Bokun vs FareHarbor 2026: Fees, Who Pays, OTA Connections
CEO & Founder
Tour operator since 2012. Runs tours in Kraków, Warsaw and Gdańsk with the Todo.travel group, 100,000+ guests per year.
Bokun vs FareHarbor is a comparison of who pays the booking fee and which sales attract it. Bokun combines a subscription with fees on eligible bookings. FareHarbor advertises a guest-funded checkout model without a monthly software charge. Your channel mix and guest checkout price determine the cost to your business.
Official prices and terms were checked in October 2026. The examples below separate operator costs from guest-paid fees. If you are still sorting out which jobs belong to each system, read the tour operator software guide.
Bokun vs FareHarbor at a Glance
Each cell comes from the vendor's pricing page, help center or terms. Card processing and tax are extra unless the row says otherwise. The worked examples use US dollars.
| Bokun | FareHarbor | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | FREE; START $49; PLUS $149; PREMIUM $499 | No monthly software fee in advertised standard offer |
| Booking fee | 1.5% / 1.25% / 1% on applicable bookings | 6% in help examples; confirm the rate and scope in your agreement |
| Who pays | Operator; guest pass-through available on paid plans | Guest in standard model; operator in commission model |
| Viator | 0% on standard plans; Channel Manager differs | 2% on eligible API bookings, paid by operator |
| Offline | No Bokun booking fee | Direct-booking fee can apply, including qualifying low-volume accounts |
| Processing | Separate payment provider | Facilitated payments; processing charged to operator |
| Users | FREE 1; START 5; PLUS 10; PREMIUM unlimited | Confirm access requirements in your quote |
Both sell tours and manage availability. Compare the work your team performs: creating a departure, updating capacity and handling a cancellation. A cheaper fee model is useful only if the system also supports your products and sales channels.
Bokun and FareHarbor Pricing: Two Different Models
Bokun: a plan plus a percentage
START costs $49 monthly plus 1.5%, PLUS $149 plus 1.25%, and PREMIUM $499 plus 1% on applicable bookings. FREE manages Viator and manual bookings. Standard plans add no Bokun booking fee to Viator or offline sales. The separate Channel Manager publishes 0.5% to 1.5% on Viator.
Paid plans allow fee pass-through. Confirm its scope: Bokun's calculator passes direct-online fees to guests while keeping reseller fees with the operator. Its terms invoice by booking date; cancellation after invoicing does not remove the charge. Under Bókun Pay, subsequent refunds or cancellations do not return service fees. The Bokun pricing guide covers the plan calculation.
FareHarbor: guest fee or operator commission
FareHarbor advertises no monthly software or setup fee. Its help-center examples use a 6% booking fee; treat that as an example until your agreement confirms the rate. Total-price display can include fees upfront. Compare what guests pay, not just the starting tour price.
Its October 2024 policy sets 6% on direct bookings for qualifying established accounts with less than $35,000 in online direct sales in the previous twelve months. The help page specifies at least twelve months live at the annual October 1 review and also lists the original rollout condition of 365 days on the system by October 3, 2024. Confirm eligibility. The rule covers website, Dashboard, Dock Staff mode and payment links; OTA and affiliate bookings are excluded.
FareHarbor also offers an operator-paid commission model, with the rate supplied separately. The guest pays one activity price. Customer terms describe booking fees as non-refundable, subject to exceptions or FareHarbor's discretion. Provider terms retain the full booking fee on partial refunds. Under the commission model, they permit a proportional commission refund; they do not guarantee it. See the FareHarbor pricing guide.
OTA and Reseller Connectivity: Bokun vs FareHarbor
Bokun advertises access to 2,600+ OTAs and resellers. FareHarbor lists over 250 OTA and travel platform API partners and 500+ FHDN affiliates. These are different network measures, not a feature score. Ask for the connections you need, including Viator and GetYourGuide, and test availability updates for your products.
FareHarbor's help center specifies 2% on eligible API bookings, with exclusions including Guam and French Polynesia, manually entered bookings and FHDN. The base is what the guest paid the affiliate, including commission and taxes. This software fee is separate from the OTA's own commission.
