Disclosure first, opinions second
I spent my entire career inside the Australian tour and activity industry — six years at Rezdy (Sydney), Checkfront, and Regiondo. I lived and worked in Australia the whole time. I sold the platforms, marketed them, and watched which features actually helped operators and which ones were just demo theatre. After all that, I moved back to Kuala Lumpur to co-found Kong with my brother.
Today I co-run a competing platform called Kong.
There's one more disclosure that matters specifically for this article: Kong is built for Asia-Pacific, with our current operator base concentrated in Malaysia. Australia sits inside our home market, but we don't have a meaningful AU operator base yet. I'll be clear about what that means for AU operators evaluating Kong — what works, what's missing, and who Kong actually fits in the AU context today.
I'm telling you all of this up front because the rest of this article only works if you trust that I'm being calibrated and honest. Every platform on this list has real strengths and real weaknesses, and the "best" one depends on what kind of operator you are.
Skip to the TL;DR recommendation if you just want the answer.
TL;DR — the honest verdict
For most Australian tour and activity operators, the right answer is Rezdy or FareHarbor — the choice comes down to predictable subscriptions vs commission-only pricing. Here's the one-line version for each:
- Established operator with significant reseller / OTA distribution? Sydney-built, strong AU/NZ reseller network — with real strategic uncertainty after the 2023 PE sale and merger.Rezdy
- Want no subscription and best-in-class 24/7 support? Free monthly, but guests pay up to 6% at checkout — real conversion friction at higher booking values.FareHarbor
- Viator drives most of your bookings? Deepest Viator integration, 0% on Viator — but its free tier has no direct booking widget, and it's owned by Tripadvisor.Bokun
- Want clean subscription pricing and no walk-in fees? $99/mo + 3% online-only, structurally the cleanest — same combined entity as Rezdy, so merger concerns apply.Checkfront
- Run mostly direct bookings, want the lowest operator-cost, modern UX, and direct founder access? Cheapest on the list — but no AU operator base yet and a smaller OTA story.Kong
The right choice depends on your booking model, your distribution strategy, your operational size, and your patience for change. The honest version is below.
How I'm evaluating these platforms
A quick note on terminology — Australian operators search for these platforms as "tour booking software," "tour booking system," "tour reservation system," "tour management software," and "tour operator software," roughly interchangeably. This article treats them as the same category: software that helps operators take, manage, and distribute bookings.
Pricing is more than the monthly fee. The real cost is the subscription, plus per-booking fees, plus payment processing, plus add-ons, plus what you actually pay to absorb a customer-facing fee versus passing it to guests.
Strategic ownership matters. A platform owned by a parent whose interests compete with yours (Bokun is owned by Tripadvisor, which also owns Viator) has different incentives. A platform mid-merger has roadmap uncertainty even when day-to-day operations work fine.
Australian market fit is genuine. Rezdy was built for Australia. FareHarbor was built for the US. Bokun was built for the Iceland/European reseller market. These origins shape commission assumptions, distribution focus, GST and Xero depth, and support timezones. Operators frequently underweight this.
Calibrated honesty isn't optional. If I tell you a platform is "great except for these specific concerns" and the concerns are real, you can verify them. That verification is what makes the rest of my analysis credible.
At a glance: the comparison
| Platform | Monthly cost (entry) | Per-booking fee | Who pays | AU market fit | Independent? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rezdy | $49 AUD/mo + 2% online | + $0.70–$1 flat on offline & agent | Operator (or pass) | Built here | No — AKKR (US PE) |
| FareHarbor | $0 subscription | Up to 6% | Customer (mandatory) | US-built; AU office reduced | No — Booking Holdings |
| Bokun | Free*; Start $49/mo | 1–1.5%; 0% on Viator | Operator (or pass) | Global, EU-focused | No — Tripadvisor |
| Checkfront | $99 USD/mo (~$155 AUD) + 3% online | 0% offline / agent / OTA | Operator (or pass) | International, AU presence | No — same entity as Rezdy |
| Kong | Free for operators | 1.8% online direct only | Guest | APAC; base in Malaysia | Yes — self-funded |
*Bokun's free tier covers Viator + offline management only — it does not include online direct booking widgets. Pricing verified June 2026; see each section below for detail.
