Hostaway vs Guesty vs Apartop for small hosts in Spain

If you own or manage between 1 and 20 holiday lets in Spain and you are weighing up Hostaway, Guesty or something simpler, here is the short answer: Hostaway and Guesty are full platforms built for growth, with API channel managers, automations and large integration marketplaces. Apartop is smaller, focuses on what Spanish law asks of you (guest check-in, SES.Hospedajes, the Andalusian entry document) and is free for up to 2 apartments.

This guide is written with overseas owners in mind: you may live in the UK or elsewhere, rent out a flat on the Costa del Sol or in Madrid, and need software that copes with Spanish paperwork without you being there. Prices and features were checked on each company's official website in October 2026.

The quick summary

• Hostaway: a very complete PMS (property management system) and channel manager, connected by API to Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia and Google Vacation Rentals, with 200+ integrations. For Spain it advertises a native SES.Hospedajes integration and VeriFactu-ready invoicing. It does not publish prices: its pricing page asks how many listings you manage in order to prepare a proposal.
• Guesty: three plans. Guesty Lite (1 to 3 listings) from USD 9 per listing per month with a 14-day free trial; Pro (4 to 199 listings) and Enterprise (200+) are quoted. Channel manager with 60+ channels (on Pro) and an integrations marketplace. For Spain, the AutoComply add-on submits guest data to SES.Hospedajes, the Mossos d'Esquadra or the Ertzaintza.
• Apartop: free forever for up to 2 apartments; Pro at €9 per apartment per month + VAT, unlimited apartments and a 30-day trial. It syncs Airbnb, Booking and VRBO calendars via iCal (it is not an API channel manager) and covers online check-in, the guest register and cleaning.

Comparison table

Two Spanish acronyms you need to know

Before comparing, two terms that matter when choosing software for a Spanish property:

• SES.Hospedajes is the Ministry of the Interior's online system. Under Royal Decree 933/2021, anyone providing tourist accommodation must register every guest and send their details (the parte de viajeros, or guest register) within 24 hours. Catalonia and the Basque Country use their own police systems (Mossos d'Esquadra and Ertzaintza). If you do not live in Spain, this still applies to you: your software or your local manager must do it on time.
• VUT (vivienda de uso turístico) is the tourist-let licence number in Andalusia, which must appear in your adverts and documents. Other regions use different names.

Hostaway: the most complete of the three

Hostaway describes itself as a PMS with a built-in channel manager. Its website highlights:

• An API channel manager with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, Google Vacation Rentals and Marriott Homes & Villas. Prices, availability and bookings move both ways in real time, which iCal calendars cannot do.
• A unified inbox, dynamic pricing, a direct booking website builder, reporting and an owner portal.
• 200+ integrations and an open API.
• For Spain, a native SES.Hospedajes integration (its help centre says it does not yet cover Catalonia or the Basque Country) and VeriFactu-compliant invoicing (VeriFactu is the Spanish tax agency's new invoicing standard).
• Local 24/7 support.

Price: Hostaway does not publish rates. Its pricing page is a form that asks how many listings you manage (2 to 14, 15 to 49 or 50+) in order to prepare a proposal. It does not advertise a free trial; its website offers a demo. You will find figures on third-party blogs, but they are not official, so we do not repeat them.

Best for: managers who already run, or plan to run, several dozen units across many channels, change prices daily and want a large integration ecosystem. With 3 flats you would probably pay for a lot you never use.

Guesty: one plan for small hosts, another to grow

Guesty is the other big name, and it has one clear advantage for small hosts: it publishes an entry price.

• Guesty Lite: 1 to 3 listings, from USD 9 per listing per month, with a 14-day trial. Includes Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo sync, a multi-calendar, a unified inbox and selected marketplace integrations.
• Guesty Pro: 4 to 199 listings, quoted. Adds 60+ channels, unlimited integrations, an owners portal and revenue management.
• Enterprise: 200+ listings, custom offer.

All Guesty plans also include automations and a direct booking site builder with no percentage-based fee (payment processing fees still apply).

SES.Hospedajes: Guesty has its own add-on, AutoComply, which collects guest data and submits it to SES.Hospedajes or, depending on the region, to the Mossos d'Esquadra or the Ertzaintza on the day of arrival. It is a separate add-on and its price is not shown on Guesty's public website, so ask. You can also use a check-in tool such as Chekin, which lists both Guesty and Hostaway among its integrations. See our guide to the best guest registration software for SES.Hospedajes.

