There is a particular kind of misery that comes from circling the same eight blocks of midtown Manhattan looking for a parking spot. There is a particular kind of misery that comes from circling the same eight blocks of midtown Manhattan looking for a parking spot. The meter on your time and your patience runs down in real time.
We hate it!
The flight is in three hours, the show starts in twenty minutes, the kids are arguing in the back seat — and every garage you pass is either full, $95 a night, or both. This is the problem SpotHero was built to solve: lock in a guaranteed space before you leave the house, often at a discount, and drive straight in.
The app now operates in over 400 cities across the United States and Canada, partnering with more than 8,000 garages, lots, and valets. Below: how SpotHero works, what it really costs, the promo codes and commuter benefits worth knowing about before you book, and where it falls short.
What is SpotHero?
SpotHero was launched in 2011 in Chicago by Mark Lawrence and Jeremy Smith, co-founders who started the company after racking up thousands of dollars in their own parking tickets. The premise was simple: parking was, at the time, an almost entirely in-person, cash-based business with no central inventory, and there was a clear opportunity to put it online.
The company has come a long way since. SpotHero has now helped park over 100 million cars since launching (a milestone the company hit in late 2025 — worth noting, since the figure is sometimes misreported as “100 million users.” It’s not. It’s 100 million parking sessions). In December 2025, Bloomberg and SiliconANGLE both reported that Uber was in talks to acquire SpotHero, though no deal has been confirmed publicly at time of writing.
How Does SpotHero Help Skip the Parking Lottery in U.S. Cities
SpotHero lets you find, compare, and book parking spots across North America. You can search by the hour or day, or set up monthly parking subscriptions if you commute regularly into a city.
Enter your destination in the search bar, add the start and end times, and the app pulls up an interactive map of every parking option in the area. Tap the one that works best — by price, distance, or covered-vs-open — and book directly through the app.
When you arrive, scan a barcode on your phone at the gate — or hand your confirmation to a valet. Your spot is guaranteed: if it isn’t available, customer support will find you a new one or refund you in full. Their support team (the “Customer Hero” team) is available seven days a week, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. CST.
Beyond daily parking, SpotHero is especially useful for three specific situations:
- Events — Pre-book your spot for games or concerts at Madison Square Garden, Oracle Park, SoFi Stadium, and other major venues
- Airports — Reserve short and long-term parking at ORD, SFO, YYZ, JFK, and other busy airports. Most airport spaces can be booked up to 364 days in advance
- Long-stay commuting — Monthly parking in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, and other business hubs, usually at a meaningful discount over hourly rates
Heading to New York and need parking near a specific neighborhood? Our guide to NYC’s best LGBTQ+ spots, bars, and cultural landmarks is a useful starting point for choosing where to base yourself. Planning a US road trip that wraps into hiking? Our roundup of the best hiking apps for trail planning covers what to install alongside SpotHero before you go.
How Much Does SpotHero Cost?
SpotHero itself is free to use — no subscription, no membership tier. A service fee is built into all listed prices, so the price you see is the price you pay at checkout (no nasty surprises).
The cost of the parking spot itself depends on location, demand, and how far in advance you book. To give you an idea, a 24-hour parking spot in Lower Manhattan on SpotHero currently ranges from about $33 to $85, depending on the garage and time of week.
You can typically reserve parking up to six weeks in advance, with airports usually allowing reservations up to 364 days before your flight. SpotHero often offers discounted rates compared to drive-up pricing, though not always — sometimes the convenience premium is real. The benefit is more about certainty than savings: knowing the spot is yours before you’ve left home.
SpotHero Bonuses, Promo Codes & Discounts
This is where SpotHero quietly punches above its weight. Despite not having a formal loyalty program (SimplyCodes and Groupon both note SpotHero is “developing” a points-based system but hasn’t launched one yet), there are several legitimate ways to bring the cost down — and one of them comes straight from SpotHero’s own promo page.
- FIRSTSPOT10 — SpotHero’s official promo code for new users, listed publicly on spothero.com/about/promo-code. It’s 10% off your first reservation, app-only, capped at $5 in savings.
- Commuter benefits (pre-tax dollars) — If your employer offers a WageWorks, Edenred, TransitChek, or similar commuter benefits card, SpotHero lets you pay for daily or monthly parking with pre-tax dollars. This can cut effective costs by up to 40% — by far the biggest discount available on the platform.
- Student discount (10%) — Verified students get 10% off via Student Beans verification, applied at checkout. Re-verify each year to keep it active.
- Referral credits — SpotHero has a referral program that gives credits when friends sign up and book. The program is reportedly being updated, so check the app’s “Refer a Friend” section for current terms.
- City- and event-specific codes — SpotHero occasionally releases targeted codes for specific cities or events (Chicago, NYC, Raptors home games, etc.). Sign up for the email newsletter to catch these as they drop.
Insider tip: If you commute and your employer offers any kind of transit or commuter benefits, link the card to your SpotHero account before your next monthly booking. The pre-tax saving (often 30-40%) is bigger than any single promo code SpotHero has ever issued, and it stacks automatically with every reservation.
SpotHero Reviews & Ratings: Is It Worthwhile?
SpotHero’s reviews tell a slightly split story depending on where you look:
- App Store: 4.9 / 5 (380,000+ ratings)
- Google Play: 2.0 / 5 (18,200+ ratings)
- Trustpilot: 3.9 / 5 (7,140+ ratings)
The gap between iOS and Android is striking and worth flagging honestly. The Android app has had ongoing issues with user experience and bug reports — if you’re an Android user, it’s worth checking the most recent Play Store reviews before committing to monthly parking through the app specifically.
On the positive side, Trustpilot reviewers consistently praise SpotHero’s value and the support team’s responsiveness when something goes wrong. One representative review from Kathy Dudgeon sums up that customer service strength: “I was unable to reach my parking reservation due to a traffic issue, and I called SpotHero. They quickly responded and found a new spot, crediting my first one and providing me with entry to the new one. They provided prompt service when I needed it most — driving through downtown SF traffic.”
Any SpotHero Alternatives? ParkWhiz Is the Closest Comparison
ParkWhiz works on the same principle as SpotHero — pre-book a guaranteed parking spot, often at a discount over drive-up rates — and its inventory overlaps significantly in major cities. The two apps frequently list the same garages at very similar prices.
The case for ParkWhiz over SpotHero comes down to platform stability and Android support. ParkWhiz’s Google Play rating is significantly stronger than SpotHero’s Android offering, which matters if you’re committing to monthly parking and need an app that works reliably day after day. iOS users will likely find both apps comparable.
The honest answer for most travelers is to install both. SpotHero’s inventory is bigger and its airport coverage tends to be deeper, but if a particular SpotHero garage is sold out or pricier than expected, ParkWhiz often has a backup spot nearby.
