Checkfront has historically been a go-to choice for small tour operators because it’s user-friendly, packs in 100+ features to manage all areas of operations, and it’s scalable to support business growth.
And, up until just recently, its pricing was tailored to small businesses. Checkfront would let business owners choose how they wanted to pay: either one flat subscription fee or a 3% booking fee on online reservations.
However, at the end of 2023, Checkfront merged with Rezdy (one of the most expensive tour operator software) and has made various changes to align more with Rezdy’s model — including updating their pricing. Now, Checkfront is pricier than most competitors, and many small and growing businesses are searching around for more affordable options.
So we’ve put together this guide with details on Checkfront’s current pricing so you can get up to speed with current rates. We also explain how Checkfront’s pricing compares to other tour operator systems (like Bókun) and provide resources for you to learn more about affordable alternatives.
To explore Bókun further, start a 14-day free trial (no credit card required).
Checkfront pricing breakdown
Checkfront’s latest pricing is as follows:
- Subscription fees: $99/month for all users
- Booking fees: 3% fee for all online reservations
- Merchant service fees: None, you can choose your preferred payment processor
So, how do these rates compare to the competition?
Checkfront’s booking fees are pretty moderate. You have brands like Bókun charging only 1% to 1.5%, but many competitors (like FareHarbor and Peek Pro) charge between 4% and 8%. Checkfront also lets tour operators choose who covers fees — business owners can absorb costs or pass them to customers at checkout.
Subscription fees, on the other hand, are more expensive than most other brands. The only other companies charging this much are either the notoriously expensive Rezdy or enterprise tools that won’t even talk to you unless you’re generating massive revenue (like “one million/year” kind of massive revenue).
Checkfront’s combination of booking and subscription fees is what really adds up, though. The brands charging higher booking fees don’t usually charge subscription fees. Tour operators can offset some of Checkfront’s costs by passing booking fees to customers, but the risk is that these extra fees may deter customers at checkout — sending them to other brands that don’t charge additional fees.
At the end of the day, tour operators using Checkfront end up stuck between a rock and a hard place. They can eat the costs — and pay a premium rate for a pretty standard product — or risk losing customers.
Checkfront product overview
Checkfront has been a player in the tour operator space since 2010 and has earned a great reputation for itself since its debut — currently rated 4.5 stars on review sites. The brand works with tour and activity operators, rental businesses, and even accommodation providers. While they’ve historically been popular for small and growing teams, the brand also works with larger businesses and enterprises.
Users of Checkfront like that the platform provides everything they need to manage their business (bookings, availability, sales channels, products, inventory, customers, and more) in a unified hub.
Checkfront’s toolkit lets users easily coordinate all moving parts of their business, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. Checkfront also offers handy automation — such as real-time availability updates and email automation — to maintain organisation, save time on manual tasks, avoid blunders like overbookings, and keep everything moving forward.
Users also appreciate Checkfront’s ease of use and available support; the platform is relatively simple to use after you learn the ropes, and if you have questions or need help with customisations, their team is quick to reply.
Notable Checkfront features
We can’t list all of Checkfront’s 100+ features here, but these are the most standout tools:
- Website builder
- Online booking engine widgets
- Centralised booking calendar
- Availability management & advanced booking rules (e.g., minimum/maximum guest numbers, booking cut-off times, blackout dates)
- Resource management
- Product management (with support for discounts, packages, add-ons, & upsells)
- Channel management & OTA connections
- Partner network
- Offline booking support
- Custom form builders and waivers to send to customers before their tours
- Guest check-in & mobile ticketing
- Customer database & CRM
- Automated, scheduled emails & SMS notifications
- Marketing tools, including customer booking map, customer outreach & ROI tracking
- Integrations with online payment processors — Checkfront also connects with your point of sale (POS) system and lets you send custom invoices
- 50+ integrations & Checkfront API
- Multilingual & multicurrency support
- Two-factor authentication, encryption, & regular cloud backups for data safety
- Reporting dashboards, daily manifests, & end-of-day summaries
- Mobile apps (for iOS & Android devices)
Reviews of Checkfront’s booking software
Users consistently praise several strengths of Checkfront’s booking platform:
- The platform is user-friendly for both customers and staff, providing a clear and smooth booking experience.
