Who could live without apps? They help keep us organised, prevent us from getting lost and distract us from important things. But with around 2.8m apps available on the Google Play store and 2.2m on the Apple app store, it can be hard to know which ones are worth downloading.
To help you decide which ones are worth your precious memory, we’ve rounded up the top apps for students across categories such as fitness, travel and food - all of the apps featured in this post are totally free or have a free version.
Money & Finance Apps for Students
Every penny is precious whilst you are at university, so it’s nice to know there are a range of apps out there to help you save; some of which are exclusive to students! Our favourites are:
UNiDAYS – UNiDAYS is the undisputed king of money savings apps for students, offering anything from 10 to 40% discounts on popular retailers such as Asos, canon, apple, Burton and more. You can register for UNiDAYS using your student email address here.
ATM Hunter – As the name suggests, ATM hunter by Mastercard is an app that helps you find cash points wherever you are. This app can be very handy for freshers who are just learning their way around their hometown.
Cleo - Cleo is one of many Facebook messenger chat bots that have become available in the past year. These apps integrate within your Facebook messenger, offering you saving tips, analysing your spending, recording your bills and even saving you money automatically; spooky eh.
O2 Priority – Sorry Vodafone users, but this app is only available to those with an O2 registered number. This app offers exclusive deals to O2 customers including food and drink discounts, priority tickets at O2 arenas and much more.
PayPal – PayPal is a quick and easy method of sending money to friends. It’s completely free, 100% secure and used by thousands of online retailers across the world as an online payment gateway.
Travel and Transport Apps for Students
Due to parking restrictions, it’s fairly uncommon for students to take their cars to university. For this reason, you’ll be reliant on public transport, taxis, or your own two feet (gasps) to get around.
Fortunately, there are plenty of apps you can utilise to help you get around, and save money on transport fares.
Google Maps / Maps – If you’re an iOS user (iPhone), your device will come with ‘Maps’ installed. ‘Google Maps’ is an alternative that is available on both Android and iPhone, whilst both are very useful for getting around, ‘Google Maps’ is considered slightly better due to its more accurate real-time updates.
Waze – Waze is another alternative to the apps mentioned above with a stronger focus on real-time updates. It takes into account police accidents, hazards and traffic updates to find you the fastest and cheapest routes.
Uber – Uber offers a fast, convenient and safe way to get around – using your smartphone to request taxis to your area. If you’re a believer in supporting local business, you might consider using ‘Braxi’ (Bristol Taxi) instead, which is only open to taxi drivers licenced by Bristol City Council.
Trainline – Trainline is the UK’s most popular independent train ticket retailer. Its app gives users the option to book tickets in advance and save money, track live routes and check train times.
Food Apps for Students
Not knowing how or what to cook is one of the main reasons students eat poorly at university, but becoming over-reliant on fast food and takeaways will take a toll of your health as well as your wallet. Take a look at some of the best meal planning and recipe apps available to download for free:
BigOven – BigOven is a meal planner, grocery list and recipe book – with the app currently having 500,000 recipes available! Our favourite feature of BigOven is the ‘use up leftovers’ tool, which suggests recipes for you based on the leftover ingredients you have available.
Yummly – Unlike most recipe apps, Yummly works like a search engine, with a focus on personalisation. Recipes are tailored to your unique tastes and dietary preferences and you can save your favourite recipes into your own digital recipe box for later use.
Forks Over Knives – If you are a vegetarian or vegan, eating properly at university can prove to be more challenging. Forks over knives has over 500 plant-based recipes that everybody can enjoy, the app is regularly updated with new recipes from over 50 leading chefs.
MySupermarket – When you’re shopping for all these tasty ingredients, it will be handy to know where you can get the best deals. MySupermakert allows you to find the best value supermarket for your shop, whether it’s a single item or full list.
Fitness Apps for Students
All food consumed from your fancy new recipes, and you might be looking for a way to burn some calories and stay fit at university. Joining a society is a great way to get active, but there are also plenty of apps you can download to help you stay fit in your own time.
Myfitnesspal – Myfitnesspal is one of the most feature-rich fitness apps available for your smartphone, with functionality including meal logging, exercise tracker, calorie counter and more.
Runkeeper – With over 50 million members, runkeeper is an app that puts a strong focus on its community of users. As well as runs, runkeeper allows you to track bike rides, walks and swims to help you measure your performance and stay motivated.
Pay-as-U-Gym – If you like to hit the gym to work out, you might find yourself paying for two memberships at home and university. Pay as U Gym is a free service that allows you to buy flexible gym memberships in your area; simply download the app and type in your postcode to get started.
If you’re struggling with fitness at university, why not check out our guide to eating right and staying healthy at university.
Stress Free Accommodation With Bristol Digs
With all these apps now using up your phone's memory and battery, you’ll be pleased to know that you won't need an app for your accommodation. At Bristol Digs, we make it easy to find the right homes for you – with an extensive range of accommodation for students and young professionals.
Why not take a look at some of the properties we have available, or call us on 0117 930 8750 for more information.
