Is it better to buy or rent radioguides?

Consider renting for occasional departures or to try equipment before buying. Consider buying if you run frequent tours and can maintain it. Compare full costs, including the low season, and ask for a trial on your route.

How much range do I need?

Enough at the worst point on your route. Test corners, walls, streets and other groups; an open-field figure does not prove the real result.

What battery life should I require?

Your longest operating day plus a margin for delays and battery ageing. Also check charging, visible status and spare availability.

How do I check accessibility?

Ask what the person needs to listen, then test earphones, volume and, where relevant, hearing aids, implants or a compatible neckloop. Prepare a text alternative. A Bluetooth label does not guarantee compatibility.

Who should create the tour network, the guide phone or a router?

Both options need testing with your equipment and group. A hotspot depends on the phone and carrier; a router adds battery, transport and configuration needs. Check that devices can communicate, and record the setup and listener count you tested.

When is an app better?

When visitors bring phones and earphones, agree to use them, and reduced logistics outweigh digital support. Test with the real route, phone and group.

How can I try Echoris before a tour?

Prepare two compatible phones with Echoris and earphones: one acts as the guide and the other as a visitor. Check joining, listening and reconnection. Then extend the test to your intended route and group; two phones do not establish capacity for a full tour.

Guides & agencies

How to choose a tour guide system: buy, rent, test

Echoris editorial team

Published 8 July 2026Updated 22 October 20266 min read

How to choose a tour guide system: buy, rent, test

To choose a tour guide audio system, start with your route and the people who will use it. Visitors need to understand the commentary, the batteries need to last through the day, and the cost needs to fit your business. Decide whether to buy or rent after checking those three things.

Buy, rent or try visitor phones: where to start

Consider renting for occasional departures or to try equipment before buying it. Check minimum orders, delivery charges and what happens if a unit fails. Before committing to a minimum order, compare tour guide system rental with the app.
Consider buying for frequent departures if you can charge, clean, store and maintain the receivers. Run the numbers for the low season too.
Consider visitor phones if your audience brings phones and earphones and agrees to use them. Echoris lets those phones receive the guide’s voice; you will need to check the connection and provide an alternative for anyone who needs one.

If you are still deciding between receivers and phones, the comparison of tour guide systems and smartphones explains what changes during a visit. This article covers the questions to ask before choosing and ordering a system.

Choose a system for your route

Write down where you work: interiors with thick walls, narrow streets, a coach, an open site, or a mix. Note how long the tour runs, your usual and peak group size, the languages, and the points where people get separated.

Check the local rules too. Girona, Venice, Palma, San Sebastián, Toledo and the Alhambra all set different limits on groups and amplification. Good audio does not make a group legal if it exceeds the site's limit.

Ask for a trial on your route

The range on a spec sheet does not reproduce a stone corner or a crypt. Test the system with the guide in position and someone closing the group. Walk, turn, go in and out of the building, and talk with real noise around you.

During the trial, note:

dropouts, delay and whether you can actually be understood;
useful distance at the worst point, not in open ground;
interference when other groups are working;
what happens when you switch a receiver off and on again.

Do not buy a range figure. Buy a result that repeats on your route.

Batteries and preparation: plan for a whole day

The battery has to cover use, breaks and delays with margin. Ask how long a full charge takes, how you know the state of each unit, and what happens after hundreds of cycles. Ask for the price and lead time of spare batteries, receivers, headphones and chargers.

Rehearse the start and the end: handing out units, explaining volume and channel, dealing with a silent receiver, collecting, counting, cleaning and leaving everything on charge. Those hours are part of the system even if they never reach the invoice.

Check that every visitor can listen

Ask whether people can use their own earphones and adjust the volume. If someone uses hearing aids or a cochlear implant, test the exact combination with them. Some systems support a neckloop, an accessory that sends audio to compatible hearing aids with an induction coil.

The word “Bluetooth” does not guarantee that any phone and hearing aid will work together. The guide to audio guides for hearing-aid users explains the options and pre-tour checks.

Have a text alternative ready for the essentials, and a plan for anyone who cannot use the standard receiver.

