# BART (Official) vs BearPool

BART (Official) and BearPool both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of BearPool's written reviews are positive against 31% of BART (Official)'s. BearPool also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). BART (Official)'s advantage is ratings volume (26K vs 12). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for BART (Official) against 4.7 for BearPool. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BART (Official) has 26K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 31% of BART (Official)'s written reviews are positive against 83% of BearPool's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BART (Official) | BearPool |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (26K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bart-official/id1439601871/reviews) | **[4.7 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bearpool/id6747465780/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **26K** | 12 |
| Positive reviews | 30.8% of reviews | **83.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 81 MB | 44 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District](https://appshunter.io/developer/1421336221) | [Maaz Dhalech](https://appshunter.io/developer/1821583201) |

## 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


### BearPool

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bearpool/id6747465780)

This rideshare app connects UC Berkeley students to share rides and save money. It allows users to post or join ride groups, coordinate plans via chat, and offers gender preference filtering for added comfort. Designed for students, it simplifies carpooling for campus commutes and travel.

**Highlights:** Share rides to save money, Exclusive to UC Berkeley students, Post or join ride groups, Gender preference filtering, In-app group chat for coordination, Simple and affordable carpooling

**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 BearPool free?

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

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

BearPool is rated higher. BART (Official) averages 4.6 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while BearPool averages 4.7 from 12 ratings.

### Do BART (Official) or BearPool have ads?

Neither BART (Official) nor BearPool shows ads.

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

BART (Official) ships an update every 2 months, and BearPool every 2 months. Most recently, BART (Official) was updated on October 19, 2026 and BearPool on October 2, 2026.

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