Hydro vs iCivic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hydro
Monitor power outages, track your electricity usage, and manage your account. Get outage updates, view consumption data, and access billing information. Receive personalized recommendations to help you save energy.
- Track power outage status
- Monitor electricity consumption
- View billing and payment history
- Sign up for payment plans
- Receive outage notifications
- Get personalized energy-saving tips
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With the Hydro-Québec app, follow track the status of an outage, access information about your account and track your electricity consumption. Power outages The tool to find out more about ongoing outages and planned service interruptions. • Track the service status for any addresses you want at any time. • Manage the tracking options for any addresses you want. • Add a label for the addresses you are tracking: daycare, school, condo, parents. • Activate notifications to receive information about the service status and to find out if there are any planned service interruptions at those addresses. • Report an outage easily. Your consumption Your consumption data presented in different ways to help you track, understand and manage your electricity consumption: • An overview of your hourly electricity consumption from the previous day • An overview of the current period and a forecast of the bill amount • Detailed analysis of your electricity consumption, including a breakdown by use • Comparison with households similar to yours Your account Quick access to sign up for services and manage your account. • See your account balance and next billing date. • See your billing and payment history. • Sign up for the Equalized Payments Plan to pay the same amount every month, winter and summer alike, and receive an alert when you use more electricity than anticipated. • Sign up for Pre-Authorized Debit and avoid late payments. • Turn on notifications to receive billing notices and payment due reminders. Determine your home’s profile and get customized recommendations so you can build your action plan and save. You can easily update your profile when necessary. Click on “More” to for even more! • Options for modifying your home’s profile or for selecting, modifying or adding an account in your Customer Space • App settings to turn on the notifications, modify the language and define your connection options, including Continuous connection • Quick links to the most commonly used online services • Information about how to contact us • Information about touring facilities that are open to the public • Hydro-Québec news
iCivic
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iCivic is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, operated by, or representing any government or public body — including the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), the SAAQ, Service Canada, the City of Gatineau, or any other agency. iCivic does not facilitate any government service; it only displays wait times for informational purposes. No one should waste their day waiting. iCivic displays wait times for public services: hospital emergency rooms, SAAQ offices, municipal service centres, and Service Canada offices. Check the wait time before you leave, and leave at the right time. HOW IT WORKS • View a map of services around you with a clear color code: green means you can go. Off-peak hours for each location are estimated from observed history — get an alert as soon as the wait time drops below your threshold. • Confirm the wait in two clicks: a geo-verified, anonymous report that helps everyone after you. WHERE OUR DATA COMES FROM This is the complete list of sources iCivic uses. There are no others. Each location's source is also shown directly inside the app. Official sources: • Emergency-room wait times: Government of Quebec, Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) — https://www.quebec.ca/en/health/health-system-and-services/service-organization/quebec-health-system-and-its-services/situation-in-emergency-rooms-in-quebec • Service Canada office wait times: Government of Canada, Service Canada — https://offices.service.canada.ca/en/checkwalkinwaittimeshref • Weather, forecasts and weather alerts: Government of Canada, Environment Canada — https://weather.gc.ca • Boil-water and do-not-consume advisories: Government of Quebec, Ministry of the Environment (MELCCFP) — https://www.quebec.ca/en/agriculture-environnement-et-ressources-naturelles/eau-potable/qualite-eau-potable/boil-water-advisory-against-drinking-water User reports: • Wait times for SAAQ service points and municipal service centres: estimated solely from anonymous, geo-verified reports submitted by iCivic app users. No government data is used for these locations. iCivic is not affiliated with and does not represent any of these entities; all names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Busy-time estimates are computed from averages of observed history (hour, day of week, time of year) and are indicative only. WHAT YOU GET • Map of emergency rooms, SAAQ offices, municipal service centres, and Service Canada offices • Best time-slot estimate for each location, from observed history • Threshold alerts: "less than 15 minutes" → notification • Community reporting in 10 seconds, geo-verified and anonymous • Bilingual (French/English) FREE AND PRIVACY-FRIENDLY iCivic remains free for citizens in its basic version. Designed to comply with Bill 25: your GPS location is never stored — it is used only to verify your presence at the location. Reports are anonymous, your data is hosted in Canada, and there are no ads. PUBLIC DATA, BY THE PUBLIC Every 10-second report saves someone else hours. Made in Gatineau, Quebec. Reminder: iCivic is an independent app and does not represent any government entity.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: iCivic at fortnightly against Hydro's every 6 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Hydro ships an update every 6 weeks, iCivic fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | Hydro | iCivic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (8 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 64.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.7 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 73 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hydro Québec | Solutions iCivic inc. |
Bugs and requests
Hydro
Reported bugs
23 issues- System verification for outages not working
- Application not supported message
- Application doesn't work
- Impossible to connect after update
- Forgets biometric data
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- Application does not work
- Cannot login to pay bill
- Address no longer shown in outage info
- Consumption information not working consistently
- App crashes or shows white screen
- Login issues
- Application is slow
- Services often unavailable
- Outdated design
- Application not functioning
- Inconsistent information
- Cannot login
- App is often down
- No updates during outage
- Inconsistent with website
- Forgets credentials
- Not working when it counts
- Information not reliable during outages
Requested features
7 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to classify multiple addresses
- Add 2FA
- Real-time maintenance team arrival status
- Consumption history beyond one day
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- Maintain compatibility with older iOS versions
- Native iOS app development
iCivic
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Hydro
No in-app purchases
iCivic
No in-app purchases









