Comparison

SmartShanghai vs Catalumia

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

Head to head
About

SmartShanghai

Access a comprehensive directory of over 16,000 Shanghai businesses, events, and classifieds. Discover nearby venues, happy hours, and essential city information. Find housing, jobs, and buy/sell items with this city guide.

Highlights
  • 16,000+ business directory
  • Location-based venue discovery
  • Curated editorial content
  • Comprehensive events calendar
  • Housing and job classifieds
  • Buy & Sell marketplace
  • Emergency contact information
Features
Read full description

Discover and bookmark the best of Shanghai. SmartShanghai is Shanghai’s longest-running online English-language city guide. For over 20 years, our editors on the ground have been discovering, reviewing and curating the places, events and things worth knowing about. From restaurants and bars to exhibitions, concerts, family activities and hidden neighborhood spots, we help you find the best of Shanghai — and save the things you want to come back to. Discover Browse our hand-picked selection of restaurants, bars, cafés, shops and other places around Shanghai. Save Your Favorites Bookmark places, events and articles you want to come back to and build your own Shanghai list. What’s On Find things happening around the city, from live music and nightlife to exhibitions, markets, dining events and family activities. Editorial Guides, recommendations and stories from our Shanghai-based editorial team, covering the city for more than 20 years. Housing Browse apartments for rent across Shanghai, with thousands of current listings from local agencies and landlords. Tickets Discover upcoming shows and events and buy tickets directly through SmartShanghai. Essential Shanghai Practical information for living in and visiting Shanghai, including useful services and emergency information. Whether you’ve just arrived, are visiting for a few days, or have lived here for years, SmartShanghai helps you discover more of Shanghai — and keep track of the places you don’t want to forget.

About

Catalumia

Features
Read full description

Catalumia is made by a team that has worked in education and travel since 2012. Everything about your trip in one place: your programme, your own route and what to read before you go. YOUR PROGRAMME, LIVE Enter your group code and your programme appears. The day-by-day flow, times, meeting points and stops are the same ones your tour leader is working from. If a time changes, it changes on your screen. The programme is saved on your device, so it opens on the plane or when your data runs out. BUILD YOUR OWN ROUTE Pick cities on the map, put them in order, see how many nights you spend where. The route is shown with city photographs, not as a plain list. It works without an account. READ BEFORE YOU GO Preparation files for 59 cities: what to wear, how to pay, which transport pass to buy, what to watch out for. Local phrases come with their sound, so you can hear how they are said. GET TO KNOW THE CITY For eight cities: the city's own moods, its rituals, the places that stay and the things that happen at certain times of year. Not a list of sights, but how the city is lived. CATALUMIA CLUB IS FREE Verify your account and Club opens: all the preparation files, the city entries and the audio. No price, no subscription, no payment details. THREE LANGUAGES The interface follows your device language: Turkish, English, Spanish. Catalumia S.L. · Barcelona

Screenshots

SmartShanghai4 screens
Catalumia4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Catalumia at every 9 days against SmartShanghai's every 3 months. SmartShanghai's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartShanghai ships an update every 3 months, Catalumia every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SmartShanghai versus Catalumia: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartShanghaiCatalumia
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (561 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews39.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings561 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB52 MB
Age rating12+12+
Developer上海煌飞商务咨询有限公司Catalumia

Bugs and requests

SmartShanghai

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Venues randomly disappearing from the app
  • Inability to access favorites after updates
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS devices
  • Frequent crashes and freezes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improve search and filtering functionality
  • Add ability to rate and review venues
  • Integrate more location-based features
  • Provide regular content updates

Catalumia

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

SmartShanghai

No in-app purchases

None

Catalumia

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SmartShanghai free?
SmartShanghai is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Catalumia free?
Catalumia is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SmartShanghai or Catalumia have ads?
Neither SmartShanghai nor Catalumia shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartShanghai or Catalumia?
SmartShanghai ships an update every 3 months, and Catalumia every 9 days. Most recently, SmartShanghai was updated on November 1, 2026 and Catalumia on October 1, 2026.

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