The four pricing models (and their traps)
- Flat SaaS tiers — predictable; watch tier limits (users, itineraries, rooms).
- Per-user seats — fine at 2 people, brutal at 10 (Safari Portal adds $50/user; TourWriter is per-user from the start).
- Per-booking % + gateway fees — scales with success; at 3%+2.5% you’re paying 5.5% of revenue for the privilege.
- Perpetual licence — big upfront, own it forever (Yekrina: $799–$12,000+); updates and support are tier-bound.
Published prices, side by side
All prices from vendor pricing pages, verified 2026-09-06
| Vendor | Entry | Mid | Top / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bókun | $0 (free plan) | $149/mo +1.25% | $499/mo +1%; paid plans charge per booking |
| TrekkSoft | €49/mo | €149/mo | €249/mo; online fees 3→2% + gateway 2.5%+€0.25 |
| Wetu | $75/mo | $150/mo | +$35–65 per user; VAT excl. |
| TripMapper | $99.99/mo | $269.99/mo | $469.99/mo; payment fee 1%→0.5% |
| TourWriter | from $99/user/mo | from $149/user/mo | + setup from $1,199; annual billing |
| Safari Portal | $299/mo | $399/mo | +$50/user; platform fee on payments unpublished |
| NightsBridge | R660/mo | R1,150/mo | R1,500/mo (30+ rooms); ex-VAT |
| Savanna Sync | KES 2,500/mo | KES 9,900/mo | Pro tier "talk to us" |
| Yekrina | $799 once | $1,999 once | $3,999–$12,000+ once; perpetual |
| TravelBookingWidgets | $0 (free plan) | $25–65/mo | $130/mo Pro; no per-booking % or per-user fees |
| Cloudbeds / FareHarbor / Peek | Quote only | Quote only | No public pricing at all (verified 2026-09-06) |
The hidden costs that decide the real number
- Per-booking %: at 100 bookings × $1,000, a 1.5% fee is $1,500/month — more than most subscriptions on this page.
- Gateway fees stack separately (TrekkSoft’s own gateway is quoted at 2.5%+€0.25 on top of plan fees).
- Per-user add-ons grow with hiring, not with value.
- Setup fees ($1,199+ at TourWriter) and annual-only billing change your cash-flow picture.
- Quote-only vendors (Cloudbeds, FareHarbor, Peek) start the relationship with an opaque number — price discovery is part of the cost.
How to compute YOUR number
Take last year’s booking count and average booking value. For each vendor: subscription + (booking % × volume × value) + users × per-user fee + gateway % × value. That spreadsheet, done once, is worth more than any feature grid. Ours is public on the pricing page precisely so you can put a flat number in that column.