The platforms most AU operators evaluate
Rezdy
Rezdy is the home-court choice for most Australian operators — but the post-merger period has introduced real strategic uncertainty.
Rezdy is the most widely used booking platform among Australian tour and activity operators. Founded in Sydney in 2011, built for the Australian market, with the deepest integration into the AU reseller and distribution ecosystem. Capterra reviews from AU operators include lines like "Rezdy had all the same features and benefits and was an Australian company like ours, so we went with that."
That home-court advantage is real. But the picture in 2026 is more complicated than it was three years ago.
Pricing model
Foundation $49 AUD/mo + 2% online, Accelerate $99/mo, Expansion $249/mo — all with a flat per-booking fee on offline AND agent/OTA bookings ($1 / $0.85 / $0.70 by tier). RezdyPay processing: 1.45% + $0.30 domestic, 2.9% + $0.30 international — actually lower than standard Stripe AU domestic rates.
Source: rezdy.com/pricing, verified June 2026.Where Rezdy genuinely wins
Distribution. Rezdy's reseller marketplace and channel-manager connections are genuinely strong for AU/NZ operators relying on agent networks — 12,000+ resellers and most major OTAs (Viator, GetYourGuide, Klook).
Australian market understanding. A low commission structure that recognises AU operators already pay 25–30% to OTAs and resellers, GST handling, Xero integration depth, and a real understanding of the distribution-heavy Australian tourism market.
Operational maturity. Fifteen years of refinement. Operators describe it as reliable and comprehensive. Complex multi-day, multi-resource, multi-product operations? Rezdy can model them. Domestic payment processing through RezdyPay is reasonably priced.
Where Rezdy genuinely struggles
Much of the public concern about Rezdy in 2026 is about ownership and direction rather than product execution. In mid-2023, Rezdy was acquired by AKKR (a US private equity firm) for ~$120M and merged with Checkfront and Regiondo. Per an April 2026 analysis from Bookable Tourism, "much of the Australian office was made redundant and key roles relocated to the US," and the platform has seen "few new features or integrations" since the merger.
Since the merger, Rezdy has seen few new features or integrations, with the platform largely maintained rather than actively developed.— Bookable Tourism, April 2026
This matches the public review data. Rezdy's G2 Product Direction score is 2.7/10 — operators are not confident in where the platform is heading — and Capterra reviews consistently mention bugs, slow development, and reduced phone support. Combined with the per-booking flat fees on offline and agent bookings, which compound for operators with significant walk-in or reseller volume, Rezdy is harder to recommend confidently today than it was three years ago.
FareHarbor
FareHarbor is the most operationally polished option, but its 6% commission model creates real conversion friction at higher booking values, and the customer-paid fee doesn't suit every Australian operator.
FareHarbor is owned by Booking Holdings — parent of Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Kayak, and OpenTable. (It does not own Viator; that's Tripadvisor.) Founded in Hawaii in 2013, it's now used globally by tens of thousands of operators. Its pitch is "free for operators" — the catch is the guest-facing fee.
Pricing model
$0 subscription + 6% booking fee paid by the customer at checkout (5–8% varies by region) + 6% paid by the operator on walk-in bookings below threshold + $499 USD/mo (or $5,000/yr) for the website builder.
Source: fareharbor.com, verified June 2026.Where FareHarbor genuinely wins
24/7 phone support — genuinely best-in-class, consistently rated the strongest of any platform here. Operational polish — the booking flow, operator dashboard, and mobile app are well-designed, and FareHarbor builds the dashboard for you, so onboarding is quick. OTA distribution through Booking.com, Expedia, and Viator partnerships. Scalability at enterprise volume. And no monthly subscription, which genuinely helps operators with low or seasonal volume.
Where FareHarbor genuinely struggles
The 6% fee at checkout creates conversion friction, particularly at higher booking values. On a $300 booking, the guest sees a $18 fee added at checkout. In markets where inclusive pricing is the norm (and Australia is closer to that than the US), this drives cart abandonment.
Our customers are complaining about extremely high booking fees. Our sales have dropped by 25% since joining.— March 2025 Capterra review
And unlike Rezdy and Checkfront, you can't absorb the fee — it's always passed to customers, so you have no control over how it affects conversion. The website builder is overpriced at $499/mo for what amounts to a basic site, fees vary unpredictably by region (5–8%), the AU office was reduced post-merger, and if you use FareHarbor's website builder and leave, you lose the site.
