Cloudbeds vs Mews: Which Is Better in 2026?

At a glance

	Cloudbeds	Mews
Best for	Independent hotels that want one system	Hotels that want to automate the front desk
Starting price	Custom pricing	Custom pricing
Pricing model	Per-property subscription, quoted after a demo	Per room on Core and Pro plans, plus Enterprise; quoted
Free plan or trial	No; demo only	No; demo only
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Channel manager	Built in, with booking engine	Direct Booking.com and Expedia links, SiteMinder-powered option
Guest self-service	Guest messaging, kiosk, access code delivery	Online and kiosk check-in, wallet digital keys
Payments	Integrated payments in the platform	Built-in Mews payments; processing billed separately
Integrations	Open API and partner marketplace	Open APIs and a large app marketplace

Cloudbeds is the better fit for independent hotels, hostels, and small groups that want the PMS, channel manager, booking engine, and payments in one system, while Mews suits hotels that want to automate the front desk with online check-in, kiosks, and built-in payments. Both are cloud systems sold by quote, and both replace a lot of manual work. The difference is where each puts its weight: Cloudbeds on distribution and an all-in-one setup, Mews on guest self-service and an open marketplace.

We rate Cloudbeds 4.7 out of 5 and Mews 4.6, first and second on our ranked list of the best hotel property management systems. Below, we compare them on the points a hotel buyer weighs most, and name a winner for each.

Core PMS and front desk

Both systems cover the daily basics well: reservations, room assignment, check-in and check-out, guest folios, housekeeping status, and reporting. Neither is a stripped-down tool, and both run in a browser, so staff can work from a desk computer, a tablet, or a phone.

Mews goes further in taking work off the desk. Guests can check in online before arrival or at a lobby kiosk, and Mews says digital keys work through Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. For a hotel that wants a lean front desk, or a late arrival process that does not depend on staff, that matters a great deal.

Cloudbeds also offers kiosk check-in, guest messaging, and access code delivery, but its design centers on giving a small team one screen for everything. A front desk agent sees the calendar, payments, and channel availability in one place, which suits properties where one person covers several jobs.

Winner: Mews, for hotels that want guests to handle more of check-in themselves. Cloudbeds is close behind and easier for traditional desk teams to pick up.

Distribution and the channel manager

This is Cloudbeds’ strongest ground. The channel manager is built into the platform, so rates and availability update across booking sites from the same screen as the front desk calendar. Cloudbeds also includes a booking engine for your own website and offers Google hotel booking links. For an independent hotel that has no channel manager today, that removes a whole vendor and a whole contract.

Mews connects directly to Booking.com and Expedia and offers a channel manager option powered by SiteMinder. Many Mews hotels also connect a third-party channel manager through the marketplace. That works well if you already have one you like, but it adds another contract and another place to check when an overbooking happens on a busy weekend.

Winner: Cloudbeds, because distribution comes built in rather than assembled from parts.

Payments

Both vendors run their own payment processing inside the PMS, which makes deposits, pre-authorizations, and no-show charges easier for staff. Mews built much of its product around payments: card details are tokenized and stored with the guest profile, and one authorization can cover the whole stay. Cloudbeds offers integrated payments too, and it says it does not charge tokenization or payment request fees.

The catch with Mews is cost visibility. Processing fees are billed on top of the per-room subscription, so ask for a full fee schedule that covers stored cards, payment requests, and individual transactions. With either vendor, get your rate for domestic, international, and card-present payments in writing before you compare totals.

Winner: Mews on payment automation, Cloudbeds on simpler fees. If your card volume is high, the fee schedule should decide this one.

Integrations and the marketplace

Mews was designed as an open platform. Its marketplace connects the PMS to revenue management, guest messaging, upselling, housekeeping, and accounting apps, and it publishes open APIs for developers. A hotel group with its own tech stack, or one that expects to swap tools over time, gets more freedom here.

Cloudbeds also has an open API and a partner marketplace, and its all-in-one design means you may need fewer outside apps to begin with. Before you choose either, list the connections your property cannot run without, such as your door lock system, restaurant POS, and accounting software. Ask each vendor to confirm that every one is live, two-way, and used by properties like yours.

Winner: Mews, for hotels that want to build their own stack.

Revenue management and upsells

Both vendors now sell pricing tools alongside the PMS. Cloudbeds includes revenue management that ties into its guest data and marketing tools, so rate changes flow straight to the built-in channel manager. Mews offers its own revenue management system as part of its platform and supports outside revenue tools through the marketplace.

For upsells such as early check-in, late checkout, or parking, Mews has the edge in guest-facing flows, because its online check-in gives guests a natural point to add extras before they arrive. Cloudbeds handles add-ons through its booking engine and guest messaging.

Winner: tie. Ask each vendor to show a full rate change, from pricing recommendation to the booking sites, during the demo.

Security and compliance

Both vendors keep card data out of your hands through tokenization, which keeps your PCI DSS scope small. Cloudbeds says it hosts on AWS with a PCI-compliant tokenization vault and runs a round-the-clock incident response team. Mews stores tokenized cards with the guest profile so staff never handle full card numbers. For EU and UK guests, ask both how they handle GDPR requests and where data is stored, and ask for a current PCI attestation of compliance before signing.

Winner: tie. Both meet the standard a hotel should expect, so let the documents you receive decide.

Ease of use and onboarding

Cloudbeds is easier to learn for small teams used to traditional front desk routines. Everything sits in one place, and Cloudbeds assigns an onboarding coach to each property during setup. Mews can feel different at first, because it pushes work toward guests and automation. Teams used to manual routines may need time to adjust, and the payoff arrives once staff trust the automated steps.

Winner: Cloudbeds, especially for independent hotels and hostels with limited training time.

Pricing and total cost

Neither vendor publishes prices, so both start with a demo and a quote. Cloudbeds sells a per-property subscription that bundles its main modules. Mews prices per room across its Core and Pro plans, with an Enterprise option for multi-brand groups, and bills payment processing separately.

In practice, Cloudbeds tends to be easier to budget, because more of the system arrives in one quote. Mews can come in higher or lower depending on room count, plan, and card volume. A tiny B&B may pay for more system than it uses with either product, and neither offers a free trial. To compare fairly:

1. Give both vendors the same room count and the same list of modules.
2. Ask for the processing rate and every per-card or per-transaction fee.
3. Add any marketplace apps you will need, since they carry their own subscriptions.
4. Compare first-year and second-year totals, including setup and training.

Winner: Cloudbeds, for clearer budgeting at independent properties.

Which should you choose?

Pick Cloudbeds if you run an independent hotel, hostel, or small group and want distribution, the booking engine, and payments handled by one vendor with one support line. It wins on distribution, ease of use, and budgeting, which are the points that matter most to smaller properties.

Pick Mews if your priority is guest self-service and front desk automation, or if you want an open platform you can extend with your preferred apps over time. It wins on check-in, payment automation, and integrations, which matter more as a property or group grows its own stack.

Pros and cons

Cloudbeds

Mews

Which should you choose?

Frequently asked questions