WildPlanner vs Waybird: Which One Fits Your Tour Operator Business?
Waybird and WildPlanner both serve tour operators selling bespoke trips into Africa, Asia and Latin America, but they solve different parts of the job. Waybird is an itinerary builder with an optional host agency layer on top, built around its own curated supplier network and live availability. WildPlanner is a focused rates and quoting tool built around your own supplier relationships, priced flat rather than tiered by feature. Which one fits depends on whether you want access to a shared supplier network and, optionally, a back office run for you, or a simpler way to turn the rates you've already negotiated into a quote.
Where Waybird Fits
Waybird was founded in 2022 by Johnny Prince and Ian Petzer, who previously built Timbuktu, an online tour operator, and the platform holds ATTA and APTA membership plus IATA accreditation, real credibility markers in this market. It gives operators and advisors a drag-and-drop itinerary builder drawing on 3,000+ curated lodges and experiences across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, live availability and dynamic pricing, multi-currency payment processing, and, on its top tier, an optional host agency service (managed international payments, preferred supplier rates, public liability insurance, a dedicated assistant, structured as an 80/20 commission split).
Genuine named customers in the safari space, Concept Safaris, Ololo Safaris, Hassle-free Africa among them, give it real credibility with exactly the kind of operator WildPlanner also serves. If you want a shared, curated supplier network rather than managing your own rates, and you're weighing whether to outsource your back office entirely through the Hosted tier, Waybird is a genuine, well-regarded option worth including on your shortlist.
What WildPlanner Does Differently
Built for solo and small operators, priced flat
Waybird's Lite tier is $199 a month for one user, Core is $349 a month once you add payment processing and invoicing, and Hosted replaces the subscription with an 80/20 commission split plus a small monthly account credit. WildPlanner is a flat R499 a month for one seat, or R1,299 for three seats on Core, no tiered feature-gating and no commission taken on what you sell.
Your own negotiated rates, not a shared supplier network
Waybird's core value is access, its own curated network of 3,000+ lodges and experiences with live availability and preferential rates, plus, on Hosted, someone else managing your supplier relationships and payments.
WildPlanner's core value is the opposite: organising the rates you've already negotiated directly with your own suppliers and turning them into an accurate quote. If your bottleneck is not having supplier relationships yet, or wanting someone else to manage that side of the business, that's Waybird's strength.
If you already have your own rates and the problem is that they're disorganised and quotes take too long to put together, a shared supplier network doesn't solve that.
Rate and margin calculation, not a managed back office
WildPlanner tracks RACK and STO rates per line item so you see your margin as you build the quote. It's a quoting and rates tool first, exporting to branded PDF and CSV, with no commission split and no payment processing built in, rather than a platform where itinerary building, payments and, optionally, your entire back office are bundled together.
Feature Comparison
Visual itinerary builder
Curated supplier/content network
Supplier rate management
Payment processing
Host agency / outsourced back office
Quote/proposal export
Pricing model
Setup fee
Free trial
Built for
Who Should Choose WildPlanner
Choose WildPlanner if you're a solo operator or small team who already has your own supplier relationships and negotiated rates, your bottleneck is disorganised rates and slow quote turnaround rather than needing access to new suppliers, you don't want a commission taken on what you sell or payment processing bundled in, and flat, predictable monthly pricing matters more than tiered features.
Who Should Choose Waybird
Choose Waybird if you want access to a shared, curated network of suppliers with live availability rather than managing only your own rates, built-in payment processing and invoicing matter to you, or you're weighing whether to outsource your back office entirely through a host agency arrangement rather than running it yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Waybird more expensive than WildPlanner?
Does WildPlanner offer a host agency service like Waybird Hosted?
Does WildPlanner give me access to a supplier network like Waybird's?
Can I try both before deciding?
