Essentialist vs Nobu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Essentialist
Discover unique travel experiences curated by a global network of experts. Access exclusive recommendations and insider tips for your next adventure.
- Private travel service
- Global community of tastemakers
- Travel editor recommendations
- Beyond-the-obvious experiences
- Member access
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A private travel service with a global community of tastemakers and travel editors, opening a world of beyond-the-obvious experiences for members.
Nobu
Book hotel stays and restaurant reservations, manage your itinerary, and communicate with hotel staff. Enjoy convenient mobile check-in/out, in-room dining, and local recommendations. Access your mobile key for seamless entry.
- Book hotel stays
- Reserve dinner
- View itinerary
- Chat with hotel teams
- Mobile check-in/out
- 24-hour in-room dining
- Local recommendations
- Mobile key access
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This is the official Nobu app connecting you to the world of Nobu Hotels and Restaurants. Our app delivers a streamlined approach to your guest journey and places you in the middle of all the action. WHY DO I NEED THIS APP? - Reserve your stay, confirm your dinner, and view your itinerary - Chat whenever and however you want with our hotel teams on multiple platforms in a variety of languages - Check-in and check-out is as simple as Click-in and Click-out - Take Nobu to bed with 24-hour in-room dining - Let’s get personal with local recommendations from the property team on the surrounding neighborhood - Retrieve your mobile key and stop mistaking the plastic one for your credit card - Ultimate access to the amazing world of Nobu
Screenshots
Verdict
Essentialist and Nobu both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Essentialist's written reviews are positive against 0% of Nobu's. Essentialist also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Nobu holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 19 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Essentialist's written reviews are positive against 0% of Nobu's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Essentialist ships an update fortnightly, Nobu every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Essentialist | Nobu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (12 ratings) | 4.2 (19 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 19 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 87 MB | 121 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | The Bellhop | NOBU Corp |
Customer experience
Essentialist
Nobu
In-app purchases
Essentialist
No in-app purchases
Nobu
No in-app purchases
