Which is cheaper, Hostcation or Bedful?

Hostcation is £10 per property per month on the annual plan (£15 monthly) with 0% commission. Bedful starts at £21 per month for a single accommodation. For one property, Hostcation is half the monthly cost.

Does Bedful charge booking commission?

No. Bedful does not charge per-booking commission — the pricing is a flat monthly subscription starting at £21 per month. Hostcation also charges 0% commission. Both are commission-free, just a monthly fee.

Is Bedful suitable for glamping and camping?

Yes. Bedful explicitly supports glamping, camping, and holiday parks alongside self-catering, hotels and B&Bs. Hostcation focuses on self-catering holiday lets. If you run a campsite or glamping site, Bedful may be a better fit.

Guide · Hostcation vs Bedful

Hostcation vs Bedful: which direct booking tool for UK hosts in 2026?

Q: Which is better for a simple self-catering cottage?

For a single self-catering cottage, Hostcation is cheaper (£10 vs £21 per month) and simpler — you just need a direct booking website with card payments and calendar sync. Bedful offers more features (dashboard, automated emails, booking grid) that a one-cottage owner may not need.

For UK holiday-let owners · Updated June 2026

Bedful is a well-known UK booking system for holiday accommodation — it serves glamping sites, campsites, holiday parks, self-catering cottages, hotels, and B&Bs. Its key selling point is a simple, commission-free booking system with a dashboard for managing reservations, availability, and guest communication all in one place.

This guide compares Bedful and Hostcation for a UK holiday-let owner in 2026: what each costs, what features you get, and which one suits the type of accommodation you run. We make Hostcation, so treat this as our comparison — but we have kept it fair about where Bedful genuinely works well.

For a broader view, our best direct booking website builders guide compares eight options side by side.

At a glance

	Hostcation	Bedful
Price (1 property)	£10/mo annual (£15 monthly)	From £21/mo
Booking fee	0% Hostcation commission (Stripe ~1.5% + 20p applies)	0% commission
Website	Built for you from one listing link, usually under an hour	Set up your own site through the system
Calendar sync	Two-way iCal, hourly: Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Sykes	iCal integration with Airbnb, Booking.com, Hipcamp
Type	Direct booking website specialist	Full booking system / PMS with dashboard
Free trial	14 days (card needed to start; cancel before it ends)	Yes
Best for	1–2 self-catering properties wanting simple and cheap	Campsites, glamping, holiday parks, and multi-unit owners

Pricing

Both Hostcation and Bedful are commission-free — neither takes a percentage of your bookings. The difference is in the monthly subscription price and what is included.

Hostcation costs £10 per property per month on the annual plan (£15 monthly), with 0% Hostcation commission. The only per-booking cost is Stripe card processing (roughly 1.5% plus 20p). A £500 booking costs about £10 in Stripe fees, nothing to Hostcation.

Bedful starts at £21 per month for a single accommodation, with 0% booking commission.(Bedful pricing). Bedful does not disclose tiered plan pricing on its public site — the £21 figure is the starting point, and the price may increase for larger sites or additional features.

Feature set: full PMS vs focused booking site

The biggest difference between the two tools is scope.

Bedful is a full booking management system. It includes a dashboard with booking grid, revenue stats, automated pre-arrival emails, balance payment tracking, and a daily diary of arrivals and departures. It is built for owners who want to run their entire booking operation from one tool — and it supports glamping, camping, holiday parks, and B&Bs alongside self-catering.

Hostcation is purpose-built for one thing: a direct booking website with card payments and calendar sync. It does not include a booking dashboard, guest messaging automation, or revenue reporting. For a one-to-two-property self-catering owner, those extras are often unnecessary — you already manage bookings from the platform calendars (Airbnb, Booking.com) and do not need another dashboard.

Calendar sync: what connects where?

Both tools offer two-way calendar integration with the major platforms. Bedful integrates with Airbnb, Booking.com, and Hipcamp via iCal. Hostcation syncs with Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and Sykes via two-way iCal, hourly.

The notable difference is Hipcamp support (Bedful) versus Vrbo and Sykes support (Hostcation). If you list on Hipcamp, Bedful is the stronger choice. If you list on Vrbo or Sykes, Hostcation covers those.

Which one should you choose?

A plain-English steer:

You run a single self-catering cottage or two holiday lets. Hostcation is cheaper (£10 vs £21 per month) and simpler — you do not need a full PMS dashboard. The site is built for you, usually in under an hour.
You run a campsite, glamping site, or holiday park. Bedful explicitly supports these accommodation types and is built for multi-unit, multi-guest management. Hostcation is designed for individual holiday lets.
You want a full booking management system. Bedful includes a dashboard, automated emails, booking grid, and stats. Hostcation only provides the website, payments, and calendar sync.
You list on Hipcamp. Bedful integrates with Hipcamp. Hostcation does not currently offer Hipcamp sync.

Try the simpler option for your property

Start a free 14-day trial — a card is needed to start, and you can cancel any time before it ends, so you won't be charged. See your booking site built from your existing listing in under an hour.

Try the savings calculator Start a free 14-day trial

Sources

Bedful pricing was checked against its public site (accessed 18 June 2026). Bedful's pricing page does not disclose full tiered plan pricing publicly; the £21 starting figure is the advertised entry price. Stripe UK card pricing (~1.5% + 20p domestic) is standard published Stripe pricing. Hostcation is a complement to the booking platforms, not a replacement.