Comparison

BART (Official) vs Clipper Card

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

Head to head
About

BART (Official)

Plan your Bay Area transit journeys with real-time train departures and official service alerts. This app offers end-to-end trip planning, step-by-step navigation, and customized notifications for a hassle-free commute.

Highlights
  • Real-time train departures
  • End-to-end trip planner
  • Step-by-step navigation
  • Customized service alerts
  • Contactless parking payment
  • Service disruption information
Features
Read full description

The official Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) app has arrived. It’s the easiest way to plan your trip and get accurate real time train departures with data straight from BART, along with official service alerts. The BART app offers exclusive features for hassle free travel for daily commuters, infrequent users and tourists alike: -Plan your entire end to end trip with BART’s exclusive Trip Planner giving you the fastest route from your starting point to your destination using BART and multiple modes of transportation, including connecting transit, biking, walking and driving. -Step by step navigation with personalized preferences and saved favorite stations and trips. -Real time departures and schedule timetable. -Customized in-app notifications about BART service and announcements. -Contactless in-app Daily Fee parking payment -Service disruption information linked to your trip itinerary. -Report a Biohazard that needs addressing and access our BART Watch App for reporting crimes. -Escalator and Elevator advisories. -Fleet of the Future train tracker. -Cancelled trip notices. -Easily see the last train of the evening by station when you’re planning your night out or your trip home from the airport. -Station information (including if it offers a parking lot and secured bike parking). -Seamless connection to bart.gov and BARTable for deals, events, and fun. -It’s ad free; who wants to be distracted when looking how far away your train is? BART is working on future features of the app to enhance your BART experience... Tell us about the features you want.

About

Clipper Card

Manage your transit card for contactless fare payments across the San Francisco Bay Area. Load value, plan trips with real-time information, and pay fares directly from your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Pay fares with Clipper in Apple Pay
  • Manage transit accounts
  • Load cash value and transit passes
  • Plan trips with real-time info
  • Add/transfer cards to Apple Wallet
  • View account activity
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Clipper app is here! - Pay your fares with Clipper in Apple Pay - Manage your account(s) - Load cash value and transit passes - Plan your trips Clipper is the all-in-one transit card used for contactless fare payments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The new Clipper app lets you manage your Clipper account from your iPhone—add value, view your history, and plan your trip! Download the Clipper app today! Pay with Your iPhone or Apple Watch The Clipper app gives you step-by-step instructions for setting up a new Clipper card or transferring an existing Clipper card to your Apple Wallet. Manage Your Account The Clipper app gives you the same account access as the website, but on your iPhone! You can register a new card, load cash value and transit passes, set up Autoload, view your recent activity, and other features. Sign in and out of multiple Clipper accounts in the Clipper app to manage a card on behalf of someone else. Plan Your Trip The Clipper app has real-time transit information and helpful trip planning tools to make getting around the Bay easy! You can view nearby transit options and routes, get real-time travel and arrival information, and save your favorite locations, stops, and stations. By downloading this app, you agree to and accept the terms of the Clipper Mobile Application License Agreement (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/mobile-application-agreement.html) and the Clipper Privacy Policy (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/privacy.html). Clipper serves 24 transit services in the San Francisco Bay Area: AC Transit BART Caltrain City Coach County Connection Dumbarton Express FAST Golden Gate Ferry Golden Gate Transit Marin Transit Muni Petaluma Transit SamTrans San Francisco Bay Ferry Santa Rosa CityBus SMART SolTrans Sonoma County Transit Tri Delta Transit Union City Transit Vine VTA WestCAT Wheels By downloading this app, you agree to and accept the terms of the Clipper Mobile Application License Agreement (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/mobile-application-agreement.html) and the Clipper Privacy Policy (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/privacy.html).

Screenshots

BART (Official)4 screens
Clipper Card4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BART (Official) at 4.6 against Clipper Card's 3.8. BART (Official) also leads on review sentiment (30% vs 3%). Clipper Card's advantage is chart position (#146 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

BART (Official) holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26K and 11K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of BART (Official)'s written reviews are positive against 3% of Clipper Card's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BART (Official) ships an update every 2 months, Clipper Card every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
BART (Official) versus Clipper Card: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBART (Official)Clipper Card
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (26K ratings) — better3.8 (11K ratings)
Positive reviews29.7% of reviews — better3.0% of reviews
Number of ratings26K — better11K
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#146 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSan Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit DistrictMetropolitan Transportation Commission

Customer experience

BART (Official)

All ratings21,736 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews219 reviews
Positive29.7%
Neutral9.1%
Negative61.2%

Clipper Card

All ratings9,408 ratings
Positive68.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews398 reviews
Positive3.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative90.2%

User reviews

BART (Official)

From 26K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient in-app parking payment
  • 👍 Accurate real-time train information
  • 🚀 Easy to use app
  • 👍 Helpful for planning trips

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable real-time information
  • 🔍 Confusing parking payment process
  • 🔍 Lack of key features like checking Clipper card balance
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Not intuitive for first-time users

Clipper Card

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient to add Clipper card to Apple Wallet
  • 👍 Easy to manage Clipper card balance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with frequent issues
  • ⏱️ Slow to update card balance and transaction history
  • 💳 Difficult to cancel auto-load or transfer card balances
  • 🤖 Poor customer service and unresponsive support
  • 🔒 Security concerns with lost/stolen cards

Bugs and requests

BART (Official)

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Real-time departure times not updating accurately
  • Trip planning providing incorrect/nonsensical routes
  • Login and password issues causing frequent logouts
  • Parking payment not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to check Clipper card balance
  • Automatic license plate recognition for parking
  • Offline mode for schedules and trip planning
  • Better notifications for service advisories and delays
  • More customization options for favorite stations

Clipper Card

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezes and crashes frequently
  • Card balances not updating properly
  • Issues with adding cards to Apple Wallet
  • Inconsistent behavior when loading funds

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improve real-time sync of card balance and transactions
  • Streamline process to cancel auto-load and transfer balances
  • Provide better customer support and communication
  • Enhance security features for lost/stolen cards
  • Eliminate unnecessary fees

In-app purchases

None

BART (Official)

No in-app purchases

None

Clipper Card

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BART (Official) free?
BART (Official) is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Clipper Card free?
Clipper Card is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BART (Official) or Clipper Card?
BART (Official) is rated higher. BART (Official) averages 4.6 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while Clipper Card averages 3.8 from 11K ratings.
Do BART (Official) or Clipper Card have ads?
Neither BART (Official) nor Clipper Card shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BART (Official) or Clipper Card?
BART (Official) ships an update every 2 months, and Clipper Card every 3 months. Most recently, BART (Official) was updated on September 24, 2026 and Clipper Card on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons