COMPARISON: The following comparison is based on twenty properties under active management with $70,000.00 in monthly revenue.
BrightSide includes ALL of our features in our base subscription fee.
BrightSide Subscription:
$320/month, 20 properties. See our pricing tool for additional units.
Hospitable Subscription (does not include direct booking):
Pro: $329/mo ($59/month, 2 properties, plus $15 per additional active unit).
Mogul: $609/mo ($99/month, 3 properties, plus $30 per additional active unit).
Hospitable Direct Booking Fees
Hospitable’s pricing structure is complex, and to be blunt, it can be a bit confusing. Their website has a page dedicated to their pricing and another extensive page explaining what we hope to summarize here. The following is our understanding of how their plans work.
The monthly plan fees are the base subscription fees. You must purchase one of the Direct Booking Plans if you want guests to book directly on your website. Only the Direct Premium plan provides access to premium features. Hospitable offers three direct pricing plans, Direct Lite, Direct Basic, and Direct Premium. These options only apply to the “Pro” and “Mogul” plans since direct booking is not an option for their “Host” account. We are not including their “Host” level account in our comparison since it has a maximum of only two properties.
NOTE: Hospitable only integrates with Stripe payment processor, so you need to have your own Stripe account, or pay for Direct Premium.
- Direct Lite is an option that does not provide any credit card processing. Guests may book on your website, but you must take payments “off-platform.” The charge for this is $5/month for the first property and $1/month for each additional unit.
- Direct Basic is what they describe as “payment processing only” available everywhere Stripe is available. Hospitable charges a 1% host fee and Stripe deducts an additional card processing fee (3%±). You are the merchant of record.
- Direct Premium is what Hospitable describes as their full-featured solution. Hospitable is the merchant of record for all bookings, similar to Airbnb. For direct bookings, they charge a 4% Guest Fee and a 3% Host Fee. For OTAs they charge the following Guest Fees: Airbnb (14-17%), Vrbo (12-14%), and Booking.com (varies). Host fees are: Airbnb (3%), Vrbo (8%), and Booking.com (15%+).
BrightSide (direct booking)
20 Properties – $70,000 monthly revenue
- Subscription Fee – $320
- Host Fee – $0
- Guest Fee – $0
- Processing Fee – $1,750*
BrightSide Total = $2,070*
*The $2,070 includes an estimated cost of $1,750 for credit card processing. Your monthly processing fees depend on the contract you have with your merchant services provider and other variables. BrightSide does not charge processing fees and will not send you a bill for processing. While actual rates vary, the average is just below 2.5%, which is the number we used for this estimate. Credit card processing fees are paid directly to your processor.
Hospitable Pro & Mogul Plans (direct booking)
Direct Basic – 20 Properties – $70,000 monthly revenue
- Subscription Fee – $329 (Pro), $609 (Mogul)
- Host Fee – $700 (1%) Paid to Hospitable
- Stripe – $2,100 (3% ±) Processing fees
Hospitable Total = $3,129 (Pro) or $3,409 (Mogul)
Direct Premium – 20 Properties – $70,000 monthly revenue
- Subscription Fee – $329 (Pro), $609 (Mogul)
- Host Fee – $2,100 (3%). Processing fees included
- Guest Fee – $2,800 (4%) Paid to Hospitable
Hospitable Total = $5,229 (Pro) or $5,509 (Mogul)
BrightSide
- ✔ 20 Properties
- ✔ No Direct Booking Fees
- ✔ All Features Included
- ✔ Call-In Phone Support
- ✔ Email Support
- ✔ Priority Support
- ✔ Google Vacation Rentals
- ✔ Direct Bookings
- ✔ Custom Automated Emails
- ✔ Smart Lock Integration
- ✔ SMS Text (Guests)
- ✔ iCal Link Support
- ✔ Owner Reports
- ✔ Owner Portal
- ✔ Owner Statements
- ✔ Guest Portal
- ✔ Collect Reviews for Website
- ✔ Sync Airbnb, Vrbo, BDC Reviews
- ✔ Require Rental Agreements
- ✔ Multiple Rental Agreements
- ✔ e-Signatures
- ✔ Restrict Check-In/Out Days
- ✔ Security Deposits
- ✔ Pet Fees Per Stay/Night
- ✔ Check In/Out Lists
- ✔ Approve Reviews for Website
- ✔ Guest Statements
- ✔ Weekly Rates
- ✔ Sales Tax Calculation
- ✔ Open API
- ✔ Promo Codes
Hospitable Pro
- ✔ 20 Properties
- Basic:1%; Premium: 4%+3%*
- No
- No
- ✔
- ✔ Premium* (WhatsApp)
- ✔
- ✔ Basic:1%; Premium: 4%+3%*
- ✔
- ✔
- No
- ✔
- No
- No
- No
- ✔
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- ✔ Premium*
- ✔
- ✔
Hospitable Mogul
- ✔ 20 Properties
- Basic:1%; Premium: 4%+3%*
- No
- No
- ✔
- ✔ Premium* (WhatsApp)
- ✔
- ✔ Basic:1%; Premium: 4%+3%*
- ✔
- ✔
- No
- ✔
- ✔
- No
- ✔
- ✔
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- No
- ✔ Premium*
- ✔
- ✔
COMPARISON: The following comparison is based on twenty properties under active management with $70,000.00 in monthly revenue.
