Comparison

DoorGuy vs HotSpot

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

Head to head
About

DoorGuy

Discover real-time cover charges and drink specials at local bars. See where the crowd is with a recent check-in feed, with anonymous options for privacy. Plan your perfect night out without unexpected costs.

Highlights
  • Real-time cover charge updates
  • Crowd-sourced cover price information
  • View drink deals and happy hour specials
  • Recent check-in feed to see crowd location
  • Anonymous check-in option
Read full description

Stressed about scrounging up a twenty for cover? Don’t worry, you know the DoorGuy. - Check what the cover charge is before you get in line. Using crowd-sourced information, DoorGuy allows you to get real-time updates on current cover prices at your favorite bars. - View all the drink deals and happy hour specials in one place — cheap drunkards rejoice. - See where the crowd is at. The recent check-in feed allows you to see what bars people[a][b] in your area have checked into. Anon check-in available for the privacy geeks.  Download the app today to make friends with the DoorGuy.

About

HotSpot

Discover bars and clubs with real-time community updates on cover charges, wait times, and crowd levels. Earn rewards for your contributions and connect with friends to plan your nights out.

Highlights
  • Interactive map with live updates
  • Real-time crowd and wait time reports
  • Filter by time and rating
  • Earn points and compete for prizes
  • Social feed to connect with friends
  • Venue profiles for real-time events and deals
Features
Read full description

HotSpot. Don't Miss out! HotSpot is how your town goes out. Find the right bar, see what people are saying right now, and get in the door faster. FIND YOUR SPOT Scroll the bars around you and see what's good tonight. Spot who's selling passes and who's getting rated right now, then tap in for the full picture: the vibe, photos, hours, and what's happening. More of a visual person? There's a map for that too. THE FEED Posts, polls, and GIFs from your friends and your city. See where everyone is headed and rally the group chat without the group chat. REVIEWS FROM PEOPLE ACTUALLY THERE No week-old takes. Ratings come from people standing in the bar right now. And when you walk in, HotSpot notices and asks for one quick tap to share the vibe. That's your good deed for the night. SKIP THE LINE Buy passes straight from your favorite bars. Cover passes get you in, line skip passes get you in faster. Keep them in your wallet, swipe to redeem at the door, done. CLIMB THE BOARD Every rating, post, and check-in earns points. Race your friends up the monthly leaderboard, build your lifetime tier, and rep your status all semester. FOR THE BARS Claim your venue and run your storefront. Sell passes, post events, share photos, and watch it all from one dashboard. Download HotSpot and own your night.

Screenshots

DoorGuy4 screens
HotSpot4 screens

Verdict

The call

DoorGuy and HotSpot both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of DoorGuy's written reviews are positive against 76% of HotSpot's. DoorGuy also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.5). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for DoorGuy against 4.5 for HotSpot. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 37 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of DoorGuy's written reviews are positive against 76% of HotSpot's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DoorGuy ships an update every 2 days, HotSpot weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
DoorGuy versus HotSpot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDoorGuyHotSpot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (25 ratings)4.5 (37 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better76.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2537 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.5
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB104 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperJames DolanHotSpot Technologies

Customer experience

DoorGuy

All ratings25 ratings
Positive84.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative12.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

HotSpot

All ratings36 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive76.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative24.0%

In-app purchases

None

DoorGuy

No in-app purchases

None

HotSpot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DoorGuy free?
DoorGuy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HotSpot free?
HotSpot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DoorGuy or HotSpot?
HotSpot is rated higher. DoorGuy averages 4.4 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while HotSpot averages 4.5 from 37 ratings.
Do DoorGuy or HotSpot have ads?
Neither DoorGuy nor HotSpot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DoorGuy or HotSpot?
DoorGuy ships an update every 2 days, and HotSpot weekly. Most recently, DoorGuy was updated on October 6, 2026 and HotSpot on October 22, 2026.

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