Best Mobile Apps to Use in Barcelona in 2026

TL;DR: The must-have apps for Barcelona in 2026 are FreeNow (taxis), Smou (parking, Bicing, EV charging — the city’s all-in-one mobility app), Glovo (delivery), TMB (metro and bus), and Wallapop (buy/sell secondhand). Install those five and you’re covered for 90% of daily life.

Living in Barcelona is an absolute blast, and these mobile apps will help you get the best out of it. Most of them work across Spain, so they’re useful whether you’re a resident or a tourist passing through.

I’ve been living here for years and use many of these apps daily. This list only includes apps I’ve actually tested or that people I trust in Barcelona rely on regularly.

Food & Restaurants

• Tripadvisor / TheFork (formerly El Tenedor) – Find and book restaurants. TheFork is especially useful because many Barcelona restaurants offer 20-50% discounts through the app.
• Fever – Not strictly a food app, but great for discovering food experiences, pop-up dining events, and restaurant deals alongside concerts and exhibitions. FC Barcelona recently made Fever their official ticketing partner too, so it’s worth having for events in general.

Deliveries

• Glovo – Born in Barcelona, Glovo delivers food, groceries, pharmacy items, and pretty much anything else within the city. It’s the dominant delivery app here and the one I use most. Worth noting: Glovo’s parent company Delivery Hero is facing major fines in Spain over worker classification, so the long-term picture is uncertain, but for now it remains the go-to delivery app in the city.
• Uber Eats – A solid alternative to Glovo, especially for restaurant food delivery.

Transport

Barcelona’s transport app landscape changed significantly in 2025-2026. Here’s what matters now:

Taxis and Ride-Hailing

• FreeNow – The best taxi app in Barcelona, now part of Lyft. Hail taxis, pay through the app, and get airport transfers. This is Spain’s #1 taxi app and the one I recommend first. You can also access scooters, e-bikes, and shared cars through FreeNow.
• Smou – Barcelona’s official municipal mobility app. You can book taxis, pay for street parking (blue and green zones), manage your Bicing subscription, and even charge your EV — all from one app. This replaced the standalone Bicing app, so if you’re a Bicing user, you need Smou now. I consider this essential for anyone living in Barcelona.
• Uber – Uber works in Barcelona, but differently than in most cities. It connects you with licensed taxi drivers, not independent Uber drivers. You get two options: metered taxis (same rates as flagging one on the street) and fixed-fare rides. Wait times can be long because driver supply is limited.

Important: The Catalan government passed a new transport law in 2025 that will gradually phase out VTC (ride-hailing) licenses in Barcelona. By the end of 2026, Uber, Cabify, and Bolt will be restricted to intercity trips only — no more quick rides around the city via those apps. FreeNow (which primarily works with taxis) and Smou won’t be affected. This is a big shift, and it makes FreeNow and Smou even more important.

Scooter and Bike Sharing

• Yego / Cooltra / Acciona – Electric scooter sharing on demand. All three are still active in Barcelona in 2026. Yego has around 965 scooters on the streets, Cooltra has one of the biggest fleets, and Acciona offers 125cc-equivalent scooters that can access faster roads (up to 80 km/h). Cooltra also rents e-bikes now. Check my detailed guide to scooter and car sharing in Barcelona for a full comparison.
• Bicing (via the Smou app) – Barcelona’s public bike-sharing system is booming. As of 2025, they have 8,000 bikes (60% electric), 166,000+ subscribers, and almost 20 million rides per year. The old Bicing app has been retired — you now manage everything through Smou. Electric bikes account for 80% of trips. You need a local address and bank account to register (residents only).

Public Transit

• TMB App – The official Barcelona metro and bus app. Plan routes, check real-time arrivals, get service disruption alerts, and manage your T-mobilitat card (buy, top up, and validate). They recently added Bizum payments and Apple Pay/Google Pay support. Over a million users and genuinely useful. There’s also a 50% discount on single tickets through 2026 as part of a government initiative.

Parking

• Smou – (mentioned above) Handles blue zone and green zone parking payments directly from your phone. No need to walk to the meter. You only pay for actual parking time. Also finds off-street parking and uses license plate recognition so you don’t even need a ticket. This has replaced my need for most of the dedicated parking apps.
• ElParking – Still useful for finding and booking car parks across 200+ cities in Spain, plus toll payments and EV charging point locations. Has 5 million+ users.
• Parclick – Good for pre-booking parking at a discount, especially near airports and train stations.
• Bip&Drive – Useful for toll roads (via Telepeaje) and parking payments. If you regularly drive on toll roads in Catalonia, this saves time at booths.

