Lodgify, AvaiBook and Smoobu are full channel managers, built for hosts who run many properties across many platforms. Amplistay has a different shape: your own booking page first, with your bookings gathered around it. Here is a straight comparison, including the places where we are weaker.
The short version
- Amplistay fits a host with one to a handful of properties who wants their own page, direct bookings, and a way to sell extensions to guests who are already booked, with every booking in one place. Free with a 3% fee per booking, or $19/month with 0% commission.
- Lodgify is the closest match if your priority is a polished website plus direct bookings, with a real channel manager behind it.
- AvaiBook is the safe pick in Spain if you need guest registration for the authorities, invoicing and contracts today.
- Smoobu is the lean all-rounder: channel manager, booking system and website builder at a fair price per property.
Pricing side by side
| Amplistay | Lodgify | AvaiBook | Smoobu | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price for one property | Free (Stripe fees + 3% per booking), or $19 / €19 per month | From about $16–26 per month (Starter, depends on billing) | About €40 per month, without a website | €29 per month (Flex) or €35 per month (Prepaid) |
| Website builder | Included | Included | Paid add-on (Easy Web): €17 per month | Included |
| One property with a website (approx.) | $19 / €19 per month | From about $16–26 per month | About €57 per month (€40 + €17) | €29–35 per month |
| Commission on direct bookings | 3% on the free plan, 0% on the $19 plan | Up to 1.9% on the lower plans, 0% on Ultimate | 2% | 0.9% on Flex, 0% on Prepaid |
| Payment methods you can offer | Only a contact form, Stripe, your current software (like the AvaiBook widget), or your own payment gateway (Redsys, in Spain) | Stripe, PayPal, Lodgify Payments, bank transfer | AvaiBook's own payment gateway | Stripe, PayPal, bank transfer |
| How extra properties are charged | Per published site; the units inside it are included | Priced per property | Priced by number of units | Each additional property costs extra |
Card and payment processing fees (Stripe or similar) are charged separately with every option.
Features side by side
| Amplistay | Lodgify | AvaiBook | Smoobu | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own website, with your own domain | ✓ | ✓ | Add-on (+€17/month) | ✓ |
| Works alongside the software you already use, nothing to migrate | ✓ | Replaces it | Replaces it | Replaces it |
| Website not tied to the vendor's own booking engine | ✓ | Tied to its own engine | Tied to its own engine | Tied to its own engine |
| Direct bookings with online payment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sell an extra night, early check-in or late check-out to a guest who is already booked, checked against your calendar | ✓ | Generic extras only | Generic extras only | Generic extras only |
| Calendar sync with Airbnb, Booking.com and VRBO | ✓ (iCal) | ✓ (API) | ✓ (API) | ✓ (API) |
| Two-way channel manager (rates, availability, messages) | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| All your bookings in one dashboard | ✓ (Fixed Rate plan) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online guest check-in and registration | Coming | ✓ (Ultimate plan) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invoicing | Coming | ✓ (Ultimate plan) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile app | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
What Amplistay does differently
Free to start. Building your page is free, and on the free plan you pay nothing until a guest pays you through it, and then 3%. The other three are monthly subscriptions whether or not you get any bookings.
Nothing to migrate. Amplistay works alongside the software you already use. Lodgify, AvaiBook and Smoobu are channel managers, so choosing one means switching your calendars and platform connections over to it. With Amplistay, your Airbnb, Booking.com and current tools keep working exactly as they do today.
Your page comes first. Building your page takes about 10 minutes with no technical knowledge, and it is free to build and preview. You decide later how to publish it and how to get paid.
Extensions are a core feature, not an add-on. A guest who is already staying can open your link, pick an extra night, an early check-in or a late check-out, and pay. Availability is checked against your calendar, and it works whichever platform the original booking came from. The other tools sell extras too, but as general-purpose items rather than as a flow built around extending an existing stay.
Your website isn't tied to a booking engine. You choose how guests pay: only a contact form, Stripe, the software you already use (like the AvaiBook widget), or your own payment gateway. A website doesn't have to take bookings at all. The website builders of the other three are built around their own booking engines.
Lower payment fees with Redsys (Spain). If you have a Redsys terminal (TPV) with your bank, guests still book on your Amplistay page, with your calendar, availability and prices, but the money goes through your own terminal. Stripe charges a percentage plus a fixed fee on every card payment, while a bank terminal's rate is negotiated with your bank and can be far lower, close to zero on many cards. It works in euros on the Fixed Rate plan, and Amplistay takes no commission on those payments.
You pay per site, not per property. A published site costs $19/month whether it holds one unit or several.
A booking hub without switching channel manager. Connect the iCal calendar of Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO or any platform. On the Fixed Rate plan you can import those bookings into your Amplistay bookings list and set each booking as confirmed, blocked or cancelled. Amplistay also gives you its own iCal feed so your other calendars never double-book.
Where the others are stronger
We would rather you choose with the full picture:
- Real connections to the platforms. Lodgify, AvaiBook and Smoobu are proper channel managers that talk to Airbnb and Booking.com through their APIs, so rates, availability and messages sync both ways. Amplistay works through iCal only: it reads your calendars and blocks dates, on a schedule rather than instantly, and it cannot push rates or content to the platforms.
- Guest registration, invoicing and contracts. AvaiBook, Smoobu and Lodgify (Ultimate plan) already handle online check-in and invoicing. AvaiBook also covers the traveler registration that Spanish authorities require. At Amplistay these are next on the list, not available yet.
- Mobile apps, dynamic pricing and team tools. If you run a larger portfolio or a team, those tools are built for that. Amplistay is web-only and aimed at small hosts.
Which one should you choose?
- One to five properties, and you want your own page, direct bookings and an easy way to keep everything together: Amplistay.
- You need two-way sync with the platforms, or check-in registration and invoicing right now: AvaiBook (especially in Spain), Smoobu or Lodgify.
- You already have a channel manager you like: keep it. Amplistay works alongside it, as we explain in You Don't Have to Ditch AvaiBook or Lodgify to Take Direct Bookings.
Prices and features were checked in September 2026 from each vendor's public pricing pages and independent reviews. Plans change often, so confirm the current details on Lodgify, AvaiBook and Smoobu before you decide.