Guesty vs Lodgify: Choosing the Right STR Software for Your Portfolio in 2026

Guesty and Lodgify both serve the short-term rental software market — but they're designed for fundamentally different operator profiles. Guesty is enterprise-grade software for professional property management companies running 20+ units. Lodgify is an accessible all-in-one platform for individual hosts or small portfolios who want to launch a direct booking website and manage distribution from one place. For hosts who want to skip software entirely, Awning's full-service management handles all operations.

Guesty: Built for Professional Property Management Companies

Guesty is one of the most feature-complete property management platforms available. Beyond channel management and guest communication, they offer owner portals, financial management, API access for custom integrations, and a marketplace of add-on products. They serve property management companies — not just individual hosts.

Guesty Strengths:

•        Enterprise feature depth — suitable for 20-to-thousands of units

•        Owner portal and financial reporting for professional managers with multiple owners

•        Wide API and integration ecosystem

•        'Guesty For Hosts' product for smaller portfolios

•        Strong trust accounting and payment processing features

Guesty Limitations:

•        Expensive — typically $20–$60+/unit/month depending on tier and contract

•        High complexity and setup time — requires dedicated onboarding

•        Overkill for individual hosts or small portfolios

Lodgify: Direct Bookings and Simplicity

Lodgify's entry point is their direct booking website builder — the best in the consumer STR software category. They're designed for hosts who want to reduce OTA dependency by building their own booking presence, while still distributing on Airbnb and VRBO for visibility.

Lodgify Strengths:

•        Best-in-class direct booking website — professional templates, SEO structure, mobile-ready

•        Very accessible pricing — starts at ~$13/month

•        Low learning curve — most hosts are live quickly

•        Good channel management for the major platforms

Lodgify Limitations:

•        Not designed for large portfolios or professional property management businesses

•        No owner portal — not built for managers who manage on behalf of others

•        Financial reporting less robust than Guesty

The Decision Framework

Before investing in either software platform, validate your market opportunity with Awning's free Airbnb market data and income estimator. The software is only as valuable as the revenue it helps you capture — and your market determines that ceiling.

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📎  Related Resources

→ Airbnb Market Data

→ Airbnb Income Estimator

→ AirDNA Review

→ Awning Full-Service Management

→ RedAwning Portfolio Management

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Skip the software complexity →