- Checkfront offers a comprehensive booking management system with real-time availability updates to avoid double bookings.
- Its automation features (emails, reminders, notifications) save businesses valuable time on administrative tasks.
- The customisable booking widgets embed seamlessly into websites, maintaining a consistent brand experience.
- Customer support is responsive and helpful, especially during onboarding and troubleshooting.
“Checkfront is really comprehensive — it has layers of depth for pretty much any enterprise requirement. Love the support team. They’re a notch over their competition and really care for your business.”
- Checkfront’s ability to handle multi-product bookings, rentals, and accommodations in a single system is highly valued.
- The system offers robust reporting and export options for tracking performance and sales.
- Built-in digital waivers, guest forms, and mobile tickets streamline the check-in process and ensure compliance.
On the other hand, some users note challenges and limitations:
- A steep learning curve for new users and set-ups involving complex products or inventories.
- The interface and dashboard can feel clunky or outdated compared to modern systems.
- Limited customisation of booking widgets and reporting metrics without help.
“Checkfront can be quite complicated for the new user, or if you have complicated product offerings, but the customer support works with you to ensure that you get it right.”
- Some users find modifying or changing bookings confusing or slow to update.
- Reports can be cumbersome and sometimes inaccurate without manual adjustment.
- Pricing may feel expensive for small or seasonal businesses — especially with recent price hikes.
- The search functionality and calendar views can be frustrating or inconsistent.
- Occasional bugs or glitches impact booking or waiver workflows.
You can find more reviews of Checkfront’s booking system in the links below:
Read more: Best Checkfront alternatives
Bókun vs. Checkfront
Bókun is one of the most popular Checkfront alternatives because we offer the same feature-rich toolset at a much lower price. Our booking fees and subscription fees are half of Checkfront’s.
Our START plan — comparable to Checkfront’s primary plan — includes all of our core features at $49/month with 1.5% booking fees (and we give you that same flexibility with booking fees, where you can choose to absorb them or pass them along to customers at checkout).
Here’s how our pricing compares:
| Bókun | Checkfront | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription Fees |
|
|
| Booking Fees |
|
|
| Merchant Service Fees |
|
|
| Additional Costs |
|
Beyond just pricing, how do the platforms actually compare?
Bókun scores higher than Checkfront — with an overall 4.7-star rating — across all categories: ease of use, ease of deployment and setup, functionality, customer service, and most importantly, value for money. You simply get more bang for your buck with Bókun.
Aside from (substantial) cost savings, tour operators choose Bókun because we’re a long-standing industry leader, born and raised by Tripadvisor, with a vast network of resources to support your success.
Bókun covers the essentials for running a well-oiled operation and provides the most robust growth drivers to help you grow your business, reach global audiences, and keep your booking calendars full.
- Our Marketplace with 27k+ travel industry partners allows you to create partnerships with other tour operators, travel agents, destination management companies, transportation services, accommodation providers, rental companies, and more. You can find resellers to promote your tours, add revenue streams by reselling others’ services, or build comprehensive, unique packages that win over more customers.
- Referral Tracking gives you the freedom to extend partnerships beyond our Marketplace and earn bookings through any affiliate, including other businesses in your local area, influencers, travel bloggers — you name it.
- Premium partnerships and integrations with leading OTAs — including Viator, GetYourGuide, Google Things to do, and Airbnb — earn our customers exclusive perks when they sell tours on these sites.
Bókun supports businesses of all sizes, helping you grow every step of the way.
In addition to the START plan, we offer two enterprise pricing plans (PLUS and PREMIUM) for teams that require more advanced functionality, such as agent portals, subvendor management, and Zapier integrations. Our enterprise plans also include dedicated onboarding with our customer experience team.
Even more? Enterprise users receive a complimentary strategy call every year, allowing us to discuss your current goals and ensure Bókun is optimised to support you.
Ready to see how Bókun can transform your business while keeping more profits in your pockets? Start a 14-day free trial — no credit card required.
Related reads:
