The Best Apps for a Night Out of 2024
Written by: BestApp.com App Testing Team - Updated: Dec 16, 2021
If you need help planning your night out, you should try Foursquare City Guide. It has a community-focused approach for helping users find the hidden gems spread throughout their cities. But if Foursquare doesn’t fit your needs or preferences, we’ve found eight other great apps to help you plan your next evening on the town. Here are the nine best apps for a night out.
Top 9 Apps for a Night Out
- Foursquare City Guide — Top Pick
- BarChick — Best for Discovering Bars
- OpenTable — Best for Restaurant Reservations
- Uber — Best for Transportation
- Bandsintown — Best for Concert Lovers
- Bopple — Best for a Night In
- Untappd — Best for Beer Lovers
- BestParking — Best for Locating Parking
- BarPass — Best for Finding Happy Hours
How We Chose the Best Apps for a Night Out
To find the best apps for a night out, we looked for apps that help users discover local bars, find and reserve spots at restaurants, browse and buy tickets to live music events, and access transportation services to help them get around safely. These features make it as easy as possible to plan safe and fun get-togethers with friends.
Choose the app that’s right for you
Depending on what your ideal night out looks like, you might prefer some of the apps on our list over others. BarChick, for example, is great for finding great local bars, while apps like OpenTable help users reserve spots at popular restaurants. As most of the apps on this list offer free versions to get started, we recommend testing out multiple apps to find the one that suits your needs.
Take safety precautions
When going out for the night, it’s always important to prioritize your safety and the safety of those around you. Before going out for the night, make sure to make plans for safe transportation and let a friend or family member know where you’ll be. For more ways to stay safe on a night out, check out our list of the best personal safety apps.
Our Apps for a Night Out Reviews
Foursquare City Guide — Top Pick
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Foursquare City Guide is our top pick as it offers a wide range of features that make it easy for users to find new and exciting spots around their cities. Users can find anything from restaurants and bars to parks and clubs that other users on the app have recommended. For each location, you can read short tips written by other users. You can also rate places you go. One of the app’s most unique features is its lifelong feature — a personal journal where you can log all the places you visit and save photos. To get more recommendations and find new experiences, you can follow friends and influencers in the app.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: None
- Support available: Email
| Foursquare City Guide Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Completely free to use | No transportation assistance |
| User recommendations | Limited support options |
| Lifelog records your trips and memories | |
BarChick — Best for Discovering Bars
BarChick is the ultimate web platform for bar crawlers. Unlike any other apps on our list, when searching for bars, you can narrow down your search based on location, what type of drinks you prefer, what activities are available, who you’re taking (e.g., a date friend, clients, etc.), and time of day. For travelers, BarChick also provides detailed city guides for locations worldwide. BarChick makes it easy to find something fun and interesting to do whenever you’re on vacation. BarChick TV also gives users access to a large library of videos covering various topics, including city guides, drink guides, and more.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: None
- Support available: Email
| BarChick Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Completely free to use | Limited support options |
| Customizable bar search | No food or restaurant listings |
| Detailed city guides | No mobile app |
OpenTable — Best for Restaurant Reservations
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
OpenTable is the only app on our list that can help you book reservations at the most popular restaurants in your area. Users can browse through the app’s database of over 50,000 restaurants, book reservations, leave reviews, and upload photos of their experiences. When you click on a restaurant, you’ll find additional information such as menus, special promotions, photos, and reviews from other diners. As you continue to use the app, it will record your activity and make restaurant and menu recommendations based on your preferences. You can also earn points to redeem for meals, hotel discounts, and more over time.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: None
- Support available: Email, Help Center
| OpenTable Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Completely free to use | No bar finder |
| Book reservations on the go | No transportation assistance |
| Redeem points for dining rewards | |
Uber — Best for Transportation
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Whenever planning a night out, it’s always important to have access to reliable transportation. Uber makes it easy to book a ride to and from your destination quickly. When you book a ride, you can choose UberX, Uber Black, or Uber XL, depending on the level of luxury you want. Once you get into your ride’s car, you’ll have access to in-app safety features, like emergency 911 assistance, an Uber safety line, and a crash report feature. You can also share your trip with a friend or family member so that they know you made it safely to your destination. Uber also added UberEats integration to order food directly through the Uber app.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Uber Pass: $24.99/month
- Support available: Email, Help Center
| Uber Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| On-demand rideshare services | No bar finder |
| In-app safety features | Expensive fares during surges |
| UberEats integration | Subscription is expensive |
Bandsintown — Best for Concert Lovers
