Comparison

Beryl vs Forest

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

Head to head
About

Beryl

Discover a faster, more convenient, and sustainable way to travel through your city. Rent bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, or e-cargo bikes easily through the app. Enjoy a fun and eco-friendly ride, avoiding traffic congestion.

Highlights
  • Find and unlock bikes
  • Rent e-scooters
  • Book e-cargo bikes
  • Sustainable urban travel
  • Easy app-based booking
  • Park in designated bays
Features
Read full description

Cities are better when more people are on two wheels! Travel the faster, more convenient and sustainable way on a Beryl bike, e-bike, e-scooter or e-cargo bike. We can guarantee it’s more fun than sitting in traffic. Use the Beryl app to find and unlock a bike, e-bike, e-cargo bike or e-scooter or from one of the many distinctive green Beryl bays in your town or city! We’ve designed our bikes and scooters to be safe and easy to use for an enjoyable ride. It’s as easy as app, tap and roll. How can you start riding a Beryl bike, e-bike or e-scooter? ------------------------------- Download the Beryl app Create an account and add a payment method To ride an s-cooter upload a valid driving licence Enjoy your ride! How do you finish your ride? ------------------------------- Find a convenient Beryl bay in the app Head there and park up your ride Follow the instructions in the app to finish your journey How much does it cost? ------------------------------- Get rolling right away with our Pay As You Ride options. We also have a range of Minute Bundles and passes to suite more regular riders. Open the app to see the latest promotions and rates for your scheme. Download the Beryl app and start riding with us today.

About

Forest

This app provides access to shared electric bikes across London for a faster, fun, and sustainable commute. Enjoy free ride minutes on every Pay As You Go trip after a small unlock fee.

Highlights
  • Shared electric bike service
  • Thousands of ebikes across London
  • Free ride minutes daily
  • Pay As You Go pricing
  • Ride bundles available
  • Subscription option
  • Watch ads for more free minutes
Features
Read full description

Get from A to B with Forest, London’s homegrown shared ebike. Switch your usual journey by train or bus for a faster, fun, and more sustainable way to get around. Plus, we’re the only shared ebike app that after a £1 unlock, gives you up to 30 free ride minutes on every Pay As You Go (PAYG) ride. HOW TO GET STARTED: 1. Download the app, create a free account and accept our Terms and Conditions. 2. Find your nearest Forest bike out of thousands across London using the map in the app. 3. Unlock a bike for £1 using the QR codes on the bike itself, or by tapping the selected bike on the app. 4. Enjoy an emissions free ride! WAYS TO RIDE: 1. PAYG: Simply unlock a bike for £1, get up to 30 free ride minutes, then pay 29p thereafter. 2. Buy a bundle: If you’re making longer trips, or planning multiple trips over a longer time. 3. Subscribe to Forest Plus: If you want the best value riding option. Always ride responsibly, respect other road users, and follow the safety guidance provided in the Forest app. WHY YOU SHOULD RIDE WITH FOREST: Choose from thousands of ebikes available across 18 boroughs of London with free ride minutes available every day. Gain additional free ride minutes by watching ads. We’re B Corp Certified and have run a zero-emissions operation since day one.

Screenshots

Beryl4 screens
Forest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Forest at 4.7 against Beryl's 4.2. Forest also leads on ratings volume (821 vs 54). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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

Forest holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Forest has 821 ratings behind it against 54, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 13% of Beryl's written reviews are positive against 12% of Forest's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beryl ships an update every 11 days, Forest every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Beryl versus Forest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBerylForest
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (54 ratings)4.7 (821 ratings) — better
Positive reviews13.2% of reviews — better11.9% of reviews
Number of ratings54821 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.1 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size139 MB228 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBerylHuman Forest Limited

Customer experience

Beryl

All ratings54 ratings
Positive79.6%
Neutral3.7%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews189 reviews
Positive13.2%
Neutral8.5%
Negative78.3%

Forest

All ratings821 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral1.7%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews612 reviews
Positive11.9%
Neutral6.5%
Negative81.5%

User reviews

Beryl

From 54 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚲 Convenient bike sharing service
  • 💰 Affordable pricing
  • 🔋 Reliable e-bikes and scooters
  • 🤝 Good customer service

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Issues with bike/scooter unlocking
  • 🚲 Poor bike/scooter maintenance
  • 🗺️ Inaccurate bike/scooter availability information
  • 💰 Expensive for short rides
  • 🤖 Unhelpful and unresponsive customer support

Forest

From 821 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Affordable and cost-effective
  • 🌳 Eco-friendly transportation
  • ⚡ Convenient and easy to use
  • 👍 Reliable and well-maintained bikes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app
  • 🔍 Unclear parking and no-ride zones
  • ⚠️ Declining service quality over time
  • 💰 Increasing prices and hidden fees
  • 🔧 Bikes often in poor condition

Bugs and requests

Beryl

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Bikes/scooters not unlocking properly
  • GPS and location tracking issues
  • Billing and charging problems

Requested features

3 requests
  • Improved bike/scooter tracking and availability information
  • Better pricing structure for short rides
  • Enhanced customer support options

Forest

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and freezes frequently
  • Inability to properly end rides and park bikes
  • Inconsistent GPS tracking and bike availability
  • Login and password reset issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improve app stability and responsiveness
  • Provide clearer information on parking and no-ride zones
  • Maintain high service quality and bike condition
  • Offer transparent and fair pricing structure

In-app purchases

None

Beryl

No in-app purchases

None

Forest

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beryl free?
Beryl is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Forest free?
Forest is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Beryl or Forest?
Forest is rated higher. Beryl averages 4.2 out of 5 from 54 ratings, while Forest averages 4.7 from 821 ratings.
Do Beryl or Forest have ads?
Neither Beryl nor Forest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beryl or Forest?
Beryl ships an update every 11 days, and Forest every 9 days. Most recently, Beryl was updated on September 20, 2026 and Forest on September 24, 2026.

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