VrixPlay vs Charterly

Two charter platforms, two pricing philosophies.

Charterly and VrixPlay are both built for charter operators rather than generic tour software, and both put payments through Stripe. The split is in the cost model and the operational depth: Charterly publishes monthly plans from $8.99 to $99, while VrixPlay is $0 per month with a flat 3% per booking and a wider set of operations tools.

Start free with VrixPlay See the charter workflow

No credit card required. Free software. Flat 3% per booking.

Quick verdict

If you are a solo captain running a handful of trips a month, Charterly's $8.99 Starter plan can be cheaper than a percentage of every booking, and its pricing is refreshingly public. If you run real volume, multiple hulls, crew schedules, waivers, manifests, and want CRM automation and done-for-you setup, VrixPlay covers more of the operation and never charges you in a slow month.

Best for

Which one fits your dock?

VrixPlay

Best for captains and fleet owners who want:

  • No monthly bill, especially through the off season
  • Deeper charter operations: manifests, waivers, capacity, crew
  • Native HighLevel automation for reminders and review requests
  • Post-trip tip pages for the crew
  • Setup done for them, including trips, pricing, and availability
  • A US-based team in Destin they can call

Charterly

Best for charter businesses that want:

  • A flat, predictable monthly bill with no percentage per booking
  • A very low entry price for a single boat
  • A clean public booking page with Stripe deposits
  • Crew scheduling and financial reports on the Pro plan
  • A 14-day free trial before paying anything
  • Multi-location support on the Fleet plan
Feature comparison

VrixPlay and Charterly, line by line.

  • Monthly software fee

    VrixPlay
    $0 per month
    Charterly
    Published plans: Starter $8.99, Pro $49, Fleet $99 per month, with a 14-day free trial

  • Booking fee

    VrixPlay
    Flat 3% per booking, published publicly
    Charterly
    No published per-booking fee. Charterly markets not adding surprise fees to customer bills

  • Plan limits

    VrixPlay
    No boat, booking, or user limits
    Charterly
    Starter covers 1 boat and up to 15 bookings per month. Pro covers up to 5 boats with unlimited bookings. Fleet is unlimited boats

  • Card processing

    VrixPlay
    Stripe's standard card rates, billed by Stripe on your own account
    Charterly
    Stripe payments, billed by Stripe

  • When you get your money

    VrixPlay
    Stripe pays out to your bank on your Stripe schedule, typically within a couple of business days
    Charterly
    Stripe payouts. Confirm the account setup for your plan

  • Half day, full day, custom trips

    VrixPlay
    Half day, three quarter day, full day, overnight, and custom trip lengths with per-trip pricing and add-ons
    Charterly
    Trip types and durations configured on your booking page

  • Private and shared charters

    VrixPlay
    Private whole-boat charters and shared per-seat trips on the same boat calendar
    Charterly
    Confirm per-seat shared trip support for your account

  • Deposits and balances

    VrixPlay
    Deposits at booking with the balance collected by payment link or on the dock
    Charterly
    Stripe payments and deposits are listed on every plan

  • Boat availability and fleet scheduling

    VrixPlay
    Boat-by-boat availability, turnaround gaps, and fleet-wide day view
    Charterly
    Basic calendar on Starter, multi-boat scheduling on Pro and Fleet

  • Captain and crew assignments

    VrixPlay
    Assign captain and mates per trip and see who is running what
    Charterly
    Crew scheduling and team member accounts on the Pro plan and above

  • Capacity and manifests

    VrixPlay
    Per-boat passenger capacity with live seat counts and USCG-style manifests
    Charterly
    Guest counts on bookings. Confirm dock manifest output for your account

  • Digital waivers

    VrixPlay
    Digital waivers included, signed on any phone before departure
    Charterly
    Confirm availability for your account

  • Trip reminders

    VrixPlay
    Automated email and SMS confirmations, reminders, and dock instructions
    Charterly
    Email on all plans, SMS notifications from the Pro plan

  • Weather cancellations

    VrixPlay
    Reschedule or cancel a trip and notify the whole group in one action, with credits or refunds through Stripe
    Charterly
    Bookings can be cancelled or rescheduled. Confirm bulk guest notification for your account

