Comparison

giffgaff vs Bark

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

Head to head
About

giffgaff

Manage your mobile account effortlessly. Track data usage, renew plans, and access WiFi hotspots across the UK. This app provides a comprehensive overview of your mobile services and allows for easy top-ups and account management.

Highlights
  • Check data usage
  • Buy or renew plans
  • Plan expiry notifications
  • Add credit/auto top-up
  • WiFi Extra access
  • Community access
Features
Read full description

The giffgaff mobile app lets you manage your giffgaff account with the tap of your phone. You can check your data use on the go and connect to literally thousands of WiFi hotspots all across the UK with WiFI Extra. But that's just the start of what the app can do. It's a bitesize wonder. - Check how much data you have left - Buy or renew a plan - Keep an eye on when your plan expires - Add credit or turn on auto top up - Pay with a saved card or PayPal - Redeem a voucher - Access the community - Add multiple giffgaff accounts - Access thousands of WiFi hotspots across the UK with WiFi Extra You'll need your giffgaff member name and password to log in. If you're new to giffgaff, order your free SIM card now: https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/free-sim

About

Bark

Send custom push notifications to your iPhone via an HTTP API. Supports advanced features like custom icons, grouping, and critical alerts. Offers privacy-protected, end-to-end encrypted pushes with self-deployable server options.

Highlights
  • HTTP API for push notifications
  • Custom icons and grouping
  • Continuous and critical alerts
  • End-to-end push encryption
  • Self-deployable server options
  • Privacy-protected notifications
Features
Read full description

You can send push notifications to your iPhone by simply calling an HTTP API. Bark supports many advanced iOS push features, such as custom icons, notification grouping, custom ringtones, continuous alerts, critical alerts, and encrypted pushes. Bark does not consume device battery, as its core functionality relies on system push services and push extensions, and the app itself does not need to be running. Bark ensures your privacy and security with high reliability. Bark supports self-deploying the server, which can be deployed via Docker, Serverless, or Cloudflare Worker. The bark-server supports most operating systems, and you can also run it manually. The app is compiled and uploaded through Github Action, ensuring that the version you’re using is compiled from open-source code, without any modifications by anyone (including the author). Bark supports end-to-end push encryption with a custom key, ensuring that the push content is not accessed or leaked by the Bark server or Apple’s APNs server during transmission. The notification message history saved locally by Bark is also very secure. Using the NotificationServiceExtension, the push message is only stored on the device when the push is received. Feedback email: to@day.app Privacy Policy: https://api.day.app/privacy User Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

giffgaff4 screens
Bark3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bark at 98% against giffgaff's 28%. Bark also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5). giffgaff's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (1K vs 111). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Bark sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.69 per year. giffgaff asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bark holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: giffgaff has 1K ratings behind it against 111, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of giffgaff's written reviews are positive against 98% of Bark's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
giffgaff versus Bark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametergiffgaffBark
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1K ratings)4.9 (111 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.3% of reviews98.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1K — better111
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developergiffgaff丰 黄

Customer experience

giffgaff

All ratings1,032 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews321 reviews
Positive28.3%
Neutral5.9%
Negative65.7%

Bark

All ratings109 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive98.4%
Neutral1.6%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

giffgaff

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Inability to update payment methods
  • Inconsistent app behavior across devices
  • Unreliable app performance after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Detailed data usage tracking
  • Ability to manage family accounts
  • Landscape mode support for tablets
  • Seamless SIM card switching

Bark

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

giffgaff

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Bark

Subscriptions1
  • Continuous support$2.691 Year
One-time1
  • One-time donation$2.69

Questions

Is giffgaff free?
giffgaff is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bark free?
Bark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, giffgaff or Bark?
Bark is rated higher. giffgaff averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Bark averages 4.9 from 111 ratings.
Do giffgaff or Bark have ads?
Neither giffgaff nor Bark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, giffgaff or Bark?
giffgaff ships an update every 3 weeks, and Bark every 3 weeks. Most recently, giffgaff was updated on November 1, 2026 and Bark on November 2, 2026.

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