Comparison

Active Lambeth vs Places Leisure

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

Head to head
About

Active Lambeth

Access a wide range of sporting facilities, fitness classes, and supportive services across the borough. Book and manage activities, view club information, and enjoy at-home workouts with world-class trainers. This app provides convenient access to local leisure options for all.

Highlights
  • Book and manage classes
  • View club information
  • Manage account and membership
  • Book swimming lessons
  • Access at-home workouts
  • Contactless entry via QR code
  • Integrates with Apple HealthKit
Features
Read full description

ACTIVE LAMBETH - LEISURE FOR ALL Lambeth Council is proud to provide members with the Active Lambeth App. We have a huge selection of sporting facilities, fitness activities and supportive services across the borough at affordable and flexible rates. We are unmatched by any other local provider for our range of facilities and offer excellent value for money. You’ll find everything you need to stay active, all from the palm of your hand • Book & Manage Classes • See Club Info (address, opening hours, pool opening times etc) • Manage Your Account & Membership • Book Swimming Lessons & Courses • See latest offers and updates • Plan Your Visit and More! CONTACTLESS ENTRY Gain quick and easy access to your Leisure Centre by scanning the QR code with your App. ACTIVE AT HOME We have partnered with content creators to provide Active Lambeth members with access to hundreds of video workouts led by world-class trainers to help you take your at home training to the next level. MORE THAN JUST A GYM… Active Lambeth gives you a fantastic selection of facilities and activities right on your doorstep from gyms and swimming pools to soft play, court and racket sports and even ice skating. We also support doctors’ referrals and provide a range of dedicated spaces for community groups and schools. For more information, visit https://active.lambeth.gov.uk This is Leisure for all. APPLE HEALTHKIT We also use HealthKit to allow users to share their activity and workout data with the app. This data is used to incentivise users to stay active.

About

Places Leisure

Easily book fitness classes and activities at your local leisure center. Access up-to-date timetables, news, and special offers. Manage your bookings, view membership options, and stay informed with push notifications.

Highlights
  • Fitness class timetables
  • Fitness class bookings
  • Swimming timetables
  • News and push notifications
  • Offers and promotions
  • Membership options
  • HealthKit integration
Features
Read full description

With the Places Leisure app you always have your facility in your pocket with quick and easy access to book your favourite fitness classes and activities. Get up-to-date information, news, fitness class timetables, public swim timetables, offers, events and receive push notifications for important news. FITNESS CLASS TIMETABLES Get real-time access to your centre’s timetable for classes, including times, fitness instructors and class description. FITNESS CLASS BOOKINGS Check availability, make a booking, amend a booking and cancel a booking – all on the move! SWIMMING TIMETABLES Get real-time access to your centre’s timetable for swim sessions. 82 CENTRES AVAILABLE Find out about our opening times and facilities at 82 leisure centres across the country. NEWS AND PUSH NOTIFICATIONS Instantly get notified of centre news and events direct to your phone. With our app, you’ll immediately know when there are new events or classes, ensuring that you’ll never miss a thing. OFFERS Get push notifications for new offers so you always know about special promotions. MEMBERSHIPS AND ONLINE JOINING View our different types of membership to find the one which best suits you and join online. CONTACT US Easily contact us with site telephone numbers and email addresses or view directions and maps. SHARE THROUGH FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND EMAIL Share fitness classes, news, centre information and offers with your friends and family at the touch of a button APPLE HEALTHKIT We also use HealthKit to allow users to share their activity and workout data with the app. This data is used to incentivise users to stay active.

Screenshots

Active Lambeth4 screens
Places Leisure4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Active Lambeth at 4.8 against Places Leisure's 4.3. Places Leisure's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, 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

Active Lambeth holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 28 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 16% of Active Lambeth's written reviews are positive against 19% of Places Leisure's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Active Lambeth ships an update every 2 months, Places Leisure monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Active Lambeth versus Places Leisure: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterActive LambethPlaces Leisure
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (16 ratings) — better4.3 (28 ratings)
Positive reviews15.9% of reviews19.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1628 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size108 MB121 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperLondon Borough of LambethPLACES FOR PEOPLE LEISURE MANAGEMENT LTD.

