vatfree.com vs JourneyMemo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Claim VAT refunds on EU shopping
- Maximize refund amount
- Simplified refund process
- Online shopping VAT refund
- Tax-free shopping guide
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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.
JourneyMemo
This app allows you to privately journal your travels, documenting visited locations with photos, dates, and notes. Relive your adventures through a personal map and organized collections, and collaborate with friends on shared journeys.
- Mark visited and desired places
- Save daily journal entries with photos and voice notes
- Explore memories on a personal travel map
- Organize memories by destination and date
- Collaborate on private group journeys with companions
- Offline saving and cross-device syncing
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JourneyMemo is your private travel journal and personal map. Save the places you visit with photos, travel dates and daily notes, then revisit your memories by destination. FREE DURING LAUNCH All current features are free during launch. CAPTURE YOUR JOURNEYS • Mark visited places and places you want to go • Save multiple visits, dates and day-by-day journal entries • Write notes, use Speak to write, record voice memories and read journals aloud • Add photos, memory tags and unforgettable places RELIVE YOUR MEMORIES • Explore your personal travel map • Organize memories by year, destination and collection • Browse your photo album by city, country or date • Revisit your trips through the years TRAVEL TOGETHER • Invite companions to a private group journey • Choose who can view or edit the trip • Add photos and notes together • Share only the memories you choose KEEP YOUR MEMORIES CLOSE • Save changes offline and sync when you are online • Sign in to sync memories across your devices • Download your data and manage your account Launch usage limits: 150 places, 1,000 photos in total (100 per place), 120 minutes of voice memories (10 per recording), and 10 group journeys with up to 10 people including the owner. Privacy: https://www.journeymemo.app/privacy Terms: https://www.journeymemo.app/terms Support: support@lumatra.io Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: vatfree.com at none against JourneyMemo's 4. vatfree.com also leads on ratings volume (888 vs 1). JourneyMemo's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. JourneyMemo sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. vatfree.com asks for nothing beyond the download.
JourneyMemo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: vatfree.com has 888 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
vatfree.com ships an update every 2 months, JourneyMemo every 6 days. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.
| Parameter | vatfree.com | JourneyMemo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (888 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 888 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | VATfree NL B.V. | LUMATRA TECHNOLOGY LLC |
Customer experience
vatfree.com
JourneyMemo
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
JourneyMemo
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
vatfree.com
No in-app purchases
JourneyMemo
- JourneyMemo Explorer$4.991 Month
- JourneyMemo Collector$9.991 Month
- JourneyMemo Explorer$49.991 Year
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- JourneyMemo Collector$79.991 Year









