Comparison

UIUC Bus vs XRadar

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

Head to head
About

UIUC Bus

This app provides real-time transit information for the Champaign-Urbana area, including live bus locations, departure times, and route details. It helps users navigate campus and the city efficiently by offering up-to-date information beyond scheduled times.

Highlights
  • Real-time bus departure times
  • Live bus location tracking
  • Nearby bus stop identification
  • Bus route information
  • Map of all CUMTD stops
  • Favorite stop selection
Features
Read full description

Get around the UIUC campus and the Champaign-Urbana area easily and efficiently with UIUC Bus! UIUC Bus provides real-time information about bus stops, routes, and departures and gives you access to the following information for the CUMTD bus service: - Stops near you - Up-to-date bus departure times - Live bus location - Bus route - A map of all CUMTD stops AND a lot more! While Google Maps gives you scheduled bus departure times, UIUC Bus is always up to date with real-time expected departure timings, so you'll always know when a bus is a couple of minutes early or a few minutes late. UIUC Bus also lets you select your favorite stops so you can have fast and easy access to information about the stops you use all the time! Download UIUC Bus today and stay on top of bus timings to get where you need to go reliably!

About

XRadar

Track campus buses in real-time with live locations, estimated arrival times, and route information. View all active routes, stops, and receive important alerts for a smoother commute.

Highlights
  • Live bus tracking on map
  • Estimated arrival times (ETAs)
  • Route and stop details
  • Real-time alerts
  • Passenger capacity information
  • Route filtering
Features
Read full description

View Routes, Stops, Alerts, and ETAs for all bus lines on Rutgers, NYU, Columbia, University of Georgia, University of Alabama, and More! Use the routes tab to view active routes and how many buses are on each line. Open a route to see the stops (in order!) and view where buses are along the route, along with ETAs for each stop. Use the stops tab to view active stops, and filter them with the search bar. Open a stop to see the active routes that serve the stop, along with all the incoming buses in order of arrival. Use the maps tab for a visual overview of routes, stops, and live bus positions. Use the bottom route list to quickly filter the routes, stops, and buses shown on the map. Tap on a stop to quickly view the routes that actively serve it, and the ETAs for the incoming buses. Tap on a (color-coded) bus to view the full route name, the bus number, and the live passenger capacity. Open the Alerts popover to view alerts from select schools and get prepared for the unexpected. Enjoy a small, fast, and native iOS application designed to help you navigate your campus buses.

Screenshots

UIUC Bus4 screens
XRadar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: XRadar at 81% against UIUC Bus's 28%. XRadar also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). UIUC Bus's advantage is ratings volume (1.3K vs 62). 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

XRadar holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UIUC Bus has 1.3K ratings behind it against 62, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of UIUC Bus's written reviews are positive against 81% of XRadar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

UIUC Bus ships an update every 10 days, XRadar weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
UIUC Bus versus XRadar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUIUC BusXRadar
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (1.3K ratings)4.5 (62 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.4% of reviews81.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better62
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB22 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperRishi MasandX Radar

Customer experience

UIUC Bus

All ratings1,304 ratings
Positive78.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative16.2%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive28.4%
Neutral9.5%
Negative62.2%

XRadar

All ratings62 ratings
Positive87.1%
Neutral1.6%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative14.8%

Bugs and requests

UIUC Bus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when selecting bus stops
  • Incorrect bus arrival times
  • Disappearing bus icons and routes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Bring back manual refresh option
  • Show bus stops on map
  • Display user location on map
  • Restore favorited stops

XRadar

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

UIUC Bus

No in-app purchases

None

XRadar

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is UIUC Bus free?
UIUC Bus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is XRadar free?
XRadar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, UIUC Bus or XRadar?
XRadar is rated higher. UIUC Bus averages 4.2 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while XRadar averages 4.5 from 62 ratings.
Do UIUC Bus or XRadar have ads?
UIUC Bus shows ads; XRadar does not.
Which is updated more often, UIUC Bus or XRadar?
UIUC Bus ships an update every 10 days, and XRadar weekly. Most recently, UIUC Bus was updated on September 21, 2026 and XRadar on September 6, 2026.

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