Reliant vs Virtual Parking Permits
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Reliant
Manage your electricity account with detailed usage tracking, bill payment, and smart home device integration. Monitor electricity, solar, and EV usage, receive alerts, and adjust your thermostat remotely. Access account essentials and get 24/7 customer support.
- Track electricity, solar, and EV usage
- Remote Nest thermostat control
- Bill payment and management
- Account alerts and notifications
- Prepaid fund management
- Account plan management
- 24/7 customer support
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The improved Reliant app delivers powerful new features along with plenty of quick and easy ways to manage your Reliant account. Track electricity usage, receive alerts, pay your bill and sync your Google Nest thermostat and Goal Zero Yeti. Keep your home comfortable Connect and remotely adjust your Nest thermostat Track electricity, solar and electric vehicle usage - Monitor electricity usage details by day, week, month or year. See your projected electricity bill and compare current and past usage. - Monitor your solar generation and consumption and see your Energy Efficiency score. - Sync your EV to schedule charging, see your gas savings and environmental impact. Stay in the know Sign up for Reliant Account Alerts to keep tabs on your electricity usage, bill due dates and even projected charges.* Pay your bill your way Use a stored credit card or bank account to quickly and securely pay your bill. Manage prepaid funds If you’re enrolled in a Reliant prepaid electricity plan, you can use the in-app payment calculator to budget your electricity usage. Access account essentials Review your plan details and manage account settings. Eligible customers can also renew, transfer or change their plan. Get 24/7 help Contact customer support, report an outage, find payment locations and view FAQs. *Not available to customers enrolled in a Reliant prepaid electricity plan. Visit reliant.com/app to learn more about the Reliant app. Please note that the Reliant app is only available to residential customers at this time. Reliant is not affiliated with Google or the products and services they market. Google Nest and Google Nest thermostat are trademarks of Google LLC. You can view our complete privacy policy at reliant.com/privacy. If you have any questions, we’re available 24/7 via online chat and at 1-866-222-7100. Reliant is a registered service mark of Reliant Energy Retail Holdings, LLC. Reliant Energy Retail Services, LLC (PUCT Certificate #10007). © 2024 Reliant Energy Retail Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved.
Virtual Parking Permits
Manage digital parking permits directly from your phone. Link your license plate as your permit to eliminate the need for paper permits for yourself or your guests. This eco-friendly, contactless solution allows for immediate changes and registrations.
- License plate as permit
- Create and manage digital permits
- Register guest vehicles
- Paperless and contactless
- Immediate vehicle/guest registration
- Environmentally friendly
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About this App: Your licence plate is your permit. Access your virtual parking permits account to create and manage your digital parking permits. This is the mobile tenant application for the virtualparkingpermits.com system. You need to have an existing valid account to use the application, be a resident or a guest of a property that utilizes the virtualparkingpermits.com system. With the virtualparkingpermits.com application, residents no longer need paper permits for their vehicles or their guests' vehicles. The licence plate number and vehicle information is the permit. Tenants can access their online account and create digital parking permits via a simple intuitive interface right on their phone. There are many benefits for the virtual parking permits system: Virtual permits cannot be copied or altered 100% paperless and environmentally friendly Contactless virtual solution is a safer process to obtain a permit. Residents can make changes to their own vehicles or register guests immediately. Need technical help? Contacts support@virtualparkingpermits.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Reliant at 46% against Virtual Parking Permits's 0%. Reliant also leads on rating (4.9 vs 1.2) and ratings volume (20K vs 96). Virtual Parking Permits's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 16.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Reliant holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 1.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reliant has 20K ratings behind it against 96, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Reliant's written reviews are positive against 0% of Virtual Parking Permits's.
Reliant ships an update every 6 weeks, Virtual Parking Permits every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Reliant | Virtual Parking Permits |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (20K ratings) — better | 1.2 (96 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 46.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 20K — better | 96 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 204 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Reliant Energy Retail Holdings, LLC | Virtual Parking Permits LLC |
Customer experience
Reliant
Virtual Parking Permits
Bugs and requests
Reliant
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login screen freezes
- Inability to make payments through the app
- Incompatibility with certain mobile devices
- Inconsistent app behavior across platforms
- Syncing issues with Nest thermostats
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to save payment information
- Improved app stability and reliability
- Expanded usage tracking and analytics
- Seamless integration with smart home devices
- Better communication on service changes
Virtual Parking Permits
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Reliant
No in-app purchases
Virtual Parking Permits
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Reliant free?
Is Virtual Parking Permits free?
Which has better reviews, Reliant or Virtual Parking Permits?
Do Reliant or Virtual Parking Permits have ads?
Which is updated more often, Reliant or Virtual Parking Permits?
Other comparisons
