Swarm Alternatives in 2026: Check-in Apps for Nights Out
Swarm is still going in 2026, and it's the king of checking in everywhere. But if most of your check-ins are at bars, an app built for nights out might suit you better.
Why look beyond Swarm?
- It's built for every kind of place, so there's nothing specific to nights out: no beer counts, no recap of your month at the pub.
- Your friends need to check in manually too, which a lot of groups stop doing.
The alternatives
1. ontap
Log a beer in one tap from a home or lock screen widget, with the bar you're at. See which friends are out on a shared map, race your friends in squads, earn 30+ badges and become Mayor of your local. Every month you get Last Call, a recap worth sharing.
- Platforms
- iPhone · App Store
- Price
- Free (an optional ontap Pro is coming)
- Best for
- Groups of friends who go out together and want logging to take one tap.
- Watch out
- No beer-by-beer ratings or tasting notes, and no Android app yet.
ontap is basically check-ins for nights out, made faster: tap a widget, the beer and bar are logged, and friends see you're out. Add Mayors of each bar, squads and a monthly recap, and you've got the bits of Swarm people loved, focused on going out.
2. Beli
Rank restaurants, bars, cafés and bakeries by comparing each new place with ones you've already been to. Builds a personal score and recommendations, with friends' lists in a feed.
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android · Website
- Price
- Free
- Best for
- Food-first people who want a ranked list of favourite spots.
- Watch out
- Built around restaurants; no beer logging, counts or live 'who's out'.
3. Untappd
The best-known beer check-in app: scan or search a specific beer, rate it, add notes and photos, and collect badges. Huge beer database and venue menus from bars that use Untappd for Business.
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android, web · Website
- Price
- Free, with an optional paid tier (Untappd Insiders) for extra stats and badges
- Best for
- Beer geeks who want to rate every individual beer they try.
- Watch out
- Logging means finding the exact beer each time, which is slow on a night out. Less about seeing which friends are out right now.
4. Find My (Apple)
Apple's built-in location sharing: share where you are with chosen friends or family, indefinitely or for an hour.
- Platforms
- iPhone (built in)
- Price
- Free
- Best for
- Simple, private location sharing with a few close people.
- Watch out
- No social feed, no venues, nothing beyond a dot on a map.
5. Google Maps location sharing
Share your real-time location with chosen contacts from Google Maps, on iPhone or Android, and save lists of pubs to visit.
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android
- Price
- Free
- Best for
- Mixed iPhone/Android groups, and for saving lists of places.
- Watch out
- Not social; you have to set sharing up per person.
Google Maps Timeline can keep a private history of where you've been automatically, if you turn it on, with no check-ins needed.
ontap is the free iPhone app for logging beers in one tap and seeing which friends are out.
Get ontap free on the App StoreFAQ
Is Swarm still around in 2026?
Yes. Swarm is still available and took over Foursquare City Guide's features in 2024.
Is there a Swarm for bars?
ontap is the closest: one-tap logging at bars, Mayors for each spot and friends on a map.