Australia · Comparison · Last reviewed 2026-05-25
YardGuild vs Rentrax
Rentrax has a USD $29 starter that looks magic — until you read the fine print: capped at $10k/mo revenue. The moment a Thredbo weekend pushes you over, you're paying $169-449 USD with per-transaction overages.
Who Rentrax is
Rentrax is the established ski-rental SaaS, with deep boot-size-matrix workflows and a strong presence in North American ski shops. They moved to revenue-capped pricing in 2025 with a $29 USD Starter tier (≤$10k/mo gross), $169 / $449 / $999 tiers above that, plus per-transaction overages.
When Rentrax is the right pick
Hobbyist ski shops that genuinely stay under $10k/mo (think: side-business 5-day-a-week winter rentals out of a garage). Their boot-size matrix is genuinely the best in the category if you only do ski.
When you'll probably prefer YardGuild
Real Australian alpine shops doing $30k-100k/mo across a snow season — Rentrax becomes more expensive than us once you're a serious operator. Also, anyone who'd rather not be paying per-transaction overages on top of subscription.
The real cost math
Headline pricing is misleading when the headline doesn't include what you actually need. Here's what a 3-yard operator with two staff actually pays.
Rentrax fully loaded
- Rentrax tier (real shop, not starter)
- USD $169-449/mo (~A$258-685)
- Setup fee (one-time)
- USD $395 (~A$600)
- Per-transaction overage (above tier cap)
- USD $0.20-0.80 each
- Multi-yard surcharge
- Per location
- SMS reminders
- Per-SMS billed separately
- FX spread on AUD card paying USD
- ~2-3%
- Total
- A$258-685/mo + per-txn fees + A$600 setup
YardGuild Multi-yard
A$299/mo (flat — no overages, no setup fee)
Includes
- ✓AUD billing — no FX line
- ✓Up to 3 yards (Thredbo + Perisher + Falls Creek workflow)
- ✓Size-matrix for boots, poles, skis, jackets — generic across rental verticals
- ✓SMS to yard manager for daily due-backs, included
- ✓ACL-compliant waiver template for AU alpine liability
- ✓Bond tracking via your own POS (cash, EFTPOS, card terminal)
- ✓Unlimited transactions — no per-txn fee
Feature by feature
| Feature | YardGuild | Rentrax | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline price | A$199-379 flat | USD $29 (capped) → $169-449 | — |
| Revenue cap | None | $10k/mo on starter tier | YardGuild |
| Setup fee | None | USD $395 one-time | YardGuild |
| Per-transaction overage | None — flat pricing | USD $0.20-0.80 above tier cap | YardGuild |
| Boot/ski size-matrix depth | Generic size_code field (EU 35-50, etc.) | Specialised — boot last + flex + size + width | Competitor |
| Tool / party hire support | Built for tools + party + ski in one app | Ski only — sister product Wintersmiths for service | YardGuild |
| AU GST + ABN invoice | Built-in | US tax format; manual GST workaround | YardGuild |
| Native AU/NZ alpine support | Sydney-based product, AU/NZ winter calendar | North American calendar (their busy = Dec-Feb opposite to ours) | YardGuild |
| Time in market for ski | New | 10+ years deep ski expertise | Competitor |
| SMS reminders | Included from Multi-yard | Per-SMS billed separately | YardGuild |
Questions you might be asking
- Rentrax's $29 looks cheaper. What am I missing?
- Two things. (1) The $10k/mo revenue cap — a single busy Saturday at Perisher can put you through that, then you're auto-bumped to the $169 tier with per-transaction fees on top. (2) The USD $395 setup fee plus FX on every monthly invoice paid from an AUD card. Once you're a real operator (≥$30k/mo for a season), Rentrax lands at A$300-700 effective, and we're flat A$299.
- Do you have boot size-matrix as deep as Rentrax?
- No — that's the honest gap. Rentrax has been doing ski exclusively for over a decade and their boot last × flex × size × width matrix is unmatched. We have generic `size_code` (EU 35-50, K2 / Salomon / Atomic by name) which works for most rental scenarios but isn't as specialised. If your shop does high-end performance fitting where the customer asks for a specific flex+last combo, Rentrax is the right tool.
- Why would I pick you over Rentrax if I only do ski?
- If you only do ski and you do high-volume fittings, you probably shouldn't switch — Rentrax is genuinely the deeper specialist. Where we win is mixed shops (ski in winter, mountain bikes / kayaks / surfboards in summer) and shops where the AU-native pricing + bond handling + waiver template save more time than the deeper size matrix would.
- Migration from Rentrax?
- Export your equipment list from Rentrax as CSV. Our importer reads it. Active rentals you finish in Rentrax; new ones go into YardGuild. We don't try to import past rental history because the data shapes don't line up cleanly — Rentrax keeps its history readable as long as your subscription is active.
Try it on your own yard for 30 days
No credit card. Import your assets via CSV, run a few contracts, see if the kiosk and the mobile check-in actually save the time we say they do.