Comparison

Warby Parker vs NYC BUD

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

Head to head
About

Warby Parker

Shop for eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses with ease. Virtually try on frames, get personalized recommendations, and measure your pupillary distance. Enjoy free shipping and returns on all orders.

Highlights
  • Shop frames starting at $95
  • Virtual try-on with AI recommendations
  • Shop contact lenses
  • Measure pupillary distance
  • Free shipping and returns
Features
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Our app is the easiest way to shop for Warby Parker eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contacts. Our eyeglasses start at $95 (prescription included!), and free shipping and returns are included with every order. With the app you can… • Shop frames starting at $95, including prescription lenses—plus sunglasses! • Get personalized frame recommendations from our AI-powered Advisor feature • Virtually try on frames with lifelike accuracy • Shop top brands of daily, bi-weekly, and monthly contacts with no hidden fees • Handle all of your eyewear prescriptions with ease • Measure your pupillary distance (PD) in no time—no card or ruler necessary Warby Parker has your eyes covered. Whether you’re looking for designer eyewear at a revolutionary price or your next supply of contacts, you can handle it all in one place. With free shipping and returns, it’s easy to shop with no risk (None! Zero! Zilch!). Plus: Apps are fun. As always, for every pair purchased, a pair of glasses is distributed to someone in need. Let’s find you an amazing pair. Some features in this app incorporate Apple's TrueDepth API. In order to use these features, users must agree to Warby Parker’s terms and conditions of use. Warby Parker's TrueDepth features look at multiple data points on the user’s face only while they are interacting with the tool. We do not save or store any face scan data for any user or share with any third-parties. • For Virtual Try-On and Find your width, the terms are: “By tapping ‘Okay,’ you agree to give us access to your camera and to measure your facial features. (FYI: We won’t store or share these measurements – and will only collect and use them while you are using the [tool].)” * For our Digital PD tool, we ask the user to opt-in for a second time: “By tapping ‘Okay,’ you agree to give us access to your camera and to measure your facial features. (FYI: We won’t store your pupillary distance (PD) measurement without your permission–and will only collect it while you are using the PD tool.).” Once a user agrees, we measure their “Pupillary Distance." Once we have a measurement, users can choose if they’d like to update and store this measurement with their Warby Parker glasses prescription details. If they choose to add this data to their prescription, the pupillary distance measurement is added to their Warby Parker glasses prescription details and not shared with any third-party. If they choose not to add these data to their existing Warby Parker prescription, we do not store these data or share with any third-parties. Privacy policy: https://www.warbyparker.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.warbyparker.com/terms-of-use

About

NYC BUD

Access an online menu, place orders, and track their status directly from your mobile device. Receive exclusive announcements and manage your shopping experience.

Highlights
  • Sign-up
  • Shop online menu
  • Track orders
  • Exclusive announcements
Features
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With NYC BUD's mobile app you can sign-up, shop our online menu, track your orders, and receive exclusive app announcements.

Screenshots

Warby Parker4 screens
NYC BUD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: NYC BUD at none against Warby Parker's shown. NYC BUD also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Warby Parker's advantage is ratings volume (296K vs 14) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Warby Parker against 4.9 for NYC BUD. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Warby Parker has 296K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Warby Parker ships an update every 10 days, NYC BUD every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Warby Parker versus NYC BUD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWarby ParkerNYC BUD
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (296K ratings)4.9 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings296K — better14
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size331 MB92 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperWarby Parker IncBUDBIZ LLC

Customer experience

Warby Parker

All ratings295,952 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews828 reviews
Positive44.9%
Neutral5.2%
Negative49.9%

NYC BUD

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Warby Parker

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes
  • Virtual try-on feature not working
  • Ordering process glitches

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow replacing lost/broken glasses without new prescription
  • Improve app user experience
  • Integrate insurance information in ordering process

NYC BUD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Warby Parker

No in-app purchases

None

NYC BUD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Warby Parker free?
Warby Parker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NYC BUD free?
NYC BUD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Warby Parker or NYC BUD?
NYC BUD is rated higher. Warby Parker averages 4.9 out of 5 from 296K ratings, while NYC BUD averages 4.9 from 14 ratings.
Do Warby Parker or NYC BUD have ads?
Warby Parker shows ads; NYC BUD does not.
Which is updated more often, Warby Parker or NYC BUD?
Warby Parker ships an update every 10 days, and NYC BUD every 6 weeks. Most recently, Warby Parker was updated on November 12, 2026 and NYC BUD on November 10, 2026.

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