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Bandsintown Concerts is the best app on our list for concert lovers. This app is the only one on our list that lets users browse upcoming concerts and purchase tickets without leaving the app. Once you book tickets to a concert, you can save the event in your calendar and send it to friends. Bandsintown also gives users access to an extensive directory of virtual concerts, which you can filter by artist, genre, and date. When you find a concert you want to watch, you can view a live stream directly in the app. For more accurate recommendations, you can sync your account with Spotify, Apple Music, or Facebook to get personalized results.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Bandsintown PLUS: $9.99/month
- Support available: Email, Help Center
| Bandsintown Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Buy tickets to concerts | No bar finder |
| View live virtual concerts | No restaurant locator |
| Personalized recommendations | |
Bopple — Best for a Night In
Download: Android | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
With the COVID-19 pandemic still underway, we realize that not everyone may be ready for a night out. Bopple is a great app that lets you order local takeaway with a single tap so that you can enjoy a meal out without actually going out. With Bopple, you can browse local restaurants near you, view their opening and closing times, read their menus, and order items directly through the app. Bopple lets you customize your items so that your food arrives just how you want it. After you place your order, you can track its progress in real-time. The app will notify you when your order’s ready to collect. Bopple is also the only app on our list to offer solutions for businesses. For $49 per month, businesses can list themselves on the app, create digital menus, set up online ordering, accept payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay, and more.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Online Ordering: $49/month
- Support available: Email, Chat, Help Center, FAQs
| Bopple Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Order and customize your food | No bar finder |
| Browse local businesses | No transportation assistance |
| Subscription plans for businesses | |
Untappd — Best for Beer Lovers
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Beer lovers will appreciate Untappd for its great discovery features, which help you find new beers that suit your tastes. For get-togethers, you can browse nearby events and breweries, and if you find a brewery you like, you can subscribe to get notifications when they add new beers. When browsing nearby venues, you can pull up their menus to plan your order ahead of time. Untappd also offers excellent social features. You can follow your friends on the app to see what beers they’re drinking and make virtual toasts. Untappd Insiders is a subscription plan for $4.99 per month which gives users access to extra features like early access to festival tickets, exclusive merch, and an Insiders-only store.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Untappd Insiders: $4.99/month
- Support available: Email, Help Center
| Untappd Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Find events and breweries near you | No food finder |
| Great social features | No transportation assistance |
BestParking — Best for Locating Parking
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Finding parking is often much more stressful than it needs to be, but with the BestParking app, users can easily find affordable parking before heading out for the night. You can use BestParking to search for available parking spots near your destination, compare parking prices, reserve parking garage spots, and get turn-by-turn directions to your parking spot. Once you arrive, you can use your digital parking pass in the app to access your parking spot. You can even use BestParking to reserve parking spots at major airports like LAX. The app is completely free to use but is only available in select major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and others.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: None
- Support available: Email, Help Center, FAQs
| BestParking Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Completely free to use | Not available nationwide |
| Helps users find affordable parking | No transportation assistance |
BarPass — Best for Finding Happy Hours
Download: iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
While many apps focus on helping users find nearby restaurants and bars, BarPass is the only one on our list that helps users find the best happy hour deals in their area. Every week, the app handpicks a selection of great deals and presents them to you for free in the app. BarPass also offers its own deals to promote local bars. You can use the app to RSVP for events, check-in at the door, and receive BarPoints for attending events and inviting friends to the app. Users can view event details, learn about the ongoing specials, and leave reviews for each happy hour event that they attend.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: None
- Support available: Email, Phone
| BarPass Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Completely free to use | Not available on Android |
| Find local happy hours | No restaurant locator |
| RSVP for events in the app | |
Apps for a Night Out: Features Summary Table
| Apps for a Night Out Comparison Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| App | Subscription Fees or In-App Purchases | Features |
| Foursquare City Guide — Top Pick | None | ✓ Bar Finder ✓ Food X Music X Transportation |
| BarChick — Best for Discovering Bars | None | ✓ Bar Finder X Food X Music X Transportation |
| OpenTable — Best for Restaurant Reservations | None | X Bar Finder ✓ Food X Music X Transportation |
| Uber — Best for Transportation | Uber Pass: $24.99/month | X Bar Finder ✓ Food X Music ✓ Transportation |
| Bandsintown — Best for Concert Lovers | Bandsintown PLUS: $9.99/month | X Bar Finder X Food ✓ Music X Transportation |
| Bopple — Best for a Night In | Online Ordering: $49/month | X Bar Finder ✓ Food X Music X Transportation |
| Untappd — Best for Beer Lovers | Untappd Insiders: $4.99/month | ✓ Bar Finder X Food X Music X Transportation |
| BestParking — Best for Locating Parking | None | X Bar Finder X Food X Music X Transportation |
| BarPass — Best for Finding Happy Hours | None | ✓ Bar Finder X Food X Music X Transportation |