Best Apps to Use in Thailand
Please note: this Asia travel blog uses affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase or a booking I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see my ethical publishing statement and my full affiliate disclosure.
Having lived in Thailand for 8 years now and been travelling around the country for a decade, I’m sharing the best apps to use in Thailand. Avoid getting lost or overcharged by downloading these in advance.
These are all must have apps. I use some of them on a daily basis (Grab for food delivery and transport!) so you will definitely want to download those, and some of them just when exploring, like the hotel booking platforms. My recommended apps also contain public transport options, shopping and banking platforms to save you time and money. The banking apps are a game changer for me as I was sick and tired of getting screwed over by exchange rates by traditional banks!
It can feel a bit overwhelming for visitors when trying to navigate Thailand and make the most of your travels so all these apps will help make your trip smoother and easier!
Transport: Getting around
Public Transport: Trains and Ferries
When it comes to getting around Thailand and booking transport, the best app to use in Thailand is 12goAsia. It allows you to easily book train travel, minivans, night buses and night trains and ferries.
It is great for planning journeys and showing travel time between your Thailand destinations. 12goAsia also has a website so no need to download the app if you prefer to use a browser for booking.
Taxis and Motorbike Taxis
Apps that you will want to use constantly are taxi apps like Grab and Bolt. Grab, in particular, offers a wide range of transportation options, including regular taxis, larger taxis for more people and even motorbike taxis.
The motorbike taxi option is not only a unique way to navigate through the bustling streets of Thailand, but it is also often cheaper and faster than other modes of transportation, particularly in areas with high traffic. You can ask the Grab driver for a helmet, they should all carry one but may not offer it unless you ask. I live here so bought my own which is a good idea if you are in Thailand for longer. The cheap helmets are not supposed to be very effective.
It’s worth noting that Uber is not currently available in Thailand, so Grab and Bolt are the go-to options for ride services. Both are popular apps in Thailand, although Bolt can be cheaper, but Grab often has more drivers available. You can use card or cash in both these apps in Thailand.
Some small islands may not have these options available through these Thailand apps. The best thing to do in those cases is to organise transport through your accommodation. I’ve definitely been stuck when arriving to an island late and thinking I can order with Grab…but everywhere was closed already! Bangkok (where I live) is the city that never sleeps so you can always order food late at night here.
Flights
To find the best flight deals when traveling, one of the most useful apps to use in Thailand is Skyscanner or Trip.com. Skyscanner allows you to compare prices from various airlines, making it easier to find the most affordable options for your trip.
However, it’s important to note in recent years, flight prices have generally increased and it is rare to find very cheap domestic flights nowadays. The days of me flying from Bangkok to Phuket for 400 baht are gone but flights are still reasonably priced, especially if you compare with flying domestic in the UK where I am from. It’s insanity the amount they charge and sometimes the trains cost even more!
When booking flights within Thailand, it’s advisable to book in advance to secure the best deal available at the time. Additionally, consider being flexible with your travel dates and times, as this can often result in more affordable options, particularly if travelling early in the morning or later in the evening.
Lately I’ve been finding loads of domestic flights and international flights cheaper with Trip.com so I recommend using them. When a Philippines flight was delayed, we still dealt directly with the airline to get compensation so the fact we had booked with Trip.com was not an problem.
Food & Drink Delivery
Grab is the most popular app for food delivery in Thailand. They are convenient and efficient ways to order snacks, drinks and food from local restaurants.
With these apps in Thailand, you can browse through menus, read reviews, and place your orders.
The app offer payment options, including cash on delivery or online payment, making it easy to for visitors. Note that you cannot get alcohol delivered by Grab at the time of writing in 2025.
Booking Hotels & Resorts
When it comes to booking hotels, hostels and accommodation, two of the best apps to use in Thailand are Agoda and Booking.com. I personally favour Agoda more. By staying consistent with using either Agoda or Booking.com, you can often accumulate discounts for each booking, making your stay in Thailand even more affordable. I find Agoda is way better for booking accommodation in South East Asia and they always have generous discounts and I find the platform much easier to navigate.
