- What the Free Scan Includes
- How It Works
- What the Free Scan Doesn't Cover
- When One Scan Is Enough
- When to Upgrade
- Why It Feels Different from Airbnb Search
- FAQs
You want to know what the free scan actually gives you before you commit to anything. Fair. Here's the full picture.
What the Free Scan Includes
Create an account and you get one free scan. No credit card, no trial clock counting down.
That scan is the full product. You get:
- The complete 18+ smart filter set — quiet, desk quality, natural light, walkability, proximity to gyms or supermarkets
- AI review analysis that reads guest feedback for noise levels, cleanliness, and workspace signals
- AI photo analysis that inspects listing photos and captions for details standard filters miss entirely
- A ranked shortlist of up to 5 matched stays based on your actual priorities
- Review confidence scoring on each result, so you know how much evidence sits behind a listing
- Cross-platform coverage — Airbnb and Booking.com scanned in a single query
Nothing is held back. The free scan runs exactly the same way a Power Planner subscriber's scan does.
How It Works
Step 1: Tell StayMatch what matters
Enter your destination, dates, and the filters that reflect your real priorities. This is where it diverges from Airbnb or Booking.com. You're not picking from a dropdown of amenities. You're specifying things like: quiet neighborhood, a real desk (not a kitchen counter), natural light, supermarket within a 5-minute walk.
Step 2: The scan reads what listings hide
StayMatch reads hundreds of guest reviews and inspects listing photos across both platforms. It's looking for signals that standard filters can't catch — guests mentioning street noise at 2am, photos showing a proper monitor-height desk versus a decorative writing table, captions that hint at how much natural light actually comes through.
Step 3: A shortlist, not a scroll
Instead of 200 results sorted by some mix of star ratings and commission levels, you get up to 5 ranked matches. Tradeoffs are surfaced, not buried. Noise risk: low. Workspace quality: verified. Review confidence: high.
Five tabs instead of 30. Real fits instead of obvious misses.
What the Free Scan Doesn’t Cover
One scan means one query. If you're planning a multi-city trip — Barcelona, then Lisbon, then Porto — you'll need more scans. The free tier covers one destination, one set of filters, one shortlist.
It also caps results at 5 matches. Traveler and above return up to 10 per scan, which matters when you're comparing a lot of options or booking for a group.
And once you've used it, that's it. No recurring access unless you upgrade or pick up a One-Day Pass.
When One Scan Is Enough
Testing the product before committing. Planning a single trip. Checking whether StayMatch actually returns better results than Airbnb's native search. One scan answers all of those.
A digital nomad heading to Medellín for a month, a solo traveler booking a week in Lisbon, a couple scoping a long stay in Tbilisi — if you have one destination and clear priorities, the free scan does the job.
When to Upgrade
You’re searching multiple cities
If you relocate monthly or plan trips across three or more cities a year, one scan runs out fast. Explorer at $20/month gives you 6 scans with up to 5 matches each. Traveler at $30/month doubles that to 12 scans with up to 10 matches per scan.
You want more matches per shortlist
Five matches is usually enough to make a decision. But if you're booking for a group, committing to a three-month stay, or just want more room to compare before you commit, 10 matches per scan gives you that.
The math works in your favor
Book four or more stays a year and spend an hour or two per search? The time you recover from a better shortlist is worth more than the subscription. Explorer on annual billing works out to roughly $8.40 a month.
Plan comparison
| Plan | Price | Scans | Matches per scan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 | Up to 5 |
| One-Day Pass | $10 | 3 | Up to 10 |
| Explorer | $20/month | 6 | Up to 5 |
| Traveler | $30/month | 12 | Up to 10 |
| Power Planner | $50/month | 25 | Up to 10 |
The One-Day Pass is worth a mention for irregular travelers. $10 for 3 scans within 24 hours, no recurring billing. If you're planning a trip this week and need to search two or three cities, it's a clean option without locking into a subscription.
Annual billing saves between 33% and 58% depending on the plan, with Explorer offering the steepest discount.
Why It Feels Different from Airbnb Search
Airbnb and Booking.com both added AI features in 2025 and 2026. Both are genuine improvements. But both are also structurally limited to their own inventory and optimized for platform conversion, not your preferences.
Airbnb weighs 800+ ranking signals when it sorts results — some of which include commission levels and ad spend. Booking.com's review summaries work within a single platform's data. Neither does cross-platform comparison, and neither inspects photos against granular stay-quality criteria.
StayMatch scans both platforms in one query and ranks results against your priorities, not theirs. It's the difference between a search that works for you and one that works for the platform.
If you've ever filtered for "workspace" on Airbnb and still ended up with a kitchen stool next to a breakfast bar, you already know the gap. StayMatch was built to close it.
FAQs
Does the free scan require a credit card?
No. You create an account and run your scan without entering payment details. A card is only needed if you decide to upgrade.
How many results does the free scan return?
Up to 5 matched stays, ranked by how well they fit your filters. Traveler and above return up to 10 per scan.
Can I use the free scan for any destination?
Yes. StayMatch covers 400,000+ listings across 190+ countries, so it works for most destinations where Airbnb and Booking.com have inventory.
What filters are available on the free scan?
All 18+ smart filters — quiet, desk quality, natural light, walkability, proximity to gyms and supermarkets. Nothing is restricted to paid plans.
What's the difference between the One-Day Pass and a monthly plan?
The One-Day Pass gives you 3 scans for $10 within a 24-hour window with no recurring billing. Monthly plans make more sense if you book regularly or need scans spread across weeks or months.
Does StayMatch search both Airbnb and Booking.com on the free scan?
Yes. Every scan — including the free one — covers both platforms at once. No separate searches needed.
What happens after I use my free scan?
You can upgrade to any paid plan or grab a One-Day Pass. Your account and scan history stay intact.
The free scan is a real test of the product, not a teaser. Run it on your next trip and see whether the shortlist it returns beats what you'd find after 45 minutes of tab-opening. If it does, the upgrade math is straightforward.