Campable is a marketplace for private land: farms, orchards, vineyards and sports clubs whose hosts open a patch to campervans and motorhomes, with each host setting the vehicle rules. It does that one job well, and people look for alternatives when they want public sites, free sites or a bigger list. KiwiCamping is ours and heads this list as a planning tool, not a private-land marketplace, and each entry says what it does better than Campable and what it does not. Prices and ratings are from the New Zealand App Store and each company's own site, checked on 21 October 2026.
Campable alternatives at a glance
For public camping and a trip plan, start with KiwiCamping or CamperMate. For a large list of sites, WikiCamps; for local reviews, Rankers; for conservation land, DOC's own booking site.
Campable is the one built around instant booking on hosted private land, so some travellers keep it for the odd night on a farm and use another app for the rest.
| App or site | Best for | Price | NZ rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campable | Private land stays set by local hosts | App free; no guest booking fee | 4.5 (13) |
| KiwiCamping | DOC places and a dated trip plan | Free to download, with in-app purchases | 3.8 (4) |
| CamperMate | A free all-rounder, NZ and Australia | Free; contains ads | 4.4 (606) |
| WikiCamps New Zealand | A large list of sites | NZ$7.99 once | 4.5 (137) |
| Rankers Camping NZ | Reviews of welcome overnight spots | Free | 4.7 (3,322) |
| DOC booking system | Conservation-land campsites and huts | Website; fees per DOC | Not applicable |
| Holiday park booking | Powered sites and facilities | TOP 10 card NZ$55 for 2 years | Not applicable |
1. KiwiCamping: best for public sites and a trip plan
Where Campable lists private hosts, KiwiCamping maps public ones: DOC campsites and huts, holiday parks, dump stations and DOC's freedom-camping notices, with filters for water, toilets, showers, power, dogs, vehicle access and fees. A trip lets you order stops with dates, see the drive time between them and keep a checklist.
It does not book private land and has no live availability: BookIt stays and tours and bookable DOC places show a link out to book. Place details are stored on the phone, so they stay readable without signal, while map tiles, routing, weather and photos need a connection.
KiwiCamping is iPhone only (iOS 26 or later) and new, with 4 New Zealand ratings averaging 3.8.
- Choose it for: public sites and a trip plan
- No private-land booking
- iPhone only; few ratings
2. CamperMate: best free all-rounder
CamperMate is free and covers New Zealand and Australia, with campsites, holiday parks, freedom-camping spots, dump stations and toilets, reviews and photos, and bookings you can check and make in the app. Its listing says you can download maps and use it without an internet connection.
It rated 4.4 from 606 New Zealand ratings and carries ads. Part of its data is contributed by travellers, so check a site's details before you rely on it.
- Choose it for: a free app that works offline
- Contains ads
- Traveller-contributed data
3. WikiCamps New Zealand: best for a large list
WikiCamps New Zealand costs NZ$7.99 once on the App Store, with no subscription, and lists more than 12,000 New Zealand sites with traveller reviews, photos and fee details. It includes a trip planner and an offline mode, and says you can book from more than 1,000 sites in the app.
It rated 4.5 from 137 New Zealand ratings, with 3.0 from 1,042 on Google Play. Listings are written by travellers, and the bookable ones are about 1,000 of its 12,000.
- Choose it for: a large list
- NZ$7.99 once, no subscription
- Mostly user-written listings
4. Rankers Camping NZ: best for local reviews
Rankers is free and the most-rated camping app on the New Zealand store, with 4.7 from 3,322 ratings. It lists places where the local community has said overnight stays are welcome, with more than 108,000 traveller reviews that its team reads, and around 500 bookable campground options.
Its campsite information works offline from the day you install it, and detailed maps download over Wi-Fi. It earns commissions on bookings and activity deals and from campervan hire, at no extra cost to you, and it lists about 1,500 places against WikiCamps' 12,000.
- Choose it for: vetted, welcome sites
- Free
- Fewer places than WikiCamps
5. DOC's booking site: best for conservation land
DOC books Great Walks, huts, campsites and lodges on its own website, and we found no DOC app for it. Standard campsites cost $10 to $20 per adult a night, serviced ones $20 to $28 and basic ones are free, and most of DOC's roughly 950 huts are first come, first served.
It has no private land and takes bookings mainly online, but you pay DOC's published prices with no marketplace in between. Our booking guide compares it with the other options.
- Choose it for: DOC huts and campsites
- Official prices
- No private land
6. Holiday parks: best for powered sites and facilities
A park offers powered sites, kitchens and showers, and a booking secures your place. TOP 10 Holiday Parks has 52 parks, books on its website, and sells a membership card for NZ$55 for 2 years that saves 10% on accommodation, and its free app holds the card.
Holiday Parks New Zealand lists 230 member parks. Each chain takes its own bookings, though CamperMate also books some parks.
- Choose it for: powered sites
- Chain by chain
- TOP 10 card saves 10%
When Campable is still the better choice
Choose Campable for a quiet night on a farm, orchard or vineyard with a host to meet, and instant booking on real availability for some places. Its price is shown up front with no guest booking fee, though cancellations inside six days lose at least half, and peak-season terms from 20 December to 15 January and on public holiday weekends are stricter.
Campable says each host chooses the vehicle rules, so check a listing for whether it needs a green self-containment warrant, accepts a portable toilet or takes tents. Apple's rating of 4.5 from 13 sits beside Google Play's 2.6 from 57, so read recent reviews. Hipcamp lists private land in New Zealand on its website, but we found no Hipcamp app in the New Zealand App Store.
- Private land with a host
- Hosts set vehicle rules
- Cancel 6 days out for a refund
How we chose and checked
We picked the options a Campable user is most likely to compare it with, and checked their price, rating, version and features on the New Zealand App Store and each company's own site on 21 October 2026. Campable's terms come from its payments and cancellation pages.
Terms change often, so read a service's current conditions before you pay. Leaving a feature out of this list is not a claim that the app lacks it.
Kraji ob poti
Preveri pred odhodom
Pravila in pogoji se spreminjajo. Pred odhodom ponovno preveri uradni vir in stran za svoj park ali kamp.
Pogosta vprašanja
What is an alternative to Campable in New Zealand?+
It depends on the job. CamperMate and WikiCamps list a wide range of sites, Rankers lists spots the local community welcomes, DOC's website books conservation-land campsites and huts, and KiwiCamping maps DOC places and plans a trip.
Is Campable free to use?+
The app is free, and Campable says it charges guests no booking fees. You pay the host's nightly price, and Instant Book stays made more than 14 days ahead are charged 14 days before the stay.
Do I need a self-contained vehicle to use Campable?+
It depends on the host. Campable says each host chooses the vehicle rules, from certified self-contained vehicles only to portable toilets or tents, so check the listing.
Can I book private land camping without Campable?+
Hipcamp lists private land in New Zealand on its website. Campable is the app built around hosted private land.
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