CarPlay makes driving with your iPhone a lot more relaxing. Navigation, music and messages are on your dashboard without having to pick up your phone. This is not only safer, but also saves you from a high fine if you are caught with your phone in your hand. It works just as conveniently when parking: your dashboard controls the parking meter, so you don’t have to fiddle with your phone and you no longer have to walk to a payment terminal. These are the five best parking apps for iPhone users in the Netherlands, the first three of which can actually be operated via CarPlay.
Flashmeister
Flashmeister With more than 3 million users, it is one of the most popular traffic apps in the Netherlands and Belgium. Many motorists use it for speed alerts, traffic jam information and navigation, and now also for parking. This is extra useful on CarPlay, because one app on your dashboard controls navigation, flash notifications and parking without any switching.
Parking with the Flitsmeister app for CarPlay works in more than 170 cities and affiliated municipalities in the Netherlands and Belgium. You pay on the street and in connected parking garages, including all major cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. As soon as you open the screen, you will immediately see on the map whether your location is connected.
How parking with Flitsmeister works on CarPlay:
- Set up once: link your license plate and payment method in the app
- Start: Once you have reached your destination, a P button will automatically appear on your CarPlay screen. Tap and you park.
- Fuses: as soon as you drive away, the app detects this itself and you receive a message to end the session
- Pay: the municipal parking costs plus €0.35 transaction costs are debited directly via your linked payment method
Main advantages:
- €0.35 per parking action without subscription or registration fees
- No transaction fees with subscription
- Free app to download, parking function works without Flitsmeister Pro
- Works both on the street and in connected parking garages
- Multiple license plates can be added for free, useful for those who use multiple cars
- In addition to parking, also speed alerts, traffic jams, speed limits and navigation in the same app
- Real-time map in the app on which you can immediately see whether your location is connected
- No monthly collection, parking costs are debited directly via your linked payment method
EasyPark
EasyPark works in more than 2,500 cities and 20+ European countries, a solution for motorists who regularly park outside the Netherlands. The Dutch version has been fully CarPlay integrated since February 2025.
How it works on CarPlay: Open EasyPark from your dashboard and the app automatically shows on the map which zone you are in. You check the zone code, tap start and confirm. You can set an end time in advance, or let the session run until you stop it yourself. In participating parking garages, EasyPark works via license plate recognition: the camera scans your license plate upon entry, the session starts and stops automatically.
Pros:
- Full-fledged Apple Watch app that lets you start and stop sessions from your wrist
- Integrated charging function for electric cars, with payment for parking and charging in the same app
- Live Activities on your lock screen to keep track of an ongoing session
- End time can be set in advance, session ends automatically at the chosen time
- License plate recognition in participating parking garages, for hands-free entry and exit
ANWB On the road
ANWB Onderweg is the official app of the ANWB and bundles navigation, traffic information, fuel prices, reporting a breakdown and parking in one app. For iPhone users with a CarPlay car, you can control the parking function directly from your dashboard.
On CarPlay you open ANWB Onderweg from your dashboard. The map shows you where you can park throughout the Netherlands, with rates per zone in color codes from green (cheap) to red (pricey). A useful extra is the notification when free parking is possible nearby. You start and stop sessions from the CarPlay screen, and the amount of your parked minutes is debited from your account monthly afterwards.
Pros:
- €0.33 per parking action for ANWB members (€0.49 for non-members)
- Account is free, if you don’t park you pay nothing
- Combines parking with navigation, fuel prices, charging station locations and breakdown reporting
- Map display with color-coded parking zones for the cheapest rate
- Notification when free parking is available nearby
- Add multiple license plates for free
The three apps above have full CarPlay support. The next two do not, but still offer enough added value on iPhone to belong in this overview.
City parking
Stadsparkeren is a Dutch parking app that allows you to park on the street throughout the Netherlands and automatically enter and exit connected parking garages via license plate recognition. When you register, you will receive a physical parking pass for free, which works as a backup when license plate recognition is not available.
On the street, select the correct parking zone in the app based on GPS, or enter the zone number manually. You tap “Park here” and the parking campaign runs. When you return, end the action with “Stop parking”. In connected garages, the barrier opens automatically as soon as the camera recognizes your license plate, and the parking action stops automatically when you leave.
Pros:
- €0.30 per parking action or €2.50 per month for unlimited parking per license plate
- Access to more than 1 million parking spaces on the street and in connected garages in the Netherlands
- License plate recognition for automatic entry and exit at connected parking garages
- Free parking pass upon registration as a backup for garages
- Pay afterwards for only the actual parking time
Point of attention: No CarPlay version. For on-street parking you must operate the app via your iPhone.
Q Park
Q-Park is the Q-Park chain’s own app and works based on license plate recognition. Particularly useful for motorists who regularly park in parking garages. Once your license plate is linked to your payment method, you drive in and out without having to do anything.
Upon entry, the camera scans your license plate and the barrier opens. The parking action starts and stops automatically as soon as you drive out. The amount will be debited afterwards via your linked payment method. In addition to garage parking, the app also offers street parking in the Netherlands, with the same post-payment system.
Pros:
- No transaction fees when parking in Q-Park garages
- Automatic license plate recognition at Q-Park garages in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland
- No manual operation required in Q-Park garages
- Option to reserve a parking space in advance in busy garages
- Also works for street parking in the Netherlands
- Point of attention: No CarPlay version.
What makes a parking app suitable for CarPlay?
For those who didn’t know yet: Apple CarPlay is the system that connects your iPhone to your car’s screen. Your iPhone apps appear in a customized, driving-friendly version on the dashboard. CarPlay is standard in almost all modern cars from model year 2016 and is often supported wirelessly.
What makes a CarPlay parking app good? Typically these six things:
- One-tap operation from the CarPlay screen, without having to type any text
- Automatic zone recognition via GPS, so that the app knows which parking zone you are in without you having to look it up yourself
- Notification when driving away to stop the session so that the counter does not continue after you have already left
- Integration with other iPhone features such as Live Activities and Apple Pay
- Broad coverage in the Netherlandsso that the app works in most municipalities where paid parking applies
- Real-time view of your ongoing parking actionso you always know how long you have left and what it has cost so far
Flashmeister is the only parking app that scores on each of the six points! But each name on this list has its own strengths depending on how and where you park.