18 Useful Apps To Use In The Netherlands: Expat Edition

Last updated on March 27th, 2023 at 01:08 pm

Here are my top 18 useful apps to use in the Netherlands. If you are looking to make your life easier while living in the Netherlands, keep reading to find out which apps you need on your phone now.

1. Seety
2. Flitsmeister
3. 9292
4. NS
5. Google Maps
6. Uber
7. Tikkie
8. Revolut
9. Google Translate
10. Duolingo
11. Maarktplats
12. Vinted
13. Buienradar
14. DigiD
15. Thuisbezorgd
16. Uber Eats
17. Hostelworld
18. Booking.com

Take a look at some more of my posts on the Netherlands that may be useful for you:

10 Amazing Things to do in Amsterdam in April

5 Reasons Why The Netherlands Is A Good Place To Work

5 Must Visit Places In The Netherlands

1. Seety

Seety is an app that tells you which streets offer free parking and the prices of parking for paid streets. The Netherlands is notorious for expensive parking so this app is a real help.

2. Flitsmeister

Use the flitsmeister app while you are driving and it alarms when you are coming close to a speed camera. It is ideal to help avoid getting those speeding fines. As well as this, it gives you alerts when there are road works, traffic jams etc.

3. 9292

9292 is good for getting live information on train departure and arrival times. It will keep you up to date if there is a cancellation or a delay.

4. NS

The NS app is used for buying train tickets in the Netherlands.

5. Google Maps

Google maps is handy to use for quickly finding out the best transport to take to a location. It can also be using for marking locations that you want to visit and creating lists. For example, you could have a list of ‘Restaurants in Amsterdam’ and mark all those places that you want to eat at and add to the list.

6. Uber

Another useful app to use in the Netherlands is uber. It is a cheaper alternative to taxi’s.

7. Tikkie

You can use tikkie for sending bills to others if they owe you money via a link. It can also be used for splitting group bills. You can connect tikkie to your Dutch bank account making it easy to collect money through your account.

8. Revolut

Revolut is an online banking service. The benefits of revolut is that it is easy use. You can split group bills easily and you can make payments abroad fee-free in over 150 currencies. I use my revolut card whenever I travel abroad or go home as there are no charges.

9. Google Translate

Google translate is incredibly useful in the Netherlands. It is used to translate languages. You can type in Dutch and it translates it to English. Or what I found very good was the camera function. For example, you can take a picture of a Dutch menu in a restaurant and it translates to English immediately. I also found it useful in the supermarket to translate labels, when I was trying to find dishwasher tablets for example.

10. Duolingo

Duolingo is good if you are looking to start learning a language. I used it a bit before I moved to the Netherlands to get familiar with the Dutch language.

11. Marktplaats

Marktplaats is a great app if you want to buy cheap second hand items such as kitchen appliances, bicycles etc. On the other hand, it is also great if you want to sell items – if you are moving out for example and want to get rid of some clutter, you can make some money on Marktplaats.

12. Vinted

The purpose of Vinted is for buying and selling second hand clothes. The customer pays the price for the items and then pays extra for the shipping. You can get really cheap clothes on here. It is not just the Netherlands specific either. I sold clothes on here and they were sent to customers in Portugal, France and Belgium so there is a large community on there.

13. Buienradar

Planning a long cycle or walk? Check buienradar first to check if you will be caught in the rain. Also buienalarm alerts you if it is going to rain in your area.

14. DigiD

DigiD is a way to identify yourself when accessing services online such as tax services, medical services etc. This means it is important to have your DigiD set up properly so you can access these when you need to and having the app makes it easier.

15. Thuisbezorgd

Thuisbezorgd is like the Dutch ‘just eat’. If you don’t fancy cooking and want to stay in, then download the app and order food to get it delivered directly to your door.

16. Uber Eats

An alternative to Thuisbezorgd is Uber Eats, the same concept where you order from any restaurant on the app and get your meal delivered to your house.

17. Hostelworld

If you are planning a trip away and looking for a budget stay, download Hostelworld. It offers hostels all over the Netherlands and around Europe too for great prices.

18. Booking.com

Booking.com offers a variety of accommodation from budget to luxury across the Netherlands and Europe too.

I hope you enjoyed this post on useful apps to use in the Netherlands. If you have any additions, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

Lisa