Softwr

Travel · head to head

Grab vs Shiji

Grab logo

Grab

Travel

Southeast Asia super-app combining ride hailing, food delivery and payments across around eight countries in the region

From
Free
Rated
-
Shiji logo

Shiji

Travel

Enterprise hospitality platform covering PMS, point of sale and payments, owned by a Chinese listed group

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Grab has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Grab grab operates only within Southeast Asia, so it is entirely unavailable as an option anywhere outside the region, unlike Uber which has broader global coverage.; Shiji chinese ownership and a Shenzhen listing raise data residency and supply chain questions that must be settled during procurement, and in United States government or defence-adjacent accounts they can end the evaluation outright.
  • They diverge on capability: Grab covers Ride hailing, Shiji covers Daylight PMS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grab and Shiji actually diverge.

Attributes where Grab and Shiji differ
AttributeGrabShiji
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree app, pay per ride and per order with dynamic pricingquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, AndroidWeb, 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 Grab

  • Ride hailing
  • GrabFood and GrabMart
  • GrabExpress
  • GrabPay wallet
  • GrabRewards
  • Financial services

Only in Shiji

  • Daylight PMS
  • Infrasys POS
  • Payments
  • Distribution
  • Guest engagement
  • Open API access
  • Regional data centres
  • Multi-language and multi-currency

What people use each for

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

Grab

  • A traveller or resident in a Southeast Asian country wanting one app for rides, food delivery and paymentsnot Shiji
  • A merchant in the region wanting to accept GrabPay alongside cards and bank transfernot Shiji
  • A rider who wants to earn and redeem GrabRewards points across both transport and food spendnot Shiji
  • Someone comparing Grab against a global operator like Uber where both are available in the same Southeast Asian citynot Shiji

Shiji

  • An international luxury group replacing Opera across dozens of properties without moving to a small cloud vendornot Grab
  • A resort with a dozen restaurants and bars needing one point of sale across all outletsnot Grab
  • An Asia Pacific group requiring native multi-currency, multi-language operation across marketsnot Grab
  • A hotel company consolidating PMS, POS and payment onto a single vendor contractnot Grab

Where each one falls short

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

Grab

  • Grab operates only within Southeast Asia, so it is entirely unavailable as an option anywhere outside the region, unlike Uber which has broader global coverage.
  • The interface bundles ride hailing with food delivery, grocery and financial services promotion, which can clutter the experience for a user who only wants to book a ride.
  • Feature availability, including which financial services and delivery categories are supported, varies significantly by country and even by city within a country, so the experience is not consistent across the region.
  • Pricing is dynamic with demand-based surge similar to other ride hailing platforms, with no published flat rate card making advance cost estimation difficult during peak periods.
  • As a dominant regional platform in several of its markets, Grab has faced periodic regulatory scrutiny over market concentration and driver classification issues in specific Southeast Asian countries.

Shiji

  • Chinese ownership and a Shenzhen listing raise data residency and supply chain questions that must be settled during procurement, and in United States government or defence-adjacent accounts they can end the evaluation outright.
  • Pricing is entirely quoted with no published figures at any product level, so comparing Shiji against Oracle or Mews on cost requires a full sales engagement.
  • The portfolio is partly assembled from acquisitions, and the degree of integration between products varies, so a group buying several Shiji modules should test the joins rather than assume them.
  • Implementation timelines at enterprise scale run to many months and require interface development that is charged on top of licence, which is a substantial hidden budget line.
  • It is not a realistic option below roughly the mid-scale group level; a single independent hotel will not get sensible pricing or attention.

Pricing, plan by plan

Grab

Free
  • GrabFree
    • App is free; riders and delivery customers pay per trip or order at dynamic pricing
    • Fares vary by country and city, with demand-based surge during peak periods
    • GrabPay wallet top-ups and GrabRewards points used across rides, food and other services

Shiji

On request
  • Shiji Enterprise Platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted per property and per portfolio
    • PMS, POS and payments priced as separate lines
    • Implementation and interface development charged separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Grab if

  • You need ride hailing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want grabfood and grabmart.

Choose Shiji if

  • You need daylight pms.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want infrasys pos.

Questions people ask

Is Grab or Shiji better?
Neither clearly leads. Grab starts at Free and Shiji at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grab or Shiji?
Grab has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grab and On request for Shiji.
Does Grab or Shiji run on more platforms?
Grab runs on iOS, Android. Shiji runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Grab for free?
Yes. Grab has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Shiji starts at On request.
What is Grab best used for?
Grab is most often used for a traveller or resident in a southeast asian country wanting one app for rides, food delivery and payments, a merchant in the region wanting to accept grabpay alongside cards and bank transfer, a rider who wants to earn and redeem grabrewards points across both transport and food spend, someone comparing grab against a global operator like uber where both are available in the same southeast asian city. Of those, a traveller or resident in a southeast asian country wanting one app for rides, food delivery and payments and a merchant in the region wanting to accept grabpay alongside cards and bank transfer are not what Shiji is typically brought in for.
What can Grab do that Shiji cannot?
Grab covers Ride hailing, GrabFood and GrabMart, GrabExpress, GrabPay wallet. Shiji covers Daylight PMS, Infrasys POS, Payments, Distribution.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Grab: Does Grab operate outside Southeast Asia?

No. Grab is focused entirely on Southeast Asia, covering countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Shiji: What do you actually buy from Shiji?

Most commonly Daylight PMS, Infrasys point of sale, or both, plus payments. The group name covers a wider portfolio than any one hotel purchases.

Grab: Is Grab just a ride hailing app?

No, it operates as a super-app including GrabFood delivery, GrabMart grocery, GrabExpress courier services and the GrabPay digital wallet alongside ride hailing.

Shiji: Does Chinese ownership matter?

It can. For United States government-adjacent business and some corporate accounts it triggers data residency and supply chain review, so raise it at the start of procurement rather than at contract stage.

Grab: Do all Grab services work in every country it operates in?

No, service availability including specific delivery categories and financial products varies by country and city.

Shiji: Is Shiji an alternative to Oracle Hospitality?

Yes, and that is largely its positioning at the enterprise end, particularly in international luxury groups where Infrasys already has deployment.

Shiji: Can a single hotel buy it?

In principle, but the commercial model, implementation cost and support structure assume a group, and small properties are better served elsewhere.

Share

Related pages

Other head to heads