Free hospitality platforms TrustRoots and Couchers.org unite to stay open and community-driven
Since Couchsurfing introduced a paywall in 2020, many travellers have been looking for alternatives that still work as commons rather than as products. Two of the most active free hospitality platforms today are TrustRoots and Couchers.org. In late 2025, both projects published updates about their finances and invited the community to help keep the services independent and free to use.
On Voluntouring.org we follow these communities because many of you use them to host, meet locals or find a couch while travelling.
This article is a short overview, with links, for readers who want to stay informed and maybe support them.
TrustRoots: keeping a cooperative network free
TrustRoots describes itself as a travellers’ hospitality community built around trust, adventure and intercultural connections. In November 2025 they published a detailed article titled “How we keep Trustroots free forever and ever and ever”, where they explain how the project is funded and why they insist on staying free to use. Their manifesto talks about simplicity, transparency, shared ownership and digital freedom.
The team reminds readers that even a volunteer project has hard costs: servers, security, tools for developers and community moderation. They prefer voluntary donations instead of subscriptions or paywalls, and they publish their code openly on GitHub. In practice, this means members keep full access to the platform while those who can are invited to contribute financially.
For more context, you can read the TrustRoots funding explanation on their blog and their technical documentation. Their public roadmap and source code offer an uncommon level of transparency for a hospitality network.
Couchers.org: from beta to a community-funded platform
Couchers.org followed a similar path in 2025. In the blog post “A new chapter: Couchers is officially out of Beta”, the team announced version 1 of the platform and set a fundraising goal of 5,000 USD to cover yearly running costs such as hosting and infrastructure. The recent newsletter sent to members, looks back on the year: a stable v1, record growth and work on the first mobile app.
Couchers.org is run by volunteers and supported by a non-profit organisation, Couchers, Inc., registered as a 501(c)(3) in the United States.
The idea is to offer a modern couch-surfing experience without subscriptions, advertising or investor pressure.
Those who appreciate the project can donate via the official page at couchers.org/donate or offer time and skills through couchers.org/volunteer.
In their messages the Couchers.org team thanks hosts, surfers and contributors, and explains that small recurring donations are often more useful than one-off large gifts. The tone is practical: they show how funds are spent and what features they plan to work on next.
Why free hospitality platforms still matter
For many travellers, the introduction of mandatory fees on Couchsurfing in 2020 changed the perception of what a hospitality exchange community should be. Critical articles and user discussions have analysed how a paywall can affect trust, access and the long term health of such networks. Free hospitality platforms like TrustRoots and Couchers.org were developed as alternatives that try to protect the original idea of couch surfing as a gift economy.
At the same time, international organisations working on tourism and sustainability remind us that travel has social and environmental impacts that go far beyond the price of a bed. UN Tourism, for example, describes sustainable tourism as a balance between environmental protection, local social welfare and economic benefits for communities. Projects that rely on hosting, sharing and local connection can support this vision when they are managed carefully and transparently. You can read more about this perspective on the official UN tourism website at untourism.int.
For a broader view on how commercialisation changed Couchsurfing itself you can also look at analyses from established travel media,
such as this long article by Fodor’s about the evolution of the original platform and its paywall: “Is Couchsurfing still worth it?”.
If you use these services, there are different ways to give something back: a small donation when you can, feedback to improve the platforms, volunteering on technical or community tasks, or simply hosting and writing honest references. Support is not only financial; it is also about keeping the culture around these projects alive.
On Voluntouring.org we will keep an eye on the evolution of these free hospitality platforms and similar initiatives. They are part of a wider ecosystem of sharing, low cost travel and grassroots projects that many of our readers already use in combination with volunteering, work exchange and slow travel.
Also read:
Free accommodation around the world (best websites and platforms) 🛋️
Note: Voluntouring.org is an independent information platform. This article is based on public updates from TrustRoots and Couchers.org and is not an official communication from them. For current details and conditions, always refer to their official websites.
Go back to the blog section 📝
Explore the international volunteer projects published on our website 👩🌾🫱🏻🫲🏻
The best Facebook groups (2025–2026) for slow & alternative travelers