Both Platforms Offer Guidebooks—But SmoothStay Wins on Design, Price, and Innovation
SmoothStay and Hostfully create professional digital guidebooks that reduce guest inquiries. But SmoothStay is the newer platform built with today's standards in mind—modern UI, active development, and fair pricing. Hostfully is an established tool that's showing its age, with dated design, slower development, and a free plan cluttered with sponsored ads.
The bigger picture: you're comparing a recently-built platform optimized for host experience against a legacy platform that feels like it's from 2010. That difference shows up everywhere—from AI and future releases to how intuitive the interface feels.
Quick Decision Summary
Choose SmoothStay if:
You want modern, fast, intuitive design (Hostfully feels dated by comparison)
AI chatbot answering guest questions 24/7
You prefer a platform that ships new features frequently
You're excited about upcoming PMS integrations (not locked into one ecosystem)
Fair, predictable pricing matters to you
You want an ad-free experience (no sponsored content anywhere)
You value working with platforms built by hosts who actually understand your workflow
Choose Hostfully if:
You're already using Hostfully's full PMS and want tight ecosystem integration
You need mature features like PDF export and upselling marketplace today
You don't mind an outdated interface if it has all the features you need
You value an established platform with years of track record
You're comfortable paying hundreds more for fewer innovations
You prefer a stable, slow-moving platform over frequent updates
So How Do SmoothStay and Hostfully Compare Today?
Feature | SmoothStay | Hostfully |
|---|---|---|
Digital guidebook platform | ✅ Modern, clean. | ✅ Mature, dated. |
AI chatbot (24/7 guest answers) | ✅ Yes. | ❌ No. |
AI content writing assistant | ✅ Yes. | ❌ No. |
AI itinerary planner | ❌ No. | ✅ Yes. |
Printable PDFs | ❌ Not yet, in roadmap. | ✅ Yes. |
Map-based local recommendations | ✅ Yes. | ✅ Yes. |
Sync content across guidebooks | ✅ Yes. | ✅ Yes. |
Integrated upselling marketplace | ❌ Not integrated yet, but you can add external links to Viator.com or other affiliate platform of your choice to earn revenue. | ✅ Yes, via platform. |
Multi-language translations | ✅ Yes, 100+ languages. | ✅ Yes, 16+ languages. |
Custom branding options | ✅ Yes. | ✅ Yes. |
Modern, smooth design | ✅ Yes. | ❌ No. Clunky, slow (30+ second load at times). |
Guest registration and collect emails | ❌ Not yet, in roadmap. | ✅ Yes. |
Invitation-only links | ❌ Not yet, coming very soon. | ✅ Yes. |
See who's reading & when | ✅ Yes. | ✅ Yes. |
Quick QR code creation | ✅ Yes. | ✅ Yes. |
Custom domain | ❌ Not yet, in roadmap. | ✅ Yes. |
Integrations | ❌ Not yet. Hospitable Connect and Zapier coming soon. | ✅ Via Zapier, no direct PMS integrations. |
Free option available without strings attached | ✅ Yes, good for one property without AI features and no ads. | ❌ Free plan for one property but with sponsored recommendations. |
Monthly pricing | ✅ $6.90 for the first guide, then $2.90 for each additional guide. | ❌ $12.00 for one guide, then scales down to $6.00 per each additional guide. |
Cost example at 10 guidebooks | ✅ $33.00 per month (save 33%). | ❌ $70.00 per month. |
