# How much does booking software cost? Subscriptions, booking fees and real 2026 prices

Published 2026-10-01, updated 2026-10-13 by the TicketPa team. Source: https://ticketpa.com/blog/booking-software-cost

Booking software for tours, classes and activities usually costs between €10 and €250 a month, or a fee of 1 to 8% on each booking, or a mix of both. Card fees from the payment provider come on top, typically 1.5% + €0.25 on a European card. The real cost depends on your number of bookings, your prices and how many guests pay online.

This guide explains the four ways booking software is priced, shows real prices from well-known systems, and walks through a worked example so you can calculate your own monthly cost. Prices were checked on 12 October 2026 on each company's own pricing page. Prices change, so confirm them before you choose.

## The 4 ways booking software is priced

| Pricing model                   | How it works                                                  | Good for                               | Watch out for                                     |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| Monthly subscription            | A fixed price a month, whatever you sell                      | Businesses with steady, daily bookings | Paying the full price in quiet months             |
| Subscription plus a booking fee | A lower monthly price, plus a percentage of each booking      | Businesses that want lower fixed costs | The percentage adds up fast in busy months        |
| Fee paid by guests              | No monthly price; a booking fee is added to the guest's total | New businesses with few bookings       | Guests see a higher price than you set            |
| Commission only                 | No monthly price; the software keeps a share of each booking  | Very small or seasonal businesses      | The most expensive model once bookings are steady |

Many systems also have a free plan with tight limits, such as one user or one sales channel. Free plans are useful for trying a system, but rarely for running a business on.

## What booking software costs in 2026: real examples

| Software                              | Per month              | Booking fee                        |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| [Bókun](https://www.bokun.io/pricing) | Free, then $49 to $499 | 1% to 1.5%                         |
| [Rezdy](https://rezdy.com/pricing/)   | $49 to $249            | 3% on online bookings              |
| FareHarbor                            | None                   | About 6%, paid by guests           |
| [TicketPa](https://ticketpa.com/pricing)                  | €19 to €99             | 0.5% to 2% online, none on arrival |

A few details matter:

- **Bókun** charges 1.5%, 1.25% or 1% depending on the plan, and nothing on Viator and offline bookings. Its free plan covers Viator bookings only.
- **Rezdy** lets you absorb the 3% or pass it on to guests, and charges $0.70 to $1 on offline and agent bookings.
- **FareHarbor** adds a [booking fee](https://ticketpa.com/glossary#booking-fee) to the guest's total on every booking made with the business. Its help center says the fee is 6% for businesses that have used FareHarbor for a year and sell less than $35,000 a year online. It doesn't publish the rate above that ([source](https://help.fareharbor.com/hc/en-us/articles/40897900687771)).
- **TicketPa** charges 2% on Basic, 1% on Standard and 0.5% on Pro, only on bookings paid online.

Prices are as listed by each company, excluding tax. Card fees from the payment provider are extra in every case.

## How to work out your real monthly cost

Use this formula for each system you compare:

> **Monthly cost = plan price + booking fees + card fees**

Then run it on a normal month and on your busiest month. Here is a worked example for a business with **300 bookings a month at an average of €80**, so €24,000 in bookings, with **70% of guests paying online** (€16,800). Card fees use Stripe's standard European rate of 1.5% + €0.25, which comes to €304.50 on 210 online payments.

| Pricing model                         | Cost to you | Guests pay |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- |
| Subscription only, €30 a month        | €30         | €0         |
| €49 a month plus 1.5% online          | €301        | €0         |
| 6% booking fee paid by guests         | €0          | €1,008     |
| 3% commission only                    | €504        | €0         |
| TicketPa Standard: €49 plus 1% online | €217        | €0         |

The €304.50 in card fees comes on top in every row, so it doesn't change the order.

Three things stand out:

- **A subscription without booking fees is the cheapest** once you take bookings every day.
- **"Free to you" is not free.** In the guest-paid model, guests pay €1,008 a month on top of your prices, which can push them to a competitor or an OTA.
- **What guests pay on arrival matters.** If more of your guests pay on the day, any model that charges only on online payments gets cheaper, because there is nothing to take a percentage of.

