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

Blacklane vs Wheely

Blacklane 4.9★ · Free to download 70
Winner Blacklane
Wheely 4.9★ · Free to download 65

For a more established service with broader availability and generally reliable drivers, Blacklane has a slight edge, but be wary of recent app issues and potential price gouging; choose Wheely for a truly premium experience in its serviced areas, but be prepared for potential unreliability in pre-bookings and non-transparent pricing.

Full reviews: Blacklane · Wheely

Blacklane offers a widely available, professional chauffeur service with an easy booking app, though recent updates have introduced bugs and some users report inconsistent driver quality and pricing issues. Wheely provides a highly luxurious experience with professional drivers and clean cars, but its app has sign-up and payment issues, and users frequently complain about hidden fees and unreliable pre-booked services.

Head to head

Features & Ease of Use tieR3R4R6R7
Blacklane Blacklane's app is generally praised for easy booking, communication, and managing rides, with many users finding it user-friendly and intuitive R3. However, recent updates have introduced significant bugs, making it confusing, difficult to edit bookings, unreliable at critical times, and causing issues with payment processing and login R6R7R9R12. Some users also dislike the new design and report spam notifications R4.
Wheely Wheely's app is described as elegantly designed, offering seamless functionality and a sophisticated user experience . Users appreciate the ability to book in advance and track flight information . However, there are significant issues with signing up, requiring credit card details before seeing prices and sometimes blocking accounts or refusing cards . The app also lacks a chat function with the driver and the ability to tip after the trip R66.
Reliability & Service Quality edge: BlacklaneR1R2R5R8
Blacklane Blacklane is widely praised for professional, courteous, and punctual drivers, clean luxury vehicles, and consistent service across many cities and countries R2R5R8. Drivers often arrive early . However, there are notable instances of drivers forgetting car seats R1, not showing up R16, or arriving in subpar vehicles . Some users report a decline in quality, especially after the Uber announcement .
Wheely Wheely is consistently lauded for its premium, luxurious, and professional chauffeur service, with clean, new cars and polite drivers . Drivers are often described as amazing and professional . However, a significant number of users report unreliability, particularly with pre-booked airport transfers, including late arrivals, cancellations without notice, and drivers not showing up at all . There are also complaints about drivers waiting outside paid parking and some cars having a cigarette smell .
Price & Value tieR19R22R25R27
Blacklane Blacklane is positioned as a premium service, with some users acknowledging it's more expensive than Uber/Lyft but worth it for the quality R22R27. However, many users complain about price gouging, mystery fees, and non-transparent pricing R19R25. Some also note that app prices can be higher than web prices for the same trip R27.
Wheely Wheely is considered a premium service, often described as a few dollars more than Uber but many times better R107. However, a significant number of reviews highlight non-transparent pricing, with additional charges for parking and airport drop-off not included in the initial fare R66R78R80R100. Users report being charged significantly more than the estimated or advertised price, sometimes double or more R80. There are also complaints about pre-authorization holds on credit cards that are not immediately released .
Customer Support tieR3R13R16R26
Blacklane Blacklane's customer support is inconsistent; some users report the company reaching out to make things right R3 and being available via text and phone R26. However, many users describe chat support as broken or unhelpful, with long wait times and inability to resolve issues R13. There are also reports of the company fighting credit card chargebacks even when drivers didn't show up R16.
Wheely Wheely's customer service receives mixed reviews. Some users praise the service itself R78, but others report not receiving responses to pricing inquiries R78 or receiving unhelpful answers regarding late drivers . There are also serious accusations of fraud regarding unauthorized charges and difficulty getting refunds .
Pick Blacklane if

You need a widely available, generally reliable luxury car service for business or leisure travel, and you're comfortable with potential recent app glitches or occasional driver inconsistencies, especially if you're a C-suite or senior executive needing dependable transportation R26.

Pick Wheely if

You prioritize a truly luxurious, professional, and elegant chauffeur experience with clean, high-end vehicles, and you are using it in a city where its service is strong, but you are willing to overlook potential issues with app functionality, non-transparent pricing, and occasional unreliability for pre-booked trips .

Evidence note: Both apps have strong lifetime ratings, but recent reviews for Blacklane show a significant increase in complaints regarding app functionality and service consistency, potentially influenced by recent updates and an Uber acquisition announcement. Wheely's negative reviews frequently highlight non-transparent pricing and unreliability for pre-booked services, despite many positive comments about the luxury experience itself.

Frequently asked

Is Blacklane reliable for family travel with car seats?
Blacklane's reliability for family travel with car seats is inconsistent; while they offer the service, at least one user reported that drivers twice forgot a car seat, leading to family separation and no refund R1.
Does Wheely have hidden fees?
Yes, many Wheely users report non-transparent pricing and hidden fees, including additional charges for parking and airport drop-off that are not included in the initial fare, often leading to final costs significantly higher than estimated R66R78R80R100.
Are Blacklane and Wheely more expensive than Uber or Lyft?
Yes, both Blacklane and Wheely are generally more expensive than Uber or Lyft, positioning themselves as luxury chauffeur services R22R107. Blacklane rides can cost around $100 compared to $10 for Uber/Lyft for the same trip R22, and Wheely is described as "a few dollars more than Uber but many times better" R107.
What are the common app issues for Blacklane?
Common app issues for Blacklane include confusing design, difficulty adding passengers or editing car types, unreliable connectivity, payment processing problems, frequent login requirements, and broken chat functions R6R7R9R12.

