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Travel · head to head

Hopper vs Stayntouch

Hopper logo

Hopper

Travel

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Stayntouch logo

Stayntouch

Travel

Cloud property management system for independent hotels

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.; Stayntouch quote-only pricing scaled by rooms, with no published rates
  • They diverge on capability: Hopper covers Price prediction, Stayntouch covers Mobile check-in.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hopper and Stayntouch actually diverge.

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

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 Stayntouch

  • Mobile check-in
  • Guest self-service
  • Cloud PMS
  • Open API
  • Housekeeping
  • Payments

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 Stayntouch
  • Someone wanting to lock in a fare for a few days while confirming travel plans without fully committingnot Stayntouch
  • A traveller who wants flexible cancellation on an otherwise restrictive farenot Stayntouch
  • Someone comparing predicted price trends before choosing travel datesnot Stayntouch

Stayntouch

  • Hotels wanting to check guests in away from a fixed desknot Hopper
  • Properties reducing lobby queuing at peak arrivalnot Hopper
  • Independents replacing an on-premise PMS with cloudnot 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.

Stayntouch

  • Quote-only pricing scaled by rooms, with no published rates
  • Mobile-first depends on property-wide wireless coverage that many older hotels do not have
  • A smaller vendor than the major PMS providers, with a narrower integration ecosystem
  • Strongest in North America, with less coverage elsewhere

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

Stayntouch

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Stayntouch review.

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 Stayntouch if

  • You need mobile check-in.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
  • You also want guest self-service.
Stayntouch review

Questions people ask

Is Hopper or Stayntouch better?
Neither clearly leads. Hopper starts at Free and Stayntouch at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hopper or Stayntouch?
Hopper has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hopper and On request for Stayntouch.
Does Hopper or Stayntouch run on more platforms?
Hopper runs on iOS, Android. Stayntouch runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
Can I use Hopper for free?
Yes. Hopper has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Stayntouch 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 Stayntouch is typically brought in for.
What can Hopper do that Stayntouch cannot?
Hopper covers Price prediction, Price Freeze, Cancel/Change for Any Reason, Price alerts. Stayntouch covers Mobile check-in, Guest self-service, Cloud PMS, Open API.

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.

Stayntouch: What does Stayntouch cost?

Quoted per property by room count; not published.

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.

Stayntouch: What does mobile-first actually change?

Check-in happens on a tablet anywhere in the property or on the guest's own phone, rather than at a fixed counter, which changes both queuing and front-desk staffing.

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.

Stayntouch: What does it need to work well?

Reliable property-wide wireless. A mobile-first PMS is only as good as the network it runs on.

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