An honest Mallard Bay review, and when Malvavisco fits instead.
Looking for a Mallard Bay alternative? Start with what Mallard Bay does well and what it costs, taken from its own pages. Mallard Bay, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, sells booking software for hunting and fishing outfitters, charters and lodges, together with websites and marketing. Malvavisco is built around running the stay: guides, boats, the kitchen and the bill, in English, Spanish or Portuguese. We wrote this page, and we say when Mallard Bay is the better choice.
What is the best Mallard Bay alternative?
It depends on what you want to change. If guests book and pay online and you want marketing from the same company, Mallard Bay is hard to beat, and many outfitters should stay. If your guests stay several days and the hard part is the week itself, with named guides and boats, meals for every guest and a bar tab on one bill, or your team works in Spanish, try Malvavisco.
What Mallard Bay does well
From Mallard Bay’s own website, checked on 23 October 2026.
Mallard Bay calls itself outfitter experience management software for hunting and fishing outfitters, charters and lodges: one dashboard and a mobile app for bookings, quotes, the calendar, payments, clients and leads, forms and waivers, email and text automations, and reporting (source).
- Online bookings from several places. Guests book from a Mallard Bay website, a booking widget on your own site (Wix, WordPress or custom HTML), a quote link or a listing on the Mallard Bay marketplace. Bookings taken by phone go in as internal bookings (features, FAQ).
- Lodging and resources. Rooms, lodges, guides, boats and vehicles each have their own availability, assigned automatically when a booking is made or added afterwards (source).
- Payments. Stripe checkout with deposits, balance timing, a booking tax rate and coupons; payouts to your bank in about two business days; Group Pay so each guest pays their share; Tap to Pay or a card reader in the mobile app; cash and checks logged against the booking (features, FAQ).
- Waivers. A liability waiver form with a signature field, attached to listings so it becomes part of booking, with signed submissions stored (source).
- Sales tools. A leads inbox, quotes that turn into bookings when the guest pays, client lists with custom fields, trip insurance, and add-ons such as gear rental and meal packages at checkout (source).
- Marketing services. Custom websites, Google Business Profile setup, managed paid ads, SEO, and a sales team that contacts your leads (source).
- Integrations. QuickBooks Online, and calendar feeds from Google, Outlook, Apple, Airbnb or Vrbo that block dates. Mallard Bay notes these imports block dates but don’t create bookings (source).
- Help. Susie, an AI assistant inside the dashboard, support seven days a week, and a team that sets up your account after the demo (source).
How much Mallard Bay costs
As published on Mallard Bay’s lodges page on 23 October 2026.
| Plan | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Free | Explore the platform and build listings; marketplace fees apply only to trips Mallard Bay finds for you through its marketplace |
| Paid, from $199 a month | The full booking platform, a custom website with unlimited edits and a marketplace listing; no commission on bookings you take yourself |
| Growth packages | CRM tools, managed paid ads, the QuickBooks integration and services such as social media and SEO |
- The subscription is billed through Stripe, separately from the guest payments you collect.
- Mallard Bay says seasonal discounts may apply and suggests a demo to find the right plan.
Source: mallardbay.com/pro/verticals/guest-ranches-and-lodges. Its pricing page lists the plans and the extra services. Malvavisco doesn’t publish prices; it quotes after a demo.
Malvavisco and Mallard Bay, row by row
Malvavisco wrote this comparison. Mallard Bay’s column comes from its own website, checked on 23 October 2026, with a link for each row. Its details may have changed since.
