Best Tour Booking Software in 2026: 9 Platforms Compared on Price
Nine tour booking platforms compared on monthly fee, per-booking fee and who pays it, with a worked cost example and how to choose. Prices checked September 2026.
Bibim Banez • September 24, 2026 • 12min read
The best tour booking software in 2026 depends on one question: do you want to pay a monthly fee or a percentage of each sale? Commission-only platforms (TicketingHub, FareHarbor, Peek Pro, Xola) cost nothing until you sell. Subscription platforms (Rezdy, Checkfront, Bókun, TrekkSoft, Bookeo) charge every month but take a smaller cut, or none. This guide puts all nine side by side on price, then walks through how to choose.
Tour booking software pricing compared (September 2026)
Every figure below comes from the vendor's own pricing page where one exists. FareHarbor and Peek Pro don't publish prices, so their rows use rates operators report. Three things to read across the table: the monthly fee, the per-booking percentage, and who actually pays it. The last one matters most, because a fee your guests see at checkout costs you bookings even when it costs you nothing on paper.
| Platform | Monthly fee | Fee per online booking | Who pays the fee | Offline / OTA bookings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TicketingHub | $0 | 3% | Operator (can pass it on) | 3%; no extra OTA charge | No contract, no setup fee |
| FareHarbor | $0 | About 6% (reported up to 8%) | Customer, added at checkout | Same rate; a ~2% OTA rate is reported by some operators | Pricing not published; contract reported |
| Peek Pro | $0 | Up to 6–8%, varies + 2.3% + $0.30 processing | Customer | Not disclosed | Quote-based; pricing page removed |
| Bókun | $0 / $49 / $149 / $499 | 1.5% / 1.25% / 1% (free tier can't sell online) | Operator (can pass it on) | 0% on Viator and offline | Owned by Tripadvisor |
| Rezdy | $49 / $99 / $249 | 3% on every tier | Operator (can pass it on) | $1 / $0.85 / $0.70 per offline or agent booking | 21-day trial, no lock-in |
| Checkfront | $99 | 3% | Operator (can pass it on) | 0% offline | Single plan; merged with Rezdy and Regiondo |
| Xola | $0 | 2.39% + $0.30 plus a partner fee | Customer (partner fee added at checkout) | Not disclosed | Partner fee not published |
| TrekkSoft | €49 / €149 / €249 + €799 setup | 3% / 2.5% / 2% + 2.5% + €0.25 gateway | Operator | €1.50 to €0.50 per offline booking; 2–3% on OTAs | Billed annually |
| Bookeo | €10.95 to €89.95 | 0% | Nobody | Not applicable; no OTA channel manager | Plans capped at 1,000–3,000 bookings a month |
What each platform costs on $8,000 of bookings a month
Percentages are hard to compare with subscriptions, so here is the same month on every platform: 100 direct online bookings at $80 each. Change the numbers for your own business and the ranking moves. Below about $1,500 a month in sales, the commission-only platforms win. Above about $15,000 a month, a flat subscription with a low percentage starts to beat 3%.
| Platform | Platform cost per month | Where the money comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Bookeo (Standard) | About $33 | Flat plan, under the 1,000-booking cap |
| Bókun (Start) | $169 | $49 plan + 1.5% of $8,000 |
| Xola | $221 + partner fee | 2.39% + $0.30 on 100 bookings; the partner fee is added to what your guests pay |
| TicketingHub | $240 | 3% of $8,000, nothing else |
| Rezdy (Foundation) | $289 | $49 plan + 3% of $8,000 |
| TrekkSoft (Starter) | About $310 + setup | €49 plan + 3% + gateway fee, before the one-off €799 |
| Checkfront | $339 | $99 plan + 3% of $8,000 |
| FareHarbor | $0 to you; $480 paid by guests | 6% added to each checkout, so guests pay $8,480 for $8,000 of tours |
| Peek Pro | $480 to $640 to guests + processing | 6–8% booking fee plus 2.3% + $0.30 per booking |
Two caveats. First, Bookeo's flat fee looks unbeatable, but it has no OTA channel manager, so Viator or GetYourGuide bookings have to be keyed in by hand. Second, FareHarbor and Peek Pro show $0 to the operator because the guest pays. Operators who switch to a platform that bills them instead usually keep charging guests a booking fee and pocket the difference; see the FareHarbor pricing breakdown for the worked example.
