With the launch of short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb, the entire concept of property investments has been redefined. And with the growing popularity of short-term or vacation rentals came the rise of rental analytics tools and platforms – like AirDNA. However, you can’t overlook the prices and features of some competitors, either. That’s the thing:
If you wish to invest in short-term rental properties, you’ll first have to look into some Airbnb data; that’s the only way to ensure that you’re making profitable moves.
Platforms such as AirDNA – and, as you’re about to find out, AirDNA alternatives – can help you with that. That’s why today, we’ll be looking at several Airbnb analytics platforms to see how they compare features- and pricing-wise – and answering some questions that will help you pin down the right tool.
Let’s get started!
What Is AirDNA?
To start the topic right, you’ll need to be 100% familiar with what AirDNA is.
AirDNA is a tool that provides comprehensive and accurate rental data on any property in the world.
This analytics platform is useful because it can help everyone – from vacation rental hosts to property managers – get to know each other and navigate their respective markets better.
In simpler terms, it’s like legally spying on your competition.
It’s no surprise that AirDNA holds the title of one of the leading platforms for short-term rental intelligence. It allows you to gather data on the market’s performance, optimize your pricing strategy, and use tools to check the investment potential of properties in your area.
And trust us; gathering insight is crucial when you’re looking to invest in real estate and grow your short-term rental business.
A Change In The Features?
Over the last couple of years (6 to be precise), AirDNA has made a significant change to its features, so let’s go through them quickly.
First, there’s the Overview Page.
As the name suggests, the Overview Page lists the most important metrics for your market. Specifically, you have the chance to review the Average Daily Rate, Occupancy, Revenue, Demand & Supply.
You also have “Market Grade” in the corner, which rates the marketplace 1-100. The good thing is that you can change the ratings based on what you want to see.
Next, we would like to mention one significant segment:
Seasonality.
This feature is essential for hosts and short-term rental managers because they can see the best month for revenue. For example, AirDNA can show that it was July and show accurate statistics for that month during the summer.
That can help you maximize your profits – and it’s something many AirDNA alternatives are missing.
Is The Data Accurate?
Yes.
The data’s not only accurate but all-encompassing, as well. AirDNA collects data from about 4 million rentals. This information is also gathered from their partnerships with vacation and short-term rental managers nationwide.
Speaking of accuracy, it is essential to mention that the information is updated the first week of every month – which is expected from online platforms of this nature. That way, hosts and property managers have a realistic insight into the market situation at any given moment.
That said, there’s a difference in how AirDNA and Mashvisor obtain average values – and in this department, Mashvisor comes out on top as the more accurate. Mashvisor’s tool relies on medians and verified Airbnb listings – eliminating outliers – and pulls data directly from the MLS.
AirDNA Pricing
If you came here hoping to find free AirDNA alternatives, unfortunately – there are none. On the contrary, many competitors are known to ramp up their prices. In the best-case scenario, you’ll get a free trial that lets you get a feel of the platform before officially choosing it.
That’s one of the main reasons real estate investors should be careful when selecting a suitable Airbnb research tool.
The one thing that might be a problem for someone new to the real estate market is the fact that AirDNA charges MarketMinder based on the size of the market.
What does this mean?
Well, it means that you could end up paying a higher price just because you live in a more populated and larger metropolitan area.
Mashvisor Vs. AirDNA
Before we go through a list of AirDNA competitors, let’s take a brief look at our own tool – Mashivor – and see how it’s similar to and different from, AirDNA.
Mashivor is a data analysis platform that aims to help real estate investors discover the best property options and ensure a high return on their investments. Since the tool applies to both long-term equity and short-term rental property market, investors are not limited in any way.
Mashivor’s software is focused on meeting the needs of real estate investors by providing a range of in-depth market data – and the tools needed to analyze it.
Here’s a brief overview of what you can expect if you decide to stay on our platform:
- Optimization of your rental property strategy and income
- Following and evaluating market performance and growth
- Discovering new investment opportunities, including undervalued properties
- Estimating how much value a property might generate
As we’ve already mentioned, AirDNA specializes in vacation rental data. This tool focuses on the short-term rental industry, offering competitive insights, interactive dashboards, and custom reporting, covering a vast amount of rentals.
Unlike Mashivor – which specializes in investment opportunities – AirDNA focuses primarily on vacation rental investors who want to understand, analyze, and keep up with the current trends in the short-term rental industry and focus on increasing their revenue.
As for the features, Mashvisor’s users can rely on:
- Two tools for investment property research (Property Finder and Search Engine)
- Rental property analysis
- Investment payback balance period
- Neighborhood analytics page
- Rental comps and reports
- Heat Map tool (color-coded performance-based overlay)
- Financing/Mortgage calculator
AirDNA Alternatives You Should Consider
It’s time to look at some leading tools you can find on your potential AirDNA alternatives list once you start your search.
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Alltherooms Analytics
Alltherooms is one of the newer AirDNA competitors out there. Like others, the platform’s main goal is to help hosts and property managers set their prices close to their competition and increase revenue.
