Here's the short version of this hotel PMS pricing comparison: HotelDesk starts at $49 per property per month with every module on every plan, but we're not the cheapest PMS out there, and I'm not going to pretend we are. Sirvoy starts lower. Little Hotelier and eZee have entry plans around the same level. Where we're different is that the entry price isn't a stripped-down version with the useful bits sold back to you.
I was asked to write a post saying we're the best, the cheapest and have the most features. I can't stand behind all three, so here's what I can stand behind, with the numbers and where they came from.
How much does a hotel PMS cost in 2026?
For a small hotel or hostel, somewhere between $50 and $300 a month is normal. That's the range Hotelogix gives in its own pricing guide for properties of 10 to 30 rooms, rising to $300 to $800 for 30 to 80 rooms.
The spread is wide because vendors charge in very different ways:
- Per room, so the bill grows every time you add rooms
- Per module, with the channel manager, booking engine and messaging each costing extra
- Per booking, a percentage on top of the monthly fee
- By quote only, where nobody tells you the price until you've sat through a sales call
Two of the bigger names, Cloudbeds and Mews, don't publish a rate card at all. So most of the figures below come from software directories and comparison write-ups, not from the vendors themselves. Treat them as a guide and get a real quote.
Hotel PMS pricing comparison table
These are entry prices as reported in 2026. I've noted where each figure comes from.
| PMS | Reported starting price | How it's priced | Worth knowing | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sirvoy | From $9/month | Scales per room | Channel manager is on the Pro plan; free plan for single-unit hosts | | Little Hotelier | Basics from $39/month; Pro about $109/month | By room count | Basics adds a 1% fee on every booking | | eZee Absolute | About $45/month for 10 rooms | By rooms and module bundle | Channel manager and booking engine together sit on a higher tier, about $106/month for 10 rooms | | Cloudbeds | About $180/month (Flex) | Quote, by rooms and modules | No public rate card; Flex reportedly doesn't bundle the channel manager or booking engine | | Mews | About €300/month floor | Quote, by rooms and modules | No public price; small hotels can end up near $25 per room | | HotelDesk | From $49/property/month | Per property | Every module on every plan; 14-day free trial, no card |
Sources: Sirvoy's own website for Sirvoy; HotelMinder's listing for Little Hotelier Basics; roommaster for Little Hotelier Pro, Cloudbeds and Mews; SaaSworthy for eZee. One fair warning: roommaster sells a PMS too, so its write-ups about rivals deserve the same pinch of salt as this one.
So is HotelDesk the cheapest PMS?
No. If you run one small guesthouse and all you need is a calendar and a booking page, Sirvoy's entry price beats ours, and Sirvoy has a free plan for single-unit hosts. Fair enough.
Where the sums change is once you need the full kit. A channel manager isn't optional for most independents, and on several of the plans above it's either a higher tier or an add-on. That's where "from $39" or "from $45" stops being the number you actually pay.
The cheapest PMS is the one where the price you're quoted is the price you pay once everything you need is switched on.
What actually drives the bill up?
From years running a big hostel in Thailand, my rule was simple: ignore the headline number until you know these five things.
1. Is the channel manager included?
This one hurts the most. If your rooms are on Booking.com, Agoda, Hostelworld or Expedia, you need the PMS and the channel manager talking to each other. Ask if it's in your plan or a separate line.
2. Is there a fee on every booking?
A percentage per booking sounds small. On a busy month it isn't. Little Hotelier's Basics plan, for example, is listed by HotelMinder at $39 a month plus 1% on all reservations. That might suit a very small property. Do the sum on your own revenue before you decide.
3. What happens to the price when you add rooms?
Per-room pricing is fine until you add a wing or convert a dorm. Mews and Cloudbeds both quote by room count, and roommaster reports that minimum fees mean very small properties end up paying more per room, not less.
4. Are the one-off interface costs listed?
SaaSworthy's listing for eZee shows separate one-time charges for things like a door lock interface ($450) and an accounting interface ($700). Not unreasonable, but they don't show up in the monthly number.
5. Can you try it without a card or a sales call?
Roommaster reports that Cloudbeds doesn't run a standard free trial. Sirvoy, eZee and HotelDesk all offer 14 days. If you can't use the thing on a real Saturday's worth of bookings before you pay, you're buying blind.
Does HotelDesk have the most features?
I can't honestly tell you we have more features than every other PMS. Nobody's counted, and a long feature list isn't what matters at 11pm when the front desk has three walk-ins and a double-booked dorm.
What I can tell you is what we built, from the front desk's side of the screen, and why.
Every module on every plan
There's no premium tier holding back the useful stuff. You get the full system on the entry price. The current numbers are on our pricing page, and I'd rather you read them there than take my word for it.
Room assignment that actually saves time
New bookings land in Unassigned. Re-assign rooms (automatic room assignment) shuffles them into rooms so you can sell every night, up to 100%, rather than being left with single nights nobody can book. If a guest has been promised a specific room, pin a booking to its room and it stays put. If someone needs to move halfway through a stay, that's a room change (same booking), not two separate reservations to reconcile at checkout.
An assistant that does the boring bit
The AI scheduling assistant suggests the room moves. You look at them and press OK. It doesn't change anything you haven't seen.
Built for hostels as well as hotels
I ran a hostel before I built this, so HotelDesk was always meant to work as a hostel PMS as much as a hotel one. Dorm beds, mixed room types and guests extending one night at a time are the everyday, not the exception.
How to compare property management systems properly
If you're shortlisting, here's what I'd do:
- Write down every module you use today, including the channel manager, booking engine, housekeeping and payments.
- Ask each vendor for a full monthly price with all of it switched on, at your room count.
- Ask about booking fees, setup fees, interface fees and contract length.
- Take two or three trials and run real bookings through them, not demo data.
- Ask how you get your data out if you leave.
That last one gets skipped a lot. It matters.
Questions people ask
What's a fair price for a property management system for small hotels?
Hotelogix puts typical PMS spend for a 10 to 30 room property at $50 to $300 a month. If you're being quoted well above that for a small place, ask what's in the plan that you don't actually need.
Is a free or very cheap PMS good enough?
For a single unit or a tiny guesthouse, it can be. Once you need a channel manager, payments and housekeeping, check which tier those sit on, because that's usually where the price climbs.
Why don't Cloudbeds and Mews publish their prices?
Both quote each property individually, based on room count, location and modules, according to roommaster's write-ups. That isn't wrong, but it does mean you can't compare like for like without sitting through a sales call.
How long does it take to switch PMS?
It depends on how much history you're bringing over and how many channels you're connected to. There's a page on our site about moving to HotelDesk, so you can see what's involved before you commit to anything.
Try it on your own bookings
If you'd like to see HotelDesk running with your own room setup, book a demo and I or someone on the team will walk you through it. Or start the 14-day free trial, no card needed, and put a real week of bookings through it. No pressure either way. If another PMS on this list suits you better, use that one.