Chimekey vs Buzzly

How each product works

Buzzly replaces the dial-out number on your building buzzer with a Buzzly number. When a visitor buzzes your unit, Buzzly can forward the call to up to 3, 5, or 10 phones simultaneously (depending on your plan), letting any of them answer and buzz the visitor in. On the Home and Social plans, you can also skip the phone call entirely: Scheduled Access opens the door automatically for any visitor who buzzes during a time window you define, and Virtual Fobs give specific people a way to unlock without involving you.

Chimekey replaces the same dial-out number but operates differently at the point of entry. Instead of forwarding the call, Chimekey answers it directly and asks the visitor to enter a code. That code comes from your booking calendar -- it is generated when a reservation is confirmed, tied to that guest's check-in and checkout times, and deactivated automatically when the stay ends. No forwarding, no manual schedule, no host involvement after initial setup.

Scheduled Access vs reservation-synced codes

Buzzly's Scheduled Access is the feature closest in intent to what Chimekey does, but the mechanism is meaningfully different. When a Scheduled Access window is active, the buzzer opens for anyone who presses the button -- there is no code, no verification, and no way to distinguish a guest from anyone else who happens to press the button during that window. Buzzly's own help documentation notes that users should "keep schedules tight so access stays limited."

Chimekey's reservation-synced codes are guest-specific. Each booking generates a unique code. A guest at your unit cannot accidentally let in a person buzzing for a different resident. And if a guest shares their code, it expires at their checkout regardless.

For a host running a low-volume, predictable schedule -- say, one listing with weekly turnovers -- a time window may be enough. For hosts with multiple units, same-day bookings, or overlapping check-in and checkout times, the gap between a time window and a verified per-guest code matters more.

Virtual Fobs

Buzzly's Virtual Fobs are a useful feature for giving recurring access to trusted individuals -- a cleaner, a maintenance person, a regular co-host. A Virtual Fob is a link or code sent to a specific person with defined date and time restrictions. They can buzz themselves in during their window without involving you.

Chimekey handles a similar use case through team seats and reservation-synced codes. A cleaning coordinator on your team sees entry events for the units they manage. Guests get unique codes per booking. Neither requires sending individual links before each visit, because the booking calendar drives everything.

Call forwarding

Buzzly's call forwarding -- up to 10 simultaneous phones on the Social plan -- is the strongest in this category. If you want the option to answer buzzer calls from your phone while also having automated access as a backup, Buzzly supports that model natively.

Chimekey is designed to answer every call without human involvement. There is no call forwarding because the system never passes the call to a person. If a guest enters an invalid code, they are prompted to try again -- the host is not called.

Booking platform integrations

Buzzly does not integrate with Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, or any property management system. Access windows are created manually in the Buzzly dashboard. A host who books a new guest on Airbnb must separately create or update the access schedule in Buzzly. A cancelled reservation requires a separate manual step to remove or shorten the window.

Chimekey reads your booking calendar directly. No manual step is needed when a new booking arrives, a stay is modified, or a guest cancels. The access state in Chimekey always reflects the current state of your reservation calendar.

Pricing

Buzzly has three monthly plans: Lite at $4/mo, Home at $8/mo, and Social at $11/mo. Annual billing saves up to 25%. A 14-day satisfaction guarantee applies. The Lite plan is forwarding-only -- no Virtual Fobs, no Scheduled Access, and only 50 Buzztime units per month. Home adds Virtual Fobs and one-time Scheduled Access windows. Social adds recurring schedules and doubles the Buzztime allotment to 200 units per month.

Buzzly is cheaper than Chimekey at every tier. Chimekey is $10 per unit per month on the Host plan and $15 per unit per month on Superhost. The price difference reflects the booking calendar integration: Chimekey's access codes are generated and expired automatically from reservation data, which Buzzly does not offer on any plan.

Which should you choose?

Buzzly is worth considering if you want to keep the option of answering buzzer calls yourself (Buzzly's simultaneous forwarding is best-in-class), if you have trusted recurring visitors who benefit from Virtual Fobs, or if you run a low-volume listing where a manually managed time window is easy to maintain.

Chimekey is the better fit if you want access tied directly to your booking calendar -- codes that appear when reservations are confirmed, expire at checkout, and deactivate on cancellation without any manual step. The more active listings you manage, the more that automation gap matters.