Comparison

vatfree.com vs GVB reis app

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

Head to head
About

vatfree.com

This app helps international travelers claim Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds on their purchases within the European Union. It simplifies the process, aims to secure the highest possible refund, and ensures you receive money you're entitled to.

Highlights
  • Claim VAT refunds on EU shopping
  • Maximize refund amount
  • Simplified refund process
  • Online shopping VAT refund
  • Tax-free shopping guide
Features
Read full description

Thanks to a special EU-regulation, international travelers can claim the Value Added Tax paid over goods they have bought in the EU. We will help you get a VAT refund on your shopping in the European Union, even if you shop online. We make it easy, we ensure you get the highest refund possible and are here to help you claim what’s yours. We think it’s a shame that millions of euro are left unclaimed each year. Money which could be reinvested in yourself, in others or in the world. Why Vatfree.com? The Highest Refund Keep your receipts and save up to 25% on your shopping made in the EU. Rates differ per country. Refund of VAT is only possible when shopping at partner- and participating shops as EU regulation does not legally obligate shops to participate. Find a full list of participating stores in our taxfree shopping guide or in the vatfree.com mobile app. The Most Transparent We offer an inclusive service, every merchant or shop is welcome to join. Offering our tax-free shopping service next to other refund partners will give you more choice as we are the fastest growing mobile option with the highest refund guaranteed to the most diverse traveler groups. The most common feedback we get from travelers is that they feel uncomfortable being subjected to high fees for claiming back Value Added Tax they are entitled to. Especially after having to go through so much effort to arrange the refund. We get that. The regulation states that when exporting goods to a non-EU country, you do not have to pay VAT. For travelers to claim back the initial paid VAT, they have to stand in line at Customs, before flying back home, to get proof of the export. Quite stressful, time-consuming and sometimes leads to missing out if queues are long and you have to catch a plane. Once the stamp is collected, the only way to claim back VAT is to contact the shop. If the shop is unwilling to cooperate, charges high fees (with or without a tax-free partner) or just takes a long time to process it all, disappointing to say at least. Traditional tax-free companies charge fees varying from 35% to 60% of the VAT amount and are only an option if shops are affiliated. We decided to use modern technology to create an open platform for all shops to easily join, without necessary contracts, and to minimize costs so that we can continue to offer the highest possible refund. Our service fee starts at €2,50 per receipt with a maximum of €80. With this, we help travelers ánd stores as we believe a happy customer is a customer for life. Our mission is to help travelers easily shop tax-free at stores and brands that love them back. The Best in Mobile With airports requesting travelers to show up at least three hours before their flight, and safety procedures taking up a lot of time, most travelers have little time left to arrange to get a Customs validation stamp on their receipts. Standing in line at Customs may take up to half an hour or more. Being required to then stand in line at a desk for a cash refund, can increase the time of this entire process to an hour or more. Time is sparse so we built the first-ever tax-free shopping app in 2016, so travelers can finalize refund claims once they find a spare moment, on the plane home or in the comfort of their own house. The Most Diverse We are the first and only tax-free shopping service founded by travelers, specifically for travelers, with the main focus on travelers’ needs. Our service, therefore, ranges from helping a range of travelers from tourists, cruise passengers, military staff, expats and international students. We also are able to help travelers get back VAT over shopping made online, offline, cross-border, over purchases charged with low as well as high VAT rates at shops that are either listed in our shopping guide as well as not listed and new to us.

About

GVB reis app

Plan your public transport journeys across Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Get real-time travel information, disruption alerts, and purchase barcode tickets for immediate travel. This app helps you navigate trams, buses, metros, and ferries with ease.

Highlights
  • Real-time travel information
  • Trip planner for all addresses
  • Disruption alerts and notifications
  • Crowd indicator for services
  • In-app barcode ticket purchase
  • Save favorite locations
Features
Read full description

