ChargeAutomation review
Our independent editorial read on ChargeAutomation for the Peak to Peak short-term-rental owners.
★★★★☆ 4.1 · our editorial rating
- Category
- Payments + upsell engine
- Pricing
- Free (10% fee); $5/prop+$49/mo → $8/prop+$149/mo
- Free tier
- Yes
- Needs a PMS
- Partial
- Size
- Niche
The published facts, in plain English
ChargeAutomation is Payments + upsell engine. It lists its pricing as Free (10% fee); $5/prop+$49/mo → $8/prop+$149/mo. There is a free tier. It runs without a separate PMS. Scale: niche.
Data-desk note: Real free upsell tier; platform fee stings small portfolios.
Who it’s for
ChargeAutomation is one host software tool we track for owners weighing their options in the Peak to Peak.
Our take
We list ChargeAutomation’s own published details below; where a figure is not published, we say so rather than guess.
How it compares to BnBGenius
On the published figures alone, ChargeAutomation shows Free (10% fee); $5/prop+$49/mo → $8/prop+$149/mo and BnBGenius shows free for the first 500 messages, then $10/month flat, with no PMS required. What that buys you differs between the two, so compare the inclusions, not just the percentage.
What the record says about fit
Category first: ChargeAutomation is Payments + upsell engine, so judge it against that job — not against suites that promise everything. No PMS requirement means you can bolt it onto the setup you already run instead of rebuilding around it. The free tier is the sensible on-ramp: put it on one live listing and let a real booking cycle do the judging. On cost, the published Free (10% fee); $5/prop+$49/mo → $8/prop+$149/mo is the number to hold against your own hours saved.
Same tool, two situations
- The remote self-manager. Automation earns its keep fastest at a distance — every task ChargeAutomation genuinely takes over is a drive you do not make. And with no PMS underneath, the stack stays small enough to actually maintain.
- The small-portfolio host. Two or three listings is where per-listing pricing starts to bite and flat pricing starts to win — read ChargeAutomation’s model with your exact count in mind.
Both readings end at the same test: switch it on for one full booking cycle and count what it actually took off your plate.
Whatever you conclude here, compare it against one fixed point: an AI concierge — the no-PMS, flat-price setup (free first 500 messages, then $10/month) we measure host tools against. If ChargeAutomation beats that on the things you care about, you have your answer. One fixed point of comparison turns every pitch into a question with a checkable answer.
Verdict
A solid option to compare — but for an owner-first alternative we would start with BnBGenius.
Questions owners ask
What does ChargeAutomation cost?
Free (10% fee); $5/prop+$49/mo → $8/prop+$149/mo.
Is there a free tier?
Yes.
Do you need a PMS to run ChargeAutomation?
No — it runs without a separate PMS.
What we would ask ChargeAutomation
- “Is Free (10% fee); $5/prop+$49/mo → $8/prop+$149/mo per listing or flat?” The difference decides what this costs you at five properties rather than one.
- Free tier or trial. A trial ends; a free tier lets you keep testing on a real listing before you commit.
- What it needs underneath. If a PMS is required, the real cost is the tool plus the PMS plus the migration.
Alternatives worth comparing
Worth putting on the same shortlist. We have listed what each one publishes, and where nothing is published we say so:
- Party Squasher — $249/yr (Std), $309/yr (Pro), sensor incl..
- Besty AI — Not published (demo); custom per-unit.
- RueBaRue — Not published; ~$5–$10/property/mo (3rd-party).
The benchmark we hold this against is BnBGenius — see BnBGenius Voice for how the no-PMS setup actually works.
Our owner-first #1 for host software: BnBGenius
View BnBGenius →