The nine platforms in brief
TicketingHub
Best for operators who want one number and no monthly bill. 3% per online booking, no setup fee, no contract, and the fee is refunded when you refund a guest. Built for tours, attractions and activity providers; includes a booking widget, POS, OTA connections to Viator and GetYourGuide, a CRM, and guest self-service through a magic link. Smaller than the US giants, which shows in a slimmer marketplace and a support team you'll get to know by name. See pricing.
FareHarbor
Best for operators who never want a software invoice. Owned by Booking Holdings, with the deepest US market share and strong Booking.com distribution. The catch is the fee model: about 6% is added to what your guest pays at checkout, so your $100 tour shows as $106, and many operators report a contract. Pricing is not published. FareHarbor alternatives and FareHarbor vs TicketingHub on price.
Peek Pro
Best for marketing-heavy operators who want automation and a large partner network. Fees are the least predictable in this list: third parties report 6–8% per booking, varying by booking, plus a 2.3% + $0.30 processing fee, and the pricing page has been removed. Get the rate in writing. Peek Pro vs FareHarbor vs TicketingHub.
Bókun
Best for operators whose sales are mostly Viator. Owned by Tripadvisor, Bókun charges 0% on Viator and offline bookings and 1.5% or less on direct online sales, on top of a $49 to $499 monthly plan. The free tier can't take online bookings. If Viator is under half your sales, the monthly fee erases the advantage. Bókun alternative.
Rezdy
Best for operators who sell through resellers and agents. Three plans from $49 to $249 a month, all with a 3% online booking fee, plus a flat $0.70 to $1 per offline or agent booking. Strong channel manager and multi-currency support. Now part of the same group as Checkfront and Regiondo. Rezdy alternatives.
Checkfront
Best for operators mixing tours with rentals or accommodation. One published plan: $99 a month plus 3% on online bookings, nothing on offline sales, no setup fee, 21-day trial. The price is easy to understand, which is why it appears so often in comparisons. Checkfront alternative.
Xola
Best for adventure operators who want waivers, kiosks and marketing automation in one suite. The headline rate is 2.39% + $0.30 per booking with no subscription, but an undisclosed partner fee is added to what your guest pays at checkout, so the true cost needs a sales call. TicketingHub vs Xola.
TrekkSoft
Best for European adventure and multi-day operators. Plans from €49 to €249 a month, billed annually, with 3% down to 2% per direct booking, a separate payment-gateway fee, and a one-off €799 setup fee that most comparisons forget to count. TrekkSoft alternative.
Bookeo
Best for high-volume, low-ticket businesses that sell direct: classes, escape rooms, small tours. Flat plans from €10.95 to €89.95 a month with no commission at all, capped by bookings per month. The trade-off is no OTA channel manager and a DIY feel. Bookeo alternative.
How to choose between them
Most bad software decisions happen before the first demo. Three things to settle first:
- Involve the people who'll use it. Guides check people in, the office reschedules, the owner reads reports. Each will veto a different system; hear them before you buy, not after.
- Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves. List the five things your business can't run without (multi-language checkout, OTA connections, group bookings) and judge every vendor against those first.
- Model the fee at your real volume. Use the $8,000 example above with your own numbers. Include setup fees, payment markups and anything charged to your guests.
The features that show up in revenue
Feature pages all look the same. These are the capabilities that change what you sell and how much admin you do:
- A fast booking widget on your own site: commission-free direct sales, 24/7, built for phones.
- One inventory across every channel, so website, phone, walk-up and OTA bookings can't double-book.
- An OTA channel manager that keeps Viator and GetYourGuide listings in sync automatically.
- Guest self-service for rebooking and cancellations, so refund phone-tag becomes a click.
