Comparison

Packing (+TO DO!) vs Pack The Bag

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

Head to head
About

Packing (+TO DO!)

This app helps you create and manage detailed packing lists for your travels. It offers extensive customization for items, categories, and to-do tasks, ensuring you never forget essentials. You can also track item details, add images, and print or email your lists.

Highlights
  • Unlimited customizable packing lists
  • Quick list building with multi-item selection
  • Master catalog with pre-departure to-do list
  • Item details editing (weight, value, notes)
  • Add images and alerts to items
  • Print and email packing lists
  • Import/export lists and catalog
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

** THANKS EVERYONE FOR MAKING THIS #1 IN CANADA, #2 IN AUSTRALIA & #3 IN THE U.S.! ** ** Chosen by National Geographic as one of the Top 20 apps for traveling. ** ** Spotlight demoed in Apple Retail Stores ** ** UNIVERSAL APP -- optimized for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch ** ** Great Value -- like getting two apps in one! ** "It works like a charm, does what it advertises, and is hands down my new favorite travel app. Bravo." -- iPhone App Reviews Never forget to pack anything again! For less than the cost of a (*forgotten*) toothbrush or a pair of socks (and the time & hassle of replacing it on the road, or in the woods?), this iPhone/iPad app can be your very own personal packing assistant. PACKING LIST FEATURES: - CREATE unlimited, 100% user-customizable packing lists - BUILD lists quickly & easily with multi-item selection - EDIT your lists however you wish (add, delete, rename or reorder any category or item) - DISCOVER new ideas & suggestions from included sample lists - USE any list (sample or your own) as a template for future lists - MONITOR a running tally of total items per category & how many of them are checked off - COLLAPSE categories for less scrolling & better management - SORT items by priority, type or item, or by hand - SHOW only items that are packed or unpacked, or show them all - FILTER items based on need to buy, person and/or bag - EDIT item details (number, weight, value, person, bag & notes) - ADD IMAGES & ALERTS to list items - TOTAL your list items, weights & values, by bag, by person & by category - SEE remaining items as badges on home page & app icon - PRINT your list directly to a printer with 1, 2 or 3 columns - EMAIL your packing lists to family & friends CATALOG FEATURES: - CUSTOMIZE the Master Catalog with 100% freedom (add, delete, rename or reorder any category, type or item) - SELECT from hundreds of items for quick list generation with only minimal typing - ACCESS an extensive pre-departure TO DO list with over 100 tasks - USE Favorites folder for quick access to common items - DEFINE your own categories, types, items & TO DO actions for more customized freedom & control - COPY & MOVE types and items throughout catalog - MULTI-EDIT your types & items (delete, move, copy or set) more quickly than one-by-one - SORT, CAPITALIZE & UNCAPITALIZE OTHER KEY FEATURES: - VIEW comfortably on new iPads, iPod touches & iPhones running iOS 8-11 - IMPORT & EXPORT packing lists & Master Catalog (or parts of them) between apps or devices - REFER to a comprehensive in-app help guide - UPGRADE to Pro-level Catalog, Features, or Full Combo via in-app purchasing If you desire better syncing & sharing options, display customization, a super-sized catalog, twice as many sample lists, & additional, built-in Expert assistance, then consider Packing Pro (in-app upgrade options also available): PRO BENEFITS (in Packing Pro): 1) FULL iCLOUD SUPPORT: -- device-to-device auto-sync support for lists, catalog & settings 2) CSV IMPORT / EXPORT: -- edit your lists & catalog content on a PC with Excel, Numbers or GoogleDocs 3) PACKING LIST FILE SHARING & BACKUP: -- share lists & catalog content via email, iTunes' File Sharing & Dropbox 4) HUGE MASTER CATALOG: -- over 400 new items (total of over 800), including extra items for babies, kids, pets, sports, cooking & religion 5) EXPERT LIST ASSISTANT: -- "automagically" create lists based on the number of adults (males & females), children & days, as well as temperature, destination, food prep & clothes washing preferences 6) CUSTOMIZABLE DESIGN: -- includes app-wide themes, layout, display & font choices, & nearly full control over all the colors & textures in the app 7) TWICE AS MANY SAMPLE PACKING LISTS (NOW 9): -- including ones for couples, families, business people & campers 8) SMART SEARCH: -- easy & intuitive search function Quick, simple & reliable, let Packing (or Packing Pro) be your helpful travel companion on all of your trips. Bon voyage!

About

Pack The Bag

Never forget essential items for your trip again. This app helps you create, manage, and share detailed packing lists. Prepare for your journey efficiently and avoid last-minute stress or unexpected costs.