I know that Booking seems to have more options for European hotels but I just hate the interface and how it never shows me the total per night but additional taxes and charges that are never the same so I cannot compare like with like. Agoda for the win!
I’ve actually even found accommodation in Thailand cheaper on Agoda than when I contacted them in person…no idea how or why but it’s great!
For my specific hotel recommendations around Thailand, you can view my individual hotel reviews here. I only share ones I love, have recommended to friends and go back to again and again!
Sharing Costs for Group Travel
There are two apps that I’ve tried for splitting costs between friends and I honestly love and use them both. Tricount and Splitwise are both very similar apps made for sharing costs.
For me, Tricount is the best one because it can handle different currencies which is useful when I’m travelling abroad with friends who live in different countries and it will work out the exchange rate and add it all in. So I can input the hotel I paid for in Thai baht, but my friend can put the transport she paid for in Singpore dollars – so so handy! Especially if you are terrible at maths like me!
It shows the overall balance at the end and will work out who owes who what with multiple different people in the group – absolute gamechanger for travelling with friends.
Exchange Rates
XE is a personal favourite as an app to use in Thailand for currency conversion. I’ve gone off it a bit since it stopped doing offline conversions but it can be useful if you will have data or wifi the whole time. It provides accurate and up-to-date exchange rates for Thai baht to all other currencies and you can see multiple currencies at the same time.
I think XE is a popular app to use in Thailand because it is quick and easy to navigate and makes checking the exchange rate each when exchanging money, working out costs of food or shopping.
If you are on a budget in Thailand, read my article here on how to keep your Thailand trip cheap.
Banks and ATMs
For managing finances, the best apps in Thailand are international, multi-currency cards like Monzo, Wise or Revolut. Don’t judge but I actually have all of these!
I love to spread my money into different bank accounts as some are better for certain countries, for example Monzo has ATM free withdrawals in Europe (at the time of writing in 2025).
All these banks are great for tracking expenses, well-known for having good exchange rates and it is easy to transfer between accounts.
It’s important to note that at the time of writing, QR code scanning for payments is limited to Thai bank accounts. So, if you have a Thai bank account, you can take advantage of this useful payment method.
So, if you’re planning a trip to Thailand, make sure to download one of these popular apps in Thailand. This will ensure that you have easy access to your funds and can make transactions with ease, giving you more safety by not carrying large amounts of cash.
Scuba Diving App
One of the essential apps to use in Thailand for scuba diving is Dive+. This app is particularly useful for underwater photography and videography.
With Dive+, you can easily enhance the colors of your underwater images, making them more vibrant and true to life, by adding in the red filter after you have taken your photos or videos. I use my phone for scuba diving and use this dive housing for underwater photos.
Not only does Dive+ help you enhance the colors of your underwater images, but it also allows you to organize and share your diving experiences. You can create dive logs, add location information, and even share your photos with fellow divers through the app to help you decide where to go for your next diving trip in Thailand or where to check out the best dive sites in Thailand.
Apps to use in Thailand for shopping
When it comes to shopping, two popular apps in Thailand that you should definitely have on your phone are Lazada and Shopee. These apps offer a wide range of products from food, to clothing, home items, gadgets and technology from official stores.
To ensure faster delivery and support local businesses, I recommend using the ‘local’ filter when searching for items on these apps. This way, you can be sure that your purchase is coming from within Thailand, making it more environmentally friendly than shipping from abroad.
To make your shopping experience even better, take advantage of the filters available on Lazada and Shopee. By selecting 4 stars or more, you can filter out products with lower ratings and focus on purchases with higher reviews only. Additionally, adjusting the price range can help narrow down your search results, especially when there are so many products available on this app.
Save this Pin for Later
