Comparison

Terminal Buddy vs TSA Wait Times

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

Head to head
About

Terminal Buddy

Navigate airports with ease. Track flight status, check wait times for security and check-in, and discover nearby amenities like restaurants and shops. Never lose your car with GPS parking reminders and access transit information.

Highlights
  • Flight status tracking
  • Live wait times
  • Parking location pin
  • Terminal maps
  • Restaurant and shop directory
  • Transit information
Features
Read full description

Terminal Buddy is your one stop app for “Airport Travel Made Easy”TM. And the best part: IT’S FREE! Start maximizing your time with Terminal Buddy! Your time is valuable and we understand that. Check your flight status and the security/ticket counter wait times so you know when to leave your house. Next, see what’s around your terminal so you know exactly where to go for a drink or a bite to eat when you get there. Don’t forget to drop a GPS pin on the location of your car so you remember where it’s parked. We provide: -FLIGHT STATUS (search by airline or airport) -LIVE WAIT TIMES (Check-In counter & Security checkpoints) -Parking Information (GPS pin drop for vehicle, take section/stall notes) -Transit Information (Taxi, Limo/Black Car, Rental Car, Buses, Trains). -Terminal Maps -Restaurants, Shops, & Services -TSA Guidelines Thanks to everyone for all the support & encouragement! We created this for YOU. If you enjoy using Terminal Buddy, please take a minute to leave a positive review in the App Store. It really helps! Note: -We will be adding new airports regularly. Email airport suggestions to marketing@terminalbuddy.net. -Wait times are based on historical averages from the TSA & crowdsourcing by other travelers. Always plan ahead and give yourself adequate time. If you would like to remove the banner at the bottom of the app for one year, you may do so for the current subscription price of $1.49 in the U.S. Prices may vary by region. Your subscription will automatically renew each year at the current subscription rate, and this amount will be charged to your iTunes account within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription year. To manage your subscription or stop it from automatically renewing, simply go to your Account Settings and turn off automatic renewal at least 24 hours before your renewal date. No refunds will be issued after the annual subscription fee has been charged. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited once a subscription is purchased. For more information, see the Terminal Buddy Terms of Service (http://www.terminalbuddy.net/#terms_of_service) and Privacy Policy (http://www.terminalbuddy.net/#privacy).

About

TSA Wait Times

Plan airport departures with security wait time estimates and a personal flight planner. Get terminal-level breakdowns, source quality, and confidence labels for US airports. Schedule reminders to check conditions before you leave.

Highlights
  • Security wait time estimates
  • Airport-published data
  • Terminal-level breakdowns
  • Personal flight planner
  • Leave time calculations
  • Favorites and reminders
Features
Read full description

TSA Wait Times helps you plan smarter airport departures with security wait estimates, source and confidence labels, favorites, reminders, and a personal flight planner. WAIT ESTIMATES WITH SOURCE LABELS Search US airports by city, code, or name. Each result shows Standard and TSA PreCheck estimates, terminal-level breakdowns where available, source quality, confidence, and when the estimate was updated. Airport-published checkpoint sources are integrated for ABE, BOS, BWI, CHS, CLE, CLT, CMH, CVG, DAL, DCA, DFW, DTW, ELP, EWR, GRR, GSP, HOU, IAD, IAH, JAX, JFK, LAS, LAX, LEX, LGA, MCO, MHT, MIA, MSP, MYR, OMA, PDX, PHL, PHX, PIT, PSP, SEA, SFO, SLC, TUL, and XNA. Coverage varies by airport and lane; PreCheck may be estimated where the official source only publishes Standard waits. Other airports, including ATL and ORD, use labeled planning estimates. FLIGHT PLANNER Enter your flight time, drive time, expected TSA wait, and extra buffer. The app calculates when to leave and breaks down the plan minute by minute. If you have already checked an airport's wait estimate, the planner can use that value automatically. FAVORITES Save your most-used airports for quick access. WAIT HISTORY Lookups are saved locally so you can review past estimates. You can also log your actual wait time to compare the estimate against your own experience. REMINDERS Schedule a notification before your calculated leave time so you remember to check conditions again before heading to the airport. TRANSPARENT DATA Wait times are labeled by source. If an airport feed cannot refresh, the app may show an airport-published reading no more than five minutes old, clearly labeled Cached with its original timestamp and a notice. Older cached readings are discarded and the app uses a labeled historical planning estimate. The app avoids presenting modeled estimates as live TSA data. Always verify with TSA, MyTSA, your airline, or the airport before travel.

Screenshots

Terminal Buddy4 screens
TSA Wait Times4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Terminal Buddy at 65% against TSA Wait Times's 0%. Terminal Buddy also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (127 vs 3). TSA Wait Times's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). On price and ads 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. Terminal Buddy sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. TSA Wait Times asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Terminal Buddy holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Terminal Buddy has 127 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Terminal Buddy's written reviews are positive against 0% of TSA Wait Times's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Terminal Buddy ships an update every 7 months, TSA Wait Times monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Terminal Buddy versus TSA Wait Times: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTerminal BuddyTSA Wait Times
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (127 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews65.2% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings127 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopereDapptive Group, LLCGreg Anderson

Customer experience

Terminal Buddy

All ratings127 ratings
Positive85.8%
Neutral4.7%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive65.2%
Neutral8.7%
Negative26.1%

TSA Wait Times

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Terminal Buddy

Subscriptions1
  • Ad-Free Experience$9.991 Year
None

TSA Wait Times

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Terminal Buddy free?
Terminal Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TSA Wait Times free?
TSA Wait Times is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Terminal Buddy or TSA Wait Times?
Terminal Buddy is rated higher. Terminal Buddy averages 4.4 out of 5 from 127 ratings, while TSA Wait Times averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Terminal Buddy or TSA Wait Times have ads?
Neither Terminal Buddy nor TSA Wait Times shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Terminal Buddy or TSA Wait Times?
Terminal Buddy ships an update every 7 months, and TSA Wait Times monthly. Most recently, Terminal Buddy was updated on October 24, 2026 and TSA Wait Times on October 28, 2026.

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