About Hootling
Hootling gives travellers the confidence to jump in any taxi, anywhere in the world — without getting ripped off or undertipping.
Why it exists
Arriving in a new city after a long flight is stressful enough. Negotiating with a taxi driver when you don't know the local fare, don't speak the language, and can't tell a fair price from a tourist trap is worse. Travellers get ripped off every day in cities all over the world — overcharged fares, rigged meters, unofficial “taxis” with no accountability.
Hootling was built to fix that. The name combines the wisdom of the owl with the English diminutive “-ling” — a baby owl, curious and wide-eyed, exploring the world for the first time, just like every traveller in a new city. Our mascot is Hootling: a baby owl with golden yellow feathers, a teal backpack, and big curious teal eyes. He's been everywhere — and he always knows the fair price.
Hootling solves the taxi problem in under five seconds, from $2.99. Real meter rate data sourced from local taxi authorities. AI-powered scam warnings from Anthropic Claude. 120+ cities, 50+ countries. No subscription.
What it does
Taxi Fare Check
Enter your pickup and destination to get a fair price range, city-specific scam warnings, and the local phrase to confirm the fare before you get in.
Tipping Guide
Choose a country to see tipping norms for restaurants, taxis, hotel porters, bars, tour guides, and delivery — with clear 'expected / optional / avoid' ratings.
How it works
- 1
Enter your route or country
Type your pickup and destination for a taxi check, or pick a country for a tipping guide. Autocomplete makes it fast.
- 2
See the free preview
Route distance and travel time load instantly — no payment needed to check you've entered the right locations.
- 3
Unlock from $2.99
Pay once with card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. No account, no subscription. Choose a single query, Country Pass, or 10-query bundle.
- 4
Travel with confidence
Get the fare range, scam alerts, a local phrase for your driver, and full tipping guidance — all in one clear view.
Powered by
Google Maps Platform
Route distance, duration, and address autocomplete
Anthropic Claude
AI-generated scam warnings, tipping advice, and driver phrases
Stripe
Secure payment processing — we never see your card details
- ✓ No user accounts or personal profiles
- ✓ No payment card details stored by us
- ✓ No advertising or tracking cookies
- ✓ Query results cached by city name only — no personal data