Exempt vs Portside Trip Assist
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Exempt
Streamline your travel to the Bahamas with this app. It simplifies customs declarations, allowing residents and visitors to save time at ports of entry. Features include contactless processing, duty calculation, and optional tools like a shopping list and flight tracker.
- Simplify customs declarations
- Contactless and paperless process
- Calculate duties and apply exemptions
- Prepay duties via debit/credit card
- Mobile scan feature for C17 form
- Shopping list, flight tracker, city guide
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Exempt is an app that makes customs declaration simple by enabling all returning residents and visitors that travel to the Bahamas, to save time during the mandatory declaration process with Bahamas Customs, at all Bahamian Ports of Entry. Also, take advantage of its enhanced features, such as the Shopping List, Flight Tracker and City Guide. WHY USE EXEMPT: It simplifies the customs declaration process. It is available for all travelers entering the Bahamas. It can save time and money. It is contactless and paperless. Information submitted through the app is secure. It calculates duties and applies exemptions accurately. It automatically detects duty free items. Duties can be prepaid before arrival via debit/credit card. Spend less time on cashier lines and inspection lines. Mobile scan feature that automatically adds items to C17 form. Upload feature for purchase receipts. Enhanced optional features such as: Shopping List(s) (that can be stored and uploaded to C17 forms) Flight Tracker (for tracking commercial flights, their departures/arrivals) City Guide (directory and information assistance about travel destinations) More efficient process overall. HOW EXEMPT WORKS: Download from IOS App Store Create an account with secure login that stores your profile for future use Scan passport information directly into the app Add minor(s) to your account IF you do not wish to create separate accounts for them Select C17 Form for Accompanied Baggage (complete a new C17 form each time you travel and have to declare) Enter Travel Information (enter new flight information each time you travel) Add any additional passengers traveling with you if you are declaring together, but NOTE: additional passengers must create an account and complete their profile before being added as an additional passenger on another account. Upload receipts for all items being declared Enter Baggage information, this includes: Adding each item being declared onto your C17 form (Save items to your shopping list for future declarations if you choose to) Choose your Exemption Status (whether or not you are applying an Exemption) Accept the Declaration Terms Calculate duty once your C17 form is complete with all items added Save the C17 form, which will generate a Mobile Passport QR Code to be scanned upon inspection You will then have the option to: 1- Submit your C17 Declaration form to Customs now (from anywhere in the world before arrival) and pay the cashier upon arrival -OR- 2- Prepay any duties owed through the app via debit/credit card now (from anywhere in the world before arrival) or upon arrival Review your receipt to ensure everything is correct Collect your baggage, proceed to the Customs Inspection area and present your Mobile Passport QR Code to the Customs Officer Once Inspection is complete, exit Customs Inspection area NOTE: MOBILE PASSPORT / IDENTIFICATION / RESIDENT VERIFICATION SUBMITTED TO THE EXEMPT APP PROFILE IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR YOUR PHYSICAL PASSPORT OR OTHER FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PHYSICAL PASSPORT / IDENTIFICATION / VERIFICATION DOCUMENTS PRESENT AS WELL. LINKS: FAQs: www.myexempt.com/faq Terms of Use: www.myexempt.com/terms Privacy Policy: www.myexempt.com/privacy
Portside Trip Assist
This app automates travel bookings for crew, including hotels, cars, fuel, and catering, while leveraging negotiated rates to save money. It centralizes reservations alongside flight schedules for easy management and allows for automated cancellations based on flight changes.
- Automated hotel and car bookings
- Fuel and catering order management
- View reservations with flight schedule
- Save money with negotiated rates
- Store loyalty rewards information
- Automated cancellation of reservations
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Automate crew hotel and car bookings, fuel, and catering orders while saving money with negotiated rates. View your reservations next to your flight schedule to easily make changes. See your accommodations and flight schedule all in one place to keep track of all aspects of your trip and make changes as needed. Save money with discounted rates on hotels and rental cars Access preferred hotels and car rates that were previously negotiated to ensure you are getting the best deals. Book with your loyalty rewards information when making reservations. Loyalty programs and reward points are stored in your personalized profile so you can gain points when you travel and don’t need to type them in each time. Enable automated cancellations when flights change. Let the app automatically cancel reservations when the flight schedule changes to save money and avoid forgetting.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Portside Trip Assist at 5.0 against Exempt's 2.1. Portside Trip Assist also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Exempt's advantage is ratings volume (103 vs 4). On price, update cadence, 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.
Portside Trip Assist holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exempt has 103 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Exempt | Portside Trip Assist |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (103 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 6.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 103 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Exempt Technologies Co. Ltd | Portside, Inc. |
Customer experience
Exempt
Portside Trip Assist
In-app purchases
Exempt
No in-app purchases
Portside Trip Assist
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Exempt free?
Is Portside Trip Assist free?
Which has better reviews, Exempt or Portside Trip Assist?
Do Exempt or Portside Trip Assist have ads?
Which is updated more often, Exempt or Portside Trip Assist?
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