PlantsPack vs HappyCow
An honest, feature-by-feature comparison. We'll tell you where HappyCow wins, where we win, and where we're still catching up.
Why publish this? Because most vegan-directory comparisons are marketing pages, and you deserve a straight answer to "which should I use?"
TL;DR
- Use HappyCow if: you want maximum place coverage (especially in smaller cities), a polished mobile app, and 25 years of community reviews. They have far more places than us.
- Use PlantsPack if:you want free tools (barcode scanner, baking calculator, menu translator, drinks lookup) that HappyCow doesn't offer, an ad-free experience, strict vegan classification (we separate "fully vegan" from "vegan-friendly" clearly), and editorial answers to "is X vegan?" questions.
- Use both:most vegan travellers we know do. They're complementary, not substitutes. We'd rather be your second tab than fake being your only one.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | PlantsPack | HappyCow |
|---|---|---|
| Total places listed | ~52,000 verified places | ~200,000+ places (their core strength) |
| Country coverage | 160+ countries, 1,400+ cities with 5+ places | 180+ countries, broader smaller-city coverage |
| User reviews | Growing - early-stage user base, modest review volume | 25 years of community reviews, very high density |
| Strict vegan classification | Four-tier system: fully vegan / mostly vegan / vegan-friendly / vegan options. Each tier defined in our methodology | Vegan and vegetarian tags exist but conflated in many search results |
| Mobile app | Web-only for now (PWA-friendly) | Native iOS + Android apps with millions of downloads |
| Ad-free experience | Zero ads, ever. Supporter-funded | Display ads on the free version; premium tier removes them |
| Free to use | All features free. Optional $3/mo supporter tier for unlimited AI scans | Free web; premium subscription for app features and ad removal |
| Barcode scanner | Free, food and cosmetics modes, no signup needed | Not offered |
| Ingredient label scanner (AI) | Photo a label, we read it and flag animal-derived items | Not offered |
| Restaurant menu scanner (AI) | Photo any menu in any language, we highlight vegan dishes | Not offered |
| Baking substitute calculator | Quantitative ratios per ingredient and recipe type, no AI | Not offered |
| Drinks vegan lookup | 100+ curated beer/wine/spirit brands with confirmed status | Not offered |
| Printable restaurant cards (30+ languages) | Free, multi-language | Not offered as a built-in tool |
| Editorial content (is X vegan articles, travel guides) | 14+ ingredient deep-dives, 4+ country travel guides, sources cited | Blog content exists but shallower per topic; sources rarely cited |
| City rankings (vegan-friendliness score) | Algorithmic score per city, deltas tracked over time | Place ratings only, no city-level ranking |
| Open data / API | Read-only API in development | No public API |
| Public methodology / audit transparency | Methodology page explains how every classification is made | No public methodology document |
| Active development pace | Multiple shipped features per month | Mature product, slower update cadence |
Yes / strong Partial No
Where HappyCow genuinely wins
Being honest about this matters - both because it's true and because hiding it would erode the trust we're trying to build.
- Raw place coverage. HappyCow has roughly 4x more places than us. If you're in a small city or a country with weak coverage, they'll have more options listed.
- Community-review depth. 25 years of user reviews is a real moat. Our review density is improving but it'll take time.
- Mobile app. Their iOS and Android apps are mature, well-maintained, and have millions of installs. We're web-only.
- Brand recognition. "HappyCow" is the default search for vegans worldwide. If you ask a vegan friend "where do you find vegan restaurants abroad?" HappyCow is what they'll say.
Where we win
- Free vegan tools. Barcode scanner (food + cosmetics modes), AI ingredient-label scanner, AI menu translator, baking substitute calculator, drinks vegan lookup, printable cards in 30+ languages. None of these exist on HappyCow.
- Strict vegan classification. Our four-tier system (fully vegan / mostly vegan / vegan-friendly / vegan options) separates the "all-vegan restaurant" case from "steakhouse with a vegan burger" clearly. HappyCow's tags often conflate these.
- Ad-free, no tracking, ever. We don't serve ads, don't sell data, and don't use behavioural tracking. Supporter-funded at $3/month optional.
- Editorial depth. Long-form articles on "is X vegan?" questions (sugar, wine, beer, e-codes, cheese, gelatin, honey, etc.) with cited sources.
- Public methodology. We document how every place is classified in /methodology. HappyCow doesn't publish theirs.
- Active development. We ship multiple features per month. HappyCow updates are slower.
Where we're catching up
- Mobile app. Not yet. The site is mobile-optimised but a native app is on our backlog.
- Place coverage in some regions. Strong in Europe, US, Mexico (Mexico City, Tulum, Oaxaca), Brazil. Thinner in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Eastern Europe.
- User reviews. Our early-stage user base means modest review volume per place. We don't fake this with bot reviews - we'd rather have 50 real reviews than 5,000 synthetic ones.
See something wrong in this comparison? Email hello@plantspack.com- we'll fact-check and update. We're also happy to link to a comparable page on HappyCow's side if they ever publish one.
Try PlantsPack: explore places, free vegan tools, vegan answers.