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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Tripadvisor vs Booking.com

Tripadvisor 4.8★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Booking.com
Booking.com 4.8★ · Free to download 75

Booking.com is the better choice for booking accommodations and flights due to its ease of use and perceived value, while Tripadvisor is better for finding detailed reviews and recommendations for activities and restaurants.

Full reviews: Tripadvisor · Booking.com

Booking.com excels in providing an easy booking experience for hotels and flights, often with good deals and flexible options. Tripadvisor, while a strong source for user reviews on various travel aspects, has recently faced criticism for app usability issues, particularly with its map view.

Head to head

Features and Content tieR1R2R5R8
Tripadvisor Tripadvisor is highly valued for its extensive user-generated reviews across hotels, restaurants, and activities, helping users plan trips and find trusted information R2R5R8R11. However, recent updates have removed the popular list view for 'nearby' searches, forcing users to rely on a less functional map interface, which many find unhelpful and clunky R1R35R39R53. Some users also report issues with tour booking support and fraudulent listings R23R29R51.
Booking.com Booking.com is praised for its ability to find and book hotels, flights, and other travel components easily . Users appreciate features like free cancellation and the ability to find good deals . However, there are significant complaints about car service bookings, where third-party providers are unreliable , and a persistent issue with the 'favorites' feature creating new lists for every town instead of allowing users to select existing ones .
Ease of Use edge: Booking.comR1R10R31R35
Tripadvisor Tripadvisor's app has recently become more difficult to use due to the removal of the list view for searches, forcing users to navigate an 'infuriating map' with pins R1R10R35R39. Some users also report the app being buggy, crashing, or locking up R31.
Booking.com Booking.com is generally considered easy to use for finding and booking accommodations . Users find it straightforward to navigate and appreciate its functionality .
Reliability and Trustworthiness edge: TripadvisorR11R23R29R33
Tripadvisor Tripadvisor is generally trusted for its reviews, with many users relying on them for travel decisions R11. However, some users report that their truthful negative reviews are not published, suggesting censorship R33. There are also instances of tours being cancelled without proper communication or refunds , and issues with customer service regarding tour problems R23R29.
Booking.com Booking.com faces significant criticism regarding reliability. Users report issues like double bookings , bookings being cancelled by hosts , and fraudulent listings . There are also complaints about misleading pricing, with foreign transaction fees not being disclosed R63R83R85, and hotels charging extra fees upon arrival R81.
Customer Support edge: TripadvisorR2R5R8R23
Tripadvisor Tripadvisor's customer service receives mixed reviews. While some staff are praised for being friendly and helpful R2R5R8, others report unhelpful service, especially when dealing with tour issues or refunds R23R29.
Booking.com Booking.com's customer service is a major point of contention, with numerous users reporting terrible, rude, and unhelpful experiences R79R87R89R95. Users struggle to get refunds, resolve booking problems, or even get a response R95.
Price/Value tieR6R43R51R63
Tripadvisor Tripadvisor is primarily a review platform, and while it facilitates bookings, direct pricing comparisons are less frequent in reviews. Some users note that tickets offered through Tripadvisor can be twice the cost of booking directly with the venue R51. There are also complaints about expensive and disappointing meals R6R43.
Booking.com Booking.com is often praised for offering good deals and competitive prices on hotels . However, users frequently encounter hidden costs, such as undisclosed foreign transaction fees R63R83R85, unexpected hotel charges R81, and inflated prices for services like car rentals where included 'insurance' is not honored R63.
Pick Tripadvisor if

you prioritize detailed, user-generated reviews for restaurants, activities, and hotels to inform your travel decisions, and you are comfortable with the current map-centric interface for local searches R11.

Pick Booking.com if

you need an easy-to-use platform for booking hotels and flights, often with good deals and flexible cancellation options, and are willing to navigate potential issues with third-party services or customer support .

Evidence note: Recent negative reviews for Tripadvisor heavily focus on the removal of the list view and app usability, which may skew the perception of its overall functionality compared to its historical strengths. Booking.com's negative reviews are consistently about customer service and booking issues, indicating a long-standing problem.

