Comparison

vatfree.com vs BorderClock

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

BorderClock

Features
Read full description

BorderClock keeps your travel history, passport context and visa-day planning together in one private place. SEE YOUR YEAR AT A GLANCE View the countries you visited and the number of days spent outside your home country. Every calendar date is counted once in the overall total, even when a border-transition date appears in two country stays. Switch between the last 365 days, the last 180 days, this year, all time or your own date range. CHECK VISA-DAY ALLOWANCES Choose a destination to see the policy for the passport you are using. BorderClock considers recorded trips, rolling stay windows such as the Schengen 90-in-180-day rule, passport validity and compatible visas, residence permits, permanent residence, ETA, ESTA or other authorisations you save. PLAN AND CORRECT TRIPS Add previous and future journeys, edit dates, delete incorrect entries, and merge nearby photo-created stays that belong to one trip. BUILD HISTORY FROM PHOTOS With your permission, BorderClock can scan capture dates and saved GPS metadata across your iPhone photo library to suggest location history. Processing happens on your device. Photo files are not copied or uploaded, and manual trip entry remains available without photo access. YOUR DATA STAYS WITH YOU No BorderClock account is required. The iOS app stores travel data locally, includes backup and restore, and contains no advertising or third-party tracking SDKs. Visa and entry rules depend on individual circumstances and can change. BorderClock is a planning aid, not legal advice or a guarantee of admission. Always check the linked official government source or contact the relevant immigration authority before travel.

Screenshots

vatfree.com4 screens
BorderClock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: vatfree.com at 3 against BorderClock's 1. vatfree.com also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
vatfree.com versus BorderClock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametervatfree.comBorderClock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (888 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews42.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings888 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB11 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperVATfree NL B.V.Yangwon Lee

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

BorderClock

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

vatfree.com

No in-app purchases

None

BorderClock

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is vatfree.com free?
vatfree.com is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BorderClock free?
BorderClock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do vatfree.com or BorderClock have ads?
Neither vatfree.com nor BorderClock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, vatfree.com or BorderClock?
vatfree.com ships an update every 2 months, and BorderClock every 2 months. Most recently, vatfree.com was updated on November 11, 2026 and BorderClock on November 6, 2026.

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