Comparison

TheFork vs MACARFI

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

Head to head
About

TheFork

Discover and book tables at thousands of restaurants across Europe and Australia. Enjoy exclusive discounts and read reviews from a community of diners to find your next culinary adventure. Earn loyalty points with every reservation for future savings.

Highlights
  • Fast, free, and easy online booking
  • Exclusive restaurant discounts
  • Over 20 million trusted customer reviews
  • Browse over 60,000 restaurants
  • Curated INSIDER collection of top restaurants
  • Loyalty program with Yums points for discounts
Features
Read full description

TheFork is Europe’s leading restaurant booking platform, proudly bringing people together through unique and affordable culinary experiences since 2007. What are you waiting for? Activate your location and we’ll activate your taste buds! You set the tone, we set the table. TheFork continues to be savoured across the biggest foodie hotspots in France, Spain, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Australia. But wait, what exactly do we bring to the table? Here are 6 reasons to download TheFork app right now. 1. Things that tickle our taste buds: fast, free and easy online booking We know that normal life means having a lot on your plate, so to make things a bit easier for you, we've simplified restaurant booking. With a few simple taps on our mobile app, you’ll be one step closer to having that ‘mmm’ moment of pure belly satisfaction, in the most seamless way possible. 2. Frugal on prices, never on flavours Our amazing restaurant partners love their diners as much as we love ours and offer exclusive discounts on reservations throughout the year (automatically applied and subject to conditions at the time of booking). That way restaurants get to open their doors to all types of diners, making dining out accessible to everyone. 3. Community insights = better bites Tuck into the wisdom of our gourmet community! With over 20 million trusted reviews from only customers who have actually tried the restaurant—your palette is in good hands! 4. We don’t skimp on choice Reserved? Not us. That’s just a label for a table. So whether you’re looking for the perfect spot for bottomless brunching, taco crunching or al-fresco munching, our foodies are spoiled for choice with our diverse collection of over 60,000 restaurants and 40,000 photos, menus and community reviews that will satisfy just about any culinary mood and occasion. After all, variety is the spice of life! Browse, scroll and add to favourites, so you can find more of what you love. Now that’s food for thought. 5. INSIDER: sit back and relax while we level up your dining-out game. Our foodie experts are always hard at work to stay on top of our INSIDER collection featuring the best restaurants. With our feed of critically acclaimed insights and selections, no chances are taken on promoting the dining out spots that are turning heads for the best ambiance, ratings, service and food. 6. We take loyalty VERY seriously. To reward our awesome foodie community, every booking with TheFork accumulates unique Yums points, which can be redeemed in the form of a tasty discount at one of our many partner restaurants down the line. Here’s how it works: 1 reservation = 100 Yums (Y) Once you've accumulated enough you can enjoy amazing offers which converts to: 1,000 Y = €10 / CHF15 / AUD$20 / £20 loyalty discount! 2,000 Y = €25 / CHF35 / AUD$50 / £50 loyalty discount! Keep an eye out for double Yums and other ways to earn more Yums as you book. We love hearing from our TheFork foodie community! Reach out at contact@thefork.com. >In the UK, follow us on: - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFork.uk/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefork_uk/?hl=en

About

MACARFI

Discover Barcelona's best restaurants recommended by 2,000 local food enthusiasts. Find places based on specific criteria like ambiance, food type, and price, or explore curated lists and rankings.

Highlights
  • Local gastronomist recommendations
  • Advanced restaurant search
  • Customizable restaurant lists
  • Restaurant rankings
  • Geolocation features
Features
Read full description

Hay muchas apps de restaurantes de Barcelona, pero ninguna escrita por 2000 gastrónomos locales. Te preguntarás, ¿qué es un gastrónomo? Pues alguien a quien le apasiona visitar todos los restaurantes de la ciudad y luego describir, con mucha objetividad, qué le han parecido la comida, el servicio, el precio y la decoración. Por eso, en MACARFI descubrirás donde comen los que saben. ¡Pero eso no es todo, aún hay más! También te ofrecemos la posibilidad de encontrar el restaurante que buscas en cada momento a través de nuestro motor de búsqueda capaz de cruzar más de 44.000 opciones. ¿Quieres un sitio con ambiente, buenas croquetas, terraza y precio medio? O tal vez buscas un local con los mejores arroces de la ciudad, excelentes gin-tonics, romántico y con una gran variedad de postres. Lo encontrarás. Y si tus opciones no dan ningún resultado será porque no existe o porque para nuestros gastrónomos no merecía la pena recomendártelo. Sí, son un poco exigentes, qué le vamos a hacer. Lo del geo-localizador no te lo decimos porque es obvio que lo tenemos. Pero, además, en nuestra app encontrarás un ranking con los mejores restaurantes de Barcelona, un sinfín de listas con las recomendaciones de nuestros gastrónomos y la posibilidad de crearte las tuyas. Hay mucho más, pero preferimos que te la descargues y lo vayas descubriendo tú mismo. Buen provecho y ya nos contarás.

Screenshots

TheFork4 screens
MACARFI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TheFork at 4.9 against MACARFI's 4.3. TheFork also leads on ratings volume (62K vs 4). MACARFI's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 58%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TheFork holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TheFork has 62K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of TheFork's written reviews are positive against 100% of MACARFI's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TheFork ships an update fortnightly, MACARFI every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
TheFork versus MACARFI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTheForkMACARFI
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (62K ratings) — better4.3 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings62K — better4
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size158 MB21 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLa FourchetteMaterile Barcelona Proyectos, SL

Customer experience

TheFork

All ratings62,108 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral1.0%
Negative0.7%
Written reviews564 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative36.0%

MACARFI

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

TheFork

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Reservation confirmation issues
  • Login/account problems
  • Glitches in app functionality

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improve restaurant filtering and search
  • Enhance reservation management (modify, cancel, etc.)
  • Provide multilingual support
  • Streamline payment and discount application

MACARFI

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

TheFork

No in-app purchases

None

MACARFI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TheFork free?
TheFork is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MACARFI free?
MACARFI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TheFork or MACARFI?
TheFork is rated higher. TheFork averages 4.9 out of 5 from 62K ratings, while MACARFI averages 4.3 from 4 ratings.
Do TheFork or MACARFI have ads?
Neither TheFork nor MACARFI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TheFork or MACARFI?
TheFork ships an update fortnightly, and MACARFI every 4 weeks. Most recently, TheFork was updated on October 28, 2026 and MACARFI on October 19, 2026.

Other comparisons