Comparison

HomeExchange vs Keycafe

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

Head to head
About

HomeExchange

Discover a global community for home and apartment exchanges, offering an economical and comfortable way to travel. Connect with members, find accommodations, and manage your exchanges with ease using innovative features and strong guarantees.

Highlights
  • Search available homes
  • Live chat with members
  • Post home listings
  • Add photos directly
  • Integrated messaging
  • Favorite listings
  • Access exchange information
Features
Read full description

HomeExchange is the world leader in home and apartment exchanges with a community of over 250,000 members in 155 countries. The site allows members to find an economical and comfortable accommodation solution to go on vacation with ease thanks to the innovative GuestPoints system and with complete peace of mind thanks to strong guarantees that protect your exchanges and your home. Save time and do more with the HomeExchange mobile app: search available homes, live chat with HomeExchange members, add images of your home directly from your phone. Download the HomeExchange app now! Six tips for using the app: 1. Register for free, complete your profile, and post your accommodation 2. Subscribe to the annual membership to access all the features and benefits 3. Specify the destinations of your choice and add the houses and apartments to your favorites list 4. Contact other members through our integrated messaging system to plan your next trip 5. Finalize your exchange by agreeing with your exchange partners 6. Leave with peace of mind and access all the information about your exchange location through the application Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @homeexchangecom And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeexchangecom/

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!

Screenshots

HomeExchange4 screens
Keycafe4 screens

Verdict

The call

HomeExchange and Keycafe both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 74% of HomeExchange's written reviews are positive against 28% of Keycafe's. HomeExchange also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (3.6K vs 386). Keycafe's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 — 4.8 for HomeExchange against 4.7 for Keycafe. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HomeExchange has 3.6K ratings behind it against 386, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of HomeExchange's written reviews are positive against 28% of Keycafe's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HomeExchange ships an update every 8 days, Keycafe every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
HomeExchange versus Keycafe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHomeExchangeKeycafe
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.6K ratings) — better4.7 (386 ratings)
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews — better28.2% of reviews
Number of ratings3.6K — better386
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size123 MB7 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperGuestToGuestKeycafe Inc.

Customer experience

HomeExchange

All ratings3,559 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral0.8%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews823 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral4.4%
Negative21.7%

Keycafe

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

User reviews

HomeExchange

From 3.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Great way to travel and live like a local
  • 👍 Easy to use app and platform
  • 🤝 Wonderful community and trust-based exchanges
  • 💰 Cost-effective way to travel
  • 🌍 Lots of locations and homes to choose from

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with frequent crashes and glitches
  • 🔍 Difficult to search and find available homes
  • 💬 Poor communication and customer support
  • 🗓️ Calendars and availability not always up-to-date
  • 🤷‍♀️ Guest points system not well-received

Keycafe

From 386 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

Bugs and requests

HomeExchange

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App freezes and crashes frequently
  • Incorrect home location information
  • Inability to update profile details
  • Notifications and messaging issues
  • Syncing problems between app and website

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved search and filtering options
  • Better organization of messages and exchanges
  • Ability to translate home descriptions
  • Calendar sync and availability management tools
  • Enhanced mobile app experience, including iPad support

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

In-app purchases

None

HomeExchange

No in-app purchases

None

Keycafe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HomeExchange free?
HomeExchange is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Keycafe free?
Keycafe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HomeExchange or Keycafe?
HomeExchange is rated higher. HomeExchange averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.6K ratings, while Keycafe averages 4.7 from 386 ratings.
Do HomeExchange or Keycafe have ads?
Both HomeExchange and Keycafe show ads.
Which is updated more often, HomeExchange or Keycafe?
HomeExchange ships an update every 8 days, and Keycafe every 6 months. Most recently, HomeExchange was updated on November 9, 2026 and Keycafe on November 6, 2026.

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