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. [R3] Blacklane 3/5 · US App is great, service not so much: UPDATE: adding a star because blacklane reached out to me and has been working to make things right. Will hive them another shot in a couple months and update review then. ******** So the app itself is great. It’s very easy to book, communicate, and manage my booking through the app. The chauffeur… not so much. I hired a chauffeur through blacklane to pick
  2. [R4] Blacklane 1/5 · US Spam notifications: Turned off marketing push notifications and they continued for a week
  3. [R6] Blacklane 3/5 · US Confusing design: New design is very confusing. Cannot add more people easily in confirmation date. It’s not clear at check out.
  4. [R7] Blacklane 1/5 · US Terrible service and buggy app: The app pre-authorized charges on my credit card for the same amount of money over 5 times because something mistakenly said my flight was delayed 30 minutes (it was actually early) and moved my pick up time 30 minutes later. I could have gotten a taxi in 3 minutes instead! When I tried to change the time back, it never updated and my card was charged again and agai
  5. [R1] Blacklane 1/5 · US Terrible for families: Horrible experience. Road with them a few times over the week. Twice they forgot one of the car seats, and they had no backup plan, so my family had to split up and find alternative ways home. In both cases, their drivers lied and said they had both car seats, so we did not get a refund. Shows both poor ethics and a bad experience
  6. [R2] Blacklane 5/5 · US Best car service in ATL: Great service with the best cars and drivers. Always on time and communicate updates and pick up times.
  7. [R5] Blacklane 5/5 · US Best luxury car service in OC/LA: This has been the absolute best chauffeur service I’ve used and I’ve used a lot. I’ll be a repeat customer. The door to door service, well kept cars, and friendly drivers are wonderful.
  8. [R8] Blacklane 5/5 · US Paris: Our driver picked us up at Charles de Gaulle as dropped us off at our hotel in the opera district he handled four passengers worth of luggage. Very comfortable and professional service we have booked another ride start in July
  9. [R19] Blacklane 1/5 · US Trash money hungry: Money hungry company Mystery fees Won’t have cars available with the price and customer service can’t help with nothing at all can’t do nothing at all
  10. [R22] Blacklane 1/5 · US Ride costs 100 and uber Lyft cost 10 we poor can’t afford: Ride costs 100 and uber Lyft cost 10 we poor can’t afford
  11. [R25] Blacklane 1/5 · US Beware of Price Gouging Practices: I don’t think I will ever use Blacklane again after being charged a $315 “demand pricing” increase for a 120 mile airport transfer.
  12. [R27] Blacklane 3/5 · GB Good app, but web price better: I used Blacklane for the first time last week. The service was excellent, so I downloaded the app to make booking easier. Unfortunately, when I have now tried to make my return booking, I noticed that the price of the exact same trip is more expensive on the app than going through the webpage. This appears to penalise returning customers.
  13. [R13] Blacklane 1/5 · US Multiple Issues: Unable to edit car type within App, payment not accepted, switching through various types does nothing. Unable to have other party scan code and add to their black lane app. AI is so poorly designed, a complete waste of time and resources. Chat with human should be within 2-3 minutes, not 15 plus.
  14. [R16] Blacklane 1/5 · US No accountability for their drivers: Driver didn't show up, no meet and greet at London airport. Blacklane still charged me and fought credit card company when I charged it back. There driver was supposed to provide Meet and Greet and never got out of the car.
  15. [R26] Blacklane 5/5 · US Nationwide Excellence: 5 years Blacklane Services in multiple cities and I’ve seen nothing but nationwide excellence in their service. They have been excellent excellent app that is easy to use and they are always available by both text messaging and phone. They obviously have an excellent system down pat, but I would highly recommend them to any business traveler.
  16. [R66] Wheely 3/5 · GB You cannot tip a driver after the trip: Service was good but the app functionality was not designed correctly to give the ability to tip after the trip. You can only tip during an active trip as a percentage of something that you do not know how much since the trip is not finished yet. The estimated fare was also very far from the actual fare. That should be improved to be more realistic and with
  17. [R78] Wheely 1/5 · US Service great, pricing non-transparent: Love the service, but the app doesn’t give you an accurate price. It says that it is a flay rate, but a lot of additional charges were added on after my arrival. I wrote to customer service and didn’t receive a response.
  18. [R80] Wheely 1/5 · US They are bad: I take a car from London Heathrow airport the charge was £50 minutes they keep charging my card up to £140 they charge even for parking in the airport, taxis is much cheaper.
  19. [R100] Wheely 2/5 · GB Great service - not so transparent fees: The idea and implementation is great, makes my life much easier. However, i hate companies that are not transparent about their fees. Parking fees should have been mentioned before booking a car…
  20. [R107] Wheely 5/5 · US Awesome service: A few dollars more than Uber but many times better. Tops.
  21. [R9] Blacklane 3/5 · US Spotty App Reliability: Overall app is 7/10. Very unreliable at critical times during the trip. The app gave me updates on the driver status as we exited the airplane, but as we got out of the airport, looking for the driver, the app would not connect to communicate with the driver.
  22. [R12] Blacklane 3/5 · US App not the easiest: We had a challenge getting the ride booked originally and it was not the easiest to communicate with the driver.

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