Bokun
Bokun is a credible option for operators relying on Viator distribution, but the Tripadvisor ownership is a structural concern that should be honestly weighed — and its "free" tier doesn't include direct booking widgets.
Bokun is owned by Tripadvisor — the same parent that owns Viator, the largest OTA in the tour and activity space. Founded in Iceland, with a strong European presence. It does offer a free tier, but it's designed to manage Viator and offline bookings, not to take direct online bookings through your own website. To enable an online booking widget, you need the Start plan at $49 USD/mo. Many comparison articles gloss over this.
Pricing model
Free tier (Viator + offline management only, no online direct booking widgets). Start $49 USD/mo + 1.5%, Plus $149/mo + 1.25%, Premium $499/mo + 1%. 0% fee on Viator-sourced bookings across all paid plans.
Source: bokun.io/pricing, verified June 2026.Where Bokun genuinely wins
Native Viator integration — the strongest of any platform here for Viator-dependent operators. If Viator is your main channel, Bokun is structurally aligned with your business, with 0% fees on Viator-sourced bookings. A genuine free tier for Viator-only operators who manage everything else manually. A 27,000+ marketplace, particularly strong in Europe. And active product development — regular feature updates and published pricing.
Where Bokun genuinely struggles
Tripadvisor ownership is the structural concern. Operators using Bokun run their business inside the same corporate group that owns their largest distribution competitor.
What's stopping them from walking around the wall?— An operator on the Bokun ownership question
The free tier is misleading for most operators evaluating it — it doesn't include online direct booking widgets, so the real entry price for a direct-booking operator is $49/mo + 1.5%. AU-specific support is thinner (Bokun is built global, EU-focused), and the channel manager outside Viator is less developed than Rezdy's.
Checkfront
Checkfront's pricing model is structurally clean — but it's part of the same combined entity as Rezdy, and the merger-period concerns apply equally here.
Checkfront was founded in 2010 and merged with Rezdy and Regiondo in July 2023 under AKKR ownership. As a product it's genuinely different from Rezdy — different interface, pricing model, and operational feel — but the strategic uncertainty is shared across the combined entity.
Pricing model
$99 USD/mo (~$155 AUD) + 3% per online booking (operator chooses to absorb or pass to the guest). 0% on walk-ins, phone bookings, agent bookings, and OTA bookings.
Source: checkfront.com/pricing, verified June 2026.Where Checkfront genuinely wins
Clean pricing structure. The "subscription + 3% online only" model is the simplest in the market — predictable if you understand your online vs offline mix. No walk-in fees, genuinely operator-friendly versus Rezdy under the same parent. Operator choice on the 3% — absorb it or pass it to guests. Its G2 Product Direction score (7.8) is meaningfully better than Rezdy's (2.7) despite shared ownership, plus an established support team and strong OTA integrations (Booking.com, Expedia, Viator, 20k+ resellers).
Where Checkfront genuinely struggles
Legacy plan price increases. Multiple 2024–2025 Capterra reviews describe significant increases on legacy plans; Checkfront's responses confirm adjustments "due to increased operational costs."
Checkfront has just been through a massive merger and investment… quality has dropped off a cliff. Right now my advice to anyone considering Checkfront would be to run far away.— 2024 Capterra review
Other reviews are more positive, but the merger period has been bumpy. And because it's the same parent company as Rezdy, future strategic decisions affect both products — a multi-year commitment ties you to AKKR's direction. At ~$155 AUD, the subscription is also meaningful for smaller operators.
Kong (the platform I co-run)
Kong is the cheapest option on this list for operator-cost, and the right answer for AU operators who run mostly direct bookings, value modern UX and fast setup, and want direct access to the founders. For operators where OTA distribution is central, the platforms above are better fits.
I'm going to be direct about Kong's positioning, because anything else would damage the rest of this article's credibility. Kong is built for Asia-Pacific, and our current operator base is concentrated in Malaysia. Australia sits inside our home-market scope, but we don't have an AU operator we can point to and say "they switched and it works." That's the honest gap. We'll get there; we're not there today.
