Comparison

Hour vs SmarTrip

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

Head to head
About

Hour

This app displays the current time in multiple cities worldwide, with customizable backgrounds and formats. It helps users schedule meetings across time zones and provides sunrise/sunset information.

Highlights
  • Add/delete unlimited cities
  • Rearrange cities via drag and drop
  • Dynamic clock face background
  • Notification Center Widget
  • AM/PM or 24H format
  • Time travel swipe for scheduling
  • Sunrise/Sunset information
Features
Read full description

After 8 years on the Mac, Hour is coming to the iPhone and iPad. Hour macOS, your popular and convenient free World Clock since 2012. HOUR FEATURES • Add or Delete any city, as many as you want. • Simply rearrange your cities by drag and drop. • Hour display the Clock Face black or white background, following the night and day of the city. • Notification Center Widget. • Display AM/PM format or 24H format. • Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday information displayed. • Theme light or dark. • Easily schedule meetings or calls with friends or colleagues with the time travel swipe. • Rename the city as you want. • Fine tune time format per world clock*. • Digital mode for your World Clocks. • Sunrise, Sunset information. • Time Offset information. • VoiceOver support. Hour never prompts you for a review because we value your workflow too much to interrupt it. If you feel generous and have a couple of minutes, please leave a review. It makes a huge difference to us. Thank you in advance. *InApp

About

SmarTrip

Manage your SmarTrip card and account with this optional tool. Register your card for balance protection, check benefits, set up auto-reload, or purchase transit passes. It can also be added to Apple Wallet for easy tap-to-pay.

Highlights
  • Manage SmarTrip card and account
  • Add SmarTrip to Apple Wallet
  • Register card for balance protection
  • Check SmartBenefits
  • Setup Auto-Reload
  • Buy unlimited transit passes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

This app is an OPTIONAL tool that allows you to manage your SmarTrip® card and account. This app can NOT be used to pay your transit or parking fares. You do NOT need to setup a SmarTrip account to use SmarTrip in Apple Wallet. Add SmarTrip to Apple Wallet: - Open Apple Wallet on iPhone or Apple Watch - Tap “+”, choose “Transit Card”, select “SmarTrip” - In less than a minute you’ll have a new SmarTrip card in your Apple Wallet and be ready to tap to pay for rides or parking anywhere SmarTrip is accepted. If you need to do account management, then: - Install this optional SmarTrip app to register your card for account balance protection, check SmartBenefits, setup Auto-Reload, or buy money-saving unlimited transit passes. Chat with us at WMATA.COM/CHAT or call 888-SMARTRIP (888-762-7874)

Screenshots

Hour4 screens
SmarTrip4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Hour at 4.8 against SmarTrip's 2.1. SmarTrip's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (116 vs 4). On price 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. Hour sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SmarTrip asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hour holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmarTrip has 116 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hour ships an update every 11 months, SmarTrip every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Hour versus SmarTrip: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHourSmarTrip
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better2.1 (116 ratings)
Positive reviews—10.4% of reviews
Number of ratings4116 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#204 — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFabrice LeyneWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Customer experience

Hour

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SmarTrip

All ratings57 ratings
Positive29.8%
Neutral7.0%
Negative63.2%
Written reviews335 reviews
Positive10.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative87.8%

Bugs and requests

Hour

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SmarTrip

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to activate account due to missing activation email
  • Password reset process not working
  • Inconsistent behavior when adding value to card

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to transfer balance between cards
  • Real-time balance updates
  • Improved trip planning tools
  • Apple Watch support

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Hour

One-time1
  • Hour Advanced Features$2.99
None

SmarTrip

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hour free?
Hour is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SmarTrip free?
SmarTrip is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hour or SmarTrip?
Hour is rated higher. Hour averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while SmarTrip averages 2.1 from 116 ratings.
Do Hour or SmarTrip have ads?
Neither Hour nor SmarTrip shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hour or SmarTrip?
Hour ships an update every 11 months, and SmarTrip every 5 months. Most recently, Hour was updated on November 2, 2026 and SmarTrip on November 3, 2026.

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