Comparison

Keycafe vs Guesty

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

Head to head
About

Keycafe

This app facilitates secure key management for various organizations and individuals. It integrates with smart lockboxes to control access, track usage, and verify users in real-time. It's useful for businesses needing to grant temporary access and for individuals participating in the sharing economy.

Highlights
  • Control access to keys by minute
  • Provide anytime access to staff/guests
  • Complete access history tracking
  • Real-time photo ID verification
  • Manage fleets of keys
  • Utilize public smart lockbox network
Features
Read full description

Keycafe is a key management system. Ideal to manage fleets of keys for property management, auto dealerships, car rental agencies, trucking companies, facilities, universities, hospitals, municipalities, commercial and retail offices. This app works with an IOT connected key lockbox called a Keycafe SmartBox. You can purchase your own SmartBox or use our publicly distributed SmartBoxes in 50 cities around the world. - Control who has access to your keys down to the minute - Provide anytime access to your staff, contractors and guests - Complete history of who accessed your keys - Never lose track of keys again - Real-time photo ID verification The distributed network of public locations is ideal for busy urbanites participating in the on-demand economy for cleaning, dog walking, package delivery, Home services, property management and real estate. As well as for the sharing economy, for Airbnb and Guesty. Who do you need to let in? The service is currently available in the following cities: New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Victoria, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Paris, Lyon, Marseille, London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Rome, Florence, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Nagasaki, Miami, Washington DC, Koloa, Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Oakland, Portland, Austin, Sydney, Melbourne. More cities coming soon. Sign up on our site at www.keycafe.com/locations to be notified when we launch a location near you!

About

Guesty

Manage your hospitality business efficiently from your mobile device. This app provides a unified inbox for guest messages, task management for operations, and oversight of reservations. It offers performance highlights and areas needing attention on the homepage.

Highlights
  • Performance highlights
  • Unified guest message inbox
  • Operations and task management
  • Reservation monitoring and modification
  • Team management
Features
Read full description

Never miss a beat with the power of Guesty in the palm of your hand. The new Guesty app is your ultimate partner in managing your hospitality business. The Guesty app empowers you to: - Put your priorities first: Access performance highlights and areas requiring attention directly on the homepage - Engage with ease: View and respond to all guest messages directly from one unified inbox - Master operations on the go: From maintenance tasks to team management, take command of your operations - Stay on top of reservations: Modify and monitor your bookings effortlessly, ensuring seamless oversight of reservations Put the most advanced technology to work for you. Manage, automate, and streamline your business on the go – all within one powerful app.

Screenshots

Keycafe4 screens
Guesty4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Keycafe at 4.7 against Guesty's 4.2. Keycafe also leads on review sentiment (28% vs 17%) and device support (3 vs 1). Guesty's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 6 months). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Keycafe holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 330 and 558 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of Keycafe's written reviews are positive against 17% of Guesty's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Keycafe ships an update every 6 months, Guesty weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Keycafe versus Guesty: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKeycafeGuesty
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (330 ratings) — better4.2 (558 ratings)
Positive reviews28.2% of reviews — better17.2% of reviews
Number of ratings330558 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS10.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB89 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKeycafe Inc.Guesty

Customer experience

Keycafe

All ratings330 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral1.2%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive28.2%
Neutral5.1%
Negative66.7%

Guesty

All ratings558 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral2.5%
Negative19.7%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive17.2%
Neutral8.6%
Negative74.1%

User reviews

Keycafe

From 330 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great idea for service
  • 👍 Works flawlessly sometimes
  • 👍 Good for contactless key exchange
  • 👍 Simplifies key exchanges

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Clunky auto-refill
  • 🐛 Impossible to connect/authenticate
  • 💰 Very expensive
  • 👎 Horrendous user interface
  • 👎 System is unreliable

Guesty

From 558 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Stable and easy to use
  • 💡 Great for managing short-term rentals
  • 👍 Useful calendar and messaging features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited functionality in mobile app
  • 🕰️ Unreliable notifications and sync issues
  • 🔒 Poor customer support and communication

Bugs and requests

Keycafe

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Bug to authenticate when opening account
  • System offline frequently
  • Touchscreen unresponsive
  • Codes not working
  • Box disconnected multiple times
Show 8 more
  • Fob not scanning
  • App doesn't import key from host
  • App doesn't open/stuck on loading screen
  • App not working most of the time
  • 24/7 chat link not working
  • Customer service calls on hold indefinitely
  • App doesn't load on iOS
  • Locker would not scan fob when returning

Requested features

7 requests
  • Option to turn off auto-refill
  • Improve app interface design
  • Provide better instructions for setup
  • Allow offline functionality for codes
  • Improve customer support responsiveness
Show 2 more
  • Clarify payment terms and conditions
  • Allow guests to see PIN without app download

Guesty

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Calendar and check-in/out dates not syncing correctly
  • Repeated login issues and password reset problems
  • Inability to perform key actions like declining reservations
  • Constant app crashes and freezes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved mobile app with more functionality
  • Ability to manage tasks and checklists on the go
  • Better integration with other rental platforms
  • More customization options for pricing and policies

In-app purchases

None

Keycafe

No in-app purchases

None

Guesty

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Keycafe free?
Keycafe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Guesty free?
Guesty is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Keycafe or Guesty?
Keycafe is rated higher. Keycafe averages 4.7 out of 5 from 330 ratings, while Guesty averages 4.2 from 558 ratings.
Do Keycafe or Guesty have ads?
Keycafe shows ads; Guesty does not.
Which is updated more often, Keycafe or Guesty?
Keycafe ships an update every 6 months, and Guesty weekly. Most recently, Keycafe was updated on September 27, 2026 and Guesty on September 26, 2026.

Other comparisons