The app for travelling by tram, (night) bus, metro and ferry in Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands. Your indispensable travel buddy for frequent travellers or for just a visit. Quickly and easily plan your trip from home to work, a restaurant or the theatre or from Schiphol to your hotel or B&B. Check whether there is a diversion or delay on your route. You always have your favourite line’s up-to-date departure times at your fingertips. And now it’s also possible to purchase a barcode ticket for immediate travel. What the GVB travel app offers you: - Up-to-date travel information: always the most reliable and up-to-date travel information for the GVB network as well as for all other public transport companies in the Netherlands. - Trip planner: plan your trip to any address in Amsterdam or the rest of the Netherlands. - Alert for disruptions: turn notifications on for your favourite line(s). You will receive an Alert if there’s a diversion or disruption. You can set this for certain days and time periods. - Crowd indicator: in each requested travel advice, you can immediately see how busy a service is expected to be. - Bicycle as before and after transport: under travel preferences, you can easily indicate whether you will start or end your trip by bicycle. - Travel only with GVB: if you have a GVB travel product, e.g. a GVB hour/day or GVB Flex, and only want to travel with GVB lines, it’s easy to set this in your travel preferences. - Save favourites: save your favourite locations in Amsterdam with just one click. It’ll then be even easier to plan your next trip. - In-app ticket purchase: you can buy tickets via the app for one hour or for more hours/days and activate them immediately so you are ready to travel. Easily check in and out using your mobile. Why are travellers using the GVB app even more? - Unique Touch Swipe planner – The most personalised trip planner in the Netherlands. Simply swipe from your current, favourite or any other set location to the key places of interest in the city and your trip will be planned instantly. Then you can personalise your destinations. Select your destinations from a list of main locations in Amsterdam and surroundings, and save them for later use. - Personal dashboard based on your travel profile. Directly access the key functions for your travel profile via your main screen. For example, if you use the app mainly for commuting, you will find your set regular route in your dashboard. In that way you always have the up-to-date departure times at hand. - You can compose your own menu to display the functions which are most useful to you. - Check the latest updates on disruptions and planned diversions. - Search for up-to-date departure times by location, stop name or line. (available from mid-May 2021) - Get in touch with GVB Customer Service quickly and have direct access to GVB Services such as lost & found or missed check-out (claim a refund for missed check-ins or check-outs). - Fully available in Dutch and English.

Screenshots

vatfree.com4 screens
GVB reis app4 screens

Verdict

The call

vatfree.com and GVB reis app both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 43% of vatfree.com's written reviews are positive against 13% of GVB reis app's. GVB reis app's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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 — 4.7 for vatfree.com against 4.7 for GVB reis app. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 887 and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 43% of vatfree.com's written reviews are positive against 13% of GVB reis app's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

vatfree.com ships an update every 2 months, GVB reis app fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
vatfree.com versus GVB reis app: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametervatfree.comGVB reis app
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (887 ratings) — better4.7 (2.6K ratings)
Positive reviews42.9% of reviews — better13.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8872.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB40 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperVATfree NL B.V.GVB Exploitatie B.V.

Customer experience

vatfree.com

All ratings887 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral6.1%
Negative51.0%

GVB reis app

All ratings2,508 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews200 reviews
Positive13.0%
Neutral8.5%
Negative78.5%

User reviews

vatfree.com

From 887 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy and intuitive
  • 🚀 Hassle-free process
  • 🚀 Faster than alternatives
  • 🚀 Convenient for international travelers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes or doesn't open
  • 💰 High fees and commissions
  • ⏱️ Slow processing times
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with ID uploads
  • 🤔 Complicated procedures

GVB reis app

From 2.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Helpful navigation
  • 🚀 Straightforward ticket purchasing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable QR code scanning
  • 🔒 Lack of secure payment options
  • 🤔 Confusing user interface
  • 💸 Tickets disappearing from app
  • 🤔 Incompatibility with Apple devices

Bugs and requests

vatfree.com

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to upload photos
  • Receipts get rejected for minor issues
  • Unable to complete the refund process

Requested features

4 requests
  • Debit/credit card refund option
  • Improved app stability and performance
  • Faster processing and payout times
  • More transparent fee structure

GVB reis app

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • QR codes not scanning properly
  • Purchased tickets not showing up
  • App crashing or freezing
  • Incorrect transit information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Integrate with Apple Wallet
  • Improve QR code scanning reliability
  • Add more payment options like Apple Pay
  • Simplify user interface
  • Provide better support for lost/expired tickets

In-app purchases

None

vatfree.com

No in-app purchases

None

GVB reis app

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is vatfree.com free?
vatfree.com is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GVB reis app free?
GVB reis app is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, vatfree.com or GVB reis app?
vatfree.com is rated higher. vatfree.com averages 4.7 out of 5 from 887 ratings, while GVB reis app averages 4.7 from 2.6K ratings.
Do vatfree.com or GVB reis app have ads?
Neither vatfree.com nor GVB reis app shows ads.
Which is updated more often, vatfree.com or GVB reis app?
vatfree.com ships an update every 2 months, and GVB reis app fortnightly. Most recently, vatfree.com was updated on November 2, 2026 and GVB reis app on November 7, 2026.

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