You're comparing Hostfully and other digital guidebook tools for your Airbnb, but the pricing pages and feature lists make it hard to see which one actually suits you. We've compared the main options on their published pricing (checked in October 2026), how the guidebook gets built, and the features UK hosts ask about most: AI help and paid extras such as late checkout.
Quick Comparison: Hostfully vs Zugrow (formerly LetGrow) vs Touch Stay
Transparency: Zugrow publishes this blog, and Zugrow is one of the tools compared below. We've kept the comparison factual, used each company's own published information and flagged where rivals are the better fit, but read it with that context in mind.
1. Zugrow Digital Guidebook: Best for Budget-Conscious UK Hosts
Best for: Individual UK hosts who want a paid guidebook with extras, at a low annual cost.
Zugrow's digital guidebook is built by AI from your Airbnb listing URL. It drafts check-in and checkout instructions, house rules, WiFi details and local recommendations near your property, and is typically ready within 2 to 3 minutes. You then edit it in a host portal and share a mobile-friendly link with guests. It costs £2.95 a month billed annually (£35.40 a year), or £3.25 month to month, after a 2-week free trial.
The guidebook includes an extras tab where you can offer guests things like late checkout, early check-in or a welcome hamper. Free options carry no fee; paid extras carry a 1% fee, and the money goes to your own account.
Pros:
- £2.95/month billed annually, or £3.25 month to month, with a 2-week free trial
- AI-built from your Airbnb listing, typically in 2 to 3 minutes
- Built-in paid extras, with a 1% fee on paid ones
- Local recommendations near your property
- Mobile-friendly guest link
Cons:
- Fewer design and customisation options than the larger platforms
- Billed per listing unless you're on Zugrow's Max plan, where a guidebook for every property is included
- Hostfully's free plan is cheaper if you only need one basic guidebook and no paid extras
If you're managing a handful of properties and want paid extras without a big subscription, Zugrow's digital guidebook has the lowest published paid price in this comparison.
2. Hostfully: Best for Hosts Who Also Want Property Management Software
Best for: Hosts who want guidebooks as part of a wider property management system, or who only need one free guidebook.
Hostfully sells two things: a property management platform and a standalone Digital Guidebooks product. Its guidebook plans start with a free plan for one guidebook. The Pro plan covers up to 199 guidebooks and adds paid extras through its Guidebook Marketplace, custom branding and bulk editing, but its price is not shown on the pricing page at the time of writing. An Enterprise plan covers 200 or more guidebooks. All plans include an AI itinerary planner and a custom domain.
Hostfully's property management plans start at $15 per property per month (Growth) and $25 per property per month (Pro), each plus a platform fee, and digital guidebooks are an add-on rather than included.
Pros:
- Free plan for a single guidebook
- Paid extras, branding and bulk editing on paid plans
- Can sit inside a full property management platform
- AI itinerary planner on every plan
Cons:
- Prices are in US dollars, and the Pro guidebook price is not published on the pricing page
- The free plan excludes paid extras and custom branding
- Property management plans add a platform fee, with guidebooks charged as an add-on
- More features than a host who only wants a guidebook needs
Hostfully suits hosts who want a wider platform, and its free plan is worth a look if you have one property and no interest in paid extras.
3. Touch Stay: Best Hostfully Alternative for UK Hosts
Best for: Hosts who want a dedicated guidebook tool with more design options.
Touch Stay is a dedicated digital guidebook platform. Its own published pricing starts at $99 a year, or $12.50 a month, for one guidebook, with the price per property falling as you add more. Its published figure is in US dollars; its pricing calculator shows £76 a year plus VAT, or £9.60 a month plus VAT, for one short-term rental.
It can generate a guidebook with AI from an Airbnb or Booking.com listing URL, and its feature list includes an upsell widget, an AI chatbot and an AI content assistant.
For a detailed comparison of these two platforms, see our Touch Stay vs Zugrow analysis.
Pros:
- Dedicated guidebook product
- AI guidebook generator from an Airbnb or Booking.com listing
- Upsell widget and AI assistant features
- Price per property falls as you add more homes
Cons:
- Costs more than Zugrow for a single property
- Headline price published in US dollars
4. YourWelcome: Best for an In-Property Tablet
Best for: Hosts who want a physical tablet in the property rather than a link guests open on their own phone.
YourWelcome, a London-based company, puts an 8-inch tablet in each property with your guide, FAQs and local recommendations on it, and uses it to promote extras such as late checkout, early check-in and equipment hire. It describes its pricing as a per-property subscription that includes the hardware and software, but specific prices are not published on its homepage.
