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InStock Tracker vs PickupChecker
Alert scope, speed, renewal and refunds, side by side. "Says" means it's PickupChecker's own claim; "Not stated" means we couldn't find it on its site (read November 9, 2026). We run InStock Tracker, so we're not neutral.
| We run this oneInStock Tracker | PickupChecker | |
|---|---|---|
| Stock seen to alert sent | Under 0.1 s, measured. 1,000 alerts for one restock: push and email in 0.01 s. Telegram the same up to 25 at once, then its rate limit | Says its push service accepted alerts a median 2.4 s after the first check that saw the restock |
| How often it checks | Every alert store about every 15 s, every 6 s in busy restock hours, on every plan | Says a median 5.2 s at stores with an alert (US, last 7 days) |
| Price | Lite free (5 messages); 30-day passes from $4.99 (1 alert) to $49.99 (Elite: 50 alerts and a daily report); message packs from $4.99 never expire | $5, $10 or $20 a month for 10, 20 or 50 alerts |
| Renews automatically | Never. One-time payment | Monthly; cancel anytime |
| One alert covers | A store you pick, or every store within your distance of a ZIP; Turbo and Elite: every US Apple Store; Turbo Max: every store in up to 5 cities | One store and one exact iPhone |
| One-tap Buy now on apple.com | ✓ Every plan: opens apple.com with that exact iPhone set up (model, color, storage, no trade-in, full price) | Not stated |
| Adds the iPhone to your Apple bag for you | ✓ InStock Tracker Assistant, our Chrome extension (plans from $9.99): one tap, it sets up the iPhone and adds it to your bag; you check out yourself | Not stated |
| Push on your phone | ✓ Yes | ✓ Through its app |
| Telegram | ✓ Yes | Not stated |
| Discord | ✓ Yes | Not stated |
| ✓ Yes | Not stated | |
| Text message (SMS) | Coming soon | Not stated |
| Dated email copy of every alert | ✓ With a reference number | Not stated |
| Restock history | Free and public: every sighting by US, city and store; busiest hours, how long stock lasts, top colors and sizes | Free restock logs by model and store |
| Restock forecast | ✓ Free: this week's best window; Elite: a daily report for your stores | Past pickup windows for your stores; no forecast stated |
| Apple's online delivery dates | ✓ Every storage and color, checked hourly | Not stated |
| Personal help from a person | Concierge (new): our team helps you one-on-one to get your iPhone, $250 service fee, refunded if you don't have it in 14 days | Not stated |
| Free | Live stock search, no sign-up; Lite: 5 free alert messages | Live stock, maps, restock logs and a public API |
| Countries | United States | United States |
| Refunds | Full refund within 24 hours of buying (once per account, with an alert set up and none sent yet); after that, no refunds | Says full refund within 7 days if no restock alert has reached you |
Questions
Does PickupChecker renew automatically?
Monthly; cancel anytime, going by its own site (read November 9, 2026). InStock Tracker never renews: every plan is one payment.
What does one alert cover?
InStock Tracker: A store you pick, or every store within your distance of a ZIP; Turbo and Elite: every US Apple Store; Turbo Max: every store in up to 5 cities. PickupChecker: One store and one exact iPhone.
Is this comparison neutral?
No. We run InStock Tracker. The PickupChecker column comes from its own website, read on November 9, 2026, and we haven't tested it ourselves. If something is out of date, email [email protected] and we'll fix it.
Source: PickupChecker. Names are trademarks of their owners; we're not affiliated with them or with Apple.