Short answer: Hostelz.com is a free hostel price-comparison and trip-planning site. It indexes hostels worldwide and pulls live prices from Hostelworld, Booking.com and direct hostel sites so you can see the cheapest option in one place â then it sends you off to book. Itâs not a booking platform itself. Lately itâs grown into more of a planning hub, with a destination finder, a budget planner, a booking tracker, a countries-visited map and ready-made solo itineraries.
Weâve been pointing readers toward Hostelz.com for years, usually with one line: âcompare there first, then book.â It does one boring-but-valuable job really well â it shows you the price of the same hostel across different booking sites, side by side, so you donât overpay.
But the site has quietly turned into something bigger than a price checker. So we sat down and actually used the new stuff properly. Hereâs the honest rundown â what Hostelz is, whatâs new, who itâs for, and where it falls short.
If you just want the booking-site comparison instead, we cover that in our guide to the best hostel booking sites.
@hostelgeeks đHOSTEL TIPđ We use Hostelz.com all the time and I would definitely recommend to anyone whoâs looking to book hostels to check out Hostelz.com đĽ°đ´ #hostelrecommendations #hotelrecommendations #southeastasia #southeastasiatravel #travelrecommendations #traveltips2023 #wheretostay #affordableaccomodation #hostelreview #hostelroom #hostelsafety #hostelroomtour #hosteltiktok #hostelhacks
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What Is Hostelz.com, Exactly?
Hostelz is a price-comparison site for hostels. Think of it the way youâd think of Skyscanner for flights or Trivago for hotels â except built specifically for budget travelers and dorm beds.
Two things make it different from the booking giants.
First, coverage. Most platforms only show you hostels that have availability with them for your dates. Hostelz indexes hostels regardless â so youâll often find places that simply donât appear on Hostelworld or Booking.com because that hostel didnât release inventory there. For a budget traveler, thatâs the whole point: you see more of whatâs actually out there.
Second, it compares. For a given hostel, it pulls live rates from the major platforms and the hostelâs own site, then shows you whoâs cheapest. You click through and book on whichever wins.
Hereâs the part people miss, and itâs worth being clear about: you donât book on Hostelz. Itâs a comparison site that hands you off to a booking site to finish the reservation. Thatâs a feature, not a flaw â but if youâre expecting to complete a booking without leaving the page, thatâs not how it works.
| Hostelz.com | |
|---|---|
| What it is | Hostel price comparison + trip-planning site |
| What itâs not | A booking platform â you book on the partner site |
| Coverage | Indexes hostels worldwide, including ones missing from other sites |
| Cost to use | Free |
| Compares prices from | Hostelworld, Booking.com, Hostelsclub, direct hostel sites |
| Best for | Finding the cheapest bed, finding hostels other sites hide, planning a trip |
| New planning tools | Where Should I Travel, Budget Planner, Booking Tracker, Countries Visited, Solo Itineraries |
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How Hostelz Works (the 30-Second Version)
- Search a destination.
- Browse the hostels â every one in that city, not just the ones with a deal that week.
- Open one you like, and youâll see the price across the different booking sites.
- Pick the cheapest, click through, book there.
Thereâs also a side-by-side comparison tool that lets you line up to three hostels next to each other â dorm sizes, ratings, amenities, prices â which is genuinely the fastest way to break a tie between places you canât decide on.
Hostelgeeks Tip: even when youâve already found âyourâ hostel on Hostelworld, paste its name into Hostelz before you book. Half the time the price is identical; the other half, the hostelâs own site or Booking.com is a few euros cheaper. Over a long trip those few euros add up to a free night.
The New Hostelz Features (and Whether Theyâre Actually Useful)
For a long time Hostelz was a one-trick site: compare prices, done. The recent updates push it toward being a planning tool youâd open before youâve even chosen a country. Hereâs whatâs new and how weâd actually use each one.
1. âWhere Should I Travel?â
This is the one for the chronically indecisive â and honestly, thatâs most of us at the start of a trip. Instead of staring at a world map, you tell it what youâre after (region, budget level, the kind of trip you want) and it points you toward destinations that fit.
It wonât replace a long evening of daydreaming over a map. But as a starting nudge â âokay, given my budget and that I want beaches and nightlife, where am I even looking?â â it does the job. Weâd treat it as a shortlist generator, then go deep on the two or three places that jump out.
2. Budget Planner
The honest truth about backpacking is that the bed is rarely what blows your budget â itâs the day-to-day. Food, transport, the âone more drink,â the spontaneous day trip.
The Budget Planner tries to give you a realistic picture of what a destination actually costs, so you can plan how long your money lasts rather than finding out the hard way in week two. For first-time backpackers especially, thatâs the difference between a trip that ends on schedule and one that ends at an ATM.
One more feature I really enjoy is the comparing of two countries by prices. See how much it cost to travel Italy vs Spain. You can compare any country you want.
Hostelgeeks Tip: whatever a planner tells you, pad it. Prices move, seasons swing, and âIâll cook in the hostel kitchen every nightâ is a promise nobody keeps past day three.
3. Track Your Bookings
If youâve ever stood outside a hostel at 11pm digging through three different confirmation emails to remember which platform you booked on, this oneâs for you.
The booking tracker keeps your reservations in one place â dates, addresses, the lot. On a multi-stop trip where youâve booked across Hostelworld, Booking.com and a hostelâs own site, having it all in a single view is the kind of small thing that quietly removes a lot of low-grade travel stress.
4. Track Every Country Youâve Visited
This is the fun, slightly addictive one. A map where you tick off the countries youâve been to and watch it fill in over the years.
Is it essential? No. Is it the kind of thing youâll happily lose ten minutes to and then send to a travel friend to compare? Absolutely. Itâs also a surprisingly motivating little nudge â nothing makes you want to book the next trip like seeing how much of the map is still blank.
