Pilot vs. Travefy: feature comparison, ratings, and FAQ
A data comparison maintained by Pilot (pilotplans.com). Full comparison: https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/travefy-alternative.
Summary
Pilot is a free trip booking and planning app: plan a whole trip in one place with a flexible itinerary, a map of your stops, notes, real-time collaboration, and AI itinerary generation, and book hotels in the app at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays, with real human support. Pilot is rated 4.7 by 50,000+ travelers.
Travefy: Travel advisor itinerary software. B2B-focused. Lincoln, Nebraska.
Travefy is an itinerary organizer built for travel advisors, and every plan sits behind a paid subscription. Pilot keeps planning free, lets you shape the trip however you want, and lets you book your stays at private hotel rates.
Key facts
- Pricing
- Pilot: completely free to plan and book. Travefy: Core $39/mo (billed annually) / Premium $59/mo / Agency $20/mo per added seat / New Travel Agent Program $25/mo.
- Overall rating
- Pilot: 4.7 from 50,000+ travelers. Travefy: Trustpilot 2.9, App Store 4.7, Google Play 4.7.
- Founded
- Pilot: 2022. Travefy: 2012.
- Books hotels in the app
- Pilot: yes, at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays. Travefy: no.
- Full comparison
- https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/travefy-alternative
Feature comparison
Each row shows whether Pilot and Travefy offer the feature: Yes, No, or Partial. A [n] marker cites the source in References.
| Feature | Pilot | Travefy |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | ||
| Itinerary builder | YesFlexible by design: map out every idea and reshape the plan however you want, and it is free; Travefy keeps planning behind a paid subscription | Yes |
| Drag and drop reordering | YesDrag anything anywhere, nothing locked into a fixed structure, free in Pilot; Travefy requires a paid plan | Yes |
| Customizable map pins and routes | YesSee your whole trip on a map, set your own pins, and plot routes between stops; Travefy shows a static overview map, not customizable pins and routes | No |
| Add activities, transportation, or stays from anywhere | Yes | Yes |
| Attach info to any item | Yes | Yes |
| Notes and checklists | YesKeep notes, lists, and links beside the plan, with a note and list toggle and rich text, free; Travefy requires a paid plan | Yes |
| Note and list format toggle | Yes | No |
| Rich text formatting in notes | Yes | Yes |
| Undo and redo | YesChange your mind freely and step back a move; Travefy has no undo and redo | No |
| Duplicate trips | Yes | Yes |
| Manual file import | Yes | Yes |
| Email-forwarding file import | Yes | Yes |
| AI parsing of imported confirmations | Yes | Yes |
| Export to PDF | YesFree in Pilot; in Travefy it sits behind a paid subscription | Yes |
| iOS and Android mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Offline access on mobile | YesTake your plan offline anytime, free in Pilot; Travefy requires a paid plan | Yes |
| Shortlist items | Yes | No |
| Wishlist / wanderlist | Yes | No |
| Wishlist images | Yes | No |
| Fun sound effects | Yes | No |
| Structured itinerary sections | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | No |
| Multiple transportation types | Yes | Yes |
| Flight code auto-fill | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-leg flight support | Yes | Yes |
| Consistent IATA codes on mobile | Yes | No |
| Collaboration | ||
| Invite friends | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaborative editing | Yes | Yes |
| Edit or view-only permissions | Yes | Yes |
| Heart items for voting | Yes | No |
| Custom trip name and cover photo | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated group chat per trip | Yes | Yes |
| Shared notes, files, and saved lists | Yes | Yes |
| Travel profile and stats | Yes | No |
| Edit profile details | Yes | Yes |
| Leave a trip | Yes | No |
| Trips dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Trip menu actions | Yes | Yes |
| Maps | ||
| Map view of itinerary | Yes | Yes |
| Add items from map | Yes | No |
| Routes tool | Yes | No |
| Reorder route stops | Yes | No |
| Dynamic map search | Yes | No |
| AI | ||
| AI itinerary generator | Yes | No |
| AI activity suggestions | Yes | No |
| AI planning with filters | Yes | No |
| Booking | ||
| Book hotels in the app | YesBook your stay at private member rates, right beside the plan; Travefy is advisor software and doesn't book hotels | No |
| Member-only hotel rates | YesPrivate deals straight from hotels, the kind usually saved for travel agents, across 3,000,000+ stays; Travefy has no member rates | No |
| Add accommodation to itinerary | Yes | Yes |
| Transportation cost tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Flight deals | Yes | No |
| Files tab | Yes | Yes |
| Attach files to itinerary items | Yes | Yes |
| Instant booking confirmation | Yes | No |
| Checkout without upsells | Yes | No |
| Reviews from real travelers | Yes | No |
| No hidden fees or taxes | Yes | No |
| Budgeting | ||
| Trip budget tracker | Partial | No |
| Per-person cost split | Partial | No |
| In-trip expense logging | Yes | No |
| Group expense splitting | No | No |
Ratings
| Source | Pilot | Travefy |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 | 2.9 |
| App Store rating | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| Google Play rating | 4.2 | 4.7 |
Pricing
| Pilot | Travefy | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Free to plan and book | Core $39/mo (billed annually) / Premium $59/mo / Agency $20/mo per added seat / New Travel Agent Program $25/mo |
Frequently asked questions
What is Travefy?