BrightSide includes ALL of our features in our base subscription fee.
BrightSide Subscription:
$320/month, 20 properties. See our pricing tool for additional units.
Hospitable Subscription (does not include direct booking):
Pro: $329/mo ($59/month, 2 properties, plus $15 per additional active unit).
Mogul: $609/mo ($99/month, 3 properties, plus $30 per additional active unit).
Hospitable Direct Booking Fees
Hospitable’s pricing structure is complex, and to be blunt, it can be a bit confusing. Their website has a long page dedicated to their pricing and another extensive page explaining what we hope to summarize here. The following is our understanding of how their plans work.
The monthly plan fees are the base subscription fees. You must purchase one of the Direct Booking Plans if you want guests to book directly on your website. Only the Direct Premium plan provides access to premium features. Hospitable offers three direct pricing plans, Direct Lite, Direct Basic, and Direct Premium. These options only apply to the “Pro” and “Mogul” plans since direct booking is not an option for their “Host” account. We are not including their “Host” level account in our comparison since it has a maximum of only two properties.
NOTE: Hospitable only integrates with Stripe payment processor, so you need to have your own Stripe account, or pay for Direct Premium.
- Direct Lite is an option that does not provide any credit card processing. Guests may book on your website, but you must take payments “off-platform.” The charge for this is $5/month for the first property and $1/month for each additional unit.
- Direct Basic is what they describe as “payment processing only” available everywhere Stripe is available. Hospitable charges a 1% host fee and Stripe deducts an additional card processing fee (3%±). You are the merchant of record.
- Direct Premium is what Hospitable describes as their full-featured solution. Hospitable is the merchant of record for all bookings, similar to Airbnb. For direct bookings, they charge a 4% Guest Fee and a 3% Host Fee. For OTAs they charge the following Guest Fees: Airbnb (14-17%), Vrbo (12-14%), and Booking.com (varies). Host fees are: Airbnb (3%), Vrbo (8%), and Booking.com (15%+).