| Feature | MalvaviscoLodge software | Mallard Bay |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Remote lodges in the Americas where a stay includes guided days, meals and a bar: fishing, hunting, guest ranches, eco lodges | Hunting and fishing outfitters, charters and lodges, with websites, a marketplace and marketing servicesSource |
| Guest online booking | No: staff enter bookings from email, phone and agents | Yes: a booking widget for your site, quote links, a Mallard Bay website and a marketplace listingSource |
| Card payments | No: staff record cash, transfer and card-terminal payments with receipts. Mercado Pago links in Argentine pesos are built but not yet live | Stripe checkout and payouts, Group Pay, Tap to Pay or a card reader in the mobile appSource |
| Waivers and e-signatures | No: guests cannot sign waivers in Malvavisco | Waiver forms with a signature field, attached to listings and stored when signedSource |
| Rooms, guides and boats | Rooms or cabins for the stay; named guides with skills and languages; boats, horses, vehicles or floatplanes as assets, with overlap, capacity and skill checks | Rooms, lodges, guides, boats and vehicles as resources with their own availability, assigned at booking or laterSource |
| Kitchen | Included meals planned per stay, a daily dietary brief, kitchen tickets from preparing to ready to served | Meal packages can be sold as add-ons at checkout; no kitchen tools mentionedSource |
| Bar and shop | Point of sale on the booking’s bill, with stock counts, supply orders and supply receipts | Not mentioned; charges can be offered after a bookingSource |
| Website and marketing | No: no website builder, marketplace or ad services | Websites, a marketplace listing, Google Business Profile setup, managed ads and lead follow-upSource |
| Staff roles | Eleven roles enforced on the server, including guide, kitchen, housekeeping, finance and owner read-only; two-factor sign-in | Owner, co-owner and guide roles in the mobile app; a team member limit set by planSource |
| Staff interface language | English, Spanish or Portuguese, set per workspace | Not stated; website in EnglishSource |
| Offline | No: needs an internet connection; the kitchen screen disables its buttons when its data goes stale | Not stated; has a mobile app for you and your guidesSource |
| Price | Not published; quoted after a demo | A free plan; paid plans from $199 a month with no commission on your own bookingsSource |
When to choose each
Stay with Mallard Bay, or choose it, if…
- Guests should book and pay online, from your site, a quote link or a marketplace
- You want your website, ads and lead follow-up from the same company as your booking software
- You sell mostly day hunts, charters or trips, and want Group Pay, Tap to Pay and trip insurance
- You want waivers signed as part of booking
- You want to start on a free plan
Choose Malvavisco if…
- Guests stay several nights and every stay includes guided days, meals and a bar
- You want each outing scheduled with a named guide and the boat, horse or vehicle it needs, with overlap checks
- The kitchen needs meal counts and a dietary brief, and drinks and shop sales should land on the guest’s bill with stock counts
- Your team works in Spanish, or in Spanish and English
- You want separate roles for the front desk, guides, kitchen, housekeeping and finance
What Mallard Bay’s pages don’t cover
We found no mention of kitchen tools, a bar or shop with stock, licenses or tags, currencies other than the one you sell in, interface languages other than English, or offline use. If any of that matters, ask Mallard Bay during its demo. For a wider field, see the best hunting lodge software and best fishing lodge software comparisons, or how Malvavisco runs a hunting lodge.
Mallard Bay reviews and alternatives
For hunting and fishing outfitters and charters that sell online and want marketing help, yes. Its pages cover a booking widget, quotes, Stripe payments with Group Pay and Tap to Pay, waivers, a leads inbox, websites and managed ads. They don’t mention kitchen tools, a bar or shop with stock, or interface languages other than English.
Mallard Bay has a free plan, and its paid plans start at $199 a month, including the booking platform, a custom website and a marketplace listing. Growth packages add CRM tools, managed ads, the QuickBooks integration and social media or SEO services. Paid plans take no commission on bookings you take yourself.
Not on paid plans, according to its own FAQ. On the free plan, marketplace fees apply only to trips Mallard Bay finds for you through its marketplace.
For running the lodge, yes: bookings, rooms, guides, assets, the kitchen, the point of sale, payments and reports. It does not replace Mallard Bay’s online booking, card processing, waivers, website or marketing services.
Yes, for free. Our team sets up your rooms, rates, services, guides, assets and staff roles, enters every upcoming booking with its deposits, loads your guest list from Mallard Bay’s client export and rebuilds your emails. Past bookings and signed waivers stay in Mallard Bay.
Its website is in English and doesn’t say which languages the dashboard supports. Malvavisco’s staff app runs in Spanish, English or Brazilian Portuguese.
