Comparison

Ventra vs My CityPASS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Ventra

Manage your public transit fares and tickets for Chicago's CTA, Metra, and Pace services. Load value, buy Metra mobile tickets, and access real-time arrival information all in one place. Add your Ventra Card to your iPhone for seamless travel.

Highlights
  • Manage Ventra Card balance and passes
  • Load value and passes to Ventra Card
  • Buy Metra mobile tickets
  • Real-time CTA, Metra, Pace arrivals
  • Add Ventra Card to Apple Wallet
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Ride CTA, Metra & Pace with Ventra: Manage your fares, buy Metra mobile tickets, get arrivals and add your Ventra Card for riding CTA and Pace to iPhone and Apple Wallet. Use transit in and around all of Chicago: It's easy to manage and pay your fare on CTA, Metra and Pace buses and trains with the Ventra app. Find all the features you're used to on the Ventra website and more, including mobile ticketing for Metra trains! With the Ventra app, you can: • Check your balance and available passes in your Ventra Card's transit account. • Instantly load value or passes to your Ventra Card's transit account. • Switch autoload for transit value or passes on and off. • Buy and use Metra mobile tickets to ride any Metra train. • Use transit value you've loaded to buy a Metra ticket. • Get real-time account notifications so you know when it's time to load more fare or buy more tickets. • Get real-time arrival/departure information from CTA, Metra and Pace all in one app—by picking a stop, using favorites or looking at service near where you're standing.

About

My CityPASS

This app helps you plan visits to top attractions, offering budget-friendly ticket packages with significant discounts. Access your tickets, build itineraries, and get essential information for each location. It simplifies visiting multiple sights by providing all necessary details and digital entry.

Highlights
  • Access and manage tickets
  • Build custom itineraries
  • View attraction details and hours
  • Get travel advice and tips
  • Navigate with Apple Maps
  • Access exclusive offers
Features
Read full description

Save up to 50% on combined admission to top attractions with CityPASS tickets. These budget-friendly packages bundle deeply discounted admission to the top attractions and things to do in a destination. Once CityPASS tickets are purchased, the My CityPASS trip planner app will help you build your itinerary. • Access your tickets and make/modify reservations. • View hours of operation and entry instructions for the attractions. • Review the highlights of each attraction. • Get advice and tips for visiting. • Use Apple Maps to navigate to each location. • See exclusive offers for CityPASS ticket holders. • Access the CityPASS help center. Simply show your tickets or reservation confirmation on your phone to enter each attraction. About CityPASS: CityPASS® tickets, created by City Pass, Inc., make it easier (less stressful) and more affordable to see a destination’s top attractions. CityPASS tickets first arrived in San Francisco and Seattle in 1997 and have since expanded to many more North American destinations, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego, Southern California, Tampa Bay, and Toronto. Highlighting the top things to do in each location, the attractions featured range from observatories and museums to theme parks, aquariums, and zoos. CityPASS ticket packages are offered at up to 50% savings. Based on more than 82,000 customer reviews, the tickets have an average customer rating of 4.6 stars (out of a possible 5). Learn more at CityPASS.com.

Screenshots

Ventra4 screens
My CityPASS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: My CityPASS at 61% against Ventra's 8%. My CityPASS also leads on rating (4.9 vs 1.9) and ratings volume (25K vs 3.5K). Ventra's advantage is chart position (#80 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

My CityPASS holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: My CityPASS has 25K ratings behind it against 3.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 8% of Ventra's written reviews are positive against 61% of My CityPASS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ventra ships an update every 3 months, My CityPASS every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Ventra versus My CityPASS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVentraMy CityPASS
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.9 (3.5K ratings)4.9 (25K ratings) — better
Positive reviews8.1% of reviews61.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.5K25K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#80 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChicago Transit AuthorityCity Pass, Inc

Customer experience

Ventra

All ratings3,399 ratings
Positive18.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative77.5%
Written reviews528 reviews
Positive8.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative87.1%

My CityPASS

All ratings24,650 ratings
Positive98.5%
Neutral0.7%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews119 reviews
Positive61.3%
Neutral7.6%
Negative31.1%

User reviews

Ventra

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient for transit
  • 🚀 Helpful for visitors
  • 🚀 Reliable payment processing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Inaccurate arrival/departure times
  • 🐛 Confusing user interface
  • 🐛 Unreliable login and account management
  • 🐛 Payment issues and declined transactions

My CityPASS

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to book and change reservations
  • 💰 Good value and savings
  • 🗺️ Convenient way to see multiple attractions
  • 📱 User-friendly app
  • 🤝 Helpful customer service

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes or doesn't work
  • 🔍 Difficult to link/access purchased tickets
  • 🕰️ Long wait times at some attractions
  • 🤖 Unwanted location-based notifications after deleting app

Bugs and requests

Ventra

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Purchase button not working on iPhones
  • Favorites list glitches and resets
  • Inconsistent and unreliable ticket display
  • Frequent app crashes and login issues
  • Payment processing failures and lost funds

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to manage Ventra cards and balances
  • Improve real-time transit tracking and notifications
  • Allow saving of favorite routes and stations
  • Integrate with Apple Wallet for easier access
  • Provide more transparent and user-friendly payment options

My CityPASS

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashing when trying to access map and directions
  • Inability to turn off location-based notifications
  • Tickets not showing up in app after purchase

Requested features

3 requests
  • Option to extend ticket validity beyond initial period
  • Ability to view and manage all reservations in-app
  • Offline access to tickets in Apple Wallet

In-app purchases

None

Ventra

No in-app purchases

None

My CityPASS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ventra free?
Ventra is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is My CityPASS free?
My CityPASS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ventra or My CityPASS?
My CityPASS is rated higher. Ventra averages 1.9 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while My CityPASS averages 4.9 from 25K ratings.
Do Ventra or My CityPASS have ads?
Neither Ventra nor My CityPASS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ventra or My CityPASS?
Ventra ships an update every 3 months, and My CityPASS every 2 months. Most recently, Ventra was updated on November 6, 2026 and My CityPASS on November 7, 2026.

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