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Travel · head to head

Kayak vs Sirvoy

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
Sirvoy logo

Sirvoy

Travel

Low-cost booking and property management system for small independent accommodation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Sirvoy the channel manager is only on the Pro plan, so the Starter plan at €11 cannot connect to Booking.com and many buyers discover this after committing to a workflow.
  • They diverge on capability: Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, Sirvoy covers Commission-free booking engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kayak and Sirvoy actually diverge.

Attributes where Kayak and Sirvoy differ
AttributeKayakSirvoy
Pricing modelFree to users, revenue from referral commissions and advertisingPer property per month
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Sirvoy

  • Commission-free booking engine
  • Channel manager
  • Hosted website
  • Guest correspondence
  • Invoicing
  • Multi-currency

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 Sirvoy
  • Setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price dropsnot Sirvoy
  • Searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper farenot Sirvoy
  • Comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a tripnot Sirvoy

Sirvoy

  • A six room bed and breakfast replacing a paper diary and wanting direct bookings without paying commission on themnot Kayak
  • A hostel that needs Hostelworld and Booking.com kept in sync but cannot justify a channel manager subscription on top of a PMSnot Kayak
  • A campsite or small guesthouse in Scandinavia needing a system in local currency with no annual contractnot Kayak
  • An owner testing whether a direct booking engine reduces OTA dependence before committing to a larger platformnot 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.

Sirvoy

  • The channel manager is only on the Pro plan, so the Starter plan at €11 cannot connect to Booking.com and many buyers discover this after committing to a workflow.
  • Each additional property costs €20 per month on top of Pro, and the multi-property view is weak, so small chains end up with several loosely linked accounts rather than one portfolio.
  • There is no revenue management or dynamic pricing, so rates must be set and adjusted by hand or through a third-party tool that Sirvoy may not integrate with.
  • Reporting is limited to basic occupancy and revenue summaries, which is not enough for a lender, an investor or a serious year on year analysis.
  • SMS is charged per message on top of the subscription, and at €0.10 per message on Starter a property sending pre-arrival and post-stay texts to a hundred bookings a month adds a meaningful and variable cost.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kayak

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

Sirvoy

Free
  • FreeFree
    • One unit only
    • Booking engine
    • Free hosted website
  • Starter$11/month
    • Multiple rooms
    • Invoicing
    • 24/7 support
  • Pro$41/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Channel manager for Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia
    • Guest history

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 Sirvoy if

  • You need commission-free booking engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want channel manager.
Sirvoy review

Questions people ask

Is Kayak or Sirvoy better?
Neither clearly leads. Kayak starts at Free and Sirvoy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kayak or Sirvoy?
Kayak starts at Free and Sirvoy at Free.
Does Kayak or Sirvoy run on more platforms?
Kayak runs on iOS, Android, Web. Sirvoy runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Kayak for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Sirvoy is typically brought in for.
What can Kayak do that Sirvoy cannot?
Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, Price alerts, Price prediction, Flexible date search. Sirvoy covers Commission-free booking engine, Channel manager, Hosted website, Guest correspondence.

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.

Sirvoy: Does the cheapest paid plan connect to Booking.com?

No. Channel management starts on the Pro plan, at roughly four times the Starter price.

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.

Sirvoy: Does Sirvoy take commission on direct bookings?

No. Direct bookings through its engine carry no Sirvoy commission, which is the main financial argument for adopting it.

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.

Sirvoy: Is there a contract?

No written contract and no setup fee. Billing is monthly or annual, with about 8% off for paying yearly.

Sirvoy: What is the practical size limit?

It works well up to roughly thirty rooms. Beyond that the lack of revenue management and group handling starts to bite.

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