# BarWave vs WhichBar

The clearest difference is update cadence: WhichBar at weekly against BarWave's monthly. WhichBar also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). BarWave's advantage is ratings volume (98 vs 27). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

WhichBar holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 98 and 27 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of BarWave's written reviews are positive against 94% of WhichBar's.

BarWave ships an update monthly, WhichBar weekly. The most recent releases landed on July 19, 2026 and June 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BarWave | WhichBar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (98 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/barwave/id1437554424/reviews) | **[4.7 (27 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whichbar/id6444701065/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **98** | 27 |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews | **94.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 40 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [BarWave LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1467835495) | [WhichBar LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1656230383) |

## What reviewers say

### BarWave

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/barwave/id1437554424)

Discover the perfect bar with real-time crowd insights and personalized recommendations. Connect with your nightlife community for updated information and transform your nights out into memorable experiences.

**Highlights:** Real-time crowd insights, Personalized bar recommendations, Nightlife community updates, Discover local bars, Plan nights out

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### WhichBar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whichbar/id6444701065)

Discover the best bars and venues in your city with real-time crowd and line length updates. Plan your night out and potentially skip lines with exclusive passes. Never have a boring night out again.

**Highlights:** Live bar crowd updates, Line length information, Skip-the-line passes, Venue discovery, Nightlife planning

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is BarWave free?

BarWave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is WhichBar free?

WhichBar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, BarWave or WhichBar?

WhichBar is rated higher. BarWave averages 4.5 out of 5 from 98 ratings, while WhichBar averages 4.7 from 27 ratings.

### Do BarWave or WhichBar have ads?

Neither BarWave nor WhichBar shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, BarWave or WhichBar?

BarWave ships an update monthly, and WhichBar weekly. Most recently, BarWave was updated on July 19, 2026 and WhichBar on June 2, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*