If you're weighing Smoobu vs Lodgify, you probably have two to ten units, calendars on more than one platform, and a nagging worry about double bookings or rising software bills. Both tools will sync your calendars and give you a way to take direct bookings. The difference is which job each one was built around, and that decides what you pay for.
Your first action is simple: write down the one job you're hiring the software for. Is it "stop the OTAs from selling the same night twice" or "get guests to book on my own website"? Keep that sentence next to you while you compare. Everything below helps you test each tool against it.
A note on sources: Smoobu's pages loaded fine for this update, so its details are cited. Lodgify's website blocked our requests on 2026-09-30, so we couldn't verify its current prices or plan contents. Where we describe Lodgify, it's qualitative, and you should confirm details on Lodgify's own pricing page.
What's the real difference between Smoobu and Lodgify?
Smoobu presents itself mainly as a channel manager for small hosts, while Lodgify is best known for its vacation rental website builder, so the core question is whether sync or your own site matters more.
On its pricing page, Smoobu says all plans include the channel manager and a booking engine and website builder, and it lists Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and over 100 other portals. It also describes itself as an Airbnb Preferred Partner with an API connection to Airbnb and a Booking.com Premier Connectivity Partner with an API connection to Booking.com. If those claims hold for your listings, your two biggest channels don't depend on calendar-file polling.
Lodgify comes at it from the other side. It's widely known for templates and hosted booking websites, with channel connections alongside. We couldn't load its site to check which channels connect by API and which by iCal, so ask its sales team directly before you sign.
Why the connection type matters: when a platform imports another calendar through iCal, it fetches on its own schedule. Airbnb says its calendar updates every 3 hours from connected calendars, and Booking.com says it imports connected calendars every two hours and isn't real time. No software on the other end can change those schedules. Our guide to iCal sync explains the mechanics.
How much does Lodgify cost compared with Smoobu?
Smoobu publishes per-unit pricing starting at €28 a month for one unit; we couldn't verify Lodgify's current prices this session, so use the worksheet below with numbers from its live pricing page.
Here's what Smoobu states on its pricing page: a single unit "for as low as €28 per month," each additional unit "from €9.60 per month," and extra writing-access accounts from €12 a month. The Professional Flex plan charges a 0.9% commission per booking; Smoobu says all its other plans are commission-free. There are no setup fees, and there's a 14-day free trial with no card needed. Above 20 properties, it quotes on request.
Don't compare headline prices. Compare what your portfolio would pay in a year. Fill in this worksheet for both tools:
| Cost line | How to calculate | Smoobu | Lodgify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base subscription | Monthly price for your unit count, times 12 | From its pricing page | From its pricing page |
| Per-booking fees | Fee percentage times last year's booking revenue | 0% or 0.9%, depending on plan | Check plan |
| Extra users | Monthly add-on times 12 | From €12/month per account | Check plan |
| Features you need | Upgrade cost if a must-have sits on a higher tier | Check plan | Check plan |
| Exit cost | Months you'd still owe if you left early | Check billing terms | Check billing terms |
Here's a worked example for Smoobu using its published starting prices. Consider a hypothetical four-unit host: €28 for the first unit plus 3 × €9.60 for the rest comes to €56.80 a month, or €681.60 a year, before any booking fee. On the Flex plan, the 0.9% fee on €60,000 of annual bookings would add €540. That's why the fee line matters as much as the subscription. Smoobu's "as low as" and "from" wording means your actual quote may be higher, so treat this as a floor, not a price.
Run the same math for Lodgify. Pay special attention to two things: whether any plan adds a per-booking fee, and whether the features you listed as must-haves sit on the entry plan or a higher tier.
Is Lodgify worth it if you mostly need calendar sync?
Lodgify is worth it mainly when you'll actively market a branded direct-booking website; if your guests come almost entirely from Airbnb and Booking.com, you'd mostly be paying for a website you rarely use.
A website doesn't bring its own traffic. It pays off when you already have ways to send guests to it: repeat guests, a mailing list, social accounts, local partners, or search visibility you're willing to build. If you have none of those yet, a simpler booking page or widget can cover direct bookings while you find out whether demand exists.
That said, Smoobu also advertises a website builder on every plan, so "website or no website" isn't the whole split. The better question is quality and fit: which builder produces a site you'd be proud to send a guest to? You can only answer that by building a test page in each trial.
Smoobu or Lodgify: how do you test them in a trial?
Run both tools through the same five checks during their free trials, using a real unit and a far-future test booking, and pick the one that passes the checks that matter most to your business.
| Check | What to do | Pass if |
|---|---|---|
| Connection type | Ask support how each of your channels connects: API or iCal | You get a clear written answer per channel |
| Block test | Block a far-future night in the tool and time how long each OTA takes to show it | Your slowest channel is acceptable for your booking pace |
| Direct booking | Build a booking page and make a test reservation | A guest could book on a phone without help |
| Payment flow | Check which payment processor is used and who holds the money | Fees and payout timing are clear to you |
| Annual cost | Fill in the worksheet above with real quotes | The total fits your budget at your planned unit count |
Our recommendation: weight the block test and the annual cost most heavily if you're OTA-first, and the direct-booking test most heavily if you already have repeat guests to send somewhere. For a wider shortlist, you could add a third option like Guesty; its pricing page says packages "start from $9/month per listing" and are priced by listing count and add-ons.
If double bookings are your main pain, read our guide to avoiding double bookings before you choose. Some of the fixes, like blocking peak nights by hand, work with any tool.
When this advice does not apply
- Larger portfolios: Smoobu quotes on request above 20 properties, so the published starting prices won't describe your bill.
- Hotel-style inventory: if you sell several identical rooms as one room type, you need a tool that handles room-type availability, which this comparison doesn't cover.
- Lodgify specifics: we couldn't verify Lodgify's current plans, prices or channel connections this session. Treat every Lodgify point here as a question to ask, not a fact.
What to do next
- Write down the one job you're hiring the software for.
- Fill in the cost worksheet for both tools with numbers from their live pricing pages.
- Start both free trials the same week and run the five trial checks on one real unit.
- Validate any iCal export links you keep using with the iCal checker.
- Decide before either trial ends, so you don't roll into a plan by default.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Smoobu or Lodgify?
It depends on your unit count, the plan you need and any per-booking fees. Smoobu publishes starting prices of €28 a month for one unit and from €9.60 per extra unit. Compare that against Lodgify's live pricing using the worksheet above.
Does Smoobu have a website builder?
Yes. Smoobu's pricing page says all plans include a booking engine and website builder, and its FAQ covers connecting your own domain.
Can I switch from one to the other later?
Usually, but check billing terms first. If you've prepaid for a year, leaving early may not refund the remainder, so confirm the cancellation terms before you commit to annual billing.
About BookBed: if you mainly want commission-free direct bookings next to your OTA listings, BookBed's embeddable direct booking widget takes payment through Stripe into your own Stripe account, with no BookBed commission. It doesn't bring traffic on its own, so you'll still need to send guests to it. See Smoobu alternatives
Sources
- Smoobu, "Pricing" — Verified 2026-09-30
- Smoobu, "Airbnb channel manager" — Verified 2026-09-30
- Smoobu, "Booking.com channel manager" — Verified 2026-09-30
- Airbnb Help Center, "Sync your home host calendar to other websites" — Verified 2026-09-30
- Booking.com for Partners, "Updating your availability calendar in the extranet" — Verified 2026-09-30