Butcombe vs Racks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Butcombe
Access exclusive facilities, rewards, and benefits at participating pubs. Earn points, book tables, and discover the latest offers. Order meals and drinks directly from your table and learn about the brewery.
- Earn rewards and benefits
- Book tables at participating pubs
- Discover latest offers
- Order meals and drinks from table
- Learn about the brewery
- Purchase gift cards
Read full descriptionHide full description
You will have access to exclusive facilities, rewards and benefits when you use the Butcombe app. Earn rewards, book tables and get the latest offers in all participating pubs. Find out about the brewery, purchase gift cards and for selected outlets book overnight stays or order your meal and drinks whilst sat at your table – no need to move! We would love to have you onboard!
Racks
Easily book tables, browse the menu, and order food for pickup or from your table. Join the loyalty program to earn points on every purchase, redeemable for discounts.
- Book a table
- View menu
- Click and collect ordering
- Order and pay at table
- Earn loyalty points
- Redeem points for discounts
Read full descriptionHide full description
It’s now even easier to celebrate Bristol style at Racks Bar & Kitchen. Book your table, order click and collect, order and pay from your table and join the freebie loaded Racks Royalty scheme all on the Racks App. It’s free and speedy! Features: • Book a Table • Check out the Menu • Order Click and Collect • Order and pay from your table (no queuing!) • Earn points as you spend. Earn 5 points for each £1. • Points can be redeemed against your bill • For Full Ts & Cs visit www.racks-bristol.co.uk/app-terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Racks at 4.8 against Butcombe's 3.9. Racks also leads on review sentiment (45% vs 32%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Butcombe's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (37 vs 8). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Racks holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 37 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of Butcombe's written reviews are positive against 45% of Racks's.
Butcombe ships an update every 2 months, Racks every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Butcombe | Racks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (37 ratings) | 4.8 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.8% of reviews | 45.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 37 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Butcombe Brewery Limited | Quarter Ltd |
Customer experience
Butcombe
Racks
Bugs and requests
Butcombe
Reported bugs
19 issues- App repeatedly defaults screen brightness to 100%
- App crashes when trying to pay with card
- App exits/shuts down when trying to register loyalty card
- Required fields faulty during sign-up
- App menu text is unreadable in light mode
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- App does not save user details
- Autofill does not work on iPhone
- QR code payment system is hopeless on latest iPhone
- App does not offer menu or loyalty membership access
- App does not remember user details for bookings
- App does not update with new venues
- App crashes occasionally
- App does not allow loyalty card registration
- App does not work with Apple Pay
- App does not allow card details stored in Keychain
- App doesn't allow redemption of points
- App is complicated and doesn't do autofill
- App doesn't recognize loyalty card details
- App doesn't recognize card on camera feature
Requested features
13 requests- Accept Apple Pay for QR code payments
- Allow autofill from saved card details
- Improve app navigation
- Remember user details for bookings
- Allow editing or cancelling bookings online
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Add a bar snacks menu
- Allow redemption of loyalty points through the app
- Add option to order at the bar
- Improve visibility of new venues
- Add loyalty transactions history
- Allow ordering basic items like tea/coffee
- Provide option to order with a server
- Make app menu text readable in light mode
Racks
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Butcombe
No in-app purchases
Racks
No in-app purchases
