PayByPhone Parking vs 5280Parking
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PayByPhone Parking
Easily pay for parking from your phone, extending sessions remotely and finding nearby spots. Get notifications before your session expires and track your parking history. Supports multiple payment methods for a seamless experience.
- Start and extend parking sessions remotely
- Find available parking using Maps or Nearby
- Receive session expiry notifications
- Review parking history
- Pin parking location
- Emailed receipts for expense tracking
- Multiple payment options
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PayByPhone is a global leader in mobile parking payments. More than 95 million drivers worldwide have trusted us with their payments to date. We simplify journeys for millions with smart, intuitive technology and user-focused features. Available in 11 languages, our app is used across more than 1,300 locations -including cities and private operators - in the UK, North America, France, Germany, and Switzerland. With the PayByPhone app, we help parking to be quick, seamless, and secure. Just enter or scan the location code, choose your duration, and pay using your preferred payment method - all from your phone. It’s all designed to simplify your journey, so you can focus on what matters most. Key features: Start and extend parking sessions remotely See active sessions at a glance with the Today View widget Use Maps or Nearby to find available parking Get SMS or push notifications before your session expires Review your parking history and past sessions Pin your parking location to easily find your vehicle Receive emailed receipts for expense tracking Pay with credit/debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or PayPal (where available)
5280Parking
Find and pay for parking easily and securely with a touchless experience. Navigate directly to parking locations using integrated map services.
- Touchless parking experience
- Easy and quick payment
- Find parking locations
- Navigate to parking
- Integrated map services
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5280 Parking provides a safe and secure touchless parking experience. It is the easiest, and quickest way to park and pay at 5280 Parking. Easily Find 5280 Parking Locations and navigate to them using Google, and Apple.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PayByPhone Parking at 4.8 against 5280Parking's 3.5. PayByPhone Parking also leads on ratings volume (764K vs 235) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks). 5280Parking's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, in-app purchases, device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PayByPhone Parking holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PayByPhone Parking has 764K ratings behind it against 235, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of PayByPhone Parking's written reviews are positive against 20% of 5280Parking's.
PayByPhone Parking ships an update every 9 days, 5280Parking every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PayByPhone Parking | 5280Parking |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (764K ratings) — better | 3.5 (235 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 42.1% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 764K — better | 235 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #50 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 125 MB | 210 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PayByPhone Technologies Inc. | 5280 |
Customer experience
PayByPhone Parking
5280Parking
Bugs and requests
PayByPhone Parking
Reported bugs
5 issues- App freezes and crashes
- Payment transactions fail
- Location detection issues
- Notifications not working
- Overcharging for parking sessions
Requested features
6 requests- Allow paying by minutes or half-hours
- Add ability to end parking session early
- Improve location detection accuracy
- Provide better notifications and reminders
- Enable refunds for unused parking time
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- Simplify the payment and setup process
5280Parking
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PayByPhone Parking
No in-app purchases
5280Parking
No in-app purchases
