Comparison

Handpicked Iceland vs Bensin

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

Head to head
About

Handpicked Iceland

Discover authentic, sustainable local businesses handpicked by locals. This travel guide offers meaningful experiences while supporting local economies. Explore recommended restaurants, cafes, bars, stores, and activities.

Highlights
  • Locally curated recommendations
  • Authentic and sustainable businesses
  • Support local economies
  • Places nearby feature
  • Interactive map
  • Regularly updated information
Read full description

TRAVEL BETTER A group of picky locals have hand-picked their favorite restaurants, cafés, bars, stores, and activities that are authentic, sustainable and give you meaningful experiences while supporting local businesses. You can look at HandPicked as your „local friend“ because we only suggest places that we would recommend to our dearest friends. GREEN TRAVEL GUIDE As a mission-driven company, we are dedicated to moving towards a more sustainable way of traveling and promoting local and sustainable businesses. We plant trees in our little forest every year, print our HandPicked guide in an environmentally-friendly print shop in Iceland, and stay plastic-free when it comes to distribution. Gigi, the founder, has published a magazine on sustainability and health since 2010, when the HandPicked concept was born in an article on restaurants using local ingredients before „local food“ was a trend! Since then, HandPicked has branched out and grown slowly but surely. ENJOY IT FOR FREE You‘ll get over 200 recommended HandPicked places, both in Reykjavik and around Iceland. REGULARLY UPDATED We update the information every year. We visit our HandPicked partners as regularly as we can, dine, drink, explore, and have a good chat to make sure everything is up to standard. SIMPLE PLEASE! We hate complicated things! The HandPicked App is super simple and fast, and there‘s no need to sign in to be able to save your favorite places etc. We also love the „Places nearby“ feature and the map that gives you an overview of the type of places you are looking for and how to get there.

About

Bensin

Find and compare petroleum prices across Iceland with real-time updates. View stations on a map, get driving directions, and filter by price, distance, and fuel type. Personalize your experience with favorite stations and custom discounts.

Highlights
  • Track petroleum prices in Iceland
  • Map view of gas stations
  • Automatic price updates
  • Driving directions
  • Filter by price, distance, company, fuel
  • Favorite station selection
  • Customizable discounts
Features
Read full description

Track petroleum prices across Iceland and select them on a map. See prices listed and distances to the gas stations with automatic updates at location change of 500 m or 8 minutes intervals, when the app is being used. See stations on the map with prices. Select your favourite station to always display at the top. Get driving directions and set filters on price, distance, company, petroleum or diesel etc.  Add discounts for each company and turn on/off showing of companies. The discounts are applied to all stations for each company unless they are exempt. Select light or dark mode or adapt to system settings. This app is entirely made with the new SwiftUI and Combine frameworks.

Screenshots

Handpicked Iceland4 screens
Bensin4 screens

Verdict

The call

Handpicked Iceland and Bensin both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Bensin's written reviews are positive against 71% of Handpicked Iceland's. Bensin also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 11 months). Handpicked Iceland's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). 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 — 4.6 for Handpicked Iceland against 4.8 for Bensin. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 4 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Handpicked Iceland's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bensin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handpicked Iceland ships an update every 11 months, Bensin every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Handpicked Iceland versus Bensin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandpicked IcelandBensin
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (11 ratings)4.8 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGuðbjorg GissurardottirHannes Sverrisson

Customer experience

Handpicked Iceland

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

Bensin

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Handpicked Iceland

No in-app purchases

None

Bensin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Handpicked Iceland free?
Handpicked Iceland is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bensin free?
Bensin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Handpicked Iceland or Bensin?
Bensin is rated higher. Handpicked Iceland averages 4.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Bensin averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.
Do Handpicked Iceland or Bensin have ads?
Neither Handpicked Iceland nor Bensin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Handpicked Iceland or Bensin?
Handpicked Iceland ships an update every 11 months, and Bensin every 3 months. Most recently, Handpicked Iceland was updated on November 1, 2026 and Bensin on November 3, 2026.

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