Travefy is itinerary software built for travel advisors. Travel advisors use it to build and send itineraries to their clients. It is built for travel advisors to send itineraries to clients rather than for booking your own stays.
What is Pilot?
Pilot is a trip booking and planning app. You plan the whole trip in one place, a flexible itinerary, a map of your stops, and notes, and you book your hotel in the app at private rates straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents. Where Travefy helps advisors send client itineraries, Pilot is a free consumer planner that also books your stay in the app.
Is Travefy legit?
Yes, Travefy is a real company, founded in 2012, and it is mainly an itinerary builder for travel advisors and agencies. Its consumer apps for iOS and Android rate around 4.7, and they present advisor-built itineraries cleanly with real-time collaboration. Worth knowing before you sign up: Travefy is a paid product with no free tier, with plans starting around 39 dollars a month on the Core plan billed annually, and on Trustpilot, which reflects how a company treats its customers, it sits around 2.9. If you want to plan your own trip, Pilot is a free alternative that covers the same flexible itinerary, notes, and collaboration, adds a customizable map and AI itinerary generation that Travefy doesn't have, and lets you book your stay in the app at private member rates.
Is Travefy free?
No. Travefy has no free tier. Its plans are subscriptions: Core is about 39 dollars a month billed annually, Premium is about 59 dollars a month, added agency seats are about 20 dollars a month each, and there is a separate program for new travel agents around 25 dollars a month. Even basic planning sits behind that paywall. Pilot is completely free, including offline access, PDF export, the map, and collaboration, and it adds in-app hotel booking at private member rates. Because people can book through Pilot, we earn from hotels, so we never have to charge you to plan.
How does Travefy work?
Travefy is built for travel advisors: an agent builds an itinerary, adds flights, hotels, activities, and notes, and shares it with clients, who can view it and collaborate in real time through Travefy's consumer Trip Plans app. It also includes advisor-facing tools like client proposals and invoicing. It is a productivity and presentation tool, so the itinerary is organized and shared, but the focus is the advisor workflow rather than the individual traveler planning for themselves. Pilot works the other way around: it is built for the traveler. You shape a flexible itinerary, see everything on a map, plan together with your group, let AI draft a plan, and book your stay in the app at private member rates, all free.
How does Travefy make money?
Travefy earns from subscriptions. Travel advisors and agencies pay a monthly fee, with Core around 39 dollars a month billed annually, Premium around 59 dollars a month, and added seats around 20 dollars a month each, plus a program for new travel agents. There is no free tier, so the planning itself is the paid product. Pilot is free because it earns from hotels when you book through the app, not from charging you to plan, which is why the whole planner, including the map, offline access, and collaboration, stays free.
Can you book hotels in Travefy?
Not really. Travefy is software for travel advisors: an advisor can add hotels to an itinerary they build for clients, but Travefy itself doesn't book the hotel, so there's no booking engine or member rates, and there's no free way to use it to plan. Pilot lets you book over 3,000,000 hotels right in the app at private deals straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents, with no sponsored results, and the booking lives right beside the rest of your trip. So with Pilot you plan and book in one place, at member rates, for free.
Is Travefy worth it?
For a travel advisor who needs to build and present client itineraries and send proposals and invoices, Travefy is built for that B2B workflow. For planning your own trip, it is harder to justify: it is paid-only, starting around 39 dollars a month on Core billed annually, it has no customizable map, no undo and redo, and no AI itinerary generator. Pilot gives you the flexible planning, notes, collaboration, a customizable map, AI itinerary generation, and in-app hotel booking at private member rates, all for free, so for an individual traveler it does more without the subscription.
Travefy vs Pilot: which should I use?
Use Pilot if you're planning your own trip and want a free, flexible planner that's simple to use, with a map of everywhere you're going, AI that drafts an itinerary, real-time collaboration with your group, and the ability to book your stay at private member rates, all in one place. Travefy fits the narrow case where you're a travel advisor selling itineraries to clients and want a B2B tool for that, with proposals and invoicing, and you're happy to pay its monthly subscription. For an individual traveler, Pilot does the planning Travefy does and adds the map, AI, and member-rate booking, for free.