Comparison

So Cool Bus vs Mister Softee NorCal

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

Head to head
About

So Cool Bus

Track a mobile ice cream truck in real-time and get notified when it's nearby. You can even request it to come to your location or book it for private events. Explore the current menu offerings.

Highlights
  • Real-time bus tracking
  • Proximity notifications
  • Location requests
  • Party booking
  • Menu viewing
Features
Read full description

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! The So Cool Bus could be driving through your Lehigh Valley neighborhood today! — Track the So Cool Bus in real time — Receive a push notification when the bus comes within 2 miles of your location — Request the bus to come to your location — Book the bus for your next party — View the current assortment of menu items The So Cool Bus is a mini school bus which has been converted into an ice cream truck. The owner, a local schoolteacher, has left the classroom for the summer to bring treats to residential areas throughout the Lehigh Valley. It's so cool! Disclaimer: continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

Mister Softee NorCal

Locate Mister Softee trucks in the Bay Area with a live map. Save your favorite spots and receive alerts when a truck is nearby. Share information about gatherings to potentially attract a truck.

Highlights
  • Live truck map
  • Save favorite locations
  • Proximity alerts
  • Crowd tip reporting
  • Private event labeling
Features
Read full description

Find your Mister Softee truck in the Bay Area. See where our trucks are on a live map, save the places that matter to you, and get a heads-up when a truck is close by. LIVE MAP Trucks appear on the map while they're out, updated continuously through the afternoon and evening. Every pin shows how recently it was seen, so you always know what you're looking at. YOUR PLACES Save home, work, a park, or anywhere else you'd want to catch us. Type an address - no need to be standing there. A HEADS-UP WHEN WE'RE CLOSE Turn on alerts and we'll let you know when a truck is getting near one of your saved places. Quiet hours are built in, and we deliberately keep alerts rare: no spam, no repeats, no buzzing all afternoon. CROWD TIPS Big group at the park? Let us know about a gathering happening right now. If we're close, we will try to make it there. WHEN A TRUCK IS AT A PRIVATE EVENT Trucks booked for private events still show on the map, clearly labeled, so you know they're not available to flag down. Mister Softee NorCal serves the San Francisco Bay Area.

Screenshots

So Cool Bus3 screens
Mister Softee NorCal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mister Softee NorCal at 3.8 against So Cool Bus's 3.0. Mister Softee NorCal also leads on ratings volume (133 vs 34). So Cool Bus's advantage is review sentiment (23% vs 14%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). 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

Mister Softee NorCal holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 34 and 133 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 23% of So Cool Bus's written reviews are positive against 14% of Mister Softee NorCal's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

So Cool Bus ships an update every 6 weeks, Mister Softee NorCal every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
So Cool Bus versus Mister Softee NorCal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSo Cool BusMister Softee NorCal
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (34 ratings)3.8 (133 ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.1% of reviews — better14.0% of reviews
Number of ratings34133 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBradley KlemickMISTERSOFTEENORCAL INC.

Customer experience

So Cool Bus

All ratings34 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral8.8%
Negative41.2%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive23.1%
Neutral15.4%
Negative61.5%

Mister Softee NorCal

All ratings112 ratings
Positive64.3%
Neutral4.5%
Negative31.3%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive14.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative78.0%

Bugs and requests

So Cool Bus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Mister Softee NorCal

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • Truck location inaccurate
  • Music cannot be silenced
  • Location tracking runs when app closed
  • App asks for motion cues
  • App doesn't show exact location
Show 16 more
  • App shows pins with no address
  • App constantly asks for location access
  • App doesn't update
  • Notifications for trucks far away
  • App shows trucks across the country
  • App stopped showing truck locations
  • App tries to demand background refresh permission
  • App says background refresh is off when it's on
  • Map is non-functional, no zoom
  • App doesn't detect truck even when close
  • App shows truck in same spot for hours
  • App shows wrong states
  • Music plays even on do not disturb
  • App doesn't work at all
  • App doesn't list hours
  • App doesn't list exact address

Requested features

10 requests
  • Update truck locations regularly
  • Set a radius for notifications
  • Show approximate time of arrival
  • Option to view future scheduled locations
  • Show accepted payment methods
Show 5 more
  • Indicate current wait times
  • Request truck to come to location
  • Develop tracker for NY area
  • Allow users to request truck to come home
  • Notify when truck within 5 miles

In-app purchases

None

So Cool Bus

No in-app purchases

None

Mister Softee NorCal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is So Cool Bus free?
So Cool Bus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mister Softee NorCal free?
Mister Softee NorCal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, So Cool Bus or Mister Softee NorCal?
Mister Softee NorCal is rated higher. So Cool Bus averages 3.0 out of 5 from 34 ratings, while Mister Softee NorCal averages 3.8 from 133 ratings.
Do So Cool Bus or Mister Softee NorCal have ads?
Neither So Cool Bus nor Mister Softee NorCal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, So Cool Bus or Mister Softee NorCal?
So Cool Bus ships an update every 6 weeks, and Mister Softee NorCal every 2 months. Most recently, So Cool Bus was updated on November 11, 2026 and Mister Softee NorCal on November 13, 2026.

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