Comparison

Stopfinder vs First Bell

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

Head to head
About

Stopfinder

This app provides parents and guardians with access to their student's daily bus stop assignments. It offers real-time bus tracking with customizable alert zones and estimated arrival times. Users can also complete electronic forms and communicate directly with the transportation department.

Highlights
  • View student bus stop assignments
  • Real-time bus tracking with GeoAlerts
  • Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) notifications
  • Complete electronic district forms
  • Communicate with transportation department
  • Control trip stop visibility
  • View attendance history
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

For participating Districts, Stopfinder gives parents and guardians access to view and share their student’s bus stop assignments as well as communicate with the Transportation Department. With Stopfinder GeoAlerts, app users can create alert zones at any stop or school or along your student’s route. Stopfinder users will be notified when their student’s bus has arrived at or departed from an alert zone. Know where the bus is and know your student has arrived at or departed from any location along their assigned bus route. Stopfinder Forms allows app users to complete electronic forms sent from their district through the Stopfinder app. Stopfinder users can view new forms and submitted forms through the Stopfinder Message Center. Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) notifications can be configured by Stopfinder app users to display the bus’s ETA based on their student’s assigned stop and the bus’s location. ETA notifications appear on the student’s schedule in the Stopfinder app and inform users the amount of time until the bus arrives at their student’s assigned stop. Control who can see your student’s assigned trip stops, view attendance history, and receive notifications when attendance has been taken or a vehicle substitution has been made. Send and receive messages from the school district’s Transportation department.

About

First Bell

This app helps high school students manage their daily class schedules with personalized views and live timers. Input your classes once to instantly organize your day and always know what's next.

Highlights
  • Personalized class schedules
  • Live timers for current block
  • View today's full schedule
  • Input class names and room numbers
  • Organized daily view
Read full description

FIRST BELL Lake Washington School District’s new high school bell schedule includes different start times, rotating blocks, and varying lunch schedules. First Bell keeps everything simple with a personalized schedule and live timers. Just enter your classes once, and your day is instantly organized. ** FEATURES * Edit: Input your class names, room numbers, and lunch. * Today's Schedule: View your full day’s schedule, synced to day of the week with live timers. * Current Schedule: A simple view of what class is happening now and what’s next. HOW IT WORKS
 Set up your classes in the app, and First Bell takes care of the rest. Your current block updates in real time, so you always know exactly where you’re supposed to be. WHY FIRST BELL
 No more paper schedules or scrolling through reminders. First Bell is built for high school students, by a high school student, to make staying on schedule effortless. Disclaimer This free app is provided 'as is' with no warranties, express or implied. The developer assumes no liability, implicit or explicit, for any issues arising from app usage. **This app is built for regular bell schedule days only.**

Screenshots

Stopfinder4 screens
First Bell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: First Bell at every 9 days against Stopfinder's every 3 months. First Bell also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 31%). Stopfinder's advantage is ratings volume (16K vs 15) and chart position (#174 vs unranked). On price, rating, 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Stopfinder against 4.8 for First Bell. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stopfinder has 16K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 31% of Stopfinder's written reviews are positive against 50% of First Bell's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stopfinder ships an update every 3 months, First Bell every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Stopfinder versus First Bell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStopfinderFirst Bell
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (16K ratings)4.8 (15 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.2% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16K — better15
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#174 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB0 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTransfinderSubramanian Ramaswamy

Customer experience

Stopfinder

All ratings14,740 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews500 reviews
Positive31.2%
Neutral12.0%
Negative56.8%

First Bell

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Stopfinder

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Bus location often unavailable
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • App login issues
  • Schedules/routes disappearing from app

Requested features

4 requests
  • Two-way communication with transportation
  • Ability to share app access with multiple family members
  • More customizable notification settings
  • Integration with school calendars for early release days

First Bell

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Stopfinder

No in-app purchases

None

First Bell

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Stopfinder free?
Stopfinder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is First Bell free?
First Bell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Stopfinder or First Bell?
First Bell is rated higher. Stopfinder averages 4.7 out of 5 from 16K ratings, while First Bell averages 4.8 from 15 ratings.
Do Stopfinder or First Bell have ads?
Neither Stopfinder nor First Bell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stopfinder or First Bell?
Stopfinder ships an update every 3 months, and First Bell every 9 days. Most recently, Stopfinder was updated on October 20, 2026 and First Bell on October 6, 2026.

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