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Travel · head to head

Hopper vs ThinkReservations

Hopper logo

Hopper

Travel

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ThinkReservations logo

ThinkReservations

Travel

Property management and booking system for North American inns, B&Bs and small 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.; ThinkReservations no pricing is published anywhere, so you cannot compare it against Cloudbeds or Little Hotelier without first sitting through a sales call and extracting a quote.
  • They diverge on capability: Hopper covers Price prediction, ThinkReservations covers Reservation calendar.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hopper and ThinkReservations actually diverge.

Attributes where Hopper and ThinkReservations differ
AttributeHopperThinkReservations
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to book, paid add-ons for price freezing and cancellation flexibilityquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, AndroidWeb

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 ThinkReservations

  • Reservation calendar
  • Direct booking engine
  • Channel management
  • Integrated payments
  • Yield rules
  • Reporting

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

ThinkReservations

  • A fourteen room inn moving off a spreadsheet and a phone diary that needs breakfast counts and minimum stay rules handled nativelynot Hopper
  • A B&B selling gift certificates and packages that wants them redeemable in the same system that takes the bookingnot Hopper
  • An owner of three small New England properties wanting one login and consolidated occupancy reportingnot Hopper
  • A campground or cabin operator needing nightly and multi-night rules plus OTA distribution without buying a separate channel managernot 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.

ThinkReservations

  • No pricing is published anywhere, so you cannot compare it against Cloudbeds or Little Hotelier without first sitting through a sales call and extracting a quote.
  • The product is built for North American operations, so European tax handling, guest registration requirements and local OTA mix are not supported and it is effectively unsellable outside the region.
  • There is no revenue management or dynamic pricing, so rates rely on manual seasonal and day of week rules that go stale unless someone actively maintains them.
  • Payment processing is bundled, which is convenient but means the effective card rate is negotiated inside a software deal rather than shopped separately, and operators rarely check it against a standalone merchant account.
  • There is no native point of sale, spa or restaurant module, so an inn with a dining room runs a second system and reconciles revenue by hand.

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

ThinkReservations

On request
  • ThinkReservations$undefined/month
    • Property management system
    • Direct booking engine
    • Channel management to major OTAs

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 ThinkReservations if

  • You need reservation calendar.
  • You also want direct booking engine.
ThinkReservations review

Questions people ask

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

ThinkReservations: How much does ThinkReservations cost?

It is not published. Pricing is quoted per property, generally scaled by room count, after a sales conversation.

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.

ThinkReservations: Is the channel manager an extra subscription?

No. OTA connectivity is part of the platform rather than a separately priced module, which is the main saving against a PMS plus channel manager pairing.

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.

ThinkReservations: Does it work outside the United States?

In practice no. Tax, payments and support are built around North America.

ThinkReservations: Can it handle more than one property?

Yes, small portfolios are supported, but it is designed for a handful of properties rather than dozens.

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