Frequently asked

Is Tripadvisor good for finding things to do nearby?
Tripadvisor used to be highly effective for finding nearby attractions and restaurants with a list view, but recent updates have removed this feature, making it less useful for many users who now only have a clunky map interface R1R35R39R53.
Does Booking.com have good customer service?
Booking.com receives widespread criticism for its customer service, with many users reporting rude, unhelpful representatives and difficulties in resolving issues like refunds, double bookings, or fraudulent listings R79R87R89R95.
Are there hidden fees when booking with Booking.com?
Yes, many Booking.com users report encountering hidden fees, including undisclosed foreign transaction fees when prices are shown in USD but charged in other currencies, and unexpected charges from hotels upon arrival R63R81R83R85.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US Nothing like breaking a perfect app for no reason: I’ve been using y’all for years, but I’ve got to find an alternative. This mapbox map thing is clunky and unhelpful As a user: I would like to see a list of things to do nearby. Clicking “Nearby” brings me to an infuriating map with no list view. I have no interest in zooming in to various pins on the map & clicking through them. Feels like y’a
  2. [R2] Tripadvisor 5/5 · US An Absolute 10/10 Experience with Danger’s Boat Tour!: Our trip with Captain Joe and his incredible crew was hands-down fantastic. From start to finish, the crew went above and beyond, the two crew ladies, Morgan and Deny, were absolute lifesavers, helping my daughter with a rubber band and coming to the rescue with the perfect sun protection. Morgan even learned our names. ❤️ Here are the highligh
  3. [R5] Tripadvisor 5/5 · US Great experience: Had a great time during our stay here. The staff was very friendly and the service was great. Will definitely recommend. The chef prepared very delicious food and it was very fresh.
  4. [R8] Tripadvisor 5/5 · US Stayed at inner banks inn Edenton NC: Had a group of family members occupy 5 rooms. We stayed in 2 of the houses. These are historic buildings so you get the feeling of how it was living a hundred years ago. The a/c thermostat adjusted to cool down in area summer temperatures. The dining room , breakfast and staff were very accommodating. The managers and owners wanted to verify that all was
  5. [R10] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US Not handy anymore: Your site is not easy to use anymore. I deleted your app.
  6. [R31] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US Buggy: Something Went Wrong Reload Page Reload Button Press the button. Same message. No way out. Deleting app. Obviously designed without user experience expert. Maybe designed by AI or developer or marketing people. Ugh!
  7. [R35] Tripadvisor 2/5 · US Removal of list view greatly reduces the usefulness of the app: Long time user. I have found the app incredibly useful when visiting a new city. Unfortunately the app will no longer show a list of sorted and filtered options. The only way to view results is on a map. I do like the map when looking for things close to me. Unfortunately this map view is useless when looking for options no
  8. [R11] Tripadvisor 5/5 · US Begin With The Best Guide: “TripAdvisor”!: To avoid any kind of negative experiences begin your search process with TripAdvisor regardless of how insignificant you think it may be, because safety is better than “unfortunately”!
  9. [R23] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US Won’t help with tour issues: Good place to book tours, but we had lots of tour issues while visiting Italy & TripAdvisor did not help at all. I heard GetyourGuide is more helpful - so I will be using on my next trip.
  10. [R29] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US Dont use this company: This company is unprofessional and inconsiderate of there customers.. they have no issues taking your money and then make you try and resolve issues with tour agents rather through them where the trip or activity was booked. Then they waste your time transferring you from agent to agent which all are of no help and when you try to escalate it they tell you no supervisor is a
  11. [R33] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US FAKE RATING TripAdvisor removes removes they don’t like without cause: Trip advisor doesn’t post ALL reviews that are submitted even if they are 100% truthful based on real experiences with a business. So don’t bother using this site as a consumer because they lie. You are not seeing the true rating of places because they are purposely removing bad reviews without reasonable cause. NO FREE SPEECH