Here is my profile on Hostelz. You can see the map, my favorite hostels, countries.
5. Solo Travel Itineraries
Ready-made routes built with solo travelers in mind. For a first solo trip, the hardest part is often just sequencing it â which cities, in what order, how many nights, how to get between them without a 14-hour bus you didnât see coming.
These itineraries hand you a sensible skeleton you can then bend to your own pace. Weâd never follow any pre-made route to the letter (the best nights on the road are the ones you didnât plan), but as a backbone for someone heading out alone for the first time, it takes the edge off the blank page.
Our team from Hostelgeeks is also allowed to create my own itineraries with Hostelz. So we share here a bunch of trips and itineraries we took. You can check out this 2-months itinerary in Europe by Nour. And here is my interrail itinerary for Europe.
Who Hostelz Is Best For
Based on how we actually use it:
- Anyone who hates overpaying â the core price comparison is the reason to bookmark it.
- Long-trip backpackers â the booking tracker and budget planner earn their keep when youâve got eight stops, not one.
- First-time solo travelers â the itineraries and âwhere should I travelâ tools lower the barrier to actually going.
- Trip daydreamers â the countries map and destination finder are made for the planning-is-half-the-fun crowd.
The Honest Downsides
No tool is perfect, and a guide that pretends otherwise isnât worth much.
You still leave to book. Hostelz compares and then hands you off. If a one-click, never-leave-the-page booking is what you want, youâll book direct on Hostelworld or Booking.com instead â youâll just risk leaving money on the table.
Prices are only as fresh as the feeds. Comparison sites pull live data, but rates and availability move fast in high season. Always sanity-check the final price on the booking site before you confirm. In my experience â and I am not kidding â the prices from Hostelz are more fresh and up to date than the ones from Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and Kayak.
I once asked them how they do this. Obviously, they will not share the secrets with us, but they basically get the latest data with a max of 10 minutes delay.
The new tools are helpers, not oracles. A budget planner is a starting estimate, not a guarantee. An itinerary is a suggestion, not gospel. Treat them as a head start, then use your own judgment.
None of that is a dealbreaker. Itâs just the honest shape of what a comparison-and-planning site is: brilliant for research and price, not a replacement for the booking platforms themselves.
Hostelz vs Hostelworld vs Booking.com
People ask us to pick one. Wrong question â they do different jobs.
Hostelz is where you research and compare. Start here to see every hostel and the cheapest price.
Hostelworld is the biggest hostel-specific booking platform, and its appâs social features (seeing who else is staying, messaging them before you arrive) are genuinely great for solo travelers.
Booking.com is strongest for private rooms in hostels and for flexible, free-cancellation stays.
The workflow we actually use: compare on Hostelz, then book on whichever platform it points us to. You get the research depth of one and the booking strength of the other.
Hostelgeeks Tip: for the full breakdown of every platform â deposits, cancellation, the lot â see our guide to the best hostel booking sites.
FAQ: Hostelz.com
1. What is Hostelz.com?
Hostelz.com is a free hostel price-comparison and trip-planning website. It indexes hostels worldwide and shows their prices across booking platforms like Hostelworld and Booking.com, so you can find the cheapest option in one search.
2. Is Hostelz a booking site?
No. Hostelz compares prices and then sends you to a partner site (such as Hostelworld, Booking.com or the hostelâs own website) to complete the booking. You donât reserve directly on Hostelz.
3. Is Hostelz free to use?
Yes, itâs free for travelers. You can search, compare prices and use the planning tools without paying anything.
4. How does Hostelz make money?
Like most comparison sites, it earns a referral commission when you click through and book on a partner platform. That commission comes out of the booking siteâs margin, not added to your price â so comparing first doesnât cost you more.
5. Is Hostelz legit and safe to use?
Yes. It doesnât take your payment â the actual booking and payment happen on established platforms like Hostelworld and Booking.com, which use standard payment protection. Hostelz is the research layer in front of them.
6. Does Hostelz really list every hostel in the world?
It aims to index hostels worldwide, including many that donât show up on a given booking site for your dates. No index is ever 100% complete in real time, but its coverage is broader than booking-only platforms, which is the main reason to use it for research.
7. What are the new Hostelz features?
The recent additions are a âWhere Should I Travelâ destination finder, a Budget Planner, a Track Your Bookings tool, a countries-visited map, and ready-made solo travel itineraries â turning it from a pure price checker into a broader trip-planning hub.
8. Can Hostelz help me decide where to travel?
Yes â the âWhere Should I Travelâ tool suggests destinations based on what youâre looking for (region, budget, trip style), and the solo itineraries give you ready-made route ideas. Treat both as a starting shortlist rather than a fixed plan.
9. Can I track my bookings and the countries Iâve visited?
Yes. The booking tracker keeps all your reservations in one place across different platforms, and the countries-visited map lets you log everywhere youâve been. Both work best with a free account.
10. Hostelz vs Hostelworld â whatâs the difference?
Hostelz is a comparison and planning site; Hostelworld is a booking platform. Use Hostelz to find the cheapest price and the widest selection, then book on Hostelworld (great for its social app) or whichever platform comes out cheapest.
The Verdict
Hostelz earns its bookmark on the price comparison alone â that hasnât changed. Whatâs changed is everything around it. The destination finder, budget planner, booking tracker, countries map and solo itineraries turn it from a tool you open at the moment of booking into one you can open at the daydreaming stage and keep using right through the trip.
It wonât book your bed for you, and it wonât plan your trip for you. But as the free research-and-planning layer that sits in front of the booking sites, itâs one of the more useful things a budget traveler can have open in a tab.
Compare first. Book smart. Travel longer.
