Three services will watch a sold-out Australian campground for you. Here's how they differ on price, alert channels and coverage, from their own published details.
The ground rules
We run one of these services, so take that into account. To keep this fair, every fact below comes from the other services' own public pages as they were on 24 October 2026 (schnerp.com, schnerp.com/pricing, campwatch.com.au, spotbagger.com). We've included Spotbagger, which covers the Tasmanian and Victorian walks, for completeness. Where we don't know something about a competitor we say so rather than guess. Prices and plans change; check their sites.
What they all do
All of them watch an official booking site for a campground, hut or walk you pick, and tell you when a spot opens for your dates. All of them send you to the official site to book; none of them book on your behalf. Schnerp says "We never book on your behalf." CampWatch sends "the official booking link". So do we. That's the right way to do it, and it's also what the park authorities' terms require.
Price
| Free tier | Paid |
|---|
| Aussie Camp Alerts | 1 live watch, email alerts delayed 15 minutes | Summer Pass A$29 once, valid 12 months, no auto-renew. Up to 10 live watches, instant alerts, email, Telegram and web push. |
| Schnerp | 10 instant alerts | Two monthly plans shown as $15 and $29 per month. Schnerp is a Canadian company and the page doesn't say which currency. Plans auto-renew and, per its terms, are non-refundable. |
| CampWatch | First 3 successful alerts free | SMS credit packs: A$7.99 for 5, A$12.99 for 10, A$24.99 for 25. Credits never expire, no subscription. Up to 10 active alerts. |
| Spotbagger | Free to start | 50 cents a day per watch, the same price for email or SMS. |
The structural difference: Schnerp is a monthly subscription, CampWatch and Spotbagger are pay-per-use, and we're a one-off pass. Which is cheapest depends on how long you watch and how many alerts you need. For a two-week hunt on one walk, Spotbagger's A$7 or CampWatch's A$7.99 pack may be less. For a season of trips, a A$29 pass costs about one to two months of Schnerp's cheaper plan, depending on which dollar that is.
Alert channels
- Aussie Camp Alerts: email (all plans), Telegram and browser push (Summer Pass). No SMS.
- Schnerp: email and text, with more channels on its higher plan.
- CampWatch: SMS only.
- Spotbagger: email, text, or both.
If you specifically want SMS, CampWatch, Schnerp or Spotbagger have it and we don't. We chose Telegram and web push because they're free to send, which is what lets us price the pass at A$29 rather than per message.
Coverage
- Aussie Camp Alerts: 40-odd facilities in WA, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania: Park Stay WA campgrounds (Ningaloo Coast, Shark Bay, Cape Le Grand, Conto, Windjana), Parks Victoria (Tidal River, the Prom's cabins and hike-in sites, Lake Catani, Cape Conran, Thurra River), nine NSW National Parks campgrounds, the Overland and Three Capes tracks, and a few commercial parks. We publish the full list on /parks. We don't cover Queensland, SA, the NT or New Zealand.
- Schnerp: every Australian state and territory, plus BIG4, Discovery, RAC and Tasman holiday parks: about 2,160 Australian facilities across 32 booking systems, including the Overland and Three Capes. Also Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Far broader than ours.
- CampWatch: about 2,470 listings across NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, WA, NT and the ACT, of which roughly half are caravan and holiday parks. It covers the Overland Track but not Three Capes, and lists Parks Tasmania as on its roadmap.
- Spotbagger: 11 Australian walks (in Tasmania the Overland, Three Capes, Frenchmans Cap, Walls of Jerusalem, Federation Peak, the Western and Eastern Arthurs, Mt Anne and Lake Rhona; in Victoria the Prom Southern Circuit and the Lightstation) plus the 10 NZ Great Walks. Walks only, no car camping.
If you need a campground or holiday park we don't list, Schnerp or CampWatch almost certainly has it. If you need a remote Tasmanian walk beyond the Overland and Three Capes, or a New Zealand Great Walk, Spotbagger or Schnerp.
What triggers an alert
Schnerp says: "We check minimum stays, check-in gaps, and each system's rules before we ever notify you." CampWatch says it only texts "when the campground, stay dates, and guest count line up with the alert you created." We can't verify either beyond their own descriptions.
Ours is simpler, and we'd rather you knew exactly what it does. A watch is one facility and a range of nights. We check that facility's availability every 5 to 10 minutes, and alert you when any night in your range goes from booked out, closed or not yet released to having at least one bookable site, permit or room. It works per night at the facility level: it doesn't match party size, vehicles or minimum stays, and it doesn't check that one site is free for your whole stay, so open the booking page to see whether the nights you need line up. When a park releases a new block of dates, those nights open too, so a watch covering them fires on release day.
Free tier honesty
Schnerp's free tier is generous: 10 instant alerts before you pay. CampWatch gives you three successful alerts. Spotbagger lets you start free. Ours is one live watch with a 15-minute delay, which is deliberately weaker in peak season, when popular cancellations go in minutes, and perfectly fine in the shoulder months. If you only ever need one watch and you're not racing anyone, our free plan may be all you need; if you want the first look at a Christmas cancellation, that's what the pass is for.
Which one
- You want SMS, pay per alert, and the widest campground and caravan-park coverage: CampWatch.
- You want everything in one place, including holiday parks, other states and overseas, and you're happy with a monthly subscription: Schnerp.
- You want a remote Tasmanian walk or a NZ Great Walk: Spotbagger.
- You want one payment for a year with no auto-renew, alerts on Telegram or push as well as email, and you're camping in WA, Victoria or NSW or walking the Overland or Three Capes: Aussie Camp Alerts. The trade-offs: far fewer facilities than Schnerp or CampWatch, no SMS, and a free tier that's delayed by 15 minutes.
We'll update this post when any of the four changes its pricing or coverage.