Buying or renting: compare the full cost

Ask for dated quotes for the same group, route and season. A per-person rate is not enough if suppliers include different things. Then work out:

Cost per tour = rental or a share of the purchase cost + transport + preparation + cleaning + support + losses and faults.

What to include when comparing buying and renting
Option	Include in the calculation
Buy	Investment divided by a cautious number of tours, plus spares and renewal.
Rent	Rental fee, carriage, minimums, idle days and penalties.

Add any separately charged licences or services. Include staff time in the tasks above without counting it twice, then repeat the calculation for a quiet month.

What to check when choosing receivers

Owned or rented equipment lets you check every unit before the group arrives. That can help when many visitors do not carry a phone, the day is long or several groups are running at once.

Check how many transmitters you need, how each group uses a separate channel and who handles faults. Ask for a spare unit during the trial and practise swapping it: support is part of the purchase too.

What to check when choosing an app

Using visitor phones can reduce handing out and collecting receivers. In exchange, you need to help people connect and account for their batteries, earphones and settings. Include compatible loan phones or another alternative when needed.

Echoris live audio travels over a local Wi-Fi network, created by the guide phone or an external router. The connection limit depends on the equipment and does not by itself guarantee that everyone will hear clearly. If you carry a router, include its battery, transport and preparation in the budget.

Before departure, check that phones can communicate with one another: some guest networks or isolation settings prevent this. The setup guide linked below explains joining, network options and what to check on each phone.

On real tours of about 20 people we use the TP-Link M7450 V3, a pocket router with a battery; we use it without a SIM. The manufacturer states up to 32 devices: that is the ceiling of the radio, not a demonstrated tour capacity. Test it on your route exactly as you would a radioguide. The rest of what we carry, from the microphone to the power bank, is in the kit for a live tour.

The decision sheet

Before you sign, write down:

the route and the worst point covered;
how many listeners you tested;
who creates the network and with what device;
observed battery life and charging plan;
accessible options and an alternative without audio;
spares, support and replacement times;
total cost per tour;
plan B when the system fails.

Ask every supplier the same questions, and apply them to phone-based alternatives too. Keep the trial results alongside the quote so you can compare the service you will receive as well as the price.

Try Echoris before deciding

To assess the phone option, prepare two compatible phones with Echoris and a pair of earphones. Use one as the guide and the other as a visitor. Check that you can join, listen, walk and reconnect if audio is interrupted.

This first trial helps you learn how it works. Before using it on a departure, extend the test to your actual group size and check the route, battery life and alternative access options.

Prepare an Echoris trial with two phones.

Sources

Apple Support — Personal Hotspot connections and limits by model and carrier.
TP-Link — M7450 specifications: dual band, 3000 mAh battery and up to 32 simultaneous devices. The V3 sold on Amazon states 3280 mAh.
TP-Link — brief introduction to AP isolation: with the feature on, two hosts on the same wireless network cannot communicate with each other.
Android Open Source Project — Hearing aid audio support using Bluetooth LE.
Girona City Council — group and amplification-device restrictions.
City of Venice — rules for accompanied tourist groups.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to buy or rent radioguides?: Consider renting for occasional departures or to try equipment before buying. Consider buying if you run frequent tours and can maintain it. Compare full costs, including the low season, and ask for a trial on your route.
How much range do I need?: Enough at the worst point on your route. Test corners, walls, streets and other groups; an open-field figure does not prove the real result.
What battery life should I require?: Your longest operating day plus a margin for delays and battery ageing. Also check charging, visible status and spare availability.
How do I check accessibility?: Ask what the person needs to listen, then test earphones, volume and, where relevant, hearing aids, implants or a compatible neckloop. Prepare a text alternative. A Bluetooth label does not guarantee compatibility.
Who should create the tour network, the guide phone or a router?: Both options need testing with your equipment and group. A hotspot depends on the phone and carrier; a router adds battery, transport and configuration needs. Check that devices can communicate, and record the setup and listener count you tested.
When is an app better?: When visitors bring phones and earphones, agree to use them, and reduced logistics outweigh digital support. Test with the real route, phone and group.
How can I try Echoris before a tour?: Prepare two compatible phones with Echoris and earphones: one acts as the guide and the other as a visitor. Check joining, listening and reconnection. Then extend the test to your intended route and group; two phones do not establish capacity for a full tour.