So Cool Bus vs Chimes!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Real-time bus tracking
- Proximity notifications
- Location requests
- Party booking
- Menu viewing
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Chimes!
Discover nearby ice cream vans and get alerts when your favorite vendors are close. Set up geofences to be notified when an active vendor enters your chosen area. View vendor locations on a map to easily decide when to make a purchase.
- Locate nearby ice cream vans
- Receive vendor alerts
- Create custom geofences
- View vendor locations on map
- Vendor profile management
Read full descriptionHide full description
Chimes helps customers find nearby ice cream vans and receive alerts when a favourite vendor enters their chosen area. Set a postcode and radius to create a geofence circle, then Chimes notifies you when an active vendor comes close. You can open the map to see the vendor location and quickly decide whether to head out and buy. Vendors can manage their display name, contact details, icon, and privacy settings so customers only see and hear about them when they are actively trading. Chimes is designed to make local van discovery simple, timely, and easy to use for both customers and vendors.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: So Cool Bus at 3.1 against Chimes!'s 1.5. So Cool Bus also leads on ratings volume (34 vs 4). Chimes!'s advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
So Cool Bus holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: So Cool Bus has 34 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 23% of So Cool Bus's written reviews are positive against 25% of Chimes!'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
So Cool Bus ships an update every 6 weeks, Chimes! fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | So Cool Bus | Chimes! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (34 ratings) — better | 1.5 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 23.1% of reviews | 25.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bradley Klemick | RICHARD JAMES STIMSON |
Customer experience
So Cool Bus
Chimes!
In-app purchases
So Cool Bus
No in-app purchases
Chimes!
No in-app purchases
