Grab
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 3 ride-hailing apps by recommenders
Recommended for cheap, easy rides and delivery in Southeast Asia, bypassing language barriers and handling payments. Critics note inconsistent service and un-skippable ads.
Recommended for cheap, easy rides and delivery in Southeast Asia, bypassing language barriers and handling payments. Critics note inconsistent service and un-skippable ads.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 81%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Cheap, reasonably priced rides and food
“Grab/Gojek (Uber equivalents) make getting around cheap and bypass the language barrier.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Jakarta is now the biggest city in the world” “I'm still getting cheap transportation and discounted food”
Comment from 15 Aug 2026 in “The TEMU-Fication of Software, Digital Goods and Services” “always use a taxi/grab/gocar to go around”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Jakarta is now the biggest city in the world” - Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “When Soviet-made cars roamed Singapore roads”
Easy abroad without knowing the language
“it's still so much easier using grab/bolt/lineman/muvmi and not having to explain the directions”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux” “Grab/Gojek (Uber equivalents) make getting around cheap and bypass the language barrier.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Jakarta is now the biggest city in the world” “Download the local ride-sharing app for wherever you're going (Grab in SE Asia”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: What travel apps do you use while traveling?”
Other ride-hailing apps people recommend
The two most recommended other ride-hailing apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 3 ride-hailing apps, rankedWhat people said
15 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“everyone gets paid fairly and restaurants will tell grab drivers to fuck off if they cut the line”
“Grab, on the other hand, has been very successful internationally.”
“I'm not a fan of the inconsistent experience offered by Singapore's private-hire operators, such as Grab”
“I'm still getting cheap transportation and discounted food”
“it's still so much easier using grab/bolt/lineman/muvmi and not having to explain the directions”
“I choose Grab mainly because I always have installed for GrabPay payments.”
“The grab app shows un-skippable ads.”
“what people like is that the app is fluid, and will get you from A to B”
“this AI feature is incredibly useful”
“most of them are barely turning profitable after 10+ years”
“Download the local ride-sharing app for wherever you're going (Grab in SE Asia”
“Delivery apps like Grab and Uber Eats are even worse since they have even more perverse incentives”
“always use a taxi/grab/gocar to go around”
“Grab/Gojek (Uber equivalents) make getting around cheap and bypass the language barrier.”
“are ubiquitous and reasonably priced”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.