I have a student who recently made Aliyah.

Before she moved to Israel, our lessons were mostly about reading books, talking about everyday life, and improving her Hebrew through conversation.

But once she arrived, she started asking me about things that had nothing to do with verb conjugations or literature.

Which apps should I download?

How do I get around?

How do people pay for things here?

What do I actually need on my phone to navigate everyday life in Israel?

And it made me realize that knowing Hebrew is only one part of learning how to live here.

So I put together this list of apps that can make things a little easier – whether you’re visiting Israel, thinking about making Aliyah, or you’ve just arrived and are trying to figure out how everything works.

Some of these apps are useful anywhere, but they’re very common in Israel, so I added them too.

So – here are 10 apps that will make life in Israel much easier.

Getting around

1. Moovit

Your go-to app for public transportation in Israel.

Use it to figure out how to get from A to B, check bus and train times, see where your bus is, and follow your route.

2. Rav-Pass / HopOn

This is one of the easiest ways to pay for public transportation using your phone.

You scan the barcode when you get on a bus, train, or light rail, and the app calculates your total payment automatically, including the relevant discounts.

So instead of buying a ticket every time, you can just use your phone.

3. Gett

Need a taxi?

Gett lets you order one through the app. Israel doesn’t have Uber, and if you stand on the side of the road with your finger pointing, hoping to catch a taxi, it might not work too well.

The app finds taxis in your area, lets you see where your taxi is, and you can pay by credit card.

4. Waze

If you’re driving in Israel, download Waze.

It started in Israel and is widely used here to navigate, avoid traffic, and get real-time information about what’s happening on the road.

Money & parking

5. Bit

Once you have an Israeli bank account, you’ll quickly discover that Israelis love saying:

“I’ll send it to you on Bit.”

It’s one of the most common ways to send money to friends, family, and sometimes businesses. All you need is the person’s Israeli phone number. Find them in the app, enter the amount, and send the payment.

6. PayBox

Another very common Israeli app for sending and receiving money.

It’s very similar to Bit, although Bit is generally more common. You can use PayBox to split a bill, pay someone back, or send money to a friend.

7. Pango / Cello

These are the apps you’ll want when you need to pay for street parking.

After downloading the app, you register and add your car and payment details. When you park in a paid parking area, you choose the relevant city or parking area and activate your parking session. When you leave, you can stop the parking through the app. Some services also offer automatic parking termination.

Everyday life

8. Wolt

Food delivery, groceries, pharmacy items, and all sorts of other things you suddenly realize you need.

Wolt isn’t unique to Israel, but it has become a very normal part of everyday life here.

In Tel Aviv especially, the roads are full of Wolt drivers. And nowadays, almost no one just orders food from the place itself.

Personally, I prefer going to the restaurant itself, but Wolt also has supermarket services, medicine, etc., so it’s good to have it anyway.

9. WhatsApp

Another app that is very common and not unique to Israel.

But here, WhatsApp is more than a messaging app.

It’s where you’ll find work groups, apartment-building groups, parents’ groups, service providers, landlords, friends, and approximately 47 conversations you didn’t remember joining.

And a lot of Israelis are basically connected to WhatsApp 24/7, and it’s definitely the main way of communicating.

One more app you should know about

10. Home Front Command

The official Home Front Command app can send emergency alerts and instructions relevant to your location.

It’s one of those apps you hope you won’t need – but if you’re living in Israel, it’s worth having.

How to translate things from Hebrew?

I used to tell my students that Google Translate wasn’t always great for Hebrew.

And, unfortunately, that’s still true.

Hebrew can be tricky to translate. A word can have several meanings, and a sentence that looks perfectly logical in English can come out sounding very strange in Hebrew.

Luckily, we have AI now.

If you need to translate a Hebrew word or sentence, try ChatGPT or Gemini instead. And whenever you can, give it some context.

Don’t just ask:

“What does this Hebrew word mean?”

Try giving it a sentence or context so you make sure you have the right meaning.

And if you’re not sure, ask for a few possible meanings and an example of how an Israeli would actually use the word.

To sum it up…

Whether you’re new to Israel or have been here for years, having the right apps on your phone can save you time, make everyday tasks easier, and help you feel a little more at home.

I hope this list will help you make everyday life in Israel a little easier 🙂