Comparison

onTime vs Busly

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

Head to head
About

onTime

Get real-time transit information for BART, Muni, and Caltrain. View schedules, countdowns to the next train, and receive important service alerts. Go paperless and stay informed about your commute.

Highlights
  • Real-time train and bus countdowns
  • Commuter notification service
  • Automatic schedule updates
  • Online and offline schedule access
  • Paperless trip planning
  • Integrated transit maps
Features
Read full description

onTime is fast and easy to use. It is designed with commuters in mind. With onTime you can look up schedules anytime anywhere without having to carry and dig through paper schedules. The act of simply opening the app will show you the schedules and count-down of the next trains. Sign up for commuter-notification to receive latest outages, delays and service changes. Be on time and be environmental friendly at the same time. FEATURES: - Countdown to the next train - Track info - Commuter-Notification Service - Automatic Schedule Update - Real-time​ updates and track info (where available) - Online and Offline Schedule - Paperless - Trip duration - Maps onTime Premium: – $4.99 USD (or equivalent) per year and may vary from country to country. – Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase – Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period – Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal – Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase – Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable Term Of Service: http://www.mobilewareinc.com/legal/ontime_tos.html Privacy Policy: http://www.mobilewareinc.com/legal/ontime_privacy.html * Note: onTime App uses BART transit agency's schedule data but it is not affiliated with BART.

About

Busly

This app provides real-time transit information for buses and trains in major U.S. cities. View live vehicle locations, arrival times, and detailed route information on an interactive map. Save favorite routes and stops for quick access.

Highlights
  • Live map with vehicle locations
  • Real-time arrival times
  • Detailed vehicle information
  • Favorite routes and stops
  • Nearby stops
  • Fare information
  • Light and dark themes
Read full description

Now with support for iOS 27 & iPhone Duo! Busly lets you view live locations & arrival times for buses & trains across major U.S. cities. LIVE MAP • Get real-time bus & train position updates on a live updating map (which can also show route lines & stops!) ARRIVAL TIMES • View up-to-date arrival times for both stops & vehicles DETAILED BUS/TRAIN INFO • Get detailed vehicle information including: heading, speed, occupancy, wheelchair accessibility, bikes allowed FAVORITES • Add route lines & stops to your Favorites for quick access NEARBY STOPS • View stops nearby to your current location SEARCH • Optimized for near-instant search results to help you quickly find what you're looking for FARE INFORMATION • View detailed fare/ticketing options for the agencies in your region LIGHT & DARK THEMES • Choose between fully supported light & dark themes or automatically switch using the system setting ACCESSIBILITY • First-class accessibility support, including VoiceOver & Dynamic Type SUPPORTED REGIONS • Atlanta (MARTA) • Austin (CapMetro) • Boston (MBTA) • Chicago (Metra) • Cincinnati (Go Metro) • Cleveland (GCRTA) • Denver (RTD) • Edmonton (ETS) • Hartford (CTTransit) • Las Vegas (RTC) • Los Angeles (LA Metro) • Minneapolis (Metro Transit) • Nashville (WeGo) • Phoenix (Valley Metro) • Raleigh (GoRaleigh) • Sacramento (SacRT) • San Francisco (SF Muni, BART, Caltrain) • Seattle (King County Metro) • Washington, D.C. (WMATA) ...And many more coming soon! NO ADS, NO TRACKERS • Busly is 100% free of ads & trackers and always will be — For questions/comments/support, email support@busly.app or navigate in-app to Settings > Support > Contact App Support.

Screenshots

onTime4 screens
Busly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Busly at 4.5 against onTime's 3.9. Busly also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). onTime's advantage is review sentiment (53% vs 43%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. onTime sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year and Busly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Busly holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Busly has 566 ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of onTime's written reviews are positive against 43% of Busly's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

onTime ships an update every 2 months, Busly fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
onTime versus Busly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteronTimeBusly
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (52 ratings)4.5 (566 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.9% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings52566 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size130 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMobileware Inc.Alex Perez

Customer experience

onTime

All ratings51 ratings
Positive74.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative23.5%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive52.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative47.1%

Busly

All ratings553 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral2.9%
Negative54.3%

Bugs and requests

onTime

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Busly

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes
  • Routes do not show up
  • App cuts off
  • App is unstable
  • Long calibration times
Show 4 more
  • Buses appear ahead of reported location
  • Missing key spots on routes
  • Stops are out of order
  • Atlanta map missing stations

Requested features

9 requests
  • Show bus numbers
  • Show run numbers
  • Color-code different bus lines on map
  • Display bus number instead of line name when clicking a stop
  • Improve refresh rate (currently 5 minutes)
Show 4 more
  • Add tutorial or explanation of symbols
  • Allow selection of favorite stops
  • Add vehicle ID and Block ID
  • Revert to previous app's functionality for route lists and stop order

In-app purchases

1 purchases

onTime

Subscriptions1
  • Premium$4.991 Year
2 purchases

Busly

Subscriptions2
  • Busly Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Busly Pro Annual$9.991 Year

Questions

Is onTime free?
onTime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Busly free?
Busly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, onTime or Busly?
Busly is rated higher. onTime averages 3.9 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Busly averages 4.5 from 566 ratings.
Do onTime or Busly have ads?
onTime shows ads; Busly does not.
Which is updated more often, onTime or Busly?
onTime ships an update every 2 months, and Busly fortnightly. Most recently, onTime was updated on November 6, 2026 and Busly on November 6, 2026.

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