Best for: if you have 1 to 3 listings and sell mainly on Airbnb and Booking, Guesty Lite is a sensible starting point. Above 3, Pro is quoted, so ask for the price before committing.

Apartop: built for owners and small managers in Spain

Apartop is holiday rental software made in Andalusia. It does not try to compete with Hostaway or Guesty on distribution: it is not an API channel manager. Instead it syncs your Airbnb, Booking and VRBO calendars via iCal, so a booking on one platform blocks the dates on the others. If you need to push prices to every OTA from one place, Apartop does not do that.

Where it focuses is day-to-day work and Spanish compliance, which matters even more when you live abroad:

• Online check-in with signature on the guest's phone and an ID and passport scanner.
• A guest register file ready to download and upload to SES.Hospedajes on the Free plan, and automatic submission to SES.Hospedajes through the Ministry's web service on Pro, with batch checks and retries.
• A signed entry document as Andalusian rules require, and your tourism register number (VUT) on every apartment.
• Automatic cleaning jobs after each checkout, with the free Apartop Cleaning & Keys app for your cleaner or key holder, handy when you are not in Spain.
• A commission-free direct booking engine (1 apartment on Free), seasonal prices and payment by bank transfer or Bizum.
• Tourist tax by region and town, a digital guest guide and Nuki and TTLock smart locks.
• On Pro: income statistics, expenses from a photo of the receipt, invoices with a chained hash and QR code (not yet a certified VERI*FACTU system) and inventory.

Price: free forever for up to 2 apartments, no card needed. Pro: €9 per apartment per month + VAT, unlimited apartments. New accounts get 30 days of Pro. Agencies get a custom plan with an owner portal and owner statements. Full details on the pricing page.

Best for: owners with 1 to 20 apartments who sell on Airbnb and Booking, set prices on each platform and lose most of their time to check-in, the guest register, cleaning and the accounts.

What it would cost: an example with 5 apartments

Using public information from October 2026:

• Apartop Pro: 5 × €9 = €45 a month + VAT, SES.Hospedajes submission included.
• Guesty: with 5 listings you no longer fit Lite (maximum 3), so you need Pro, which is quoted (plus AutoComply, if you want it).
• Hostaway: tailored proposal.

With 2 apartments, Apartop is free and Guesty Lite would cost from USD 18 a month. It is not a like-for-like comparison: Guesty Lite includes a channel manager and unified inbox that Apartop does not have. Decide first what you actually need.

A note for non-resident owners: whichever tool you use, your rental income in Spain is taxed through Form 210 (non-resident income tax, IRNR), and you will need a NIE. Some software helps you keep the figures tidy, but none of these three files your Spanish tax return for you. Check with a Spanish tax adviser.

How to choose

Ask yourself four questions:

1. Do you need to change prices and availability across many channels in real time? If you sell on Expedia, Google, Marriott or more than three channels, or change prices daily, an API channel manager like Hostaway's or Guesty's will save you work. If you sell on Airbnb and Booking with seasonal prices, iCal is usually enough.
2. How much time does Spanish compliance take you? The 24-hour guest register, guest signatures and, in Andalusia, the entry document are Spanish obligations. Apartop includes them; Hostaway has native SES; Guesty offers it through its AutoComply add-on.
3. How many units will you have in two years? If you expect to pass 30 or 40, starting on a large platform saves a migration later.
4. What is your budget? Ask Hostaway and Guesty Pro for a quote with your real number of units and compare it with Apartop's prices.

For other mid-range options, read the best Smoobu alternatives and Apartop vs Lodgify.

Sources

• Hostaway, pricing page: form by number of listings, no published rates (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
• Hostaway Spain, Spanish features: channels, 200+ integrations, open API, SES.Hospedajes, VeriFactu, local 24/7 support and demo (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
• Hostaway, native SES.Hospedajes integration guide: does not yet include the Basque Country or Catalonia (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
• Guesty, pricing page: Lite, Pro and Enterprise, 14-day trial (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
• Guesty, connecting AutoComply in Spain and Guesty add-ons (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
• Chekin, PMS integrations (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
• Apartop: pricing
• Royal Decree 933/2021 on guest registration (BOE) (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
• SES.Hospedajes, Ministry of the Interior
• Spanish Tax Agency, Form 210 for non-residents