BrightSide
- ✔ 20 Properties
- ✔ No Direct Booking Fees
- ✔ All Features Included
- ✔ Call-In Phone Support
- ✔ Email Support
- ✔ Priority Support
- ✔ Google Vacation Rentals
- ✔ Direct Bookings
- ✔ Custom Automated Emails
- ✔ Smart Lock Integration
- ✔ SMS Text (Guests)
- ✔ iCal Link Support
- ✔ Owner Reports
- ✔ Owner Portal
- ✔ Owner Statements
- ✔ Guest Portal
- ✔ Collect Reviews for Website
- ✔ Sync Airbnb, Vrbo, BDC Reviews
- ✔ Require Rental Agreements
- ✔ Multiple Rental Agreements
- ✔ e-Signatures
- ✔ Restrict Check-In/Out Days
- ✔ Security Deposits
- ✔ Pet Fees Per Stay/Night
- ✔ Check In/Out Lists
- ✔ Approve Reviews for Website
- ✔ Guest Statements
- ✔ Weekly Rates
- ✔ Sales Tax Calculation
- ✔ Open API
- ✔ Promo Codes
Hospitable Pro
- ✔ 20 Properties
- Booking Fees Apply*
- All Features Not Included
- No Call-In Phone Support
- ✔ Email Support
- ✔ Priority Support* (WhatsApp)
- ✔ Google Vacation Rentals
- ✔ Direct Bookings*
- ✔ Custom Automated Emails
- ✔ Smart Lock Integration
- No SMS Text (Guests)
- ✔ iCal Link Support
- No Owner Reports
- No Owner Portal
- No Owner Statements
- ✔ Guest Portal
- No Collect Reviews for Website
- No Sync Airbnb, Vrbo, BDC Reviews
- Cannot Require Rental Agreements
- No Multiple Rental Agreements
- No e-Signatures
- No Restrict Check-In/Out Days
- No Security Deposits
- No Pet Fees Per Stay/Night
- No Check In/Out Lists
- No Approve Reviews for Website
- No Guest Statements
- No Weekly Rates
- ✔ Sales Tax Calculation*
- ✔ Open API
- ✔ Promo Codes
Hospitable Mogul
- ✔ 20 Properties
- Booking Fees Apply*
- All Features Not Included
- No Call-In Phone Support
- ✔ Email Support
- ✔ Priority Support* (WhatsApp)
- ✔ Google Vacation Rentals
- ✔ Direct Bookings*
- ✔ Custom Automated Emails
- ✔ Smart Lock Integration
- No SMS Text (Guests)
- ✔ iCal Link Support
- ✔ Owner Reports
- No Owner Portal
- ✔ Owner Statements
- ✔ Guest Portal
- No Collect Reviews for Website
- No Sync Airbnb, Vrbo, BDC Reviews
- Cannot Require Rental Agreements
- No Multiple Rental Agreements
- No e-Signatures
- No Restrict Check-In/Out Days
- No Security Deposits
- No Pet Fees Per Stay/Night
- No Check In/Out Lists
- No Approve Reviews for Website
- No Guest Statements
- No Weekly Rates
- ✔ Sales Tax Calculation*
- ✔ Open API
- ✔ Promo Codes
SUMMARY
Pricing
BrightSide charges a simple monthly subscription fee. Your credit card processing fees are separate, but we included it in these comparisons. In our example above, we compared BrightSide to two of Hospitable’s plans. Hospitable’s top “Mogul with Direct Premium” plan is 166% higher than BrightSide. Their least expensive plan, “Pro with Direct Basic,” is 52% higher. If you don’t need the ability for guests to book directly on your website, you can just pay for their basic subscription.
Features
BrightSide includes all of our features in our subscription. Hospitable’s “Mogul with Direct Premium” plan is required to get all of their features. Even with that plan, BrightSide has more benefits. Hospitable does offer a few things BrightSide does not, like guest vetting, tax remittance on your behalf (limited), and built in damage protection. These features are paid for by adding the Direct Premium option.
Bottom Line
BrightSide provides value by offering the features you need, for a price you can afford, with unparalleled support.
- If you do any direct booking, BrightSide costs far less than Hospitable and provides more for your money. In our examples above, with just 20 units, BrightSide pricing is $1,059 less per month than their Direct Basic plan and $3,439 less per month than their Mogul Premium plan.
- BrightSide offers you all of our features without any addons to purchase.
- Our support is second to none. You can call us and we answer the phone. If we can’t answer, we call you back, usually within minutes or hours, not days later.
* Direct Basic & Direct Premium – For direct bookings, you must have one of these plans. Basic adds a 1% Host Fee to reservations. Premium adds a 3% Host Fee and a 4% Guest Fee.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The Hospitable logo is used under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 where allowance is made for “fair use” when used for criticism, comparisons, commentary, teaching, and other purposes. The Hospitable logo belongs to its respective owner and this website does not claim any rights over it. The data from Hospitable was accessed from their website on 10/29/2024. While we do our best to provide up-to-date information, it may have changed over time, so we cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data.