  12. [R6] Tripadvisor 3/5 · GB Blackfriars Inverness: Booked Blackfriars trip for a birthday getaway we paid £225 for one night. The staff were friendly the room was very clean. But for the price we paid we were disappointed. The room was basic. There were 2 people one chair the room felt cramped, it has themes but the had no relevance to the names. Had a n evening meal it was expensive and greasy not pleasant. We also had brea
  13. [R43] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US Don’t waste your money: Had Sunday lunch, chose the roast beef it was tough and tasteless, the roasted parsnips were inedible too hard to cut and it was room temperature, at £25 don’t waste your money,
  14. [R51] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US Used to love it now I don’t: I’m a pilot for a major domestic and international carrier in the United States.. over the years I have used this app to research trips a ton.. but it doesn’t organize well. Google Maps is better. And recently there were tickets offered for the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao that were twice the cost of tickets direct from the museum online. The museum website warned of fr
  15. [R63] Booking.com 3/5 · US Convenient if you avoid the sinister scammy parts: If you book a vehicle, it includes “insurance.” This is Booking.com’s “service” and it entirely independent from the rental company. This “insurance” is not usually honored and requires a police report. you are essentially wasting your money and will need to buy insurance again with the actual company. Additionally, the prices they show do not inc
  16. [R39] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US NO LIST!: When searching for restaurants the results were available on a map AND a list view. No list anymore, it’s more difficult to navigate the choices.
  17. [R53] Tripadvisor 1/5 · US List View Gone: This used to be an incredible app. You could easily search what’s nearby and open now and get a LIST of restaurants. Now it only gives you a map view which is completely useless. Apparently this is some sort of update to push people towards using a map so you can see a bunch of little dot but no idea what the restaurants are until you tap on them. Whoever thought this was a good
  18. [R79] Booking.com 1/5 · US Terrible rude customer service: I’ve been using booking for all my travel for several years and the representatives I spoke with today were some of the rudest, could not care less to accommodate or help at all. If I missed my flight and had to stay with my kids at an airport for several days, they would not have seemed to care at all to go one bit out of their way to attempt to not make that happe
  19. [R87] Booking.com 1/5 · US Horrible customer service: We used booking.com quite often for our son’s wrestling tournaments and never had an issue until now. When booking the hotels, I find them by typing in the location that his tournaments are at so I know the hotels are close. This time, the hotel booked was over an hour away. When searching the name of the location, the exact same hotel pops up, but with the location need
  20. [R89] Booking.com 1/5 · US PROBLEMA RESERVACIÓN: No me solucionan mi problema, por cumpla de un error de booking perdí 1 mañana de mis vacaciones y no se quieren hacer responsable, donde están mis derechos en este momento? Soy cliente de booking y ahora ustedes no me quieren reconocer que perdí 1 mañana de mis predicadas vacaciones por culpa de booking. el peor servició, estoy súper inconforme, perdieron un cliente y con mi
  21. [R95] Booking.com 1/5 · US Foreign Scammers: This company has horrible customer service. They charged me a $50 damage deposit, fully refundable. It’s been 16 days and I haven’t received my money back. Hotel says contact booking. Booking has hung up on me twice.
  22. [R81] Booking.com 1/5 · US Not with it book direct: When looking for a place to stay in Las Vegas I shopped booking. The rate seemed fair so I took the risk of not booking direct and go with booking. Upon arrival to the hotel I realized I made a bad choice when the hotel charged me 150 for cleaning. During my 2 night stay not once did palms place give us fresh towels or clean our room. I would never recommend booking or pal
  23. [R83] Booking.com 1/5 · US Got charged Foran transaction fees for the prices shown in the US dollars?: I recently made multiple bookings for hotels and day trips using Booking.com all the prices were shown in the US dollars. With no warning or indication that my credit card will be charged in a Foreign currency now I have close $200 in foreign transaction fees. I have other credit cards that do not charge for transaction fe
  24. [R85] Booking.com 1/5 · US Misleading! Be aware!: Shows the prices on the app in us dollars but charge you in euros. Customer service is non existent .

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store