Comparison

PayByPhone Parking vs PackPup

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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)

About

PackPup

Features
Read full description

PackPup — Smart Packing Lists. Never forget your toothbrush again. PackPup is the packing list app built for people who travel the same routes repeatedly and want a smarter way to pack. Instead of starting from scratch every trip, PackPup learns your packing habits and builds your list for you. Smart Quantity Calculation: Tell PackPup how many days you're traveling and it automatically calculates how many of everything you need. 6 days means 6 pairs of socks, 3 polo shirts, and 2 pairs of joggers — based on your own custom ratios. Business Trip Logic: Traveling for work? Set your total days and how many are travel days. PackPup separates business attire from travel clothes so you only pack what you actually need. Templates You Build: Create packing templates for your recurring trips — Vegas, Newport, ski weekends, work travel. Pick a template, set your days, and your list is ready in seconds. Never Forget Again: At the hotel and realized you forgot something? Log it in the app on the spot. PackPup tracks what you've forgotten across trips and warns you on future lists so it doesn't happen twice. Everything in One Place: Check off items as you pack, collapse categories you're done with, and keep last-minute items like your charger and toothbrush in their own section so you don't pack them too early.

Screenshots

PayByPhone Parking4 screens
PackPup4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PackPup at none against PayByPhone Parking's shown. PayByPhone Parking's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks) and chart position (#26 vs unranked). 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

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

PayByPhone Parking ships an update every 9 days, PackPup every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
PayByPhone Parking versus PackPup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayByPhone ParkingPackPup
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (764K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews42.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings764K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#26 — better—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size125 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPayByPhone Technologies Inc.DAVID J FRAUENHOFER JR

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
Show 1 more
  • Simplify the payment and setup process

PackPup

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PayByPhone Parking

No in-app purchases

None

PackPup

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PayByPhone Parking free?
PayByPhone Parking is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PackPup free?
PackPup is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PayByPhone Parking or PackPup have ads?
PayByPhone Parking shows ads; PackPup does not.
Which is updated more often, PayByPhone Parking or PackPup?
PayByPhone Parking ships an update every 9 days, and PackPup every 6 weeks. Most recently, PayByPhone Parking was updated on October 18, 2026 and PackPup on October 6, 2026.

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