Open Canal Map UK vs BCA Passenger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Open Canal Map UK
Navigate the UK's waterways with a comprehensive map of canals and rivers. Discover points of interest like locks, services, and commercial amenities. Contribute to the community by adding new locations and keeping the map up-to-date.
- UK canal and river mapping
- Points of interest (locks, bridges, services)
- User contributions and updates
- Boater services (water, pumpouts)
- Commercial services for cruisers
- Automatic map updates
Read full descriptionHide full description
UK canal and river map created using both public data and user contributions. Points of interest are overlaid on maps of the UK's navigable canals and rivers, and include entries for navigation (locks, bridges, junctions, turning points), boater services (water points, toilet pumpouts, etc.), and commercial services especially relevant to continuous or long-term cruising (e.g. laundry services) The map is generated with help fellow boaters and we welcome your adding missing items to the map. Over 700 items have been added based on user submissions so far, including convenience stores, laundry services, as well as a list of high quality mooring spots, and some hidden gems like private marinas or mooring locations where public access is allowed to waste disposal other boater services. New user contributions are added periodically, and the map will auto update automatically when new points of interest are added Happy boating...
BCA Passenger
View real-time bus locations and check departure schedules. Plan your journeys with live updates and estimated arrival times.
- Live bus tracking
- Departure time checks
- Real-time updates
- Journey planning
Read full descriptionHide full description
Check departure times and view live bus tracking.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Open Canal Map UK at 59% against BCA Passenger's 0%. Open Canal Map UK also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months). BCA Passenger's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, monetization model 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. Open Canal Map UK sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. BCA Passenger asks for nothing beyond the download.
Open Canal Map UK ships an update every 2 weeks, BCA Passenger every 6 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Open Canal Map UK | BCA Passenger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (11 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 59.3% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 106 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tom Sapey | Rise Digital Media Limited |
Customer experience
Open Canal Map UK
BCA Passenger
Bugs and requests
Open Canal Map UK
Reported bugs
11 issues- Location not found after update
- Tow path closure location incorrect
- Locks have disappeared from the Thames map
- App icon changed, graphics horrid
- Stopped working on iPad
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- New update no longer works on phone
- Maps do not load
- Report option greyed out
- Text unreadably small on iPhone
- Blurry Google map overlay
- Mapping difficult and unusable after update
Requested features
18 requests- Add ETA feature
- Include widths, depths, and air height of canals
- Option to change text size
- Option to switch off blurry Google map overlay
- Add map legends
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Facility to add personal notes
- Incorporate a route planner
- Add pubs and eateries as POI
- Allow users to contribute pubs, shops etc.
- Add a donation button
- Show distance from point to point
- Add photos for points of interest
- Ability to report errors
- Update Droitwich canals
- Add mile markers instead of km
- Include historical map year
- Search function for locations
- Allow users to comment on premises
BCA Passenger
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Open Canal Map UK
- Remove Adverts Permently$4.99
BCA Passenger
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Open Canal Map UK free?
Is BCA Passenger free?
Do Open Canal Map UK or BCA Passenger have ads?
Which is updated more often, Open Canal Map UK or BCA Passenger?
Other comparisons