API invoicing uses the previous month's completed bookings by availability date. Invoices appear by the fifth day and charges are taken on the sixth. Cancellations after month-end remain charged for that month. The OTA commission guide helps separate distribution costs from booking-system charges.
Payments, Payouts and Contract Terms
Bokun connects to payment providers such as Stripe and PayPal, with availability depending on country. FareHarbor facilitates payments through partners named in its terms, including Stripe, Adyen and PayPal. Ask for processing and refund charges in either case; the software booking percentage is not a complete payment quote.
FareHarbor advertises next-day or scheduled payouts. Its provider terms also reserve the right to delay payouts until the activity is delivered. Confirm what applies to your account before promising a payment date to guides or suppliers. For Bokun, check your payment provider's payout arrangement.
Bokun renews monthly in advance; cancellation notice through the account is required at least two US business days before renewal. FareHarbor's standard provider terms run indefinitely and allow termination on fifteen days' written notice. Review your signed agreement and arrange continued service for future bookings before switching.
Bokun or FareHarbor: a Worked Cost Example at Two Volumes
These are our own assumptions, not a study or a vendor quote. We exclude card processing, taxes, refunds and OTA commissions. Bokun fees are absorbed by the operator. FareHarbor's 6% is added to the direct activity price and paid by guests; all modelled OTA bookings qualify for its 2% API fee.
- Small: 600 bookings at $50, giving $30,000 in annual activity value.
- Larger: 8,000 bookings at $80, giving $640,000.
- Same mix: 50% website, 10% phone or walk-in entered by staff, 25% Viator and 15% other OTAs. OTA values equal the guest's payment to the OTA.
Assume the small account meets every tenure and sales condition of the $35,000 policy. Its staff-entered share is Dashboard bookings, so the special Dock cash treatment does not affect this example. The larger account's offline fee is shown as an alternative quote assumption, not an automatic consequence of the low-volume rule.
| A year, platform fees only | Small ($30,000) | Larger ($640,000) |
|---|---|---|
| Bokun subscription (you pay) | $588 (Start) | $588 (Start) or $1,788 (Plus) |
| Bokun booking fee (operator absorbs) | $292.50 | $6,240 (Start) or $5,200 (Plus) |
| Bokun operator total | $880.50 | $6,828 (Start) or $6,988 (Plus) |
| FareHarbor booking fee (the guest, by default) | $1,080 | $19,200, up to $23,040 if dashboard bookings carry it |
| FareHarbor API fee (you pay) | $240 | $5,120 |
| FareHarbor combined operator + guest total | $1,320 | $24,320 to $28,160 |
How the small numbers are built: Bokun Start is $49 × 12 = $588, plus 1.5% of $19,500 (website $15,000 and other OTAs $4,500) = $292.50. FareHarbor's booking fee is 6% of $18,000 (website and staff bookings) = $1,080, and its API fee is 2% of the $12,000 that came through OTAs = $240.
The small example costs the Bokun operator $880.50. FareHarbor's operator pays $240 while guests pay $1,080. The combined $1,320 is not the operator's invoice. Absorbing the guest fee changes the result; if the final guest price must remain fixed, recalculate the activity price and fee base rather than simply subtracting the table's guest fee from your margin.
For the larger operator, START totals $6,828 and PLUS $6,988. PLUS adds $1,200 in annual subscription and saves 0.25 percentage points, so fee-only break-even is $480,000 in eligible annual sales. This example has $416,000; START is $160 cheaper. Extra user access or features may still justify PLUS.
Recalculate with your actual channel values and the same guest-price assumption for both systems. For a wider shortlist, use the booking engine pricing comparison and FareHarbor alternatives.
Bokun or FareHarbor? A Decision Checklist for Tour Operators
Ask both vendors to price the same sales export. Keep the answers beside the quote:
- Which fees are paid by us, and which appear in the guest's total?
- Which OTA bookings qualify for an exemption or an API fee?
- Does our account meet every condition of FareHarbor's direct-booking policy?
- What processing charges, payout restrictions and refund rules apply?
- Which users and operational workflows does the quoted plan cover?
- What happens to future bookings and exports when we leave?
