Comparison

MACARFI vs The MICHELIN Guide

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MACARFI

Discover Barcelona's best restaurants recommended by 2,000 local food enthusiasts. Find places based on specific criteria like ambiance, food type, and price, or explore curated lists and rankings.

Highlights
  • Local gastronomist recommendations
  • Advanced restaurant search
  • Customizable restaurant lists
  • Restaurant rankings
  • Geolocation features
Features
Read full description

Hay muchas apps de restaurantes de Barcelona, pero ninguna escrita por 2000 gastrónomos locales. Te preguntarás, ¿qué es un gastrónomo? Pues alguien a quien le apasiona visitar todos los restaurantes de la ciudad y luego describir, con mucha objetividad, qué le han parecido la comida, el servicio, el precio y la decoración. Por eso, en MACARFI descubrirás donde comen los que saben. ¡Pero eso no es todo, aún hay más! También te ofrecemos la posibilidad de encontrar el restaurante que buscas en cada momento a través de nuestro motor de búsqueda capaz de cruzar más de 44.000 opciones. ¿Quieres un sitio con ambiente, buenas croquetas, terraza y precio medio? O tal vez buscas un local con los mejores arroces de la ciudad, excelentes gin-tonics, romántico y con una gran variedad de postres. Lo encontrarás. Y si tus opciones no dan ningún resultado será porque no existe o porque para nuestros gastrónomos no merecía la pena recomendártelo. Sí, son un poco exigentes, qué le vamos a hacer. Lo del geo-localizador no te lo decimos porque es obvio que lo tenemos. Pero, además, en nuestra app encontrarás un ranking con los mejores restaurantes de Barcelona, un sinfín de listas con las recomendaciones de nuestros gastrónomos y la posibilidad de crearte las tuyas. Hay mucho más, pero preferimos que te la descargues y lo vayas descubriendo tú mismo. Buen provecho y ya nos contarás.

About

The MICHELIN Guide

Discover and book top-rated restaurants and hotels worldwide. Plan your next trip with curated selections, create personalized lists, and access exclusive perks. Expert travel assistance is also available.

Highlights
  • Global restaurant and hotel listings
  • Instant booking for hotels
  • Create and share favorite place lists
  • Exclusive hotel upgrades and amenities (Plus membership)
  • Expert travel specialist assistance
Features
Read full description

Stay in amazing places. Eat unforgettable meals. Take the MICHELIN Guide app wherever you go. The MICHELIN Guide app puts the world’s best restaurants and hotels right in your pocket — and lets you book them. It marks the first time in history that the entire global guide — every restaurant in every location — is all together, all in one place. The app also includes the new and improved MICHELIN Guide hotel selection. Now you can instantly book the world’s most unique and exciting hotels, each one chosen for their extraordinary style, service, and personality. The MICHELIN Guide app makes it easier than ever to plan your next adventure or enhance your current one. Use it to quickly find and reserve restaurants and hotels near you or in a future destination; create and share lists of all your favorite places; or trial our “Plus” membership and receive free VIP upgrades and amenities at participating hotels. Need concierge-level care? Our expert travel specialists are waiting just a click away, available to assist with any aspect of your trip. They’re real people, ready to help you go places. So get going. Find great restaurants & hotels in each MICHELIN Guide city. Book amazing hotels wherever you find yourself. Download the app today.

Screenshots

MACARFI4 screens
The MICHELIN Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MACARFI at 100% against The MICHELIN Guide's 41%. MACARFI also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). The MICHELIN Guide's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (7.5K vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The MICHELIN Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The MICHELIN Guide has 7.5K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of MACARFI's written reviews are positive against 41% of The MICHELIN Guide's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MACARFI ships an update every 4 weeks, The MICHELIN Guide every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
MACARFI versus The MICHELIN Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMACARFIThe MICHELIN Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (4 ratings)4.9 (7.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better41.3% of reviews
Number of ratings47.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#164 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB171 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMaterile Barcelona Proyectos, SLTablet Inc

Customer experience

MACARFI

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

The MICHELIN Guide

All ratings7,505 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews356 reviews
Positive41.3%
Neutral11.8%
Negative46.9%

Bugs and requests

MACARFI

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

The MICHELIN Guide

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Location services not working as expected
  • Search functionality not returning relevant results
  • Inability to save or access user-created lists

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to search by cuisine, price range, and other filters
  • Map view with location-based recommendations
  • User-generated reviews and photos
  • Offline mode for accessing content without internet
  • Landscape mode support for tablets

In-app purchases

None

MACARFI

No in-app purchases

None

The MICHELIN Guide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MACARFI free?
MACARFI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The MICHELIN Guide free?
The MICHELIN Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MACARFI or The MICHELIN Guide?
The MICHELIN Guide is rated higher. MACARFI averages 4.3 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while The MICHELIN Guide averages 4.9 from 7.5K ratings.
Do MACARFI or The MICHELIN Guide have ads?
Neither MACARFI nor The MICHELIN Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MACARFI or The MICHELIN Guide?
MACARFI ships an update every 4 weeks, and The MICHELIN Guide every 9 days. Most recently, MACARFI was updated on September 15, 2026 and The MICHELIN Guide on September 27, 2026.

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