FrontDesk vs Smoobu
Smoobu is Europe's most widely used short-term rental software and includes a channel manager and booking engine. FrontDesk is a flat-fee front desk for hotels and B&Bs. It depends on what you sell, and where.
How we compare: we receive no commission from Smoobu and have no commercial relationship with them. Information about Smoobu comes from its official public pages, checked on September 19, 2026 (link below). Prices change: always check the official source before you decide. FrontDesk's gaps are written on this page just as plainly as its strengths.
How you pay, on each side
Smoobu
Per-unit subscription: price depends on the number of units and contract length (monthly, annual -10%, two-year -20%), with an alternative commission-based plan.
- • One unit "from €28/month"; each additional unit "from €9.60/month"; each additional account with write access "from €12/month" (from the official FAQ).
- • Plans: Professional Flex (0.9% commission on every booking), Professional Prepaid (0% commission) and Pro+ (with e-invoicing, dynamic pricing and priority support where available).
- • No setup fees. 10% off the annual plan and 20% off the two-year plan; above 20 properties, you ask for a quote.
- • Included in the plans: channel manager, booking system with Stripe and PayPal payments, direct-booking website, online check-in, guest guide, iOS and Android apps.
- • 14-day free trial with every feature, no credit card.
FrontDesk
One plan, public pricing, no quotes
- • 14-day free trial of every feature, no credit card.
- • €39/month per property — not per room — with a managed cloud database and multi-device sync.
- • No minimum term, no setup fee, cancel anytime yourself from Settings.
- • Planner, folio, housekeeping, reports and local compliance modules (e.g. Italy's tourist tax and Alloggiati Web export) included.
Example: a 5-room property
Smoobu
from €66.40/month (€28 for the first unit + 4 × €9.60: these are the stated minimums, the real total depends on plan and term)
FrontDesk
A flat €39/month per property, no per-room fees, 14-day free trial
It isn't "66 vs 39": for that price Smoobu gives you a channel manager, booking engine and direct-booking website, which FrontDesk doesn't have. The right comparison is between what you actually need and what you pay for.
Feature by feature
FrontDesk comes with a 14-day trial of every feature, no credit card asked: you only pay if you keep it.
FrontDesk Pro costs €39/month per property, not per room: your bill doesn't grow as you do.
This gap is real and worth saying plainly: FrontDesk only syncs via public iCal feeds (Booking.com, Airbnb, VRBO), with no certified two-way connection. If you sell on many OTAs and need automatic rate push, a commercial channel manager does a job FrontDesk doesn't do today.
FrontDesk gives every property a public direct-booking page (real availability, prices, and requests that land in your quotes) that you can link from your website or social profiles. It isn't yet a widget you embed on your own site, and guests can't pay online yet: those come later.
Smoobu's pricing page doesn't mention Italian compliance: we don't assume it's missing, but before choosing, check with them how they handle the tourist tax and Alloggiati Web guest registration. In FrontDesk it's included in the single plan, no add-on.
Both let you: Smoobu with a 14-day trial and no card, FrontDesk with the online demo at /demo and a 14-day free trial with no card.
Smoobu includes a website with a booking engine and Stripe and PayPal payments; FrontDesk has no booking engine on your property's website.
Smoobu has iOS and Android apps; FrontDesk is a PWA you install from the browser, not an app-store app.
When Smoobu makes sense
- • You manage apartments and holiday homes sold on many platforms and need a channel manager with direct connections.
- • You want a website with a booking engine and payments included for direct bookings.
- • You prefer an app-store app and are fine paying by number of units.
When FrontDesk makes sense
- • Your day-to-day is a hotel or B&B front desk, and you want local compliance and receipts built in (e.g. Italy's tourist tax and Alloggiati Web).
- • You want a flat fee that doesn't grow with your units, or to start at zero cost with your data on your own hardware.
- • You run a hotel or B&B with a room planner, folio and staff, not just a portfolio of apartments.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Smoobu pricing shown here up to date?
The figures come from Smoobu's official pricing page, checked on September 19, 2026. They're the stated minimums ("from €28" for one unit, "from €9.60" for each additional one): the total depends on the plan and term you choose in the configurator on their page, linked above.
Can FrontDesk replace Smoobu's channel manager?
No: FrontDesk syncs availability via iCal with Booking.com, Airbnb and other channels that support it, but it has no certified two-way connections and no automatic rate push. If a channel manager is why you use Smoobu, it does a job today that FrontDesk doesn't.
Can I try FrontDesk before leaving Smoobu?
Yes, without touching your real data: the online demo with sample data (/demo), and the 14-day free trial running side by side, where you import your bookings from a file and check the day-to-day workflow before moving your property over.
See it before you decide
The demo is online with a sample hotel's data: no forms, no sales calls, no credit card.