nextbike Reviews 

Do a chargeback so that they suffer, because we know they are predatory stealing money..

They are extremely arrogant. GPS does not work so they tell me that I did not park in correct area and charge me 20 euros.

Then when I go and talk to customer support, they want all pictures from me, which I obviously already take, because I know their next moves and know these people well enough.

now I like their service and pricing, but they have these predatory things, just to take more money which is annoying.

I’m giving them one star only because it’s impossible to give zero. Avoid using this service at all costs. At first, it seems convenient and useful, but as soon as you start using it regularly, they begin charging you for things you never did. You’ll get hit with fines for prohibited areas where you never even parked, and charged for rides on bikes that never actually unlocked.

To make matters worse, even if you send photo evidence proving you parked legally and exposing their lies, they still refuse to refund your money. Stay far away from these scammers—this isn't a legitimate business, it’s an extortion scheme. Do yourself a favor, buy a second-hand bike, and stay away from this trash.

When you put your bike in a red zone you get a fee of 20€ while it is very hard to see if you are in a small free spot. Also the bike or the app does not say: watch out you are in a red zone. Visited Köln for one day, thought to have cheap transportation, got 3 times 20€ fees so 60€ + normal fees, ridiculous! They really like to make money out of this case!

I was charged an extra €20 on a ride that should have cost €1.50, because Nextbike claimed I parked in a "red zone."
Before parking, I checked the in-app map carefully and took a screenshot to confirm I wasn't in a red zone. I ended up parking in what the map showed as a green area, specifically because I'd already been charged for parking in a red zone earlier that same week and wanted to avoid making the same mistake.
When I contacted customer support, I was told I should have parked in a "yellow or white zone" instead — information that contradicts what the color coding seemed to indicate, and that I was never told the first time I was charged. I've since emailed them directly with my screenshot and ride details, but in-app support has already told me they won't issue a refund.

At this point, it feels less like user error and more like the zone system is designed to be ambiguous enough to generate fees.

Very confusing app that does not clearly provide details around costs incurred. Especially a problem with there daily or weekly passes. No information provided on amount of minutes consumed or unused.

Would not recommend them at all.

Nextbike has seriously gone downhill. The idea of bike sharing is supposed to make getting around easier and more convenient — but instead, it often turns into a frustrating waste of time and money.
The bikes are frequently noisy, damaged, or barely working. Many are left abandoned in places they shouldn’t be, and you can spend ages searching for one that actually functions properly. That completely defeats the purpose of renting a bike for quick, reliable transport.
And then there’s the charging system. If you can’t return a bike because it suddenly shows up in a “red zone,” YOU get charged — even when the issue has nothing to do with you. On top of that, the GPS often doesn’t work correctly, leading to wrong charges and endless hassle trying to fix them.
Bike sharing was meant to be affordable and practical, but Nextbike is starting to feel like a luxury service with low-quality standards. With so many other providers in town offering better-maintained bikes and more reliable service, maybe it’s time people started boycotting Nextbike and supporting companies that actually care about their users.
If enough people speak up and switch providers, maybe they’ll finally be forced to improve.

First time using it, my wife and I were charged 20 euros each for parking incorrectly (we parked right next to other NextBikes which were shown on their app). Reported it to customer service but no help at all. Avoid at all costs, 40 euros in penalties pays for a lot of Uber rides.

The worst bike sharing sytem ever!!!! Please, dont use it! Anythimg goes wrong. Biggest problem: Bikes dont unblock!

I paid 8€ for a partner benefit (DVB MobiPLUS) yet the app throws an error when I try to activate it, making it impossible to use.

Customer service is unresponsive even after multiple attempts to contact.

It's so convenient, the first half hour is free and the customer service is AMAZING! The wait is usually so short and they have always solved my problem, even when the issue is my fault.

Very disappointing and not to be trusted. I rented two bikes in Potsdam, Germany. I was charged a 20 € service fee for not returning the bikes to a station, when actually I locked the bikes while I got a coffee, unlocked and dutifully returned them. When I told customer service, they claimed they couldn’t refund me because someone rented the bike in between, even though it was in front of me the whole time.
Customers shouldn’t have to pay for a glitchy app. Thanks a lot, nextbike :(

If i could give 0 stars i would!
downloaded this when i stayed in Glasgow for the weekend (a bit useless you can only use it where you downloaded it?) and ive never needed it since.
have tried multiple times to get my money back from my wallet and they will not refund me. had an email in october 2025 saying glasgow next bike was closing so id get my money refunded.. never happened.
have contacted customer services who said i had to do this by email.. but guess what.. they don’t respond!
i emailed them a week ago asking to get my money back so i could close my account and what did they do?! just closed my account without refunding me so now i can’t even get into the app!!
i can’t believe it. fuming!
absolute scammers, stay clear!!!

Yellow zone nonsense and charging with no notification while parking.

Do not install this app under any circumstances, it is an absolute scam.

Back in January, the app charged me 57€ for a ride I never took because the bike NEVER unlocked. Instead of refunding my bank account, they forced an "app credit" on me. I have been fighting to get my actual money back for almost two months.