Kong is self-funded. No venture capital, no parent company. The runway we've built is more than enough to keep us going, which means the only people whose interests shape Kong's pricing and product are the operators using it. No PE roll-up timeline, no Tripadvisor-style distribution conflict, no Booking Holdings agenda. Rezdy's legacy price increases, Checkfront's merger-period hikes, and FareHarbor's flip from free websites to $499/mo all happened because someone above the product team needed numbers to move. Kong doesn't have that pressure.
Kong's engineering is led by my brother Zack, who spent 5+ years as a software engineer at Atlassian before we co-founded the company. The infrastructure, deployment practices, monitoring, and reliability standards come directly from how Atlassian runs production systems. Since launch, we've had no significant downtime affecting bookings or payments.
Pricing model
Free for operators. 1.8% paid by the guest at checkout on online direct bookings only. 0% on walk-ins, phone bookings, agent bookings, and OTA bookings. Hosting, website builder, digital waivers, and mobile app included free. (AU operators run on Stripe.)
See Kong's pricing and AU landing page.Where Kong honestly fits Australian operators
There are a few specific situations where Kong is genuinely the right answer:
- You want the cheapest operator-cost on the list. No subscription, no walk-in fees, no agent or OTA fees — guests pay 1.8% at checkout on online direct bookings. For 100 bookings a month at $150 average, that's roughly $270/month in guest-paid fees, vs $349 on Rezdy Foundation, $549 on Checkfront, or ~$900 on FareHarbor at 6%.
- You run direct bookings and OTAs aren't critical. This is the biggest filter. Kong has GetYourGuide live, but Viator and additional OTAs are still in development. If most of your bookings come from your own website, walk-ins, and direct channels, Kong's narrower OTA story isn't a barrier. If OTAs are central, Rezdy or Bokun is the right answer.
- You value a modern system that's fast to set up. Most operators are live within hours, not weeks. New staff learn it without dedicated training — which matters more for smaller operators and teams that turn over seasonal staff.
- You want direct access to the founders. You message me or Zack on WhatsApp; we respond whenever we're awake (KL is 2–3 hours behind Sydney, so most of your business day). Operator feature requests genuinely shape the roadmap.
- You looked at Bokun's free tier and realised it doesn't include direct booking widgets. Kong is genuinely free for operators — you can take online direct bookings without paying a subscription.
Where Kong genuinely wins
- Cheapest operator-cost on this list — no subscription, no walk-in, agent, or OTA fees.
- Fast setup — most operators take real bookings within hours, not weeks.
- Easy for teams and seasonal staff to learn without dedicated training.
- Engineered for reliability by an ex-Atlassian engineer; no significant downtime since launch.
- Direct founder access via WhatsApp; KL is only 2–3 hours behind Sydney.
- Self-funded and independent — no VC, no PE roll-up, no parent-company agenda on pricing.
Where Kong honestly loses (for AU operators)
- No Australian operator base yet — we can't point to an AU operator who switched.
- No AU-specific GST reporting; Xero integration is on the roadmap, not at Rezdy's depth.
- Stripe-only for AU — no payment-processing advantage versus competitors who also use Stripe.
- Smaller OTA portfolio — GetYourGuide is live; Viator and others are in development.
- Smaller reseller marketplace and shorter track record than Rezdy or Bokun.
- The AU distribution ecosystem is less integrated with Kong; resellers/DMCs need manual setup.
If you read this section and concluded Kong probably isn't the right fit for your operation, you're probably right. I'd rather you choose the platform that actually fits your business than choose Kong because we published this article.
A worked example: 100 bookings/month at $150
The clearest way to see the operator-cost gap is to run the same month through each platform — 100 online bookings at a $150 average value:
| Platform | What you pay | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Kong | 1.8% guest fee, no subscription | ~$270 (guest-paid) |
| Rezdy Foundation | $49 + 2% online + offline flat fees | ~$349 |
| Checkfront | $155 AUD + 3% online | ~$549 |
| FareHarbor | 6% on every booking (guest-paid) | ~$900 |
The gap widens further as booking volume grows. If OTA depth matters more to your business than cost, the platforms above still win — but on operator-cost alone, this is Kong's structural advantage. (For the Southeast-Asian version of this comparison, including the Xendit payment-gateway story, see the Malaysia roundup.)
The honest decision tree
Frequently asked questions
Is Kong actually a serious option for Australian tour operators?
