Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are digital wallets for storing payment cards, tickets, and passes. Apple Pay and Google Pay handle payments, but the Wallet apps store everything. Your choice depends on whether you use an iPhone or Android.

Both offer similar core functionality: credit/debit cards, loyalty cards, gift cards, boarding passes, event tickets, transit tickets, and NFC passes like hotel keys or workplace access cards. Adding payment cards is straightforward: in Apple Wallet, tap the plus button and choose Debit or Credit Card; in Google Wallet, tap Add to Wallet > Payment card.

Differences emerge in other passes. Apple Wallet requires official support; you'll see an Add to Apple Wallet button. In iOS 27, you can add custom passes. Google Wallet is more flexible, offering official passes, importing from Gmail, and an Everything Else option to digitize photos of random cards.

Google Wallet has a web interface; Apple Wallet doesn't. To pay with an iPhone with Face ID, double-click the side button, authenticate, then hold near the reader. With Google Wallet, just unlock and hold near the reader; your default card is used, or open the app to choose another. Apple Wallet lets you pick a card before paying.