Customer experience

Active Lambeth

All ratings16 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral6.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive15.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative81.0%

Places Leisure

All ratings28 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral3.6%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews209 reviews
Positive19.1%
Neutral10.5%
Negative70.3%

User reviews

Active Lambeth

From 16 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use (rarely mentioned)
  • 👍 Convenient (rarely mentioned)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 App gets stuck
  • 🐛 Service unreachable errors
  • 🐛 Login issues
  • 🐛 Cannot view bookings

Places Leisure

From 28 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use app
  • 🚀 Functional app
  • 🤝 Helpful staff
  • 📅 Good for bookings

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • ⏱️ Painfully slow performance
  • 🔒 Login and password issues
  • 💻 Unreliable and unstable
  • 🤯 Confusing and frustrating user experience

Bugs and requests

Active Lambeth

Reported bugs

54 issues
  • Cannot access bookings in app or website
  • App keeps crushing or getting stuck
  • Error: Cannot view main menu (MAF error)
  • App won't let users sign in
  • App keeps logging users out
Show 49 more
  • Forcing users to pick nicknames, all taken
  • App cannot be opened after displaying logo (white screen with 'Service unreachable')
  • Unable to login with credentials after sign up
  • First-time login creates a customer account not recognized if membership bought on web
  • Always need to write email and password when logging in
  • App is very slow, prone to hanging
  • Most days require re-login
  • Insane search UX, difficult to find activities
  • Doesn't save email and password
  • Loses waitlist classes
  • Misleading class icons
  • Links spin and go nowhere
  • Reset password email never arrives
  • App asks to pay to book every class despite membership
  • Logged out constantly, poor interface
  • App doesn't work
  • App is almost impossible to use
  • Poor connection
  • Service Unreachable error when booking activity
  • Unable to access account, details incorrect
  • Cannot transfer details from Bettergym to Active Lambeth
  • No record of membership, asked for bank details
  • Server not found when using app from home
  • Very tedious and cumbersome for multiple gym users, difficulty changing locations
  • App doesn't remember preferred gyms
  • Extremely difficult to book a football pitch
  • App hasn't worked since switch from Better
  • Constantly receive 'service is accessible' message
  • Multiple accounts issue, impossible to correct
  • No detail on swimming classes etc.
  • Suddenly stopped recognizing membership after 2 weeks
  • Online booking system omits sessions
  • Keeps getting stuck, nothing intuitive
  • Cannot just pay for swim session
  • App doesn't work
  • Cannot access bookings
  • App returns 'service unreachable' page
  • Unable to book a class
  • Unable to accept payment
  • Cannot book a class on the app
  • Activation link directs to an internal error page
  • Loads of links don't work
  • Impossible to work out how to activate old Better account
  • Link from instruction email broken
  • Cannot work out how to log in, keeps inviting to buy membership
  • Going to account tells user they haven't logged in but no option to login
  • Won't let me book/sign up for anything
  • Poor signal at gym, queues at gate for barcodes
  • Visually an inaccessible mess

Requested features

11 requests
  • Lower age group for app download
  • Add pass to Apple Wallet
  • Option to remain logged in
  • Add Apple Pay as payment option
  • Improve search UX for finding activities
Show 6 more
  • Include No Strings badminton sessions in booking system
  • Feature older people on website
  • Allow users to simply pay for swim sessions without membership
  • Make barcode visible immediately upon opening app
  • Place booking option on the same page as barcode
  • Remove unused features like fitness tracker and work with us tab from main view

Places Leisure

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App frequently times out or shows errors when trying to book
  • Login credentials not recognized even after password resets
  • Incorrect membership details and billing issues
  • Inability to manage child accounts and view progress

Requested features

4 requests
  • Integrate with Apple Wallet for QR codes
  • Improve notification system for waitlists and class changes
  • Provide better visibility into booking history and child accounts
  • Streamline the booking process and make it more user-friendly

In-app purchases

None

Active Lambeth

No in-app purchases

None

Places Leisure

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Active Lambeth free?
Active Lambeth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Places Leisure free?
Places Leisure is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Active Lambeth or Places Leisure?
Active Lambeth is rated higher. Active Lambeth averages 4.8 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Places Leisure averages 4.3 from 28 ratings.
Do Active Lambeth or Places Leisure have ads?
Neither Active Lambeth nor Places Leisure shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Active Lambeth or Places Leisure?
Active Lambeth ships an update every 2 months, and Places Leisure monthly. Most recently, Active Lambeth was updated on November 3, 2026 and Places Leisure on November 4, 2026.

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