Be vs Portyl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Be
Discover local points of interest and services, connect with hosts, and explore organized excursions. This app enhances tourism by showcasing local businesses and culinary culture, creating a network for tourists and operators.
- Territory points of interest
- Host and service provider connection
- Showroom for local businesses
- Organized excursions
- Food & beverage discovery
- Direct tourist purchase connection
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The Be-IT app is a complete presentation of the territory, through which tourists will be able to find all of its points of interest and offered services. Keeping in touch with their hosts and service providers. Be-IT improves the touristic offer of the territories and brings together hosts, tourists and local businesses. The app has three main strengths: it acts as a showroom for local businesses, offers a complete presentation of the territory and allows the hosts of the accommodation facilities to be directly connected to all the purchases that the tourist makes during his stay. A real touristic network. Using the app, tourists will have access to a complete set of organized excursions, with or without a guide, with or without transport, allowing them not to miss out on any beauty and point of interest of the territory. The food & beverage section allows tourists to discover the local culinary culture and allows bars, restaurants, local producers to promote their activities. Be-IT is the right solution for tourists and touristic operators.
Portyl
Experience historical sites with advanced XR and 3D graphics, recreating ancient locations with stunning detail. Walk through reconstructed pasts, see citizens and spectacles, and learn from expert-consulted venues. Explore from anywhere or on-site for an immersive journey through time.
- High-resolution 3D XR recreations
- Animated creatures and characters
- 29+ supported languages
- Full audio with narration
- Integrated map with navigation
- On-site and remote exploration
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The Portyl app uses state of the art Extended Reality (XR) combined with incredible 3D graphics to recreate historical sites the way they looked thousands of years ago. • Important: Please visit the Compatibility page at Histoury.com for information on Portyl requirements. The magic of Portyl is how precise it places the reconstructed sites over the top of the current ruins enabling tourists to walk around and experience history through their phone/tablet screen. In Rome, for instance, you not only see the reconstructions, but also the citizens, soldiers, war elephants, chariots – the daily life and spectacle that was ancient Rome. For historical accuracy, all portal venues are created under the consultation of prominent Roman Historians and Archeologists. PORTYL FEATURES: • Advanced XR high-resolution 3D recreations • Fully animated creatures and characters • 29 languages currently supported (more languages every month!) • Full Audio support including sound effects and spoken narration • Integrated Map with navigation HOW TO USE PORTYL: • Getting started with Portyl is easy! • After installing the app, tap any location thumbnail and choose a TOUR PASS. Some experiences, such as Largo Argentina, can even be explored for free when you’re off-site. • Before heading out, download the venues you want to explore from the TOURS page. We recommend using Wi-Fi whenever possible. • Use the map to find your way to a Portyl location. Not on-site? No problem - you can still explore the XR recreation from your home, office or hotel. • When you arrive at a supported venue, Portyl will let you know that a Live Experience is available. The location will appear as a large thumbnail on the Live Tours page. • Tap the thumbnail and follow the on-screen instructions. Simply point your device toward the site from wherever you are standing. Portyl’s KAIROS ENGINE will identify your location and the direction you’re facing, usually within just a few seconds. • If KAIROS needs another view, Portyl will simply ask you to point your device in a different direction. • Then you’re ready to STEP INTO THE PAST! MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Portyl is a geo-located real-time rendered 3d environment. It requires a lot of horsepower! In general the higher-end device you have, the better experience, certainly something less than 5 years old, and a higher-end model. RECOMMENDED: iPhone 13 or newer with at least 4-6 GB RAM PERMISSIONS REQUIRED: • Location: Portyl requires access to your device's location to place you in the virtual world as well as for map navigation. • Microphone: Portyl needs to "hear" your questions for some AI features. • Camera: Portyl needs to "see" where you are in the real world to launch XR scenes and place you in the virtual world.- Data Services: Not a permission, but a requirement for use. WiFi or 5G PERMISSIONS REQUESTED: • Notifications: For instance, notifications when a user comes within 50 km of an available site or when a venue has finished downloading. Occasional app updates, etc. No spamming and incessant notifications. Photos and Videos: As we add features like the Portyl Selfie feature (coming soon), screenshot sharing, etc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Be at 5.0 against Portyl's 4.4. Be also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and review sentiment (100% vs 75%). Portyl's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Portyl sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Be asks for nothing beyond the download.
Be holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Portyl has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Be's written reviews are positive against 75% of Portyl's.
Be ships an update every 2 weeks, Portyl weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Be | Portyl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.4 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 11 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 411 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | BE-ITinerary S.r.l. | Histoury |
Customer experience
Be
Portyl
In-app purchases
Be
No in-app purchases
Portyl
- Espresso Tour$4.00
- Herculaneum Pass$4.00
- Pompeii Pass$14.00
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- Rome Pass$18.00
- Paestum Pass$18.00
- Tivoli Pass$18.00