Navigation

• Komoot – Best for cycling and hiking route planning. I use it on my Apple Watch when biking around town. Great for exploring routes along the coast or into the Collserola hills.

Accommodation

• Airbnb – Still the go-to for short-term rentals, though Barcelona has been cracking down on tourist apartment licenses. Make sure any listing you book has a valid license number displayed.
• Booking – Best for hotels and short stays. I actually prefer Booking for hotels since the cancellation policies tend to be more flexible than Airbnb.
• Badi – Room rental platform, great for finding a room in a shared apartment or renting out a spare room. Average room price in Barcelona is around €500/month. The Barcelona-born app now operates in Madrid, Berlin, and London too.

Banking

• N26 – A solid mobile-first bank with a clean app and no hidden fees. Works great as a primary or secondary account in Spain.
• Revolut – My go-to for currency exchange, international transfers, and everyday spending. The app is packed with features — budgeting, stock trading, crypto, and more. I wrote a full Revolut review if you want the details.

Buy & Sell

• Wallapop – Spain’s version of Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace, and it’s everywhere here. Nearly half the population of Spain uses it (19 million monthly active users). Buy and sell secondhand goods — furniture, electronics, bikes, kids’ stuff, you name it. The app is location-based so you’ll see listings from your neighborhood first. This is genuinely one of the first apps I’d tell anyone moving to Barcelona to install.

Wellness

• Treatwell – Find and book hair salons, spas, massage, beauty treatments, etc. Works well across Barcelona and the rest of Spain.

Social & Events

• Meetup – Huge community in Barcelona. Language exchanges, hiking groups, tech meetups, sports activities, networking events — there’s something for everyone. If you’re new to the city, this is the fastest way to meet people.
• Fever – The best events discovery app in Barcelona. Concerts, exhibitions, candlelight concerts, Primavera Sound tickets, FC Barcelona events (Fever is now their official ticketing partner). I find myself checking it weekly.

Spam Call Blocking

• ListaSpam – A Spanish community-driven database of spam phone numbers. Useful for checking who called you and reporting spam callers. Spain has a terrible spam call problem, so this comes in handy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best taxi app in Barcelona?

FreeNow is the clear winner. It’s Spain’s #1 taxi app, now part of Lyft, and has the most drivers and fastest pickup times. You can also use Uber (which connects to licensed taxis here, not Uber drivers) and the Smou municipal app. With VTC licenses being phased out by end of 2026, taxi apps are the future of ride-hailing in Barcelona.

Do I need a Bicing subscription?

If you live in Barcelona (you need a local address to sign up), absolutely. At around €50/year for the basic plan, it’s ridiculously cheap for unlimited 30-minute rides. With 8,000 bikes (mostly electric), stations everywhere, and nearly 20 million rides per year, it’s one of the best public bike systems in Europe. Manage it through the Smou app — the standalone Bicing app has been retired.

Does Uber work in Barcelona?

Sort of. Uber connects you with licensed taxi drivers in Barcelona — it doesn’t work like the traditional Uber model with private drivers. You’ll get metered taxi rates or fixed-fare options. The catch: fewer drivers means longer wait times compared to FreeNow. And with the new Catalan transport law, VTC-based ride-hailing (including Uber) will be restricted to intercity trips only by the end of 2026.

What’s the best food delivery app in Barcelona?

Glovo, without question. It was born here and has the widest restaurant and store coverage in the city. Uber Eats is a decent backup. Just Eat is also available but has a smaller selection in Barcelona compared to Glovo.

What app should I use for parking in Barcelona?

Start with Smou — it handles blue zone and green zone parking payments, finds nearby car parks, and even uses license plate recognition. For pre-booking parking spots (especially at airports), Parclick often has the best deals.

What’s the best app for buying and selling secondhand stuff?

Wallapop dominates in Spain. With 19 million monthly active users, it’s where everyone lists their secondhand items. The app is location-based, so you’ll see what’s available in your neighborhood first. I’ve bought and sold everything from furniture to electronics on it.

[wp_coupons limit=”48″ type=”barcelona” nav=”false”]

Related

Living in Barcelona – An Honest Review

The Best Coffee Roasters in Barcelona

Best Stock Trading Apps of 2026 – My Top Picks

Best Scooter and Car Sharing Apps in Barcelona, Spain

Lisbon (Portugal) VS Barcelona (Spain)

My Guide to Personal Productivity Hacks and Apps