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Travel · head to head

Kayak vs RoomRaccoon

Kayak logo

Kayak

Travel

Travel search app comparing flights, hotels and car hire across other booking sites, owned by Booking Holdings

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RoomRaccoon logo

RoomRaccoon

Travel

All-in-one PMS, channel manager and booking engine for independent European hotels

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kayak has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Kayak it is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.; RoomRaccoon revenue and upselling functionality is gated behind higher tiers, so the advertised entry price is rarely what a property that wants automated pricing actually pays.
  • They diverge on capability: Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, RoomRaccoon covers Property management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kayak and RoomRaccoon actually diverge.

Attributes where Kayak and RoomRaccoon differ
AttributeKayakRoomRaccoon
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to users, revenue from referral commissions and advertisingquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, 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 Kayak

  • Flight, hotel and car comparison
  • Price alerts
  • Price prediction
  • Flexible date search
  • Trip planning tools
  • Explore/anywhere search

Only in RoomRaccoon

  • Property management
  • Channel manager
  • Booking engine
  • RaccoonPay
  • RaccoonRev
  • Upselling

What people use each for

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

Kayak

  • Comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasingnot RoomRaccoon
  • Setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price dropsnot RoomRaccoon
  • Searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper farenot RoomRaccoon
  • Comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a tripnot RoomRaccoon

RoomRaccoon

  • A 20 to 40 room independent hotel replacing separate PMS, channel manager and booking engine contractsnot Kayak
  • A European B and B that needs local tourist tax handling and regional payment methods out of the boxnot Kayak
  • A South African guesthouse group wanting one system with local OTA coverage and support hoursnot Kayak

Where each one falls short

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

Kayak

  • It is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.
  • Some airlines opt out of listing on metasearch sites entirely, so Kayak's results are not a complete view of every available fare in the market.
  • Revenue comes from referral commissions, and prominence in results can be influenced by which suppliers pay Kayak more, not purely by lowest price.
  • The actual booking typically completes on a third party site, so problems with a booking, cancellation or refund are handled by that site's customer service, not Kayak's.
  • Displayed prices can change or fail to match by the time a user reaches the booking site, since Kayak is not always querying live inventory in real time for every listed fare.

RoomRaccoon

  • Revenue and upselling functionality is gated behind higher tiers, so the advertised entry price is rarely what a property that wants automated pricing actually pays.
  • The integration catalogue is short compared with the larger cloud platforms, and a property with an existing spa, POS or CRM preference may find no connector exists.
  • Multi-property management is workable but shallow, so a group beyond a handful of hotels will hit reporting and consolidated inventory limits.
  • Support hours follow European and South African time zones, which leaves properties in the Americas and Asia Pacific waiting overnight for anything beyond first-line help.
  • Because distribution, payments and the PMS come from one vendor, a fault or a price rise in any one of them cannot be answered by switching that component alone.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kayak

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited search and price alerts
    • No subscription tier

RoomRaccoon

On request
  • RoomRaccoon$undefined/year
    • Tiered subscription scaled by number of rooms
    • Higher tiers unlock dynamic pricing and upselling modules
    • Payment processing charged per transaction

Which should you pick?

Choose Kayak if

  • You need flight, hotel and car comparison.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want price alerts.
Kayak review

Choose RoomRaccoon if

  • You need property management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want channel manager.
RoomRaccoon review

Questions people ask

Is Kayak or RoomRaccoon better?
Neither clearly leads. Kayak starts at Free and RoomRaccoon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kayak or RoomRaccoon?
Kayak has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kayak and On request for RoomRaccoon.
Does Kayak or RoomRaccoon run on more platforms?
Kayak runs on iOS, Android, Web. RoomRaccoon runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Kayak for free?
Yes. Kayak has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. RoomRaccoon starts at On request.
What is Kayak best used for?
Kayak is most often used for comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasing, setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price drops, searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper fare, comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a trip. Of those, comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasing and setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price drops are not what RoomRaccoon is typically brought in for.
What can Kayak do that RoomRaccoon cannot?
Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, Price alerts, Price prediction, Flexible date search. RoomRaccoon covers Property management, Channel manager, Booking engine, RaccoonPay.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kayak: Does Kayak charge a booking fee?

No, Kayak itself is free to use; it earns referral commissions from the airlines, hotels and sites it sends bookings to.

RoomRaccoon: Does RoomRaccoon charge commission on direct bookings?

No. The booking engine is included in the subscription and direct reservations carry no commission, though card processing fees still apply.

Kayak: Do I book directly through Kayak?

Usually the booking completes on the airline, hotel or travel site's own platform after Kayak hands off the click, though some direct booking options exist for select content.

RoomRaccoon: Is it suitable for a hotel with 150 rooms?

It will run, but the product is designed around independents up to roughly 60 rooms and larger properties will find reporting and group handling thin.

Kayak: Is Kayak owned by an airline or hotel chain?

No, it is owned by Booking Holdings, which also owns Booking.com, Priceline and Agoda.

RoomRaccoon: Can it be used as a channel manager only?

Not really. The value is in the bundle, and buying it purely for distribution costs more than a dedicated channel manager.

RoomRaccoon: Which regions does it support best?

Europe first, then South Africa. Coverage in North America and Asia is lighter on local OTAs and payment methods.

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