PayByPhone Parking vs SpotHero

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. [R4] PayByPhone Parking 1/5 · US Non functional: After happily using this app for years, it has not worked for the past month or so. It doesn’t recognize the parking zone making it unusable. Moved on to another app.
2. [R10] PayByPhone Parking 1/5 · US Broken in SF: Completely broken in San Francisco, no locations recognized anywhere. What’s the point of this anymore?
3. [R65] SpotHero 5/5 · US Reliable Parking App: SpotHero works exactly as intended, and I have never had any issues with the app or my reservations. Finding and booking parking is quick and convenient, and the student discount makes the already competitive rates an even better deal. It has become my go to app whenever I need parking.
4. [R70] SpotHero 5/5 · US Great value!: I always use Spot Hero to secure parking! You can’t beat the value.
5. [R3] PayByPhone Parking 3/5 · US Pay feature glitches: Pay feature always glitches and takes a while to actually work bc it will reject all payment forms unless you manually type in your info. Even then some times the page will like bounce and not allow it. And it wont let my card on my apple wallet work either? Ive had this issue on other fast pay apps too. They’ll just reject a normal card? Wish they’d fix that issue bc it’s a
6. [R12] PayByPhone Parking 3/5 · US Upgrades eliminate saved favorites and stored credentials: For at least the last two upgrades, the app has made me re-enter my login credentials. This can be a minor crisis when you’re standing on the curb in a hurry and don’t have all of your credentials memorized. Also, these upgrades somehow lost all of my favorite parking locations. What’s the point of offering a feature like favorites if you
7. [R62] SpotHero 5/5 · US Easy to use: This app is very convenient to find a parking space, and it is very easy to use
8. [R69] SpotHero 1/5 · US Give me my code: The most important thing to a user is the ease and quickness of being able to pull up the Q code the moment you pull up to park. Apologies to the people behind me while I struggled with the app to retrieve the only thing I needed from this app.
9. [R19] PayByPhone Parking 1/5 · US No longer working in sfo: For the last few months, the app is no longer working in San Francisco error messages all around, even if I type in the exact location it doesn’t work please fix
10. [R87] SpotHero 2/5 · US Overbooked: This app has failed me multiple times in row. I booked a spot weeks in advanced and they overbooked me. I ended up spending $15 for the spot hero parking and an extra $30 for street parking. It is a huge gamble to use this app and when contacting customer service in the moment expect more than a 20 minute wait to be put with an agent. Even after emailing the Spot Hero support team, the
11. [R99] SpotHero 1/5 · US Use at your own Risk: 2 times in the same day I reserved parking and was turned away at the entrance. After being turned away, I was still charged for the spaces (2 of them) and have not received a response from spot hero after 5 days. Use this app and vendor at your own risk, I would assign ‘0’ stars if that was an option.
12. [R6] PayByPhone Parking 3/5 · US Fees: Stop charging extra fees like SMS I don’t need a text that should be optional my phone is smart enough to set a reminder 😑
13. [R7] PayByPhone Parking 1/5 · US Awful quality app: Even though I have cell phone signal it absolutely never tells me nearby spots so I have to walk over and look at the number to park. And it charges a $.60 convenience fee! Whose convenience is it? Especially when it doesn’t even tell me the nearby parking lot number and the sign is tiny and far away. And now I also see there’s a $.20 SMS fee. What is that for? Do better pay by
14. [R64] SpotHero 1/5 · US Literally paid MORE than the drive-up rate: This app isn’t what it used to be! Honestly, save yourself the headache of prepaying and just look for a spot at your destination. I used SpotHero thinking I was saving money and securing a spot for my night out in San Francisco. Huge mistake. The app charged me nearly $38, but when I showed up, the sign at the garage clearly said $25 for the day. Even t
15. [R81] SpotHero 2/5 · US Good platform but the fees need to be upfront: A fee months ago, the app started adding junk fees, and only “disclosing” them at the last step before you make a reservation. This was a bad decision. Any fees should be disclosed upfront, included in the quoted prices. I would point out that city taxes and fees are already reflected in the up front quotes, so why not include your platform fees as we
16. [R49] PayByPhone Parking 1/5 · US No Customer Service Support: Terrible app, no customer service, not clear instructions, confusing parking services.
17. [R52] PayByPhone Parking 1/5 · US More reasons this app sucks!: It’s apparently, nearly impossible to get actual customer service. You can communicate with their horrible waste of time AI, and if you search for how to speak with someone, it tells you to use the AI, and also brings up 47 additional, irrelevant “help” articles. They want you to go through the AI in order to possibly get actual help, but that trash AI just sends you
18. [R80] SpotHero 5/5 · US Spothero is the Best!: If you want to ensure guaranteed parking to attend an event or go to a meeting, this App is the best! I suggest you download and use the App as that allows you to have an account and it captures not only your current reservation, but stores previous reservations that you can easily use to “rebook” that location for an upcoming event. Their support team is also amazing!
19. [R116] SpotHero 5/5 · US Excellent Parking App: I have been using this app for sometime and have had no problems. Easy use, gives enough choices that best suits my needs. Highly recommend it. Customer service also very good. Had made advanced reservations only to arrive and find road and entrance to garage block by emergency road work. Refunded my fee quickly and without a hassle.