Comparison

Pied vs ParkHouston

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

Head to head
About

Pied

This app offers a contactless and cashless parking experience, simplifying the process of finding and paying for parking. Its automated technology aims to reduce stress and improve the overall driving experience.

Highlights
  • Contactless parking
  • Cashless payment
  • Automated parking technology
  • Stress-free parking
  • Find parking easily
  • Remember parking location
Features
Read full description

Pied is the easiest cashless parking app with its award-winning contactless parking experience. Our automated parking technology keeps you safe during these times. This app was built with one thing in mind, “bring more delight back to driving and reduce traffic” and that is why it is an award-winning designed app. Simply download the app, set up your profile, and park without the stress of dealing with people, tickets, or remembering where you parked. We keep our users safe through the use of our parking automation technology.

About

ParkHouston

Pay for street and lot parking easily from your phone. Extend your parking time remotely and receive expiration alerts. Reserve spots in advance at various locations nationwide.

Highlights
  • Pay for on-street and off-street parking
  • Extend parking duration remotely
  • Receive parking expiration alerts
  • Reserve parking spots in advance
  • Find my car feature
  • Turn-by-turn directions to parking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The ParkHouston app, powered by ParkMobile, gives you a smarter way to park in Houston. Easily pay for on-street and off-street parking right from your mobile device. You can also reserve parking ahead of time in lots, garages, venues, airports, and universities across the country. You can use the ParkHouston app in over 500 other cities across the country, including Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New Orleans, Dallas, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and more. Why Use ParkHouston? • Skip the meter and easily pay for parking from your mobile device • Extend your parking duration remotely from the app • Get alerts so you know when your parking session is going to expire • Reserve parking spots ahead of time to save time and money • Use the app in over 3000 locations coast-to-coast including venues, airports, and universities How to Set Up Your Account • Download the ParkHouston app and create an account with your email address and password • Enter your license plate number and the state where your vehicle is registered • Add your method of payment and start using the ParkHouston app How It Works On-Street and Off-Street Parking: • Enter the zone number on the posted signs around the meter • Select the amount of time you want to park and confirm your information • Touch the “Start Parking” button to begin your parking session • Extend time in the app if you are running late Parking Reservations: • Search for the area where you want to park and select the specific parking location • Choose the date/time and complete your reservation • Follow the instructions in your confirmation to redeem at the parking facility App Features • Customizable notifications delivered via email, text, and/or app • Save your favorite parking locations for next time • Store up to five cars in your account • “Find my car” feature directs you back to the location where you parked • Turn-by-turn directions to the parking garage where you reserved your spot • Multiple payment methods available About ParkMobile ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of parking payment solutions in the United States, helping over 40 million people easily find, reserve, and pay for parking from their mobile devices. Looking for Help? At ParkMobile, we’re serious about customer service. We process nearly 500,000 parking transactions every day and we know that every now and then, something might go wrong. If you have an issue, we will do everything we can to make it right. Our customer service is 24/7/365. If you need help, here’s how to get in touch with us: Web: https://ParkMobile.io/ Email: helpdesk@ParkMobile.io Online Help Center: https://ParkMobile.zendesk.com/hc/en-us Video Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkFsfUAHrnUc5jOm9XtjOmmJQt4YTTCyA Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkMobile Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkMobile/

Screenshots

Pied3 screens
ParkHouston4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ParkHouston at 4.8 against Pied's 3.6. ParkHouston also leads on ratings volume (7.8K vs 75) and chart position (#75 vs unranked). Pied's advantage is review sentiment (69% vs 36%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence, 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ParkHouston holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ParkHouston has 7.8K ratings behind it against 75, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Pied's written reviews are positive against 36% of ParkHouston's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pied ships an update every 2 weeks, ParkHouston fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Pied versus ParkHouston: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPiedParkHouston
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (75 ratings)4.8 (7.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.4% of reviews — better35.7% of reviews
Number of ratings757.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#75 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB184 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPied Parker, Inc.Parkmobile USA, Inc.

Customer experience

Pied

All ratings66 ratings
Positive59.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative36.4%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive69.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative26.5%

ParkHouston

All ratings7,796 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral5.4%
Negative58.9%

User reviews

Pied

From 75 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Makes parking super easy
  • 👍 Very good app
  • 👍 Makes life much easier
  • 👍 Super convenient contactless parking
  • 👍 Setup was quick and seamless

Room to improve

  • 🐛 No confirmation of payment
  • 🐛 Gates take too long to open
  • 🐛 No Apple Pay option
  • 🐛 Difficult to find payment options
  • 🐛 Logo looks like Trump

ParkHouston

From 7.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient and easy to use
  • 🚀 Quick and simple payment process
  • 💡 Helpful features like 'Find my car'

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent log-outs and login issues
  • 🐛 Unreliable app functionality
  • 🐛 Inaccurate location detection
  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues

Bugs and requests

Pied

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • No confirmation that payment was made
  • Gates take 10+ seconds to open
  • It was not easy to find out how to make a payment
  • System didn’t recognize license plate, parking session stayed active
  • Error message (24) when logging into new phone
Show 8 more
  • Chat support unresponsive
  • App frequently has to be fussed with to open and re-enter vehicle info
  • App wouldn’t accept credit or debit card
  • App still says user is in parking structure after leaving
  • Couldn’t complete setup form
  • App has a ton of bugs
  • App crashed and shut down when trying to put in an address
  • Error message saying invalid time to search

Requested features

6 requests
  • More locations need to use this technology
  • Wish more paid parking structures used Pied
  • Hope more parking lots use this technology
  • Enable more locations with their technology
  • Wish they were in more parking lots
Show 1 more
  • More parking lots should use this technology

ParkHouston

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App not recognizing valid payment details
  • Incorrect parking zone information
  • Persistent app notifications even after parking session ends

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to extend parking time remotely
  • Display of parking rates and time limits
  • Support for different vehicle types (e.g., motorcycles)

In-app purchases

None

Pied

No in-app purchases

None

ParkHouston

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pied free?
Pied is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ParkHouston free?
ParkHouston is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pied or ParkHouston?
ParkHouston is rated higher. Pied averages 3.6 out of 5 from 75 ratings, while ParkHouston averages 4.8 from 7.8K ratings.
Do Pied or ParkHouston have ads?
Neither Pied nor ParkHouston shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pied or ParkHouston?
Pied ships an update every 2 weeks, and ParkHouston fortnightly. Most recently, Pied was updated on October 24, 2026 and ParkHouston on October 29, 2026.

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