  • Payment links and tips

    VrixPlay
    Payment links for balances, add-ons, and last-minute upsells Post-trip tip pages so anglers can tip the crew by card
    Charterly
    Confirm availability for your account

  • Review requests

    VrixPlay
    Automated review requests after the trip, including through HighLevel
    Charterly
    Confirm availability for your account

  • Website booking

    VrixPlay
    Hosted booking page plus an embeddable widget for your own site. We also build and host a booking website free of charge while you are on VrixPlay; the site remains VrixPlay property and may not be transferred
    Charterly
    Public booking page on every plan

  • Marketplace exposure

    VrixPlay
    No consumer marketplace. VrixPlay drives bookings from your own site, ads, and repeat customers
    Charterly
    No consumer marketplace

  • Customer data

    VrixPlay
    Your customer list is yours, exportable at any time
    Charterly
    Customer management is listed on the Pro plan and above

  • CRM and HighLevel

    VrixPlay
    Native HighLevel integration for contacts, automations, and review requests. VrixHub white-label CRM is available for an added fee
    Charterly
    Confirm integration options for your account

  • Reporting

    VrixPlay
    Revenue, bookings, deposits outstanding, and per-boat performance in one dashboard
    Charterly
    Financial reports on Pro, advanced reporting on Fleet

  • Mobile

    VrixPlay
    Installable mobile PWA for captains, mates, and office staff
    Charterly
    Web dashboard. Confirm mobile app availability

  • Support

    VrixPlay
    US-based team in Destin, Florida by phone and email, with guided onboarding
    Charterly
    Email support on Starter, priority support on Pro, phone support and a dedicated account manager on Fleet

  • Setup

    VrixPlay
    Self-service signup in about 15 minutes, or send us your trips and we do the setup
    Charterly
    Self-service signup with a 14-day free trial

Charterly details come from Charterly's own website and published pricing page, reviewed in August 2026. Rows marked confirm availability for your account are capabilities Charterly's public materials do not clearly state, not features we are claiming it lacks. Plan limits and prices change, so verify current terms with Charterly.

Pricing and fees

What each platform costs you.

This is a genuine trade-off, not a trick question. A subscription costs the same whether you run 4 trips or 40, and a percentage costs nothing in a dead February. Where the lines cross depends on your average trip price and your volume. VrixPlay is not automatically cheaper: at low volume with high trip prices, a flat monthly plan can win.

VrixPlay

  • $0 per month for the software, no per-user fee and no minimums
  • Flat 3% per booking, published publicly
  • Card processing is billed separately by Stripe at Stripe's standard rates
  • No setup fee. We migrate your trips, pricing, and availability for you
  • No contract and no long sales cycle

Charterly

  • Starter: $8.99 per month, 1 boat, up to 15 bookings per month, public booking page, Stripe payments and deposits, basic calendar, email support
  • Pro: $49 per month, up to 5 boats, unlimited bookings, SMS notifications, financial reports, customer management, crew scheduling, team accounts
  • Fleet: $99 per month, unlimited boats and bookings, multi-location support, advanced reporting, phone support, dedicated account manager
  • 14-day free trial on every plan, no contracts
  • No published Charterly commission on bookings

Card-processing charges are billed by Stripe on both platforms and are not included above. Prices are as published by Charterly in August 2026.

Charter workflow

From the booking request to the tip request.

How each platform handles the day a charter business actually runs.

The booking comes in

VrixPlay

Books on your hosted page or a widget embedded in your own site, with the deposit charged to your Stripe account.

Charterly

Books on your Charterly public booking page with Stripe payments and deposits.

Whole boat or by the seat

VrixPlay

Sell the same hull as a private charter or as per-seat shared trips without double booking.

Charterly

Trip listings and calendar availability. Confirm per-seat shared trip handling for your account.

Balance before departure

VrixPlay

Payment link for the balance, or take it at the dock.

Charterly

Deposits are supported. Confirm balance request handling for your account.

Boat and crew for the day

VrixPlay

Assign hull and captain per trip with a fleet-wide day view and turnaround gaps.

Charterly

Crew scheduling and multi-boat support come in at the Pro plan and above.

