ParkAlbany vs Upstate Curious
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ParkAlbany
Manage your parking experience directly from your smartphone. Avoid meters and loose change by paying for your parking session through the app. Receive notifications and extend your time remotely.
- Pay for parking sessions via smartphone
- Receive low parking time notifications
- Extend parking sessions remotely
- View parking history
- Receive email receipts
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Parking just got easier with the official parking app for the City of Albany, ParkAlbany! The mobile parking app provides users with the convenience to handle their parking experience from their smartphone. Ditch carrying around loose change and paying at the meter - simply use the ParkAlbany app! Get Started Today: 1. Download ParkAlbany 2. Park where you see the ParkAlbany signs 3. Pay for your parking session from your phone The Perks: - Receive notifications when your parking session time is low - Extend your parking session through the app - Receive email receipts at the end of your parking session - Manage all parking history through the app Park, pay, and be on your way - download the free ParkAlbany app today!
Upstate Curious
Discover local gems and connect with your community in the Hudson Valley and Catskills. Find recommended restaurants, shops, and services, or ask for local advice. Meet new people and share your experiences in this vibrant region.
- Local discovery feed
- Crowdsourced Q&A
- Community profiles
- Direct messaging
- Interest-based connections
- Local groups
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We love the Hudson Valley + Catskills region! We love exploring every nook and cranny of the mountains and forests and farms and towns - and all the incredible restaurants and shops and art galleries and other places to visit. As residents, we also love (and need!) to know where to find a great dentist, electrician, therapist, or upholsterer, dog groomer, or babysitter depending on the day! And since one of the best parts about living in or visiting this special area are the people, we think that new ways to meet up online and (eventually!) IRL is also a pretty great idea. “Upstate Chat” is the main feed where you can share your finds or the view from your backyard (including videos and photos). By using hashtags like #restaurants, #outdoors, #townname, #county, etc., we can make things easy to find - and the section for “Popular Hashtags” will be just that. “Hotline” is where you go to ask a question you need to crowdsource - from a roofer who turns up on time to the best pizza in Ulster County to an easy hike with dogs. You can add searchable interests and a bio to your profile to connect more easily with other members - there’s a DM feature right in the app, but you can share all your social profiles as well. Upstate Curious was created for residents, visitors, weekenders, and fans - and we cover Ulster, Dutchess, Sullivan, Greene, Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, and neighboring countries. The more the merrier! The Upstate Curious Team members will be posting their finds and tips for #upstateliving - and there are special groups for buyers and sellers to get their own burning questions answered!” This app was created by the Upstate Curious Team of Keller Williams Realty Hudson Valley North.
Screenshots
Verdict
ParkAlbany and Upstate Curious both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Upstate Curious's written reviews are positive against 48% of ParkAlbany's. Upstate Curious also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 23 months). ParkAlbany's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Upstate Curious holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 339 and 144 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of ParkAlbany's written reviews are positive against 100% of Upstate Curious's.
ParkAlbany ships an update every 23 months, Upstate Curious every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ParkAlbany | Upstate Curious |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (339 ratings) | 4.9 (144 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 339 — better | 144 |
| Update frequency | Every 23 months | Every 6 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 108 MB | 77 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Albany Parking Authority | The Brenn-White Group LLC |
Customer experience
ParkAlbany
Upstate Curious
Bugs and requests
ParkAlbany
Reported bugs
8 issues- App experiences technical issues
- App issues after trying to pay for parking
- App gives error about payment method
- App won't load
- Network error
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- Payment glitch
- App starts a minute less than paid for
- Got a ticket even though paid for session
Requested features
3 requests- Update app icon for dark mode
- Allow payment for minimum 20 or 30 minutes
- Mention state in app description
Upstate Curious
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ParkAlbany
No in-app purchases
Upstate Curious
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ParkAlbany free?
Is Upstate Curious free?
Which has better reviews, ParkAlbany or Upstate Curious?
Do ParkAlbany or Upstate Curious have ads?
Which is updated more often, ParkAlbany or Upstate Curious?
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