Price Freeze and cancellation add-ons

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Protel logo

Protel

Travel

German hotel property management system, now owned and sold by Planet

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hopper has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Hopper add-on products like Price Freeze and Cancel for Any Reason are priced to be a meaningfully profitable part of the business, and taking them on every booking can offset much of what the price prediction tool is meant to save.; Protel the vendor is now a payments company, so the economics of a deal run through card processing rates as much as software fees, and a hotel with good existing acquiring terms may lose more on processing than it saves on licence.
  • They diverge on capability: Hopper covers Price prediction, Protel covers Front desk and reservations.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hopper and Protel actually diverge.

Attributes where Hopper and Protel differ
AttributeHopperProtel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to book, paid add-ons for price freezing and cancellation flexibilityquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, AndroidWeb, Windows, iOS, Android

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 Hopper

  • Price prediction
  • Price Freeze
  • Cancel/Change for Any Reason
  • Price alerts
  • Hopper Homes and Car
  • Carrot Cash

Only in Protel

  • Front desk and reservations
  • Conference and banqueting
  • Cloud and on-premise editions
  • Integrated payments
  • Interface catalogue
  • Multi-property operation
  • Night audit and reporting
  • Tax-free shopping links

What people use each for

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

Hopper

  • A traveller wanting data-driven guidance on whether to book now or wait for a lower pricenot Protel
  • Someone wanting to lock in a fare for a few days while confirming travel plans without fully committingnot Protel
  • A traveller who wants flexible cancellation on an otherwise restrictive farenot Protel
  • Someone comparing predicted price trends before choosing travel datesnot Protel

Protel

  • A German or Austrian hotel needing fiscal and tax compliance handled natively rather than bolted onnot Hopper
  • A property with substantial conference and banqueting business that a rooms-only PMS cannot handlenot Hopper
  • An existing Protel on-premise site deciding whether to move to the cloud edition or change vendornot Hopper
  • A group wanting PMS and card acquiring from one supplier under a single contractnot Hopper

Where each one falls short

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

Hopper

  • Add-on products like Price Freeze and Cancel for Any Reason are priced to be a meaningfully profitable part of the business, and taking them on every booking can offset much of what the price prediction tool is meant to save.
  • Price predictions are probabilistic and can be wrong, so buy-or-wait guidance is not a guarantee that a price will actually move as predicted.
  • The prominent placement of paid add-ons during checkout has drawn criticism as pressuring users into purchases they may not need for every trip.
  • Customer service for booking issues has been a recurring complaint, particularly for itinerary changes on cancel or change protected bookings.
  • Hopper's own Carrot Cash rewards currency is only redeemable within the app, so it has no value outside future Hopper bookings.

Protel

  • The vendor is now a payments company, so the economics of a deal run through card processing rates as much as software fees, and a hotel with good existing acquiring terms may lose more on processing than it saves on licence.
  • The Protel name persists on the product but the corporate identity has moved to Planet, which makes contract, support and roadmap ownership harder to pin down than it looks from the product page.
  • Hotels on the older on-premise edition face a migration to cloud that is a re-implementation rather than an upgrade, with the data and interface work that implies.
  • Nothing about pricing is published, so a buyer cannot benchmark against Mews or Cloudbeds without a full sales process.
  • Strength is concentrated in German-speaking Europe and the Middle East; support depth and partner ecosystem are noticeably thinner in North America and Asia Pacific.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hopper

Free
  • Standard bookingFree
    • No fee beyond the fare or room price itself
  • Price Freeze$undefined/per booking
    • Fee varies by fare and freeze duration, charged in addition to the eventual ticket price
  • Cancel/Change for Any Reason$undefined/per booking
    • Add-on fee charged at checkout, priced as a percentage or flat amount depending on the fare

Protel

On request
  • protel PMS by Planet$undefined/year
    • Quoted per property, no published rate card
    • Cloud and on-premise editions priced differently
    • Payment processing rates negotiated alongside the software

Which should you pick?

Choose Hopper if

  • You need price prediction.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want price freeze.
Hopper review

Choose Protel if

  • You need front desk and reservations.
  • You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want conference and banqueting.
Protel review

Questions people ask

Is Hopper or Protel better?
Neither clearly leads. Hopper starts at Free and Protel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hopper or Protel?
Hopper has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hopper and On request for Protel.
Does Hopper or Protel run on more platforms?
Hopper runs on iOS, Android. Protel runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
Can I use Hopper for free?
Yes. Hopper has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Protel starts at On request.
What is Hopper best used for?
Hopper is most often used for a traveller wanting data-driven guidance on whether to book now or wait for a lower price, someone wanting to lock in a fare for a few days while confirming travel plans without fully committing, a traveller who wants flexible cancellation on an otherwise restrictive fare, someone comparing predicted price trends before choosing travel dates. Of those, a traveller wanting data-driven guidance on whether to book now or wait for a lower price and someone wanting to lock in a fare for a few days while confirming travel plans without fully committing are not what Protel is typically brought in for.
What can Hopper do that Protel cannot?
Hopper covers Price prediction, Price Freeze, Cancel/Change for Any Reason, Price alerts. Protel covers Front desk and reservations, Conference and banqueting, Cloud and on-premise editions, Integrated payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hopper: Is Hopper free to use for searching and booking?

Yes, the base booking has no extra fee; Price Freeze and cancellation flexibility are separate paid add-ons.

Protel: Can you still buy Protel?

Yes. Planet acquired it in December 2021 and continues to sell it as protel PMS, though the corporate branding is Planet.

Hopper: How accurate is Hopper's price prediction?

It is based on historical fare data and gives a probability-based recommendation, not a guarantee; predictions can be wrong.

Protel: Why does the payments ownership matter?

Because the vendor earns on your card volume. Evaluate the processing rate alongside the software price rather than treating them as separate decisions.

Hopper: What does Price Freeze actually do?

It locks a displayed price for a fee for a set number of days, letting you decide later without committing to the full purchase immediately.

Protel: Is the on-premise edition still supported?

It remains in the field with a large installed base, but new investment is directed at the cloud edition, so ask for an explicit support horizon in writing.

Protel: Where is Protel strongest?

German-speaking Europe and the Middle East, where its interface catalogue and fiscal compliance are deepest.

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