Three vs Northumbrian Water
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Three
Easily manage your mobile and broadband plans. Track usage, view bills, top up accounts, and access exclusive offers. Set up and manage your broadband with helpful tools.
- View plan allowances and usage
- Manage additional products
- Access past bills and cost breakdowns
- Top up Pay As You Go accounts
- Set up and manage broadband
- Access Three+ rewards
- Live chat support
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The Three app makes managing your phone and broadband plans easy. The app helps you: - view plan allowances and usage - add, change or cancel additional products - access past bills and see a breakdown of costs - top up your Pay As You Go account - see offers you won’t find anywhere else - set up and manage your broadband - position your hub with the real-time signal strength indicator - quickly launch Three+ rewards - discover Three Community - live chat with Three - manage payments easily and securely with Apple Pay.
Northumbrian Water
Easily manage your water account on the go. Create an online account, make secure payments, submit meter readings by scanning your meter, and view your billing history. Set up payment plans and update your details with convenience.
- Create online account
- Secure card and Apple Pay payments
- Scan meter for readings
- View bills
- Set up payment plans
- Change payment details
- Set up Direct Debit
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The easy way to manage your Northumbrian Water account. Use our app to Create an online account. If you already have one, you can use the same login details - Make secure payments by card and Apple Pay Submit meter readings - scan your meter with the flash of your smartphone View new and old bills Set up a payment plan Change payment details Set up a Direct Debit
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Northumbrian Water at none against Three's shown. Northumbrian Water also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (46% vs 18%). Three's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 25) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). On price, 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.
Northumbrian Water holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Three has 1.1K ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 18% of Three's written reviews are positive against 46% of Northumbrian Water's.
Three ships an update every 2 weeks, Northumbrian Water every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Three | Northumbrian Water |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (1.1K ratings) | 4.8 (25 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 18.0% of reviews | 46.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 25 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| 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 | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 193 MB | 180 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hutchison 3G UK Ltd | NWL |
Customer experience
Three
Northumbrian Water
User reviews
Three
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- ✨ Reliable service
- 💰 Good value
- 🌍 Excellent roaming coverage
Room to improve
- 🔧 Buggy app
- 📶 Poor network coverage
- 🤖 Unhelpful customer service
- 💸 Overcharging issues
- 🔒 Security concerns
Northumbrian Water
From 25 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Quick payments
- ✅ Straightforward
- 😊 User friendly
- 👍 Helpful advice
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes on opening
- 🐛 App repeatedly crashes
- 🐛 App won't open
- 🐛 App closes immediately
- 🐛 App freezes
Bugs and requests
Three
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues
- App crashes frequently
- Inaccurate data usage tracking
- Inability to cancel add-ons
Requested features
4 requests- Add Apple Pay support
- Improve app stability and performance
- Provide better network coverage information
- Streamline account management features
Northumbrian Water
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes on opening
- App freezes during payment
- Login details incorrect error
- Apple Pay not working
- Direct debit setup error
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- Estimated bills without notice
- App not loading
- Camera app not working
- Email verification not received
- App not optimized for iPhone 15
Requested features
7 requests- In-app messaging for customer service
- Service alerts for local issues
- Ability to report leaks within the app
- Face recognition for sign-in
- Obvious log out button on dashboard
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Quarterly bill adjustments
- Alerts for payment due dates
In-app purchases
Three
No in-app purchases
Northumbrian Water
No in-app purchases
