Comparison

Packing Pro 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 Pro

Create, customize, and share unlimited travel packing lists. Features an expert assistant to automatically generate lists based on trip details and preferences. Syncs across devices and offers extensive catalog and sample list options.

Highlights
  • Unlimited customizable packing lists
  • Expert list assistant for automatic generation
  • iCloud sync and device-to-device auto-sync
  • Packing list sharing via email and cloud services
  • Extensive master catalog with over 800 items
  • Numerous sample packing lists
  • CSV import/export for computer editing
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

** Featured in Apple's "10 Essentials," "Traveling Home" & "Staff Favorites" ** ** #1 Travel app in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Italy, Brazil & more! ** ** As seen on CNN, BBC, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fodor's, ** ** Travel+Leisure, Budget Travel, Mashable, WIRED, 148Apps, Gizmodo & Macworld ** ** UNIVERSAL APP (+iCloud) -- optimized for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch ** ** Great Value -- like getting two apps in one! ** MEDIA REACTION: "Do you like to get organized? Like, really organized? Then Packing Pro is the app for you." -- The New York Times "Never again will I forget to bring socks to a three day convention, and that alone makes Packing Pro worth every penny." -- 148Apps (rating: 4.5 / 5) "If you travel, and always wind up on a mad dash to the pharmacy, or convenience store, this app is for you." -- TUAW Packing Pro is a super-enhanced mobile travel list app that features unlimited, 100% customizable packing lists. If you also desire great syncing & sharing options, a huge catalog, lots of sample lists, display customization & additional, built-in Expert assistance, then Packing Pro is for you! PACKING PRO BENEFITS: 1) FULL iCLOUD SUPPORT: -- device-to-device auto-sync support for lists, catalog & settings 2) PACKING LIST SHARING & BACKUP: -- share lists & catalog content via email, AirDrop, Dropbox/Box/iCloud Drive & iTunes; use the simple '1-tap backup to email' 3) EXPERT LIST ASSISTANT: -- "automagically" create lists based on the number of adults (males & females), children & days, as well as temperature, destination, food preparation & clothes washing preferences 4) HUGE MASTER CATALOG: -- over 400 new items (total of over 800), including extra items for babies, kids, pets, sports, cooking & religion 5) TWICE AS MANY SAMPLE PACKING LISTS: -- including ones for couples, families, business people & campers 6) CUSTOMIZABLE DESIGN: -- includes app-wide themes, layout & font choices, & nearly full control over all the colors & textures in the app 7) CSV IMPORT / EXPORT: -- edit your lists & catalog content on a computer with Excel, Numbers or GoogleDocs 8) SMART SEARCH: -- easy & intuitive search function CORE PACKING FEATURES (in both Packing Pro & Packing): 1) PACKING LIST FEATURES: - CREATE unlimited, 100% user-customizable packing lists - BUILD lists quickly & easily with multi-item selection - MULTI-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, PRIORITIES & NEED-TO-BUY 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 2) 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 - DEFINE your own categories, types, items & TO DO actions for more customized freedom & control - COPY & MOVE types & items throughout catalog - MULTI-EDIT your types & items (delete, move, copy or set) more quickly than one-by-one - SORT, CAPITALIZE & UNCAPITALIZE Quick, simple, reliable & infinitely customizable, let 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 Pro4 screens
Pack The Bag4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pack The Bag at Free against Packing Pro's $2.99. Pack The Bag also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Packing Pro's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Pack The Bag is free to download; Packing Pro costs $2.99 up front. Packing Pro sells 8 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 Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Packing Pro has 851 ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Packing Pro's written reviews are positive against 78% of Pack The Bag's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Packing Pro ships an update every 4 months, Pack The Bag monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Packing Pro versus Pack The Bag: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPacking ProPack The Bag
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (851 ratings) — better3.6 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews88.0% of reviews — better78.0% of reviews
Number of ratings851 — better36
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#57 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQuinn GenzelAndreas Krawczyk

Customer experience

Packing Pro

All ratings851 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral1.3%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews382 reviews
Positive88.0%
Neutral3.7%
Negative8.4%

Pack The Bag

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

User reviews

Packing Pro

From 851 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 🚀 Indispensable
  • 🚀 Fantastic tool
  • 🚀 Extremely useful
  • 👍 Customizable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Complicated to use
  • 🐛 Unintuitive interface
  • 🐛 Buggy iCloud syncing
  • 🐛 Outdated design

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 Pro

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes after recent update
  • Blank app with errors

Requested features

3 requests
  • Real-time collaboration and sharing
  • Ability to print lists
  • Improved UI and user experience

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

8 purchases

Packing Pro

One-time8
  • Extra Themes Upgrade$0.99
  • Extra Lists Upgrade$0.99
  • Nice Tip$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Photo Option$0.99
  • Generous Tip$1.99
  • Great Tip$2.99
  • Amazing Tip$4.99
  • Unbelievable Tipe$9.99
2 purchases

Pack The Bag

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

Questions

Is Packing Pro free?
Packing Pro costs $2.99, 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 Pro or Pack The Bag?
Packing Pro is rated higher. Packing Pro averages 4.8 out of 5 from 851 ratings, while Pack The Bag averages 3.6 from 36 ratings.
Do Packing Pro or Pack The Bag have ads?
Pack The Bag shows ads; Packing Pro does not.
Which is updated more often, Packing Pro or Pack The Bag?
Packing Pro ships an update every 4 months, and Pack The Bag monthly. Most recently, Packing Pro was updated on October 16, 2026 and Pack The Bag on October 13, 2026.

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