ParkBee Reaches #1 in Dutch App Store Travel Category

From #200+ to #1 in 10 months

This weekend, something we never imagined at the start of the year happened: ParkBee reached #1 in the App Store's Travel category in the Netherlands.

We're now ranked ahead of Uber, Polarsteps, Booking.com, and other brands we've long admired. For a team focused on solving parking—not typically the most celebrated technology challenge—this recognition means our users are finding real value in what we've built.

Eight years without an app

Our mobile app is a relatively new addition to our product offering. This might seem surprising for a company reaching #1 in a mobile app category, but it reflects our philosophy about user experience.

At ParkBee, we've always believed in creating the best possible experience, one that's seamless and almost invisible. In a world already crowded with apps, we wanted our users to enjoy ParkBee without even noticing it.

So for the first eight years, we decided an app wasn't our primary means of reaching users. Instead, we put all our effort into empowering different mobility apps—JustPark, YourParkingSpace, RingGo, and many others across Europe. Some of you might have already used our parking services without noticing it was ParkBee providing the underlying infrastructure.

This approach aligned with our belief: the best experience is when parking works so smoothly that users don't think about it at all.

Building what users asked for

Yet over the years, many of our customers kept asking for a dedicated app with specific features. They wanted direct access to ParkBee's network, the ability to manage their parking in one place, and features tailored to frequent users.

So we built one.

The app provides what our users requested while maintaining the seamless experience ParkBee is known for. Simple booking, straightforward access, transparent pricing, and reliable operations—all the fundamentals that matter, delivered through a dedicated mobile experience.

The philosophy hasn't changed

That belief in seamless experience, however, hasn't changed. Even as we celebrate reaching #1 in the App Store, we remain committed to the principle that the best experience is when users can access ParkBee effortlessly, without even needing to open an app.

You know what's coming: we're working on exactly that. Future innovations will make parking even more invisible, where your vehicle is recognized, parking is handled automatically, and you never think about the transaction at all.

This is the beginning

Reaching the #1 spot is not the end of our journey—it's the beginning. One day in the near future, we hope our users can forget about our app entirely and still enjoy the perfect parking experience.

That might sound contradictory for a company celebrating an app ranking, but it reflects what we're actually building: infrastructure that makes parking so seamless it becomes invisible. Whether users access that through our app, through partner apps, or through automated systems that require no app at all, the goal remains the same—parking that simply works.

Innovation continues

The #1 ranking validates that users value what ParkBee delivers. But it doesn't change our focus. We'll keep innovating on the fundamentals that matter: connecting drivers to available parking, optimizing underutilized capacity, improving urban mobility, and giving space back to cities.