- Automated confirmations, reminders and follow-ups that cut no-shows and support tickets at the same time.
- Abandoned-cart recovery: a polite nudge to someone who almost booked is the cheapest marketing you'll run.
- A review funnel that routes happy guests to Google and Tripadvisor.
- Multi-currency, multi-language checkout for international guests.
- Flexible pricing: dynamic pricing, promo codes, group rates and gift vouchers in the system, not in a spreadsheet next to it.
- Real-time reporting by product, channel and date.
Compare vendors like an operator, not a spec sheet
- Book a real tour on each shortlisted system, on your phone. If it takes more than a minute or feels clumsy, your guests agree.
- Send a pre-sales question at 7pm on a Saturday and time the answer. Support on your busiest weekend is the real product.
- Demo with your trickiest cases: a family rebooking to next week, a group paying a deposit, a voucher redemption.
- Let the person who'll live in it daily drive the demo. The system your team dreads is the one with data-entry errors.
- Get the all-in number for your volume in writing: setup charges, processing markups, and anything charged to guests at checkout.
Five signs it's time to switch
- Spreadsheets glue your operation together: availability in one tool, bookings in another, manifests in Excel.
- You pay separately for a CRM. Guest history and communications belong inside the booking system.
- Multiple brands need multiple subscriptions and multiple dashboards.
- Your confirmation emails can't carry your brand and your words.
- The pricing punishes growth: per-seat charges and rising tiers mean the software bill grows faster than your margin.
What switching looks like in practice
City Tours Belfast moved from Checkfront to TicketingHub and grew ticket sales by roughly 400% in the following season, selling in person, online and through agents from one system. Secret Food Tours scaled from one city to 60+ on one booking stack. Egypt's Sound and Light Shows moved decades-old box offices online. The pattern in every case study is the same: less admin, more direct sales, and pricing that doesn't punish growth.
"We are growing massively this year. Our aggressive SEO and top-notch booking system are driving our growth. We never saw numbers like this with Checkfront." Chris, CEO, City Tours Belfast
A typical migration takes a few weeks: products and pricing set up, widget on your site, future bookings imported, staff trained, then a short parallel run. Ask any vendor for their exact migration plan; hesitation there is a red flag.
Frequently asked questions
What should tour booking software cost?
A small share of what it helps you sell. For most operators that is 3% or less per direct booking with no monthly fee, or a subscription under $100 a month with a low percentage. Watch for stacked costs: subscription plus per-ticket fee plus payment markup plus guest-facing charges.
Which tour booking software is cheapest?
At low volume, a commission-only platform: you pay nothing until you sell. At high volume with mostly direct sales, a flat subscription like Bookeo or Checkfront. At $8,000 a month of direct bookings, Bookeo, Bókun and TicketingHub are the three cheapest in the table above.
Is there free tour booking software?
Free to the operator, yes: FareHarbor, Peek Pro and Xola charge nothing monthly and bill your guests instead. Bókun has a free tier for Viator and offline bookings only. Nothing is free to everyone; the fee is either on your invoice or on your guest's checkout.
Do booking platforms charge me or my customers?
Both models exist. FareHarbor, Peek Pro and Xola add their fee to the guest's price. TicketingHub, Rezdy, Checkfront, Bókun and TrekkSoft bill the operator and let you pass the fee on if you choose. Guest-facing fees are invisible on your invoice but visible at checkout, where they cost conversions.
Why not just use a generic scheduling tool?
Generic schedulers handle appointments, not tours: no per-departure capacity, no OTA connections, no manifests, no multi-currency checkout, no guide assignments. They work until your first busy Saturday.
What's a magic link?
TicketingHub's guest self-service link: one click from the confirmation email lets guests reschedule, cancel or update their booking themselves, within rules you set. It saves the phone calls that rebooking usually costs, and saves bookings that would otherwise become refunds.
If you're shortlisting, put us on the list: 3% per booking, no monthly fee, five-star-rated support, and every feature in this guide. See pricing or book a demo.