Pros:
- Guests use a tablet in the property, with no app or QR code needed
- Built-in promotion of extras
- Hardware included in the subscription
Cons:
- Prices are not published on its homepage
- A device in every property to look after
- More than most single-property hosts need
Key Factors When Choosing a Hostfully Alternative
The right digital guidebook depends on your hosting setup and priorities. Here are the factors worth checking:
Pricing Structure Impact
Subscriptions add up. Touch Stay's entry price of $99 a year (£76 plus VAT in its GBP calculator) for one guidebook compares with £35.40 a year for Zugrow's guidebook billed annually, while Hostfully's free plan costs nothing for one basic guidebook. Check what each price includes before comparing: paid extras, branding and the number of properties make a big difference.
Setup Time Requirements
Tools that build a first draft from your listing link (Zugrow and Touch Stay both do) save you typing everything from scratch. Whatever the tool, you still need to check and edit the draft before guests see it.
Local Market Relevance
Local recommendations are only useful if they are right. Check every suggested restaurant, shop and transport tip yourself, and add the details only you know, such as where to park or which bus stop is closest.
Revenue Generation Opportunities
Some platforms include paid extras such as late checkout, whilst others focus purely on information. If you plan to sell extras, check how guests pay and what fee the platform takes.
Our wider digital guidebook comparison covers additional platforms and features worth considering.
Implementation Strategy for Your Chosen Platform
Once you've chosen a guidebook, roll it out in stages so guests get a useful guide from the first stay:
Week 1: Set up the essentials (WiFi, check-in and checkout, emergency contacts). Open the guidebook on your own phone and follow it as if you were a guest.
Week 2: Add local recommendations and house rules. Include photos of key spots such as the parking space, the entrance and where things are kept, to cut down on confusion.
Week 3: Watch the questions guests still ask and update the guide to answer them. Most platforms make edits quick.
From our own portfolio: in the roughly 24 Manchester short lets we run, fast replies and clear check-in information on the day earn us the most 5-star reviews. Our guests use lockboxes, and we send the code on arrival day. That is our setup, one example among many; whatever your access method, make the check-in section the clearest part of your guide.
For hosts also working on listing performance, consider exploring free tools that can improve your overall performance alongside your guidebook.
Alternative Approaches to Digital Guidebooks
Not every host wants a subscription. PDF welcome books remain popular for their simplicity, though they are harder to keep up to date and lack interactive features.
For hosts considering all options, our guide to Airbnb welcome book alternatives explores both digital and traditional approaches.
Printed welcome folders work well as a backup in the property, but every change means reprinting. In-property tablets, like YourWelcome's, are another option for hosts who prefer a device on the kitchen counter.
The ROI of Professional Guidebooks
A good guidebook pays off in two ways. Clear instructions and helpful local information reduce the questions guests send you, and they make for smoother stays, which is what good reviews are built on.
Paid extras can add income on top, but only if guests actually buy them. At £35.40 a year, a guidebook only needs a handful of paid late checkouts across a year to cover its cost; whether that happens depends on your guests and what you offer.
Property type matters too. City centre apartments benefit most from transport and restaurant information, whilst rural properties need detailed directions and local activity suggestions. Match the guide to what your guests need.
For broader context on property performance, our analysis of apartment vs house earnings looks at how different property types perform.
Final Recommendation: Which Platform to Choose
For UK hosts with a handful of properties who want paid extras at a low cost, Zugrow's digital guidebook has the lowest published paid price here, at £2.95 a month billed annually, with AI building the first draft from your Airbnb listing.
If you only need one basic guidebook and no paid extras, Hostfully's free plan is hard to beat on price. If you want a wider platform, Hostfully's property management plans add team and workflow features. Zugrow's own hosting platform is another option: property management, a channel manager for Airbnb and Booking.com, team access and AI agents, with a guidebook for every property included on the Max plan (£19.95 per property per month billed annually, or £24.95 monthly). New hosts join a waitlist and are onboarded in waves.
Hosts who want more design flexibility in a dedicated guidebook tool might prefer Touch Stay, and those who want a tablet in the property might look at YourWelcome, accepting higher costs for those features.
Ready to create your digital guidebook? Generate your Zugrow guidebook in about 2 to 3 minutes, or start with a free listing score to find other improvements for your property.
Sources, checked October 2026: Hostfully Digital Guidebooks pricing, Hostfully property management pricing, Touch Stay pricing statement, Touch Stay pricing calculator, Touch Stay AI guidebook help article, YourWelcome, Zugrow guidebook and Zugrow pricing.