Have you recently moved to Hong Kong or are just looking for small but significant ways to making travelling, making reservations, and booking entertainment a bit smoother? With these apps for iPhone (iOS) and Android, you can book a taxi, check the air quality, order takeaway, find free water filling stations, book a massage, and much more. Here are the essential apps you need to simplify your life in Hong Kong.
Transport & taxi apps
Citymapper
Never be lost in Hong Kong again! Simply tell it where you want to go and it will figure out your whole journey on public transport and give you a street map for any walking that needs to be done too.
Download: App Store – Google Play
HKTaxi
HK Taxi app is an effective and simple taxi hailing app. Just enter your pickup point and contact number and a nearby driver will call you to arrange the ride.
Download: App Store – Google Play
FlyTaxi
FlyTaxi is another Hong Kong taxi app which offers discounts on rides that you can’t get through HKTaxi. It helps to develop a relationship if you find a driver you like, as you can find them and book with them again.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Protaxi
Similarly to FlyTaxi, ProTaxi also offers taxi ride ordering with discounts that you can’t find on other platforms. Different drivers are on a few or all of these platforms, so if you find a reliable driver that you like, you can stick with the platform they use.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Hong Kong Taxi Cards
Hong Kong Taxi Cards translates place names from English into standard Chinese characters displayed on a large “taxi card” that a driver can read at a glance.
Download: App Store – Google Play
GoGoX
This convenient app gives you the flexibility of not needing to plan ahead and locates your nearest driver and van available to shift your stuff.
Download: App Store – Google Play
MTR Mobile
MTR Mobile helps riders plan their MTR journey, as well as to identify locations of all sorts of useful facilities inside stations and exit points to major attractions.
Download: App Store – Google Play
CitybusNWFB
Sometimes the bus is more convenient than the MTR, and for these times the CitybusNWFB is on hand to help you get where you need to go, with live bus arrival times and route information.
Download: App Store – Google Play
APP 1933 – KMB/LWB
The KMB app focuses on Kowloon bus routes and may offer some more accurate estimated arrival times for bus routes outside Hong Kong Island.
Download: App Store – Google Play
HKTraffic
HKTraffic allows users to select from a list of traffic cameras (sorted by district) to check on traffic conditions in dozens of busy trouble spots before hitting the road.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Uber Hong Kong
Well-known ride sharing service Uber operates in Hong Kong and although it isn’t licensed by the Hong Kong government, Uber shows no signs of giving up on the city anytime soon.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Dining apps
Eatigo
Discounts on your food bill varying from 10% off right up to 50% are available on Eatigo’s restaurant booking app. Browse your favourite cuisine or restaurants near you and start saving.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Chope
Browse hundreds of restaurants, sort them by location or cuisine, check out the prices and menus and then instantly book your table. There are regular discounts and deals too.
Download: App Store – Google Play
OpenRice
This restaurant booking website has a convenient app which includes the input of a huge online community of self-proclaimed ‘foodies’ sharing their honest opinions on the restaurants around the city. You can also find some take-out and OpenRice-specific deals.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Food delivery apps
Foodpanda
Get your dinner delivered via the Foodpanda Hong Kong app. Major food delivery companies, Foodpanda and Deliveroo each cover a different selection of restaurants so it’s worth exploring both to see which you prefer.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Deliveroo
Deliveroo is the second of Hong Kong’s two main food delivery apps, since UberEats’ exit in late 2021. Compared to Foodpanda, Deliveroo is more focused on deliveries on Hong Kong Island.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Black Sheep Restaurants GO
Black Sheep Restaurants GO delivers food from that specific restaurant franchise, such as Burger Circus, Motorino, Maison Libanaise, Rajasthan Rifles, and even Gelato Messina and Butter Cake Shop.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Chillers
One of the exclusive Hong Kong apps, Chillers is on-hand to deliver cold beverages (particularly alcoholic ones) quickly to your door, or to parks, beaches, and junks throughout Hong Kong Island, Sai Kung, and Discovery Bay.
Download: Google Play
Entertainment & movie apps
Klook
Klook gives you discounts on all manner of activities and attractions around Hong Kong, for example Disneyland, Sky100, Ocean Park, or the Peak Tram. Perfect if you have visitors in town!
Download: App Store – Google Play
TicketFlap
Browse events and reserve tickets on the Ticketflap app. Some events are only available on this platform, so it’s worth checking if you’re looking for things to get up to in the city.
