Top Apps you need in Helsinki & Finland
Food & Restaurants
Resq
Buy surplus food directly from restaurants or grocery stores. These are often leftovers from the lunch menu, or items that are about to expire – but you can get incredible deals. I recommend starring your favourite restaurants and leave notification on because portions go fast.
Wolt
The best food and meal delivery service in the city! Wolt has the majority of the best restaurants using their platform, you can get anything from fast food to fine dining delivered to your door. Nowadays they also have their own grocery market, and things like flowers, homeware and all kinds of things on offer. Lovely customer experience and service.
Snappmeal
Find great restaurant deals and read local food stories on the Snappmeal app.
Syö
“Syö-viikot” (“Eat weeks”) take place a couple of times a year, when participating restaurants offer great deals on selected menu items. The app gives you a good overview.
Kahviklubi
New app to give coffee lovers exclusive member benefits (such as filter coffee as part of the offer from participating cafés).
Banking
Mobile Pay
The most popular service for sending money (I guess an equivalent is Venmo), fast reliable and most widely used. Also often accepted at places like flea markets, but also many online shops accept Mobile Pay as a payment option.
Pivo
A similar service for quick money transfers.
Otto Finland
Need to find an ATM? This is the app for you.
Weather & Forecasts
FMI
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (Ilmatieteen laitos) is my personal preferred weather app for the local forecast.
Foreca
Also a popular weather app.
My Aurora Forecast
A well-known and widely used app to track and forecast the Northern Lights.
SpaceWeatherLive
Another useful app if you’re on the mission to hunt Northern Lights.
Shopping
K-Ruoka
K-Groups app for sorting your grocery lists, placing shopping orders and getting food inspiration.
S-Ostoslista
The shopping list app from S-Group and markets services
Zadaa
My favourite app for second hand clothes and accessories shopping. Useful filters, good user experience and if you are looking for something specific, this is a good place to look.
Tori
The most-used marketplace app for selling and buying anything used, from furniture to clothing to everything else. It’s excellent.
Tise
Another popular app for selling and buying used clothing.
Language
Duolingo
Duolingo famously released their Finnish language course in 2020 after it was their main requested language to add. It’s entertaining and cute, and will get you used to Finnish.
Google Translate
Now take anything Google Translate says or does when it comes to Finnish with a grain of salt, but it is extremely handy for quick translations on hand.
Travel & Public Transport
HSL
The official app from the local public transport in Helsinki. Great for planning trips and buying tickets.
Whim
A collective of services from the Helsinki public transport, to taxis, to rental cars. Any transportation in the city is compiled in this app and it is extremely useful and easy to use. My recommendation.
Kaupunkifillarit
The Helsinki City Bikes have been a popular addition to the cities’ public transport offer, and you can find all locations and their bike availability in this app. You however still need to get your pass through the citybikes website or Whim.
Sporat
If you’re into trams and live near a tram stop, you might find this app useful. It tracks all live movements from trams in Helsinki. It’s not free, but a welcome gimick for those who enjoy it.
TaksiHelsinki
In my opinion the most reliable taxi service in Helsinki, if you’re not using Whim for it.
Easypark
Local parking lots and payment for it all nicely in one app. The most widely used local app for this.
Parkman
Another service for anything parking your car needs.
Tier
Tier is one of the most widely used and available e-scooter service in Helsinki and has the most generous parking zones.
Voi
Another well-used service for e-scooters.
VR Matkalla
Official app of the Finnish train service. Plan and book trips easily in-app.
Callboats
Great app and service for taxi boats on-call that take you to a bunch of different islands in Southern Helsinki. Payment in-app or on the boat. Highly recommended.
Health & Beauty
112 Suomi
I don’t know why not every country has this, but the 112 app is the emergency app we all need. It can find your location if there’s an emergency, and you can easily check for symptoms (eg. if there’s a suspected stroke) and you get information on other support services. A must-download for anyone on any device.
Koronavilkku
The Finnish tracking app for the coronavirus.
Timma
The best app service to book health and beauty appointments directly, select your treatment, time and pick the best from the map or list. Best.
Activities
Museokortti
Get your museum card in-app, with access to the majority of museums in all of Finland. Learn about current exhibitions and find something for everyone.
Taskukirjasto
The library in your pocket app is the service from the HelMet network, which allows you to find books and other items, renew loans, place holds and much more.
Libby
This library app is the extension for e-books and audiobooks, which you can also use with your HelMet library card. So great!
Outdooractive
Great app to find hiking trails, bike routes, winter sports and much more in your area, and log your activities as well.
Skipperi
The AirBnb for boats is great for locals who don’t want to buy a boat, but would like to use one every now and again. Unfortunately only available in Finnish.
DayTripster
Find ideas for day trips, get on a guided audio walking tour or discover fun things to do.
Suomen Linnut
If you’re into bird spotting, this is the app for you, it helps you identify local birds.
PlantNet
Recommended app to use for foraging plants and herbs. Always verify any edible plants with a professional if you are not sure.
Apple / Android
Mushroom identifier
Great app to help you identify mushrooms. Be careful however, and don’t rely on the app alone. Ask professionals for help with this, picking the wrong mushrooms can be dangerous.
Sustainability
Carbon Donut
Track your carbon footprint and get ideas and recommendations to live more sustainably. Beautiful app that’s encouraging you to do better, not pointing any fingers. Highly recommend.
Pets
First Vet
If you need a quick consultation or if you want a second opinion concerning your pets health, First Vet is great. Get on a video call with a vet and ask all your questions and get a quick diagnosis.
Koirapuisto
Find your nearest dog park with this app!
Others (Jobs, Official stuff, Apartment hunt)
MeetFrank
This is an interactive app to find a job. Set up your profile and get recommended positions straight in the app.
Suomi.fi
This is the official messaging app that gets you connected with the local administration and public sector information.
Oikotie
Looking for a new apartment or house? This is my favourite app to use and browse for new places. Also great if you’re looking for a summer cabin.
Omaposti
The local post office app, great to track packages and send them, you can also receive some invoices (like your electricity bill) directly in the app. Great UX, too!
Did I miss anything? Share in a comment!