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Travel · head to head

Grab vs Travelport Smartpoint

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
-
Full reviewWebsite
Travelport Smartpoint logo

Travelport Smartpoint

Travel

Travelport GDS booking desktop for travel agents, now on version 12

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Travelport Smartpoint travelport retires older Smartpoint versions on its own schedule, and agencies that do not track release notes can lose sign-on access to Travelport+ or Apollo with little warning.
  • They diverge on capability: Grab covers Ride hailing, Travelport Smartpoint covers Graphical and cryptic modes.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grab and Travelport Smartpoint actually diverge.

Attributes where Grab and Travelport Smartpoint differ
AttributeGrabTravelport Smartpoint
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree app, pay per ride and per order with dynamic pricingquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, AndroidWindows, Web

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 Travelport Smartpoint

  • Graphical and cryptic modes
  • Multi-GDS content
  • Smartpoint Cloud
  • Automation scripting
  • Marketplace distribution
  • Queue and PNR management

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 Travelport Smartpoint
  • A merchant in the region wanting to accept GrabPay alongside cards and bank transfernot Travelport Smartpoint
  • A rider who wants to earn and redeem GrabRewards points across both transport and food spendnot Travelport Smartpoint
  • Someone comparing Grab against a global operator like Uber where both are available in the same Southeast Asian citynot Travelport Smartpoint

Travelport Smartpoint

  • A retail agency already on a Travelport segment agreement needing the current supported desktop versionnot Grab
  • A TMC running mixed cryptic and graphical booking teams on one workspacenot Grab
  • An agency migrating from an older Smartpoint build after Travelport retired 8.1 to 9.1not Grab
  • A consolidator wanting Apollo, Galileo or Worldspan content behind a single agent interfacenot 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.

Travelport Smartpoint

  • Travelport retires older Smartpoint versions on its own schedule, and agencies that do not track release notes can lose sign-on access to Travelport+ or Apollo with little warning.
  • Pricing is never published and is folded into a segment incentive agreement, so two agencies of similar size can be paying materially different effective rates with no way to compare.
  • Cryptic command knowledge is still needed for a meaningful share of servicing tasks, so a newly hired agent takes months to reach full productivity.
  • It is a Windows-weighted desktop product, and agencies wanting fully remote or Mac-based teams need Smartpoint Cloud or virtual desktop infrastructure to compensate.
  • Switching to Sabre or Amadeus means retraining staff on a different command language and renegotiating a separate incentive deal, which locks agencies into their existing GDS relationship longer than pure product quality would justify.

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

Travelport Smartpoint

On request
  • Travelport Smartpoint$undefined/year
    • Usually bundled into a GDS segment agreement
    • Distribution and version entitlement managed per country via the Marketplace
    • Segment incentive payments to the agency

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.
Grab review

Choose Travelport Smartpoint if

  • You need graphical and cryptic modes.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want multi-gds content.
Travelport Smartpoint review

Questions people ask

Is Grab or Travelport Smartpoint better?
Neither clearly leads. Grab starts at Free and Travelport Smartpoint at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grab or Travelport Smartpoint?
Grab has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grab and On request for Travelport Smartpoint.
Does Grab or Travelport Smartpoint run on more platforms?
Grab runs on iOS, Android. Travelport Smartpoint runs on Windows, Web.
Can I use Grab for free?
Yes. Grab has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Travelport Smartpoint 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 Travelport Smartpoint is typically brought in for.
What can Grab do that Travelport Smartpoint cannot?
Grab covers Ride hailing, GrabFood and GrabMart, GrabExpress, GrabPay wallet. Travelport Smartpoint covers Graphical and cryptic modes, Multi-GDS content, Smartpoint Cloud, Automation scripting.

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.

Travelport Smartpoint: Do we pay a separate licence fee for Smartpoint?

Usually not directly. It is typically bundled into a GDS segment agreement in which Travelport pays incentives per booked segment.

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.

Travelport Smartpoint: What happened to older Smartpoint versions?

Travelport retired versions 8.1 through 9.1 as of 30 April 2026; agencies must be on Smartpoint 12.0 to keep signing on to Travelport+ or Apollo.

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.

Travelport Smartpoint: Is there a browser version?

Yes, Smartpoint Cloud runs in a browser for agents without a managed Windows desktop.

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