Comparison

Upgrade vs AirKey

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

Head to head
About

Upgrade

Manage your finances with a comprehensive mobile banking app. Access rewards checking, loans, and cards. Track balances, pay bills, monitor credit, and request cash advances.

Highlights
  • Cash back rewards on card purchases
  • Manage personal loans and credit lines
  • Track credit score and receive alerts
  • High-yield savings accounts
  • Cash advance requests
  • Bill payment and balance checking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Get easy and rewarding mobile banking all in one place! Open a high-yield savings account, check balances, pay bills, track cash back and manage loans, cards and more. Upgrade is a financial technology company, not a bank. • Track Rewards – Earn cash back rewards on credit card purchases¹ • Manage Credit Card, Personal Loan, Flex Pay buy now pay later, Upgrade Card, Auto Finance, Auto Refinance and Home Improvement accounts. Make payments and check your balance. • Sign up for Credit Health to monitor your credit score, get notified of changes, and use our simulator to see how different actions may impact your score. Share feedback at mobile_app_feedback@upgrade.com Personal Loan offers shown assume an APR of 12% and a term of 36 months for Faster Payoff and 48 months for Lower Payment. Personal Loan offers are subject to approval. For more information on Personal Loans through Upgrade visit https://www.upgrade.com/personal-loans/. ¹ Purchases accrue cash back when you pay them back. Certain limitations apply. See Upgrade.com for full Upgrade Cash Back Rewards Program details. All loans, credit cards, personal credit lines, and checking and savings accounts are provided by Upgrade's bank partners (www.upgrade.com/bank-partners/). Upgrade Visa® Cards and Upgrade Visa® Debit Cards are issued by Upgrade's bank partners, pursuant to a license from Visa USA Inc. Upgrade, Inc. (NMLS #1548935) holds the following state licenses (upgrade.com/State-Licenses) and does business under the following DBAs (https://www.upgrade.com/dba). Upgrade is a financial technology company, not a bank (https://www.upgrade.com/help/about-upgrade/overview/is-upgrade-a-bank/).

About

AirKey

Verify your identity by tapping your AirKey-enabled card to your phone. Learn about the technology and review transaction details for secure purchases. Requires an AirKey-enabled card and internet access.

Highlights
  • Tap card to phone for verification
  • Review transaction details
  • Confirm card legitimacy
  • Secure shopping experience
  • Learn about AirKey technology
Features
Read full description

AirKey helps customers verify their identity by simply tapping their AirKey-enabled card to their phone. With the AirKey app, you can learn more about how the AirKey technology works and try it out. All you need is an AirKey-enabled card to get started (just look for the key symbol on the back of your card to determine if your card is AirKey-enabled). What else can you do on the AirKey app? For certain transactions, you can • Review transaction details such as the merchant name, transaction amount, and card details to confirm its legitimacy and • Tap your AirKey-enabled card to your phone to prove the card is in your possession - after successfully authenticating, you continue your shopping experience Internet access is needed to use the AirKey app. Check with your Internet service provider for details of specific fees and charges. Service outages may occur. Features may not be available to all customers. Actual experiences may differ from those depicted. Additional terms and limitations apply.

Screenshots

Upgrade4 screens
AirKey3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Upgrade at 4.9 against AirKey's 2.3. Upgrade also leads on ratings volume (84K vs 90) and review sentiment (53% vs 30%). AirKey's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

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

Upgrade holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Upgrade has 84K ratings behind it against 90, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Upgrade's written reviews are positive against 30% of AirKey's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Upgrade ships an update every 11 days, AirKey every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Upgrade versus AirKey: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUpgradeAirKey
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (84K ratings) — better2.3 (90 ratings)
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews — better29.8% of reviews
Number of ratings84K — better90
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#146 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size93 MB58 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperUpgrade, Inc.Capital One

Customer experience

Upgrade

All ratings83,629 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews387 reviews
Positive52.7%
Neutral6.5%
Negative40.8%

AirKey

All ratings87 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews57 reviews
Positive29.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative70.2%

User reviews

Upgrade

From 84K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent, easy-to-use app
  • 🔒 Robust fraud prevention
  • 💰 Competitive interest rates and rewards
  • 👍 Seamless account management
  • 🏆 Helpful in improving credit and consolidating debt

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent account updates and transaction history
  • 🤔 Unclear policies around credit limit changes
  • ❌ Poor customer service and unresponsive to issues
  • 💳 Card usage issues and unexpected account suspensions
  • 🕰️ Slow processing of payments and deposits

AirKey

From 90 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Works great internationally
  • 👍 Convenient for travel
  • 💡 Cool authentication feature
  • 🚀 Fast card reading
  • 🔒 Provides security

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Constantly stuck in demo mode
  • 🐛 Does not work overseas
  • 🐛 Fails to scan/tap card
  • 🐛 Useless for online purchases
  • 🐛 No customer service/support

Bugs and requests

Upgrade

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login issues and inability to reset passwords
  • Discrepancies between app and website information

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to lock/unlock debit and credit cards
  • Instant access to deposited funds
  • Improved app stability and user experience

AirKey

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Stuck in demo mode
  • App does not work overseas
  • Card scanning/tapping fails
  • Verification process fails
  • App is glitchy
Show 5 more
  • Does not communicate with payment site
  • Requires switching country settings
  • Not functional in certain regions (UK, South Korea, Asia)
  • Transaction verification fails
  • Requires Safari and another app

Requested features

8 requests
  • Fix the demo loop issue
  • Improve international functionality
  • Provide alternative verification methods
  • Offer better customer support
  • Integrate with the main Capital One app
Show 3 more
  • Fix the card scanning/tapping functionality
  • Ensure app works outside the US
  • Make the verification process less cumbersome

In-app purchases

None

Upgrade

No in-app purchases

None

AirKey

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Upgrade free?
Upgrade is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AirKey free?
AirKey is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Upgrade or AirKey?
Upgrade is rated higher. Upgrade averages 4.9 out of 5 from 84K ratings, while AirKey averages 2.3 from 90 ratings.
Do Upgrade or AirKey have ads?
Neither Upgrade nor AirKey shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Upgrade or AirKey?
Upgrade ships an update every 11 days, and AirKey every 3 weeks. Most recently, Upgrade was updated on November 10, 2026 and AirKey on November 4, 2026.

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