EasyOTA vs Tourplan: Which Fits Your Safari Business?
If you're comparing EasyOTA and Tourplan, you're probably running a safari or tour operation and trying to work out which one actually fits. Short answer: it depends heavily on your size. EasyOTA is a safari-specific tool built on commission-only pricing, aimed at smaller, agile operators. Tourplan is a 40-year-old enterprise system built for large tour operators and DMCs with a team to run it. Neither is really built for a solo or two-person operation, which is where a third option worth knowing about comes in.
Here's how the two actually compare, and where WildPlanner fits if you find both are more (or less) than you need.
Where EasyOTA Fits
EasyOTA was built specifically as a safari-focused alternative to heavier platforms like Tourplan, so it understands things a generic booking tool wouldn't: multi-lodge availability, park fees, and the quoting workflow a safari operator actually uses day to day. Its quote builder is drag-and-drop, with preloaded park fees and optional upsells like flights and transfers.
The standout feature is the pricing model: no setup fees, and no monthly fee at all. Instead, EasyOTA takes a commission on each confirmed booking. That's genuinely appealing if you're not booking consistently yet, since you're not paying for software you're not using. The trade-off is that your software cost scales with revenue. At higher volumes or higher-value bookings, commission can end up costing more than a flat monthly fee would have.
Where Tourplan Fits
Tourplan is a different category of tool. It's an integrated sales, reservations, operations, and accounting system used by 450+ operators and DMCs across 70+ countries, and that depth is the whole point. If you're a mid-to-large operator or a DMC running FITs, groups, and tailor-made tours across multiple markets, with a team to manage the system, Tourplan is genuinely built for that scale.
It's also a quote-on-request product. Tourplan doesn't publish pricing anywhere, you request a demo and go through a needs assessment before you find out what it costs. That's normal for enterprise software serving custom, multi-office implementations, but it does mean you can't budget for it upfront the way you can with a published-pricing tool.
EasyOTA vs Tourplan at a Glance
EasyOTA | Tourplan | |
|---|---|---|
Built for | Safari-specific, smaller operators | Enterprise tour operators & DMCs |
Pricing model | Commission-only, no setup fee | Not published, quote on request |
Team/scale | Lean teams, single or few users | Teams running multi-office operations |
Core strength | Safari-specific quoting workflow | Full reservations, ops & accounting suite |
Best for | Operators without consistent booking volume yet | Established operators with complex back-office needs |
What Neither Tool Is Built For
Both of these are good tools for what they're built for, but neither is really built for a solo operator or a couple running the business, the operator still working out of a spreadsheet or a folder of supplier PDFs, who just needs their rates organised and quotes going out faster, without commission eating into every booking or an enterprise system's setup overhead.
That's the specific gap WildPlanner is built for: one place to store your rates (bulk uploaded from whatever format they're already in), a drag-and-drop quote builder, and published, flat pricing with no sales call required to find out what it costs. See the fuller breakdown in our EasyOTA comparison and Tourplan comparison, or read our wider tour operator software pricing guide if you're still working out which pricing model actually suits your booking volume.
What About Granit Solutions or Pink Elephant?
If you're weighing up safari-specific tools, these two names come up too, worth a quick note on each so you're comparing like for like.
Granit Solutions (GranIT Safari Software) is built specifically for East African safari operators, with a strong focus on Kenya and Tanzania, including a preloaded mileage database for the region. It's a smaller, more regional player than either EasyOTA or Tourplan, and worth a look specifically if you operate in that geography.
Pink Elephant International is a broader cloud-based travel management platform, not exclusively safari-focused, covering inbound and outbound operators, DMCs, and cruise companies of various sizes. It sits closer to Tourplan in scope (financial reporting, CRM, third-party integrations) than to EasyOTA's lean, safari-specific approach.
Neither publishes pricing openly, so budgeting for either means a sales conversation first, the same limitation as Tourplan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EasyOTA better than Tourplan for a small safari operator?
For a smaller, safari-specific operation without a big back-office team, EasyOTA's no-setup-fee, commission-only model and safari-specific features are generally the better fit. Tourplan makes more sense once you've genuinely outgrown a lean operation and need integrated accounting and reservations across a bigger team.
Does WildPlanner compare to EasyOTA or Tourplan?
WildPlanner sits below both. It's built specifically for solo and couple-run operators who need their rates organised and quotes sent quickly, without commission on every booking or the overhead of an enterprise system. See our EasyOTA and Tourplan comparisons for the full picture.
What about other safari-specific alternatives, like Granit Solutions or Pink Elephant?
Granit Solutions (GranIT Safari Software) is a regional player focused on Kenya and Tanzania. Pink Elephant International is a broader travel management platform closer in scope to Tourplan. Neither publishes pricing, so budgeting for either starts with a sales conversation.
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