Download: Google Play
HK Movie
View screening times, buy tickets from over 40 cinemas (with its one-of-a-kind, real-time seating plan), browse reviews, and share comments on this handy Hong Kong movie app.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Broadway
The Broadway app has all the functionality of the cinema’s website, with a bit more user-friendliness in terms of finding movie showing times at all Broadway Circuit cinemas quickly and ticket purchasing with a handling fee.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Social networking apps
Meetup
There’s an active meetup community in Hong Kong and it’s a great way to build your social network. Find an established ‘meetup’ with people that share your interests, or be bold and organise your own group.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Hey! VINA
Like a dating app, but for female friendships rather than romance, this Hong Kong app matches women that are open to making new friends. Perfect if you’ve just landed in Hong Kong and need to establish a new social life here.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Shopping & grocery apps
Amazon
Amazon have upped their game in Hong Kong and the Amazon app makes it easy to filter items that ship here. You’ve got the whole world at your fingertips and all kinds of goodies that are just not available in the stores here.
Download: App Store – Google Play
HKTVMall
Since its launch in 2015, HKTVMall has become one of the largest online marketplaces in Hong Kong. Find everything from snacks, electronics, and pet food to toys, beauty, and clothing and get it delivered to your home or a smart locker near your house or office for self pick-up.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Carousell
The marketplace website and app from Singapore for consumer to consumer buy and sell is popular in Hong Kong for finding almost anything you can think of secondhand. You can even find new items with discounts on this HK app.
Download: App Store – Google Play
SparkTake
Buy and sell secondhand books and share reviews and thoughts about your reading on this app founded by two Hongkongers, sparked by their feeling that there was a communication element missing in the exchange of secondhand books in Hong Kong.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Vivino
Used worldwide, Vivino allows you to search for wine reviews and ratings from everyday people. Users can even scan the bottle they’re interested in at the grocery store and easily find instant information. The HK app also has a purchasing functionality, using your location to suggest nearby stores where the wines are sold.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Fitness & wellness apps
TrailWatch
This app allows hikers to plan and track their adventures on Hong Kong’s many breathtaking trails.
Download: App Store – Google Play
ClassPass
Now there’s no excuse to miss a workout. Search for and book fitness classes on the go at studios all around Hong Kong with ClassPass. This app requires a membership to use it but there’s a free trial period if you want to check it out and make sure it’s for you.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Sleep Cycle
Track your sleeping patterns and durations, record your dream mumbling, and allow the app to wake you up at the best time in your REM cycle for optimal restedness. There are paid functions, but Sleep Cycle’s basic free functions get the job done.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Finance & payment apps
YUU
YUU is a customer rewards program launched by Dairy Farm Group, Hang Seng Bank, and Jardine Restaurant Group in 2020. Each time you spend HK$1 in one of the 2,000 shops available across the city, you get YUU points that you can then exchange for rewards.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Octopus
The Octopus app can track transactions on up to 20 cards and keep them topped up. You can also shop online and transfer money directly to other app users’ Octopus cards or bank accounts.
Download: App Store – Google Play
PayMe
One of the most widely used payment HK apps, PayMe from HSBC allows users to send money across various banks with just a phone number, scan of their personal QR code, or bank info. You can even send group lai see to make giving red pockets easy during holidays.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Tap & Go
Tap & Go is a simple, easy-to-use contactless mobile payment app accepted at most retailers. You can also transfer money quickly, like with PayMe.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Every day essentials apps
Wi-Fi.HK
This app helps you find free Wi-Fi on the go, simple but effective! However, bear in mind that free Wi-Fi can be unsecured, and in this case, a VPN can help to secure your connections.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Water For Free
Do your bit for the environment and stop buying bottled water. With this Hong Kong app, you can easily find your nearest water fountain and re-fill your reusable water bottle around HK.
Download: App Store – Google Play
My Observatory
My Observatory from Hong Kong Observatory has all the weather info you need for tracking daily weather and storm/rain warnings.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Hong Kong Air Pollution
This app displays the current air quality in Hong Kong using a variety of different air pollution indexes from around the world.
Download: App Store
Air Visual
Similarly, Air Visual has air pollution forecasts, alerts, and tracking functions. It also tracks air pollution in cities all around the world, so it’s useful for travelling, too.
Download: App Store – Google Play
HK AQHI
Direct from the Environmental Protection Department, get the latest information from government pollution monitoring stations around Hong Kong, including a useful forecast for the next day.
Download: App Store – Google Play
Header image credits: Leung Cho Pan via Canva