Comparison

I Prefer vs Sonesta

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

I Prefer

Explore and book stays at over 650 unique hotels worldwide. Manage your rewards account, access exclusive rates, and earn points on eligible stays. Enjoy benefits like early check-in and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Highlights
  • Discover and book hotels
  • Manage member account
  • View reservations and points
  • Redeem points for rewards
  • Save favorite destinations
  • Access exclusive rates and offers
Features
Read full description

The World Awaits Your next rewarding trip starts here. With the official I Prefer Hotel Rewards app, you can easily explore and book stays at more than 650 distinctive hotels and resorts around the world, manage your Member account, and access exclusive rates and offers. ‌ Features Discover and book hotels with great rates and exclusive offers View upcoming reservations, past stays, and points activity Redeem points for rewards, including free nights and more Manage your Member account and personal information Save your favorite destination for yourself or to share with friends Not a Member of I Prefer Hotel Rewards? Enroll free today to enjoy Members-only hotel offers and instant travel benefits including: Points Earned on Eligible Stays Early Check-in & Late Check-out Exclusive Rates & Offers Complimentary Wi-Fi Enhanced Room Upgrades

About

Sonesta

Discover a collection of hotels and resorts across the U.S. and globally, offering spacious rooms for business, family vacations, or extended stays. Enjoy health and safety verified accommodations, award-winning properties, and a rewards program for exclusive member benefits and discounts.

Highlights
  • Book hotel rooms and suites
  • Extended-stay options
  • Health and safety verified
  • Tripadvisor award-winning hotels
  • Guest rewards program
  • Meetings and events planning
  • Direct booking discounts
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Tailored-to-You Travel Distinct hotels and resorts. Spacious rooms ideal for extended-stay travel. Across the U.S. and in exciting destinations around the world, Sonesta has hotel rooms and suites for all the ways you travel.  Book hotel rooms and suites for business trips, family vacations and extended stay travel at Sonesta, the go-to family of hotel brands that welcomes the world. Whether you’re looking for family vacation hotels, the best resorts for girlfriend getaways, hotels with meeting rooms—or simply a friendly face to welcome you after a long day—you’ll find what you need at Sonesta, one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the U.S. Stay Safe with Sonesta Guest health and safety is our number one priority. That’s why Sonesta’s new health and cleanliness program is Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED with Forbes Travel Guide. Tripadvisor Awards We win—you win. The 2021 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards recognizes hotels with the best reviews—and 58 of those awards went to Sonesta hotels. Earn Free Nights & Member Perks Savings and special benefits—they’re all yours. Join Sonesta Travel Pass, our guest rewards program, for free today. You’ll travel with the best rates and all the little extras that make a stay amazing. Sonesta Travel Pass members enjoy a 5% discount when booking direct. Always. No strings attached. Not a member? Join today and start saving. Meetings & Events Work meetings. Custom events. Weddings, reunions, and friends getaways. At Sonesta, we’re all about bringing your vision to life—and taking care of all those little details that make an event unforgettable. Let’s start planning. Earn More with the Sonesta World Mastercard The Sonesta World Mastercard gives you the chance to earn up to 95,000 bonus points—that’s 6 free nights—along with upgrades, dining discounts and more. Apply now and start earning points towards your travel. (Conditions apply)

Screenshots

I Prefer4 screens
Sonesta4 screens

Verdict

The call

I Prefer and Sonesta both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 38% of Sonesta's written reviews are positive against 14% of I Prefer's. I Prefer's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for I Prefer against 4.8 for Sonesta. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.3K and 3.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 14% of I Prefer's written reviews are positive against 38% of Sonesta's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
I Prefer versus Sonesta: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterI PreferSonesta
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.3K ratings)4.8 (3.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews13.6% of reviews37.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.3K — better3.2K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPreferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.Sonesta International Hotels Corporation

Customer experience

I Prefer

All ratings2,449 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral1.8%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews132 reviews
Positive13.6%
Neutral5.3%
Negative81.1%

Sonesta

All ratings3,182 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive37.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative56.3%

User reviews

I Prefer

From 4.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Beautiful view
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 🚀 Searching for hotels is now more intuitive and fast
  • 💡 Love the options of nights with points and nights with points + cash

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Difficult to navigate
  • 🐛 Not user friendly
  • 🐛 Glitchy
  • 🐛 Crashes upon opening
  • 🐛 Doesn't show points or past stays

Sonesta

From 3.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤑 Great Prices
  • 👍 Clean Hotels
  • 👍 Friendly and Helpful Staff
  • 👍 Comfortable Rooms
  • 👍 Convenient Locations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy App
  • 🐛 Glitches and Crashes
  • 🚫 Poor Customer Service
  • 🚫 Lack of Functionality
  • 🚫 Difficult to Book Rooms

Bugs and requests

I Prefer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues
  • Constant crashes
  • Doesn't show upcoming stays
  • Doesn't sync with hotel stays

Requested features

3 requests
  • Integrate with Apple Wallet
  • Add mobile check-in functionality
  • Improve points tracking and management

Sonesta

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App Freezes and Crashes
  • Blank Screens When Booking
  • Issues Accessing Past Reservations
  • Problems Redeeming Points

Requested features

3 requests
  • Option to Book Adjoining Rooms
  • Better Room Photos
  • Improved Synchronization Across Devices

In-app purchases

None

I Prefer

No in-app purchases

None

Sonesta

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is I Prefer free?
I Prefer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sonesta free?
Sonesta is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, I Prefer or Sonesta?
Sonesta is rated higher. I Prefer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.3K ratings, while Sonesta averages 4.8 from 3.2K ratings.
Do I Prefer or Sonesta have ads?
Neither I Prefer nor Sonesta shows ads.
Which is updated more often, I Prefer or Sonesta?
I Prefer ships an update every 2 months, and Sonesta every 2 months. Most recently, I Prefer was updated on October 29, 2026 and Sonesta on October 27, 2026.

Other comparisons