looking for an airbnb alternative in Portugal

Look at FeWo.

Booking.com has a significant number of apartments.

thanks all very much.
great trip report info.
Is FeWo aka Vrbo?
Should I consider Air Conditioning in Lisbon or Algrave in Oct?
Any particular areas of these cities that are better choices? Don't mind busy, but crowded/noisy is not our thing.
3 flights at most.

Book a hotel-Not having to clean up or do chores is why I get a hotel.

There should be aparthotels in Portugal if you need a kichenette.

Did you decide or find anything? I have same question. Found abb outrageous. 10k for a rental for 3 weeks. Not sure whats up with that but want to go for xmas time frame.

For short stays ( from 1 day up to 2 weeks) we use hotels, the hotel does the cleaning plus no additional fees or odd rules .
We use booking.com for research and either book with them or directly with the hotel.

For longer stays ( weeks or months) we rent holiday apartments either with the large realty companies or local rental companies - quite often it's cheaper to rent for a month than 2+ weeks in a hotel.
This type of rentals usually are only available in the more touristy areas and in the low season .

Example of a rental agency in the Algarve with rentals as low as €1215 per month for a 1 bedroom apartment near Portimão.

https://www.nuris2u.com/en/rentals/holidays-rentals-rentals-p0/2-people/available-from-01-12-2025/to-31-12-2025/list-view/

Edit: I should add that this type of rental was purpose built for vacation rentals either for nightly, weekly or monthly rentals, locals also rent this type of accommodation for their vacations, it's not for year round living.

AirBnB isn't the problem in cities like Lisbon. Short-term rentals on any platform that take away from the local housing market are the problem. The priority should be to stay in a place that a local person would not live. For example, hotels, hostels and purpose-built aparthotels. One should always book directly with independent operators.
If by "homestay," you mean renting a room in someone's home while they are there, I don't know another platform besides AirBnB for this.

I have other reason to avoid abnb.
I have not finished my research on the trip.
Xmas I think you will get hammered anywhere is western EU.
Prolly even in Longyearbyen, Sweden

We stayed in small family run guesthouses in Lisbon, Obidos, Tomar and Coimbra. It worked for us as we had access to on site management and the cost was a fraction of larger hotels.

A few years ago I stayed at the Lisbonaire Apartments. You can look them up on booking.com to read reviews. They are an aparthotel.

https://www.lisbonaire.com/

For Porto, you can take a look at Inpatio Guest house. https://www.inpatio.pt/

@ Katheryne. Where did you find listings for family run guesthouses ?

I used a variety of sources, Fodor's, Frommer's, booking.com and Trip Advisor.

Thanks, Katheryne