What sets Alltherooms apart from other AirDNA competitors is that it provides the user with specific and relative information on a particular market – the one in which you operate, that is.
Alltherooms uses a very affordable monthly charge, including a one-time setup fee. It also has a free trial, which is a relief for someone who might change their mind.
Basically, you can cancel your monthly subscription at any given moment.
There’s one more significant difference between Alltherooms and AirDNA:
While Alltherooms is based on an overview, AirDNA allows you to dive into specific info and marketplaces.
If you don’t need to get into the nitty-gritty details and are looking for a general overview of the short-term rental market or a way to monitor your direct competitors, Alltherooms’ tool should be more than enough.
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Wheelhouse
The next alternative we’re going to look at is Wheelhouse.
Fundamentally, this is one of the more sophisticated automated pricing tools that helps hosts predict market trends by using local Airbnb market data.
It’s characterized by a handful of features that can be customized according to your personal needs. Used properly and in a timely manner, this tool can help property managers increase their revenue by as much as 20%.
Being automated makes it extremely easy to use. The platform is user-friendly, and you can quickly get accustomed to it – even if you haven’t had much experience with these kinds of tools.
One of Wheelhouse’s interesting features is the so-called Rev. Score that essentially tracks performance by comparing expected income to the listing’s actual revenue and grading it.
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Skuuudle
Next, we have Skuuudle.
Similar to the previous two options, this is a competitive intelligence tool that helps you further evaluate and research competitor data. It gathers information from online marketplaces in your community – or industry leaders – to help you manage your pricing.
Skuuudle has a long list of available features, including:
- Competitor intelligence
- Data evaluation and visualization
- Price management
- Reporting and statistics
- Cost analysis
- Product catalog
We can agree that this is one of the more developed tools based on collecting information and providing the user with a comprehensive insight into the marketplace.
Unfortunately, unlike some other AirDNA alternatives, Skuuudle doesn’t provide a free trial and can be considered expensive for property managers that are just entering the market.
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DPGO
DPGO is an AI-driven software that helps you analyze more than 200 market points.
This dynamic Airbnb research tool is specifically designed for Airbnb hosts, short-term rental managers, and vacation rental owners that want to coordinate their prices according to their competition.
One great thing about this tool is that it gives you a 30-day free trial. You can cancel anytime if the features do not suit you.
And since we’re mentioning DPGO’s features, let’s go through some of the most important ones.
Users can rely on the following features when considering DPGO:
- Personal Strategy – You have the option to expand DPGO’s AI recommendations by incorporating your personal strategy preferences. There are more than 30 available settings.
- Real-Time Market Data – DPGO specializes in analyzing the local market data. It’s not about covering the “entire globe.” Instead, you get personalized insights for your specific area. DPGO even shares some market data for free, too.
- Growth Performance – You have the chance to constantly monitor the performance of a single listing – or your entire portfolio – and improve the success of your listings.
- Yield Management – The most crucial feature of all these AirDNA alternatives is that they allow you to keep track of local market trends. That’s what Yield Management does, too.
The one thing that might push someone away from using this dynamic pricing tool is that it’s not exactly the tool that can help real estate investors.
That’s Mashivor’s specialty.
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Smartbnb
The last alternative we’ll mention here is Smartbnb.
Similar to others, this is an automated Airbnb research tool for hosts and property managers. It’s designed to automate much of the day-to-day operations, handling things like sending automated messages, cleaner reminders, and reviews.
It also allows you to analyze different operational metrics and see how your Airbnb business is doing.
Since most of it is automated, it’s supposed to reduce the work of the hosts by almost 90%. But is it that effective?
It depends. It’s easy to use and works great for Airbnb hosts looking to run communications and other tasks at scale.
However, it doesn’t offer tiered pricing as most other AirDNA alternatives. And to add to it, it’s not the cheapest tool of its kind on the market, either.
Summing Up
Today’s real estate investors are met with a wide range of opportunities. However, they differ considerably in what they offer, their most notable advantages and disadvantages – and their pricing.
We can conclude with certainty that not everyone is after the same goal, but what unites the different options that we’ve listed above is the possibility of increasing your revenue by using various methods – from in-depth data analysis to automating day-to-day operations.
Airbnb hosts and property managers can utilize a range of AirDNA alternatives – like DPGO, Skuuudle, Alltherooms, Wheelhouse, and Smartbnb. Each Airbnb research tool has a unique set of features – and advantages – and should be carefully reviewed before making up your mind.
Nuance is the name of the game, though.
And when it comes to having access to detailed data, highly granular analysis, and shaping real estate market trends – rather than merely abiding by them – Mashvisor’s tool still comes out on top.
It allows investors to analyze both short-term and traditional, long-term rentals and discover highly profitable properties – and does so more affordably.
That gives Mashvisor an edge over other AirDNA alternatives!
With that said, we’d like to invite you to join us by signing up for our Mashivor free trial and let us assist you in expanding your investment portfolio!
Take this chance and unlock real-time information in popular real estate areas near you!
