Akia vs Runnr.ai
The facts side by side, what each one costs tier by tier, and which of the two we'd pick. Both have been paid for and run at a working European hotel.
The short version
On our hands-on ratings, Runnr.ai takes it overall, 6/10 against 5/10.
Akia is built for US hotels wanting AI-driven guest messaging. Runnr.ai is built for hotels wanting WhatsApp-native guest communication with good integrations.
Which we'd pick
Runnr.ai for Europe, Akia only if US hosting is acceptable and AI accuracy is the priority.
Both publish pricing, which is worth noting in this category, though that is no longer true of Akia, which withdrew its $5 per room rate during 2026 and is now quote-only, while Runnr publishes three tiers from €100 a month. Both are WhatsApp-centric. The dividing line is jurisdiction, and it is stark: Runnr is EU-hosted with a short sub-processor list, while Akia offers no EU hosting at all and keeps guest passport data under US law.
Akia has the better AI on Marc's testing, at 85% English accuracy across 40 queries, and its automation handled a late checkout end to end without staff. Runnr's AI is less reliable, needing a human in about one conversation in five and occasionally promising guests things the front desk never approved. What Runnr offers instead is integration depth: conversation summaries write back into PMS guest profiles, and Thomas built a CRM automation on the first attempt. Akia has no Booking.com or Expedia integration at all. Neither is a polished tool, and Runnr holds no SOC 2 or ISO 27001.
Drawn from our individual hands-on reviews rather than a fresh head-to-head test. Where a finding belongs to one of us, we've said whose it is.
| Akia | Runnr.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | Quote only since 2026. Basic, Pro and Max tiers listed without prices; the former $5/room/month is no longer published | Entry prices only, all stated as starting at: Pro from €100/month, Plus €200, Enterprise €400, with the per-unit rate unpublished; WhatsApp usage ~€0.75/room/month |
| Best for | US hotels wanting AI-driven guest messaging | Hotels wanting WhatsApp-native guest communication with good integrations |
| HQ | United States (San Francisco) | Netherlands (Utrecht) |
| Founded | 2019 | 2022 |
| Reviewed by | marc | thomas |
What each one costs
Akia pricing
- Basic Quote only
- Tier exists with a feature list and usage limits attached, but no price, no currency and no billing terms. Ends at talk to sales.
- Pro Quote only
- Same again: the features are visible, the cost is not.
- Max Quote only
- Top tier, also quote only. Every route out of the pricing page goes to sales or a demo booking.
Akia has stopped publishing the per-room rate our review recorded. The $5 per room per month figure is gone from the pricing page, replaced by three named tiers with their features intact and their prices removed. The tier structure is genuinely useful, so you can still work out what you would be buying. You just cannot work out what it costs, which for a tool whose appeal to smaller American properties rested on an affordable per-room price is a strange thing to take away.
Runnr.ai pricing
- Pro From €100/month
- The entry tier, and the same €100 floor our review recorded, now with a name and two tiers above it.
- Plus From €200/month
- Marked as the most popular option on the pricing page.
- Enterprise From €400/month
- Top published tier.
- Groups and chains Custom
- Above 10,000 units, priced by arrangement.
- WhatsApp usage ~€0.75/room/month average
- Charged on top of the platform fee and stated as an average across conversation volume and guest location. More useful for budgeting than the per-conversation framing we recorded.
Runnr.ai has gone further in the right direction since our review. The €100 monthly floor is unchanged, but where we recorded a single starting price there are now three named tiers with figures attached, an average WhatsApp cost of about €0.75 per room per month rather than a vague per-conversation note, and a thirty-day trial on annual plans with setup and support included. Billing is per unit, and Runnr counts rooms, beds, apartments, cottages or camping pitches, which suits properties that are not shaped like hotels. Thomas credited Runnr for publishing anything at all when most rivals would not; it now publishes more than most.
Prices as last verified during each review. Hotel software pricing moves, and per-room rates behave very differently at 20 rooms and at 200, so run the arithmetic at your own room count. Full detail on Akia pricing and Runnr.ai pricing.
Common questions
Which is better, Akia or Runnr.ai?
On our ratings Runnr.ai scores 6/10 against Akia at 5/10. But the better tool is the one that fits your property, so read both reviews before you decide.
How much do Akia and Runnr.ai cost?
Akia: Quote only since 2026. Basic, Pro and Max tiers listed without prices; the former $5/room/month is no longer published
Runnr.ai: Entry prices only, all stated as starting at: Pro from €100/month, Plus €200, Enterprise €400, with the per-unit rate unpublished; WhatsApp usage ~€0.75/room/month
Read the full reviews
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Akia
Akia's AI chatbot is the best I've tested in hotel messaging. It also means your guest passport data lives on American servers under American law. The technology has improved since my last review. My position hasn't.
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Runnr.ai
Runnr.ai built their product around WhatsApp from day one instead of adding it later. The difference is visible in the API design, the message flow, and the integration quality. It's what I wished Quicktext had done.