Comparison

Tab vs VAT VIP

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

Head to head
About

Tab

Effortlessly split bills with friends by simply snapping a picture of your receipt. The app automatically identifies items and prices, allowing users to claim their share. It handles tax and tip calculations proportionally, eliminating manual math.

Highlights
  • Receipt scanning
  • Automatic item and price detection
  • Real-time item claiming
  • Proportional tax and tip calculation
  • Shared item splitting
  • Birthday bill splitting
Features
Read full description

Tab is the simple way to split a bill amongst friends. Snap a pic of the receipt and tap your items to claim them. Tax and tip are calculated for you. No more back-of-the-napkin algebra or typing in prices by hand! Here’s how it works: - Take a picture of your itemized receipt. Tab automatically detects all the items and prices. - Select which items each person ordered. Everyone that has Tab on their phone can join onto the bill and select their own items - the app keeps everything synced in real-time. - Multiple people can select the same item if they shared it. - Tax and tip are automatically divided proportionally. - If it's someone's birthday, you can split their total evenly among everyone else. - View and share detailed summaries of your past bills Tab has been featured on the Today show, "apps of the year" lists from Buzzfeed, Complex and others, Product Hunt, CNN, and more!

About

VAT VIP

Calculate potential savings on international purchases by factoring in local VAT, tourist refunds, and currency exchange rates. Compare prices side-by-side to determine if buying abroad is a better deal than waiting until you return home.

Highlights
  • Auto-fill from retailer URLs
  • Side-by-side price comparison
  • Save items and track savings
  • Live exchange rates
  • Country-specific VAT rules
  • Simple traveler-focused design
Features
Read full description

Found something you love abroad? Now you need to know — is it actually a better deal here, or should you wait until you get home? Paste the link. In seconds, VATVIP does the math your wallet actually feels: - Local VAT (varies by country — 20% in France, 19% in Germany, 10% in Japan, and more) - Tourist VAT refund (typically 10-15% back at the airport) - Live currency conversion (EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF, and more) - US sales tax in your home state No spreadsheets. No mental math at the boutique. Just the answer: how much you save by buying it there. KEY FEATURES - Auto-fill from any retailer URL - Side-by-side comparison: US price + tax vs. local price after VAT refund - Save items to your trip and watch your total savings add up - Live exchange rates and country-specific VAT rules - Beautifully simple design built for travelers WHO IT'S FOR Travelers who love a real deal. Whether you're eyeing a designer handbag in Milan, a luxury watch in Geneva, skincare in Seoul, or a camera in Tokyo — VATVIP tells you in seconds exactly how much you'll save before you walk into the store. WHY IT EXISTS We got tired of doing tax math in three currencies on the fitting-room floor. VATVIP is the calculator we wished existed every time we shopped abroad — the kind that turns "should I?" into "yes, and here's how much I just saved." Free to try. VATVIP+ unlocks unlimited lookups for serious travelers. VATVIP+ MEMBERSHIP - Travel Pass — $4.99 for 30 days of unlimited AI price lookups. One-time purchase, no auto-renewal. - VATVIP+ Annual — $29.99/year with a 7-day free trial. Auto-renews annually unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription, where applicable. Privacy Policy: https://vatvip.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Tab4 screens
VAT VIP4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tab at none against VAT VIP's 3. Tab also leads on review sentiment (66% vs 33%) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 25). VAT VIP's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, monetization model 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. VAT VIP sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year. Tab asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VAT VIP holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tab has 1.2K ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of Tab's written reviews are positive against 33% of VAT VIP's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tab ships an update every 3 weeks, VAT VIP every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Tab versus VAT VIP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTabVAT VIP
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (1.2K ratings)4.6 (25 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.2% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better25
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerbring10, LLCAlexandra Kaminsky

Customer experience

Tab

All ratings1,043 ratings
Positive79.8%
Neutral7.4%
Negative12.8%
Written reviews234 reviews
Positive66.2%
Neutral12.0%
Negative21.8%

VAT VIP

All ratings25 ratings
Positive88.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Tab

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Incorrect item pricing and totals
  • Tax calculation issues
  • Venmo authorization problems
  • Inability to edit bill names
  • Crashing on older devices

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to manually edit tax and tip
  • Option to split items unevenly
  • Detailed receipt breakdown sharing
  • Support for multiple currencies
  • Saved group/friend profiles
Show 2 more
  • Improved Venmo integration
  • Offline bill saving functionality

VAT VIP

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Tab

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

VAT VIP

Subscriptions1
  • VATVIP+ Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • VATVIP+ Travel Pass$4.99
  • VATVIP+ Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Tab free?
Tab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VAT VIP free?
VAT VIP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tab or VAT VIP?
VAT VIP is rated higher. Tab averages 4.2 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while VAT VIP averages 4.6 from 25 ratings.
Do Tab or VAT VIP have ads?
Neither Tab nor VAT VIP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tab or VAT VIP?
Tab ships an update every 3 weeks, and VAT VIP every 5 days. Most recently, Tab was updated on October 22, 2026 and VAT VIP on October 24, 2026.

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