Work the same table out with your own numbers, or let the [booking software cost calculator](https://ticketpa.com/booking-software-cost-calculator) do it for you. A business with 30 bookings a month gets a very different answer from one with 300.

## What card fees add

Every booking paid online by card carries a [card fee](https://ticketpa.com/glossary#card-processing-fee) from the payment provider, whatever booking software you use. [Stripe's standard pricing](https://stripe.com/pricing) is 1.5% + €0.25 for standard European cards and 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards, with higher rates for international and premium cards. On an €80 booking paid with a European card, that is €1.45.

Bookings paid on arrival in cash carry no card fee. If you take cards at your desk, your card terminal provider charges its own fee.

## Hidden fees: costs that are easy to miss

Most booking software publishes its fees, so they are rarely hidden in the strict sense. What catches businesses out are the costs outside the headline price: features sold separately, charges per user and fees added to your guests' total. Look for these on the full price list and in the terms before you sign up:

- **Setup or onboarding fees,** charged before your first booking.
- **Extra team members,** priced per user above a limit.
- **Text message reminders,** often sold as credits.
- **Channel managers** that connect to OTAs, often on higher plans or for a monthly fee.
- **Add-ons** such as waivers, gift vouchers or a branded booking page, sold separately.
- **Long contracts** that charge you for months you don't use.
- **Payout delays,** when the system collects your guests' money and pays you later.

## Which pricing model suits your business

| Your business                         | Model that usually works best                              |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Just starting, a few bookings a month | Free plan, guest-paid fee or the lowest subscription       |
| Bookings every day, most paid online  | Subscription with no or a small booking fee                |
| Many guests pay on arrival            | A plan that charges nothing on bookings paid on arrival    |
| Strongly seasonal, closed for months  | Monthly plans you can change or pause, no long contract    |
| Most bookings come from OTAs          | A system with a channel manager and no fee on OTA bookings |

## What TicketPa costs

TicketPa has three plans: Basic at €19 a month plus 2% of online payments, Standard at €49 plus 1%, and Pro at €99 plus 0.5%. Bookings paid on arrival carry no fee on any plan. Paying yearly gives two months free, every plan starts with a 30-day free trial of Standard with no card needed, and prices exclude VAT. Card fees are charged separately by Stripe, and the money from online payments goes to your own Stripe account.

There is no setup fee or contract, and every plan includes unlimited activities and bookings. See [the plans side by side](https://ticketpa.com/pricing), or read [how to choose booking software](https://ticketpa.com/blog/how-to-choose-booking-software) for what else to compare.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does booking software cost per month?

Booking software for tours, classes and activities usually costs between €10 and €250 a month. Plans for a small business with one location typically cost €20 to €50. Some systems have no monthly price and charge a fee on each booking instead, and card fees from the payment provider come on top in every case.

### Is free booking software really free?

Rarely. Free plans usually limit users, bookings or sales channels, and systems with no monthly price earn money from a fee on each booking, either taken from you or added to your guest's price. Work out the total cost on a normal month, including what your guests pay, before you decide.

### Does booking software have hidden fees?

Usually not in the strict sense, because most systems publish their fees, but the headline price often leaves costs out. Check for setup fees, charges per extra user, text message credits, paid add-ons, a booking fee added to your guests' total and contracts you can't leave. TicketPa has no setup fee or contract, and bookings paid on arrival carry no fee.

### Who pays the booking fee, me or my guests?

It depends on the system. Some take the booking fee from your payout, some add it to your guest's total at checkout, and some let you choose. A fee added to the guest's total costs you nothing directly, but guests see a higher price than you set, and some will compare it with other options.

### Do I pay booking fees on bookings paid on arrival?

With some systems, no. Many booking fees apply only to online payments, because the system processes the money. Others charge a fixed fee on every booking, including those paid on the day. In TicketPa, bookings paid on arrival carry no fee on any plan, so you only pay your monthly plan for them.

### What is cheaper, a subscription or a booking fee?

A subscription is usually cheaper once you take bookings every day, because its cost stays the same while your sales grow. A booking fee is usually cheaper when you take a few bookings a month. Run both on your normal month and your busiest month, using your real number of bookings and average price.