Comparison

Need vs PointsRadar

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

Head to head
About

Need

Easily book and track taxis with this updated passenger app. Features include real-time vehicle tracking, status notifications, and flexible payment options. Schedule rides for specific times and save favorite locations for quick bookings.

Highlights
  • Order a taxi
  • Cancel a booking
  • Track vehicle location
  • Real-time status notifications
  • Pay by cash or card
  • Schedule future pick-ups
  • Save favorite locations
Features
Read full description

Presenting the brand new version of the Need-A-Cab Plymouth passenger app. Besides the new design and powerful capabilities, the new passenger app allows for much better location tracking with minimal battery usage. Through this app you can: • Order a taxi • Cancel a booking • Track the vehicle on the map as it makes its way towards you! • Receive real-time notifications of the status of your taxi • Pay by cash or with card • Order a taxi for an exact pick-up time • Store your favourite pick up points for easy booking

About

PointsRadar

Features
Read full description

PointsRadar tracks Virgin Atlantic reward flight availability and tells you the moment the points price drops. Search reward availability across the route network, browse a whole month at a glance, and set alerts that watch for the seats you actually want. SEARCH • Start from what you know — your dates, your destination, or how many points you have • One-way, return and multi-city reward availability • "Best trip for my points" ranks whole trips inside a budget you set, for the number of people going, with a trip length you can flex • See every cabin option to each destination, mixed cabins included, with how many dates fit your points and the cheapest of them • Filter by cabin, date range, maximum points and saver fares • Compare Economy, Premium and Upper Class side by side • Every result comes with the details to quote and a one-tap call to reservations CALENDAR • A month view showing the cheapest points price on every date, cabin by cabin • The cheapest days of the month are highlighted, with chips that jump straight to them • "Out & return" flips the month between legs, so you can pick a day each way and see both together with the return total • Tap a date to see every cabin and what each one costs • Your saved holidays are marked across the calendar, including the flexible days either side DESTINATIONS • Browse where your points can actually reach, filtered by what you have • A page for each destination: which UK airports fly there, and the cheapest seat in every cabin • "Lowest points right now" — a live board of the cheapest seat to everywhere, or up to twenty dates in every cabin for one place ALERTS • Watch a single route and get told when it drops below your points limit • Holiday alerts watch an entire trip: one departure airport, up to 25 destinations and flexible dates, capped by one maximum for the whole return trip or by a separate limit for each cabin in each direction • Mixed-cabin trips — Premium out, Upper Class back — can be included or left out • Tap a triggered alert to see every seat it found, filter by destination and cabin, and sort by cheapest or earliest Light and dark appearance, following your phone or your choice. An account is required. PointsRadar is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Virgin Atlantic. It reports reward seat availability only; bookings are made on Virgin Atlantic's own website.

Screenshots

Need4 screens
PointsRadar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PointsRadar at every 6 days against Need's every 2 months. Need's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Need ships an update every 2 months, PointsRadar every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Need versus PointsRadar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNeedPointsRadar
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews52.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size145 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNeedacab TaxisJames Arscott

Bugs and requests

Need

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • App doesn't work
  • Booked cab didn't turn up
  • No record of booking
  • Drivers don't turn up
  • Cab won't arrive on time
Show 16 more
  • Can't prebook with the app
  • Useless app
  • No cabs available
  • Poor app
  • Takes many attempts to get a taxi
  • App not functional
  • Error message when booking
  • App doesn't work for certain routes
  • App unusable for pre-booking
  • Pickup location erases and enters nearest address
  • Lots of errors and warnings
  • Inconsistent text messages
  • App constantly crashing
  • Cannot pay with card
  • App says cannot find a route
  • Extra deductions from card

Requested features

8 requests
  • Improve taxi availability
  • Better driver training for rudeness
  • Lower taxi prices
  • Fix app booking errors
  • Ensure pre-bookings are honored
Show 3 more
  • Improve app stability
  • Allow payment by card in app
  • Fix route finding errors

PointsRadar

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Need

No in-app purchases

None

PointsRadar

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Need free?
Need is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PointsRadar free?
PointsRadar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Need or PointsRadar have ads?
Neither Need nor PointsRadar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Need or PointsRadar?
Need ships an update every 2 months, and PointsRadar every 6 days. Most recently, Need was updated on November 2, 2026 and PointsRadar on October 25, 2026.

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