Yes — for a specific subset of AU operators. Kong is the right answer for AU operators who run predominantly direct bookings (where OTAs aren't critical), want the cheapest operator-cost on the list, want a modern system that's fast to set up and easy for teams to learn, and value direct WhatsApp access to the founders. For AU operators where OTA distribution is central, where you need deep AU-specific GST and Xero reporting, or where you're running at enterprise scale, Rezdy, FareHarbor, Bokun, or Checkfront are better fits. The honest filter is whether OTAs drive most of your bookings — if yes, choose one of the AU-aligned platforms. If your business is direct-booking heavy, Kong is worth looking at.
What's the deal with Rezdy after the merger?
Rezdy was acquired by AKKR (a US private equity firm) in mid-2023 and merged with Checkfront and Regiondo. Since then, public information indicates the Australian office was significantly reduced, key roles relocated to the US, and product development has slowed. Operators making multi-year commitments to Rezdy today are tied to AKKR's strategic direction. The platform continues to work and operators continue to use it successfully, but the strategic uncertainty is real and worth weighing.
What's FareHarbor's actual cost for an Australian operator?
FareHarbor charges $0 in subscription, but the 6% per-booking fee paid by your guests is real. On a $300 booking, your guest sees a $18 fee added at checkout. Walk-in bookings below your volume threshold are charged 6% to you. The website builder is $499 USD/mo. For most operators, the total cost ends up similar to or higher than a Rezdy subscription depending on your booking mix, even though FareHarbor appears "free" upfront.
Is Bokun really free?
Yes and no — and this is where most comparison articles get Bokun wrong. Bokun does have a free tier with no monthly subscription. But the free tier is designed for managing Viator and offline bookings only — it does NOT include online direct booking widgets. To take bookings on your own website, you need to upgrade to Bokun Start at $49 USD/mo + 1.5% per booking. If you sell purely via Viator and handle everything else manually, the free tier covers it. If you run a direct booking funnel from your own website, Bokun's effective entry price is $49/mo, not free.
Are Rezdy and Checkfront the same product now?
No — they remain distinct products with distinct interfaces and pricing models, even though they're part of the same combined entity under AKKR ownership. Rezdy has a tiered subscription plus per-booking model; Checkfront has a single plan plus 3% online-only model. The shared ownership matters for roadmap decisions but doesn't currently affect day-to-day product experience.
Is Kong reliable enough for production tour operations?
Kong's engineering is led by Zack Ng, who spent 5+ years as a software engineer at Atlassian before we co-founded the company. The infrastructure, deployment practices, and monitoring patterns come directly from that environment. Since launch, Kong has had no significant downtime affecting bookings or payments. This is the question I'd want answered if I were evaluating a newer platform — and the honest position is that Kong is engineered with the same reliability standards as the big platforms, just without the legacy code baggage and merger-period instability some of them are currently working through.
Is there a tour operator app I can run my business from?
All platforms on this list have mobile apps or mobile-responsive operator dashboards. FareHarbor's mobile experience is generally considered best-in-class. Rezdy and Checkfront have functional but less polished mobile experiences. Bokun's mobile app handles core operator tasks. Kong has a native mobile app built specifically for operators running tours from their phone. If running your business from mobile is critical (and for many small AU tour operators, it is), this is worth testing during the trial period of any platform you're evaluating.
Will Kong eventually serve Australian operators directly?
Kong is built for APAC, which includes Australia — so AU operators who fit Kong's strengths (direct-booking heavy, modern UX, founder-led support, want the cheapest operator-cost) are welcome to use the platform today. The market matters to me personally — I spent my entire career in it before moving back to Malaysia. Our current operator base is concentrated in Malaysia, and the AU-specific investments (deeper Xero integration, GST reporting depth, AU reseller connections) sit behind features we're building for our existing markets. As AU demand grows, those AU-specific features become worth prioritizing.
One last honest thing
The point of this article is helping you choose correctly, not winning every comparison. If you're an Australian operator and Rezdy, FareHarbor, Bokun, or Checkfront is the right answer for you — go set up the platform that fits your business.
Six years working with Australian tour operators means I've seen this decision from every angle — operator size, distribution mix, growth stage, the lot. If you want to talk it through, message me directly on WhatsApp. I'm happy to help even if you end up on a competitor.
