CampsiteScanA Free Campnab Alternative for California
Campnab and CampsiteScan solve the same problem: the campground you want is sold out, someone will eventually cancel, and you want to be the first to know. Both services watch the reservation system for you and send an alert the moment a site frees up. Here is an honest look at how they differ, so you can pick the right one for your trip.
The short version
If you camp in California, CampsiteScan does the same job for free while it is in early access. If you camp outside California, use Campnab. It is a mature, well liked service that covers over 3,200 parks across the United States and Canada, and we cover one state.
Side by side
| CampsiteScan | Campnab | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free during early access, full product included | $10 to $30 per month, or $10 to $20 for a single pay per use scan |
| Coverage | California only: 600+ campgrounds and about 25,000 sites across ReserveCalifornia and recreation.gov | Over 3,200 parks across the US and Canada |
| How you scan | Watch one campground, or scan every campground within a 50 mile wide search area at once | Per park scans; plans include 3 to 7 active scans depending on tier |
| Check speed | Every few minutes, same speed for every account | Faster checking on higher priced tiers |
| Alerts | Email, with a link straight to the booking page | Email or text |
| Booking | On the official reservation site | On the official reservation site |
| Extras | Live availability map and open site counts you can browse without an account | Long track record, big park directory, one on one support |
Where Campnab is the better choice
- You camp outside California. We do not cover other states or Canada, and they cover both well.
- You want text message alerts. We send email only for now.
- You want a service with years of history. Campnab has been at this a long time and has plenty of happy reviews. We are the newcomer.
Where CampsiteScan makes more sense
- Price. Every account currently gets the full product free: real alert emails, the fastest check speed, no card on file.
- Area scanning. Instead of picking one park and hoping, you can drop a pin and watch every campground within a 50 mile wide area, up to 25 campgrounds in one scan. For a weekend on the coast, that is the difference between watching Doheny and watching all of Orange County.
- Built for California. We check the state park system and the federal system side by side, and we publish measured sellout data for the campgrounds we watch, so you can see how hard your target really is before you plan around it.
Can you use both?
Yes, and for a hard to get California reservation there is no rule against it. Alerts are a race against every other camper refreshing the page, so more coverage does not hurt. But start with the free one.
Campnab is an independent service and its name belongs to its owners. Prices and plan details above are from campnab.com as of August 2026 and may change; check their site for current pricing. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.