EazyAL vs Chekin: Which Is Better for Alojamento Local Compliance in Portugal? (2026)

By Daniel de Oliveira, founder of EazyAL and Alojamento Local host · Updated July 2026 · 8 min read

The verdict in 30 seconds:

• EazyAL — built only for Portugal: SIBA/AIMA, INE IPHH, tourist tax and Finanças invoicing in one flow. Free to start, Pro from €10/property/month, no transaction fees.

• Chekin — a global check-in platform (45+ countries, 200,000+ properties): identity verification, digital keys, upsells. Strong guest experience; Portugal-specific reporting has gaps.

If your problem is Portuguese compliance, EazyAL was built for exactly that. If your problem is guest experience at scale across countries, Chekin is the stronger platform. Full disclosure: I'm the founder of EazyAL — so I'll show you where Chekin wins too.

EazyAL vs Chekin at a glance

What each platform actually does

EazyAL is a compliance-first tool built specifically for Alojamento Local hosts in Portugal. I built it after living the problem myself — juggling SIBA, INE, tourist tax and invoicing across separate government portals for my own properties. It does one job deeply: guests fill in a check-in link before arrival, and that single action feeds SIBA/AIMA registration, your monthly INE statistics, tourist tax calculation and invoicing records. It's designed for independent hosts with 1–25 properties who want to stay in control without hiring an agency.

Chekin is a broader international check-in platform used by over 200,000 properties in 45+ countries. It covers online and on-site check-in, biometric identity verification, digital keys and smart locks, upselling, damage protection, rental contracts with digital signatures, payments, and a unified guest inbox, with 35+ PMS integrations. It serves apartments, hotels, villas and campsites.

The difference is depth versus breadth. EazyAL goes deep on Portugal. Chekin goes wide on hospitality.

SIBA guest registration: both do it, differently

Every AL host in Portugal must submit guest details to AIMA (formerly SEF) via SIBA within three days of check-in — fines run up to €2,500 per violation.

EazyAL handles SIBA end-to-end: the guest enters their own passport details through your check-in link, EazyAL submits the bulletin automatically, you receive the official SIBA confirmation, and every submission is archived as proof. You never type a passport number.

Chekin also sends guest data to local authorities under its legal-compliance feature, included in every tier. But Portugal is one of dozens of regulatory systems Chekin supports — the SIBA workflow is a module in a global engine, not the centre of the product. It works; it just isn't the focus.

INE IPHH monthly reporting: the gap that matters

The INE IPHH is the monthly survey from Portugal's statistics institute: guests, overnight stays, nationalities, occupancy — mandatory even in months with zero guests.

EazyAL automates INE IPHH: the data is collected at check-in and the WebInq submission is prepared automatically on the Pro plan.

Chekin does not mention INE IPHH or WebInq anywhere on its site or pricing page — its compliance engine handles police/immigration registration, which is a different obligation from statistical reporting. In practice, a Portuguese host on Chekin still logs into WebInq manually every month. That's precisely the repetitive, easy-to-forget task that produces missed deadlines.

Tourist tax: both calculate, one specialises

Municipal tourist taxes vary wildly — Lisbon (€4), Porto (€2.50), Funchal, Faro, Olhão and dozens more, each with its own rates, age exemptions and caps, changing every year.

EazyAL calculates tourist tax per stay from your municipality's current rules and tracks what's collected across all bookings — included in every plan, with no collection fee. Because we publish municipal tourist tax guides as content, rate changes get into the product fast.

Chekin calculates tourist tax and can charge guests during check-in (with a 1% transaction fee on collection). Its system spans many countries, so Portugal-specific municipal changes may take longer to land than in a Portugal-only tool.

Invoicing and Finanças

Portuguese AL hosts must issue invoices for each booking — separate from anything Airbnb or Booking.com shows the guest.

EazyAL includes invoicing built around Portuguese requirements on the Pro plan. Chekin's e-invoicing is a Premium/Enterprise feature and its own pricing page states it's available for Italy, Greece and Spain — Portugal is not listed. For Finanças, Chekin hosts need another solution.

Pricing: the real comparison

EazyAL: Free plan (€0, one property, professional guest check-in). Pro from €10/property/month (billed annually) with automatic SIBA, INE IPHH, tourist tax, expense tracking and priority support, for 1–25 properties. No commissions, no transaction fees, no credit card to start, 14-day Pro trial.

Chekin: Basic from €3.95/property/month on annual billing — but note the fine print: monthly billing carries a minimum subscription of 3 units, so a one-property host must commit annually upfront. Premium (from €5.95) adds one premium feature of your choice; Enterprise (from €7.95) adds all of them. Then the transaction fees stack: deposits 1.5% + €0.30, online payments 1.5% + €0.99, damage protection $2.50–4.00 per booking (charged in USD), upsells 10%, plus per-channel fees on the unified inbox.

So the honest math for one Portuguese property: Chekin's headline price is lower, but it doesn't include INE IPHH or Finanças invoicing — you'll do those manually or buy a second tool — and active use of its features adds per-booking fees. EazyAL's €10 covers the complete Portuguese compliance stack with zero fees. And if all you need today is professional check-in, EazyAL's free plan costs nothing.

Setup and ease of use

EazyAL setup takes under 10 minutes: create your property, connect your Airbnb or Booking.com calendar via iCal, share your check-in link. The dashboard is built around Portuguese compliance tasks and nothing else.

Chekin's onboarding is bigger because the product is bigger — digital keys, branded guest apps, upsell flows, PMS connections. Valuable if you want all of it; a lot of configuration if you only need compliance.

Who should choose which

Choose EazyAL if you're an independent AL host in Portugal with 1–25 properties, an expat or remote owner managing from abroad, and you want SIBA, INE, tourist tax and invoicing handled in one focused workflow — without paying per-booking fees for hospitality features you won't use.

Choose Chekin if you operate across multiple countries, need biometric identity verification or smart-lock access, monetise upsells through check-in, or run a PMS-centred operation at scale. It's a genuinely strong platform for that profile — as is Hostkit for large Portuguese portfolios.

→ Try EazyAL free — no credit card, no demo call

FAQ: EazyAL vs Chekin

Does EazyAL work outside Portugal? No. EazyAL is built exclusively for Portuguese Alojamento Local — mainland, Madeira and the Azores — around SIBA/AIMA, INE IPHH and Portuguese tax requirements.

Does Chekin handle INE IPHH reporting in Portugal? INE IPHH/WebInq reporting is not listed among Chekin's features. Its compliance engine covers guest registration with authorities; Portuguese hosts still handle the monthly statistical survey separately.

Does Chekin issue Finanças invoices in Portugal? Chekin's e-invoicing is listed as available for Italy, Greece and Spain. Portugal is not listed, so hosts need a separate invoicing solution.

Which is cheaper for one property? EazyAL's free plan covers one property's guest check-in at €0. Chekin starts at €3.95/property/month on annual billing (monthly billing requires a 3-unit minimum). For full Portuguese compliance, EazyAL Pro at €10/month with no transaction fees is typically the lower total cost.

Can I use Chekin and EazyAL together? Yes — some hosts use Chekin for guest-facing features like digital keys and EazyAL for Portuguese compliance (INE, tourist tax, invoicing). The trade-off is managing two platforms.

Does either replace a channel manager or PMS? No. EazyAL syncs bookings via iCal from Airbnb and Booking.com; Chekin integrates with 35+ PMS platforms. Both complement your booking stack.

Pricing and features verified on both companies' websites in July 2026. If you spot something outdated, tell me — this is an honest comparison and I keep it that way.