Comparison

HSL vs Eckerö Line

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

Head to head
About

HSL

Plan your public transport journeys in the Helsinki region, buy tickets, and get real-time updates. Access buses, trains, metro, trams, and ferries all in one place.

Highlights
  • Public transport ticket purchase
  • Journey planner
  • Real-time timetables
  • Vehicle tracking
  • Service disruption alerts
  • Multiple payment options
Read full description

Buses, trains, the Metro, trams and ferry – all in one app. The HSL app allows you to buy public transport tickets for the Helsinki region, find the best routes using the Journey Planner, view all timetables, and receive personalized transport information. You can buy single, day and season tickets for both adults and children via the HSL app. Adult multi-journey tickets and discounted tickets for students and passengers aged 70 and over are also available via the app. You can pay using the most popular payment methods, including debit/credit cards, MobilePay, phone bill and commuter benefits. The HSL app's Journey Planner helps you find routes and informs you about the ticket needed for your journey. You can view real-time stop-specific departure and arrival times and track vehicles in real time. The app also displays any service changes and disruptions, and you can choose to receive notifications about these updates directly on your phone. More information about Helsinki region public transport: hsl.fi

About

Eckerö Line

Manage your ferry bookings and access digital boarding passes directly on your mobile device. Streamline your travel experience by checking in easily and adding onboard services.

Highlights
  • Digital boarding cards
  • Advance boarding
  • View upcoming bookings
  • Add onboard services
  • Book new trips
  • Finland-Estonia routes
Features
Read full description

Fetch your ferry booking into the app and receive the boarding cards in advance. Go straight to boarding gates in the terminal. All the passengers in your booking can load their own boarding cards by loading the app to their mobile phones. MY BOOKINGS Sign in with Eckerö Line customer account and view all your upcoming bookings in the app. You can also fetch bookings where you are booked as passenger by entering the booking number and your date of birth. EASY CHECK-IN Find your boarding card in the app and go straight to boarding gates at the terminal. BOOK A TRIP OR ADD SERVICES Create a new ferry booking or add onboard services like meals, cabins or seats in lounge to an existing booking. ROUTES Travel smoothly between Finland and Estonia on M/S Finlandia or M/S Finbo Cargo.

Screenshots

HSL4 screens
Eckerö Line4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Eckerö Line at 5.0 against HSL's 3.9. Eckerö Line also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). HSL's advantage is ratings volume (484 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Eckerö Line holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HSL has 484 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HSL ships an update monthly, Eckerö Line every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
HSL versus Eckerö Line: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHSLEckerö Line
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (484 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings484 — better2
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.4 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHelsingin seudun liikenneRederiaktiebolaget Eckero

Customer experience

HSL

All ratings484 ratings
Positive70.7%
Neutral2.9%
Negative26.4%
Written reviews173 reviews
Positive14.5%
Neutral4.6%
Negative80.9%

Eckerö Line

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

HSL

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Version 4.2.0 does not work on iPhone6 (iOS 12.5.5)
  • Routes go blank, nothing to go back
  • Login problems, like a scam
  • Unable to create account, login, or purchase tickets

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow buying multiple tickets in a single purchase
  • Add maps showing all routes
  • Provide email verification option instead of just SMS

Eckerö Line

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

HSL

No in-app purchases

None

Eckerö Line

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HSL free?
HSL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Eckerö Line free?
Eckerö Line is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HSL or Eckerö Line?
Eckerö Line is rated higher. HSL averages 3.9 out of 5 from 484 ratings, while Eckerö Line averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do HSL or Eckerö Line have ads?
HSL shows ads; Eckerö Line does not.
Which is updated more often, HSL or Eckerö Line?
HSL ships an update monthly, and Eckerö Line every 5 weeks. Most recently, HSL was updated on October 14, 2026 and Eckerö Line on October 6, 2026.

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