I have called their customer service 4 times. Every single time, they make empty promises that a bank transfer is coming, just to stall. During my last call, they flat-out refused to let me speak to a supervisor! I even sent them a formal legal notice via email, which they completely ignored. They are literally holding my funds hostage.

On top of this scam, their basic service is catastrophic. Half of the time, the bikes are completely unusable: either they don't unlock, they malfunction mid-ride, or they refuse to lock at the end (while the app keeps ticking and charging you for nothing).

Save yourself the headache and your money. Use a different service, or you will get robbed.

I’ve been using Nextbike for some time through my university partnership, expecting it to be affordable as a student. I occasionally use Lime or Bolt, but Nextbike when no e-scooters are nearby. I was aware of service fees, having once paid 1 euro when I left a bike outside a store. In that case, I tried multiple times to unlock it to move it back to a station, but it remained locked, and I accepted the small fee.

However, a few days ago, I had an accident on their bike due to tight brakes. I fell, was injured so I parked at an S-Bahn station—not a Nextbike station—to get to a hospital. The bike was undamaged, and I even took photos to show it. Yet there’s no option to report such incidents in their app. Without warning, I was charged a 20-euro service fee. I’ve tried contacting them for days via app and email, but no response.

They present as affordable, but these surprise charges and lack of support are disappointing. Many bikes have defects, and service quality is poor. If they were upfront about costs and improved their operations, people might pay more willingly. I’m switching to other services, even if pricier, because they offer better customer care. I expected more from Nextbike.

I used a subscription with nextbike in February 2026 and honestly, I’m really disappointed.

First of all, the GPS in the app is very unreliable. Several times I walked around looking for a bike that was shown on the map but wasn’t actually there. At the same time, the app often still shows me at my starting point even after I’ve reached my destination. The location jumps around a lot, so sometimes I literally walk in circles until it updates correctly. It makes something that should be quick and easy unnecessarily stressful.

Because of this, I now only park bikes at official stations. Even then, I’ve been charged €1 multiple times for supposedly parking incorrectly. Every single time I had to contact support to get it fixed. In one case, I was told I would get a refund — but the money was still taken from my account.

Yesterday, €8 was deducted from my account without any explanation. There’s no trip or charge visible in the app that would justify it. That lack of transparency is really concerning.

Not even mentioning the 20€ they sometimes charge just because their GPS didn't work- Horrible

On top of that, many bikes are in poor condition. A lot of them are damaged or have obvious issues. Ending a ride can also be a struggle because the locking mechanism doesn’t work properly. I’ve spent 15 minutes or more just trying to close a ride.

Overall, with all the technical issues, questionable charges, and the complicated cancellation process, I genuinely don’t understand what I’m paying the monthly fee for.

The last but least issue for me is the cancellation process. It says everywhere that you can cancel in the app — but you simply can’t. I tried multiple times and just got redirected from one page to another without ever finding a proper cancellation option. That feels deliberately complicated and, to be honest, pretty frustrating.

I really wanted this to work, but based on my experience, I wouldn’t recommend it.

I had an account with this company to use their bike hire service. While the product itself was generally satisfactory, the customer service was consistently poor.

Incorrect £20 service charges were frequently applied to my account, and I repeatedly had to call, email, or message to get them refunded. Although refunds were usually processed, on one occasion only £18.50 was returned. I queried the missing balance but did not aggressively pursue it at the time.

The service has since been discontinued in my area. I have repeatedly requested the return of the remaining balance on my account. After multiple conversations with different operators, I was told the only way to receive my money was to close my account and the funds would be returned to my payment method. As they no longer provide a telephone number and only offer chat support, I was already sceptical—but followed their instructions anyway.

I received no confirmation that my account had been closed. Only after emailing to chase this did I get confirmation, at which point I was then told I needed to provide bank details for the refund (apparently nothing would be refunded from to the card they were so eager to take money from). I supplied these by email and as of today I have followed up twice asking for acknowledgement, as well as trying multiple times to make contact via their customer service email address. I have received no response whatsoever, from anyone.

They provide no account references, no automated email acknowledgements, and no names when using chat (which I can no longer access because I closed my account).

While the amount of money involved in my case is small, the principle is not. This company treats customers with complete disregard and makes it almost impossible to recover money taken in error.
I will never use this company again and strongly discourage others from doing so. Once they have your details, they can take your money in error—and if you want it back, tough.

I'm not in the least bit surprised that they have a 1 star rating.

The reservation policy of nextbike is a disgrace! It‘s misleading and unfair. If you contact them, they are very unfriendly, not helpful and understanding at all.
Even a partial refund for the multiple reservation fees was declined although the map to identify where bikes are located is extremely inaccurate!

Terrible company randomly charging my card for a subscription I cancelled 6 months prior. Had to do a chargeback to get my money back.

I got several parking fees from nextbike even though I left the bike where they say it's free of charge. I contacted support and they refused to make a refund. I find this service rather dishonest.