# BART (Official) vs Bay Transit

The clearest difference is rating: Bay Transit at 5.0 against BART (Official)'s 4.6. BART (Official)'s advantage is ratings volume (26K vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Bay Transit holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BART (Official) has 26K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

BART (Official) ships an update every 2 months, Bay Transit every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BART (Official) | Bay Transit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (26K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bart-official/id1439601871/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bay-transit/id1644622451/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **26K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 30.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 81 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District](https://appshunter.io/developer/1421336221) | [Ho Won Kim](https://appshunter.io/developer/1497463713) |

## What reviewers say

### BART (Official)

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bart-official/id1439601871)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Bay Transit

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bay-transit/id1644622451)

Plan BART trips, view real-time train departures, and receive instant service alerts. This app provides multiple trip options with fare details and displays your route on an interactive map.

**Highlights:** Route planning with fare details, Real-time train departure estimates, Interactive route map, Service disruption alerts, Clipper, regular, and discount fare options

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is BART (Official) free?

BART (Official) is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Bay Transit free?

Bay Transit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, BART (Official) or Bay Transit?

Bay Transit is rated higher. BART (Official) averages 4.6 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while Bay Transit averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do BART (Official) or Bay Transit have ads?

Neither BART (Official) nor Bay Transit shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, BART (Official) or Bay Transit?

BART (Official) ships an update every 2 months, and Bay Transit every 4 months. Most recently, BART (Official) was updated on October 18, 2026 and Bay Transit on October 5, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*