Against the category
How we compare on the money questions
Santara takes 0% commission on every booking, at every plan level, at any portfolio size. This page sets that against what the five biggest platforms in short-term rental actually charge, using their published pricing pages, help documentation and independent reviews as at August 2026.
It also carries the honest column: five things these platforms do better than us today. We publish it because you will find it out in week two anyway, and we would rather you found it out from us in week one.
| Capability | Santara | Hospitable | Hostaway | Guesty | Lodgify | OwnerRez |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% commission on bookingsAirbnb, Booking.com, Agoda, direct — no revenue share at any tier | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| No per-reservation or booking feeA flat fee taken out of every stay | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| No commission on guest upsellsLate checkout, transfers, breakfast | Partial | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No onboarding or setup feeWaived in full for founding operators | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| No annual contract or lock-inLeave any month and take your data | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Published price at every tierNo “contact sales” to find out what you pay | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dynamic pricing without a per-property surchargeSeasonal and day-of-week rate plans included; PriceLabs passed through at cost | Yes | No | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial |
Guesty: Lite carries a 1.9% booking fee and mid/upper tiers are quote-only. Lodgify: 1.9% on direct bookings. Hospitable: processes upsells at 10% and direct bookings at 1% or 4%, and charges roughly $15 per property per month for dynamic pricing. Hostaway: quote-only with onboarding fees reported from $300 to $1,000+ and annual contracts by default. Santara guest upsells are marked partial because the optional upsell module carries a 12% fee — it is switched off by default and only ever applies to revenue we create for you.
How it actually runs
| Capability | Santara | Hospitable | Hostaway | Guesty | Lodgify | OwnerRez |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proactive daily operations briefEvery arrival, departure, clean, gap and problem — pushed to you before you ask | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| WhatsApp-native staff dispatchJobs sent to cleaners and drivers in the app they already use, no new login | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Built for on-site teams, not solo desk hostsDesigned around housekeepers, drivers and villa managers | Yes | No | Partial | Partial | No | Partial |
| Maintenance tickets with photo evidenceRaised, assigned, chased and closed per property | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| AI guest messaging with human approvalDrafted in your voice; nothing sends until you say so | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Owner-ready statementsReports your villa owners can actually read | Partial | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| White-label for management companiesYour brand in front of your owners | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| Multi-currency and SE Asia operating realityLocal staff workflows, local payment behaviour, IDR and VND | Yes | No | Partial | Partial | No | No |
Comparison reflects each platform’s standard product as published in August 2026. Several competitors offer adjacent capability through third-party integrations rather than natively; a partial mark indicates native but limited, or available only on higher tiers. Santara owner statements are marked partial while the module is in rollout.
Published pricing, August 2026
| Platform | How it’s charged | Takes a cut? |
|---|---|---|
| Santara | Base + per door. $99 for 3 properties, $25 each after. | No — 0% on all bookings |
| Hospitable | Free tier, then approx. $29 / $59 / $99 per month with per-property fees above the included count. Dynamic pricing add-on approx. $15 per property per month. | Yes — upsells processed at 10%; direct bookings 1% or 4% plus card processing |
| Hostaway | Quote-only. Independent reviews report roughly $25–$50 per listing per month, onboarding fees from $300 to $1,000+, annual contracts by default. | Onboarding fee and annual lock-in |
| Guesty | Lite from approx. $16 per month billed annually for 1–3 listings; mid and upper tiers quote-only. | Yes — 1.9% booking fee on Lite |
| Lodgify | From approx. $14 per month; automation gated to the approx. $42 Professional tier and above. | Yes — 1.9% on direct bookings |
| OwnerRez | Flat per-property pricing with no booking fee. | No — 0% on bookings |
Competitor pricing and feature information is summarised in good faith from publicly published pricing pages, help documentation and independent reviews as at August 2026. Plans and features change frequently — confirm current terms directly with each provider before relying on this comparison. All product and company names are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification only.
Five reasons to buy someone else.
We publish this because you’ll find it out in week two anyway, and we’d rather you found it out from us in week one.
- Free forever tier
- Hospitable offers a genuine $0 plan. We don’t, and we’re not going to.
- Direct booking website builder
- On our roadmap, not shipped. If a branded booking site is your priority today, Lodgify or OwnerRez is the better buy.
- Breadth of channel connections
- Airbnb and Booking.com are live for us. Guesty connects 60+, Hostaway 32, Lodgify 12.
- Trust accounting and owner payouts
- If you need full trust accounting for third-party owners, Guesty or OwnerRez does this properly and we don’t.
- Years in market
- They have a decade of production history. We have months. That is a real risk and we’d rather you hear it from us.
Founding dates are approximate and reflect each company’s publicly stated launch. We publish this section because you will find it out in week two anyway, and we would rather you found it out from us in week one.
First 25 accounts · 17 remaining
Founding operators keep every one of these. Permanently.
- $299 onboarding fee waived, in full
- First 3 months free, then your plan rate
- Price locked for 24 months — you keep founding pricing as list prices rise
- Free white-glove migration from spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups or your current platform
- Direct line to the founders and first access to everything we ship
- No annual contract, no lock-in. Leave whenever you like and take your data with you.
We’re taking 25. We’d rather have 25 operators we can obsess over than 250 we can’t.
FAQ
About this comparison
How was this comparison put together?
From publicly published pricing pages, help documentation and independent reviews as at August 2026, summarised in good faith. Plans change frequently — confirm current terms directly with each provider before relying on it.
What does a partial mark mean?
Natively supported but limited, or available only on higher tiers. It does not mean the capability is reachable through a third-party integration.
Why is Santara marked partial on guest upsells?
Because the optional upsell module takes 12% of upsell revenue. It is switched off by default and only ever applies to revenue we create for you — but it is a commission, so it is not a tick.
Why publish reasons to buy a competitor?
Because they are true. If a branded booking website, 60+ channel connections or full trust accounting is your priority today, another platform is the better buy and we would rather say so.
Do you replace my channel manager?
No. We run your operations on top of it, and we never will replace it.
Get your next morning back.
Founding operator programme — 25 places. $299 onboarding waived, 3 months free, price locked for 24 months.