Everyone told me Estonia is "the most digital country in the world" so I showed up expecting the future.
Bolt: The Estonian Empire
Bolt was invented here and yeah, it's everywhere in Europe now. Cheaper than Uber in literally every city. Better app. Faster pickups. Uber basically gave up in the Baltics.
Bolt does rides, Bolt does food delivery, Bolt does scooters. It's like if Uber actually worked properly and didn't charge surge pricing every time it rained.
Food Delivery: Wolt Won
Wolt is better than Uber Eats here. More restaurants, better UI, actually shows accurate delivery times.
Bolt Food exists too but Wolt has more selection. Both are fine. This is the least dramatic food delivery market I've encountered.
The E-Residency Lie
"Estonia is so digital you can start a business online!"
True but also you still need a bank account and banks still want to meet you in person and it takes weeks and you need 47 documents and "digital paradise" suddenly means "online forms instead of paper forms" which is... fine? But not revolutionary?
What Actually Works:
Public transit is free in Tallinn if you're a resident. FREE. The buses just work. The app (Pilet) works for buying tickets if you're not a resident but honestly contactless payment works everywhere.
Wise (formerly TransferWise) is Estonian and yes, you need it for moving money around Europe without getting robbed by bank fees.
What's Weird:
Everyone uses cash still? Like, more than you'd expect for "the digital capital of Europe." The old ladies at the market are NOT taking your card.
Some government services require that stupid ID card reader thing. You can't do everything on your phone, you need a physical card reader that costs €15 and breaks constantly.
Banking Apps:
LHV, SEB, Swedbank - pick your poison. They're all fine. They're all boring. They work properly which is novel after banking in other countries.
The Reality:
Estonia is ahead of most places but "most digital country" is marketing. It's just... functional. Things work. The bus is on time. The app doesn't crash. Your payment goes through.
After dealing with Colombian apps crashing 4 times during checkout, Estonian apps working normally feels like magic.
Small country (1.3 million people) means fewer restaurants on Wolt than you'd expect. Tallinn has options. Outside Tallinn? You're cooking.
My Setup:
- Bolt for everything (rides, food, scooters)
- Wolt when Bolt doesn't have the restaurant I want
- Wise for banking
- That's it, this is the shortest list on this entire article series
Estonia: Where apps work like they're supposed to and you realize how broken everything else was.