Waivers and the manifest

VrixPlay

Waivers signed on a phone, manifest with names, counts, and waiver status for the mate.

Charterly

Confirm waiver and manifest availability for your account.

Weather pushes the trip

VrixPlay

Reschedule and notify the whole group by email and SMS in one action.

Charterly

Cancel or reschedule in the dashboard. SMS notifications are on Pro and above.

Tips and reviews

VrixPlay

Tip page for the crew after the trip, then an automated review request.

Charterly

Confirm tip collection and review request availability for your account.

Next season

VrixPlay

Contacts sync to HighLevel so rebooking offers and season openers run automatically.

Charterly

Customer management on Pro keeps your repeat customer records in one place.

Both are direct booking software, so nobody is renting you your own customers

Charterly and VrixPlay are both operator-owned software, not marketplaces. Anglers book on your page, the money moves through your Stripe account, and the customer relationship is yours in either case. That is a meaningful difference from listing on a marketplace and paying a double-digit commission on every trip.

The comparison is therefore about cost shape and operational depth. Charterly bets on a simple monthly price. VrixPlay bets that you would rather pay nothing in the off season and a small share of the bookings you actually take, with more of the daily operation covered: waivers, manifests, crew, tip requests, CRM automation, and a team that configures it for you.

Honest fit

Pick the platform that matches your operation.

Choose VrixPlay if:

  • You do not want a software bill in a month when the weather kills your trips
  • You run more than a couple of hulls, or a head boat with per-seat trips
  • You need waivers and dock manifests, not just a calendar
  • You want post-trip tip requests for the crew
  • You want HighLevel automations for reminders, follow-up, and reviews
  • You would rather hand off setup than build it yourself
Start free with VrixPlay

Choose Charterly if:

  • You want one predictable monthly bill with no percentage per booking
  • You are a solo captain with a single boat and modest booking volume
  • You mostly need a booking page, a calendar, and Stripe deposits
  • You want to trial software for 14 days before paying anything
  • You prefer to configure your own system rather than hand it off
  • Your trip prices are high enough that a percentage would cost more than a flat plan

Moving from Charterly to VrixPlay

Because both platforms use Stripe and both keep your customer data yours, moving is mostly a matter of rebuilding trips, pricing, and availability, and pointing your booking links at the new page. Send us an export and we do that work for you, then you review it before anything goes live.

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FAQ

VrixPlay vs Charterly, answered straight.

How much does Charterly cost?

Charterly publishes three plans: Starter at $8.99 per month for one boat and up to 15 bookings per month, Pro at $49 per month for up to 5 boats with unlimited bookings, and Fleet at $99 per month for unlimited boats with multi-location support. Every plan includes a 14-day free trial. Verify current pricing on Charterly's site.

Is VrixPlay always cheaper than Charterly?

No. A flat 3% booking fee costs more than a $49 monthly plan once your booking volume is high enough, and less than any subscription in a month with few trips. Compare your own average trip price and monthly trip count before deciding.

Does Charterly charge a booking commission?

Charterly does not publish a per-booking commission and markets not adding surprise fees to customer bills. Its published cost is the monthly plan. Confirm current terms directly with Charterly.

What does VrixPlay do that a booking page does not?

Digital waivers, dock manifests with live capacity, captain and crew assignment across the fleet, deposits and balance payment links, automated email and SMS, post-trip tip pages, review requests, and native HighLevel CRM sync.

Do both platforms use Stripe?

Yes. Both connect to Stripe, so guest payments land in your own account and Stripe bills its standard processing rates separately.

Do you help me set VrixPlay up?

Yes. Send us your trips, boats, pricing, and availability and our team in Destin, Florida builds it out for you. Signup itself takes about 15 minutes with no credit card.

Keep reading

More on how VrixPlay runs charters.

Ready to run your charters from one screen?

Trips, deposits, waivers, manifests, reminders, and tip requests in one place. We handle the setup, you go fishing.

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Free software. Flat 3% per booking. Setup in about 15 minutes.

Sources and review date

Last reviewed: August 2026. Charterly information is based on Charterly's own published website and pricing page reviewed in August 2026, and plans can change. Platform fees and card-processing fees are stated separately. All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. VrixPlay is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any company named on this page.