Highlights
  • Pre-defined item library
  • Customizable lists and categories
  • Item weight tracking
  • List sharing via email and Airdrop
  • Packing reminders
  • Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

Have you ever forgotten something really important for your trip? This will never happen again with Pack The Bag! No more incomplete hand-written packlists for your upcoming journey, no more bad feelings or expensive surprises at the airport. Make your next trip the best trip ever. Pack The Bag for iOS helps you managing your packlists. You and your bag will be well-prepared, you will save the trouble of thinking about all the items that you want to carry along on your journey. Pro version: no ads, all features! Import your lists from Pack The Bag Free with only 2 clicks! - Choose from more than 700 items in 27 categories - Easily create, edit and delete items and categories - Maintain your items in the inventory list without the need to create a packlist - Assign a weight to your items to prevent expensive surprises at the airport - Create new packlists by copying from existing lists - Pack your items without running around by optionally sorting by storage locations - Send and share packlists by email - they can be imported on any other iOS device - Airdrop support: Exchange lists with devices in your surrounding - Packing reminder push notification: Define a date when your device should remind you to start packing - Define an icon for your packlist - Sort lists by name or date or reoder them manually - Duplicate a category with all included items (e.g. child 1, child2, …) - Add a filter to display how many items are not yet packed in a list - Color schemes: Choose from different colors - or define your own color - Support for Apple Watch - pack your items on the watch - Supported Languages: English, German, Turkish You have ideas how to improve the app? You found issues? Send feedback to the Pack The Bag team directly from inside the app - your support is highly appreciated!

Screenshots

Packing (+TO DO!)4 screens
Pack The Bag4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pack The Bag at Free against Packing (+TO DO!)'s $0.99. Pack The Bag also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Packing (+TO DO!)'s advantage is rating (4.7 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Pack The Bag is free to download; Packing (+TO DO!) costs $0.99 up front. Packing (+TO DO!) sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Pack The Bag sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Packing (+TO DO!) holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 135 and 36 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Packing (+TO DO!)'s written reviews are positive against 78% of Pack The Bag's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Packing (+TO DO!) ships an update every 4 months, Pack The Bag monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Packing (+TO DO!) versus Pack The Bag: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPacking (+TO DO!)Pack The Bag
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (135 ratings) — better3.6 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews85.3% of reviews — better78.0% of reviews
Number of ratings135 — better36
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#179 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQuinn GenzelAndreas Krawczyk

Customer experience

Packing (+TO DO!)

All ratings135 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral0.7%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews272 reviews
Positive85.3%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.9%

Pack The Bag

All ratings36 ratings
Positive61.1%
Neutral11.1%
Negative27.8%
Written reviews255 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative15.7%

User reviews

Packing (+TO DO!)

From 135 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Long-time user
  • 🗓️ Essential packing list
  • 📦 Customizable and organized
  • 🤝 Excellent customer support
  • 🗓️ Reusable trip templates

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Clunky and not intuitive
  • 🔄 Syncing issues between devices
  • 🗓️ Difficulty customizing lists

Pack The Bag

From 36 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Comprehensive packing lists
  • 💡 Customizable categories and items
  • 📤 Ability to email lists
  • 🗓️ Reuse previous packing lists

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and customize
  • 💰 Ads in free version
  • 🗄️ Lack of cloud sync between devices

Bugs and requests

Packing (+TO DO!)

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Data loss and disappearing lists
  • Crashes and compatibility issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to assign items to people
  • Option to add notes to packing lists
  • Sorting and filtering by bag or person
  • Integration with other travel apps

Pack The Bag

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to add new items or categories
  • Packing mode not displaying items correctly
  • List data lost after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add notes and descriptions for items
  • Ability to permanently delete unwanted items/categories
  • One-tap reset to unpacked state
  • Improved packing list layout for printing
  • Integration with other travel apps

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Packing (+TO DO!)

One-time10
  • Pro Catalog Upgrade$0.99
  • Pro Features Upgrade$0.99
  • Extra Themes Upgrade$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Extra Lists Upgrade$0.99
  • Nice Tip$0.99
  • Photo Option$0.99
  • Full Pro Upgrade$1.99
  • Generous Tip$1.99
  • Great Tip$2.99
  • Unbelievable Tip$9.99
2 purchases

Pack The Bag

One-time2
  • Donate$0.99
  • Upgrade to Ad-free version$1.99

Questions

Is Packing (+TO DO!) free?
Packing (+TO DO!) costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Pack The Bag free?
Pack The Bag is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Packing (+TO DO!) or Pack The Bag?
Packing (+TO DO!) is rated higher. Packing (+TO DO!) averages 4.7 out of 5 from 135 ratings, while Pack The Bag averages 3.6 from 36 ratings.
Do Packing (+TO DO!) or Pack The Bag have ads?
Pack The Bag shows ads; Packing (+TO DO!) does not.
Which is updated more often, Packing (+TO DO!) or Pack The Bag?
Packing (+TO DO!) ships an update every 4 months, and Pack The Bag monthly. Most recently, Packing (+TO DO!) was updated on October 19, 2026 and Pack The Bag on October 13, 2026.

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