These checks belong in the annual budget, alongside the issues in booking software hidden fees. A lower monthly invoice can coexist with a higher price paid by guests.
Operations alongside either engine
Both vendors offer operational features. Test the workflow that causes your team trouble, such as following a guest conversation across channels or settling guide costs. Adding an operations platform should address a demonstrated gap in your current setup.
automate.travel works alongside Bokun and FareHarbor, receiving bookings automatically through their APIs. It is not a booking engine. One conversation per guest covers email, WhatsApp and phone calls, with OTA messages in the same inbox, linked to the booking. Scheduled templates send at configured stages; AI prepares a draft reply for a person to review and send.
Guests get trip details through one portal link without a login. For guide assignment you see each guide's availability and rate; the office decides who is asked or assigned, and the first guide to accept takes the tour. Finance tools show margin per tour, what each guide is owed and monthly OTA reconciliation.
Pricing is €1.50 per completed booking, falling by tier to €0.55 above 60,000 bookings a year. It charges for tours that ran; cancelled and refunded bookings cost €0. Compare that separate operations cost against the work it covers.
Hard rule
Separate the operator's invoice from guest-paid fees, then check the workflows each quote includes. Those are different buying decisions, and both affect the budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bokun vs FareHarbor: which one is cheaper?+
Compare operator costs separately from guest-paid fees. In our assumed small-business example, Bokun START costs the operator $880.50. FareHarbor costs the operator $240 in API fees, while guests pay $1,080. Neither figure includes processing or OTA commissions.
Who pays the booking fee on Bokun and FareHarbor?+
Bokun allows pass-through on any paid plan, but confirm which channels it covers. FareHarbor's standard checkout charges the guest; a separate commission model charges the operator. Compare the same guest checkout total before judging the effect on your margin.
Does Bokun charge fees on Viator bookings?+
Its standard plans add no Bokun fee to Viator reservations. The separate Channel Manager product is an exception, publishing a 0.5% to 1.5% fee on Viator. Viator's own commercial terms remain separate in either case.
Does FareHarbor charge for OTA bookings?+
Its help center publishes 2% on eligible API bookings, calculated on what the guest paid the affiliate, including commission and taxes. Exemptions apply. Manually entered bookings and FHDN bookings are among the exclusions; check your market and connection.
Do both systems connect to Viator and GetYourGuide?+
Both provide OTA connections. Ask each vendor to demonstrate the specific connection for your products and confirm its fee. A network's advertised size does not establish whether a particular product, country or booking flow is supported.
What is FareHarbor's $35,000 rule?+
The policy applies 6% to direct bookings for qualifying established accounts below $35,000 in online direct sales over the prior year. Turnover alone is insufficient: tenure and the annual eligibility review also matter. Confirm your status with FareHarbor.
Can I leave Bokun or FareHarbor at short notice?+
Bokun requires cancellation notice through the account at least two US business days before monthly renewal. FareHarbor's standard provider terms allow termination with fifteen days' written notice. Your signed agreement and the practical work of serving future bookings still need checking.
Can automate.travel work alongside either engine?+
Yes. Bookings arrive automatically from Bokun or FareHarbor. automate.travel handles guest conversations, assisted guide assignment and margin per tour alongside the engine. Check which workflows your current system already covers before adding another platform.
Sources
All pages read in October 2026. Vendor prices come only from each vendor's own pricing page, help center or terms. The cost example uses our own assumptions.
- Bokun pricing: plans and Channel Manager
- Bokun calculator: direct-online fee pass-through
- Bokun payment-provider options
- Bokun GetYourGuide connection
- Bokun terms: billing, refunds and cancellation
- FareHarbor API fee and invoice process
- FareHarbor October 2024 booking fee adjustment
- FareHarbor total-price display and fee examples
- FareHarbor provider terms and commission option
- FareHarbor customer terms: non-refundable fees
- FareHarbor payment and payout options
- FareHarbor affiliate and API partners
- FareHarbor OTA connection requests
- FareHarbor food-tour features and pricing model
Your booking engine handles the sale. What handles everything after?
automate.travel consolidates bookings, finances, team scheduling, and guest communication from Bókun, FareHarbor, and Ventrata, in one system.
