Comparison Guide
The Hostaway Alternative for Hosts With 1-5 Properties
Hostaway is a real PMS — channel management, unified inbox, accounting, the works. It is also $100+/mo, requires a demo and a contract, and is built for managers with 20+ units. If your operational pain is the cleaning handoff and you only have a handful of properties, you do not need a PMS. You need a focused tool.
Full disclosure: PrepBnB is our product, so we are biased. I am Alex — I host out of Atlanta and started PrepBnB after demoing the major PMS tools and realizing none of them fit a host with three properties and one cleaner. This is the comparison I would have wanted then.
When Hostaway is the right choice
Hostaway is genuinely strong if any of the following are true:
- You manage 15+ properties. The per-property pricing starts to make sense and the channel manager pays for itself.
- You list on multiple channels. Airbnb plus VRBO plus Booking.com plus a direct site — you need a real channel manager to keep calendars in sync without double-bookings.
- You have owners to report to.If you are a co-host or a small management company, Hostaway's owner statements and accounting are non-negotiable.
- You want a unified inbox. Guest messages from every channel in one place is a real productivity win at scale.
Where the math changes: 1-5 properties
Hostaway pricing is custom, but reported quotes from STR forums and Capterra reviewers typically land in the $100-200/mo range at the small-portfolio end, with onboarding fees and required minimums. There is no free tier. Onboarding is a real time investment — you are configuring channel mappings, message templates, and accounting before you ever run a turnover.
PrepBnB is a flat monthly fee with a free tier for 1 property. Pro is $29/mo for unlimited properties. Onboarding is paste your Airbnb iCal URL, click "generate checklist", add your cleaner's email. Five minutes. No sales call. No contract.
PrepBnB vs. Hostaway — feature comparison
| Feature | PrepBnB | Hostaway |
|---|---|---|
| iCal auto-sync (Airbnb/VRBO) | ||
| AI-generated cleaning checklists | ||
| Per-room photo verification | ||
| Cleaner public link (no app, no login) | ||
| Per-cleaner payment tracking | ||
| Self-serve signup (no sales call) | ||
| Free tier for 1 property | ||
| Flat monthly pricing under $30 | ||
| Multi-channel manager (Airbnb + VRBO + Booking) | ||
| Unified guest inbox | ||
| Owner statements / accounting |
full support · partial or conditional · not supported.
Pricing math for a small operator
Rough back-of-envelope for a host running 3 properties:
- Hostaway: custom quote, typically $100-200/mo at the low end. Add onboarding fees and a few hours of configuration. Annualized: $1,500-3,000+.
- PrepBnB: $29/mo flat for unlimited properties (or free for 1). Annualized: $0-$348.
That is roughly a $1,200-2,700 annual difference at the small end — the difference between a tool that costs less than a single turnover's cleaning fee and a tool that costs as much as a month of bookings.
Where PrepBnB has gaps vs. Hostaway
We are a narrow tool by design. The honest list of things Hostaway does that PrepBnB does not:
- No multi-channel manager. PrepBnB pulls from your iCal. If you list on multiple channels and want centralized calendar arbitration, Hostaway is better.
- No unified guest inbox.Guest messaging lives on Airbnb (or in Hospitable, if you use it). PrepBnB's comms are between you and your cleaner only.
- No owner statements or accounting.If you manage other people's properties and need to send monthly statements, Hostaway has that and we do not.
- No dynamic pricing.PriceLabs, Wheelhouse, or Hostaway's built-in tools all do this better.
- Smaller team. Hostaway is venture-backed with a large team. PrepBnB is a solo founder shipping weekly. The upside is fast fixes; the downside is less redundancy.
Who should switch from Hostaway to PrepBnB
Yes, switch if: you are paying for Hostaway but really only use the cleaning tab, you have 1-5 properties, you do not need multi-channel management or owner reporting, and the monthly bill exceeds what one month of new bookings adds.
Stay on Hostaway if: you genuinely use the channel manager, you list on 3+ channels, you have owners to report to, or you manage 15+ units across a team.
Try PrepBnB in parallel if: you are evaluating. The free tier covers one property. Run it for a turnover cycle and see what your cleaner actually prefers.
Try PrepBnB Free — No Credit Card Required
No demo. No contract. No 4-figure annual commitment. Free for 1 property, forever.
Get started freeFrequently asked questions
Is Hostaway worth it for a host with 3 properties?
Usually no. Hostaway is a full property management system priced for operators with 15-20+ listings. The minimum monthly commitment, the onboarding time, and the breadth of features (channel manager, accounting, owner statements, dynamic pricing) are designed for management companies. For 1-5 properties with a single cleaner, you are paying for a freight train when you needed a bicycle.
Do I really need to do a sales call to use Hostaway?
Yes. Hostaway uses a demo-first sales motion — you fill out a form, talk to a rep, get a custom quote. There is no public pricing page and no self-serve signup. PrepBnB lets you sign up with an email, paste your iCal URL, and run your first turnover in under five minutes.
What does PrepBnB do that Hostaway does for cleaning?
Most of the same cleaning-specific things: iCal sync from Airbnb/VRBO, auto-create cleaning jobs per turnover, a checklist for the cleaner, photo verification, completion notifications, and a payment-tracking ledger. PrepBnB adds AI-generated room-by-room checklists and a public link the cleaner opens without an account. Hostaway's cleaning module is one tab inside a much larger PMS.
I want a real PMS — is PrepBnB enough?
If you genuinely want a PMS — channel manager, unified inbox, owner reporting, accounting, dynamic pricing — PrepBnB is not that. We are a focused tool for the cleaning handoff. Hostaway, Guesty, or Lodgify are the right shopping list for a real PMS.
Can I leave Hostaway without losing my Airbnb listing?
Yes. Your Airbnb listing lives on Airbnb. Hostaway is a layer above it. If you cancel Hostaway, your listing keeps operating. You will lose the channel manager, automated messaging, and any reports stored in Hostaway. PrepBnB only needs your Airbnb iCal URL — same one Hostaway used — to take over the cleaning workflow.