Comparison

Explore Abbotsford vs BC Ferries

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

Head to head
About

Explore Abbotsford

Discover local attractions, plan your itinerary, and book experiences on the go. This travel companion provides integrated mapping and destination finding to help you explore the city like a local.

Highlights
  • Trip research and bookmarking
  • Integrated local navigation
  • On-the-go booking
  • Destination discovery
  • Visitor information access
Features
Read full description

Abbotsford is where farm meets table, spirit meets nature, and travellers meet our cultivated city. Come for the eats, the arts, and the backwood trails. Come for adventures, experiences, and for moments you’ll take with you wherever you’re headed to next. Your travel companion perks: • Research your trip and bookmark your favourites • Navigate like a local with integrated mapping. • Make bookings on the move. • Find destinations with ease. The Explore Abbotsford mobile app is like having a visitor info booth right in the palm of your hand.

About

BC Ferries

Plan and book personal ferry travel with ease. Manage your trips, check schedules, and view current conditions instantly. Receive timely alerts for service notices and booking reminders.

Highlights
  • Personalized dashboard
  • Set travel preferences
  • Book and manage trips
  • Express booking
  • Seamless check-in
  • View schedules and conditions
  • Push notifications for alerts
Features
Read full description

Introducing a new travel resource for planning and booking personal ferry travel. Book sailings, manage your trips, and check schedules and current conditions in a flash with the BC Ferries app. HOMEPAGE DASHBOARD Your personalized home screen features an at-a-glance view of your upcoming bookings, travel preferences, deals and offers and more. TRAVEL PREFERENCES Get quick access to schedules, current conditions and a faster booking experience on your frequently travelled routes by setting up travel preferences. Give your travel preferences nicknames, set departure and arrival terminals and add passenger and vehicle details on bookable routes. BOOK AND MANAGE YOUR FERRY TRAVEL Make your booking experience easier with personalized travel preferences. Quickly jump to the next available sailing with the new Express book feature, and change or cancel existing bookings on-the-go. SEAMLESS CHECK-IN AT THE TERMINAL Get quick access to your upcoming trips right from your home screen for seamless check-in with the app at the terminal. SCHEDULES Plan your trip with confidence with enhanced features on daily and seasonal schedules for all BC Ferries routes. Easily check sailing times for your favourite routes with travel preferences, and book directly from the schedules pages for bookable routes. Daily schedules now show the next sailing being ticketed and estimated deck space available. CURRENT CONDITIONS Route sailing status and estimated deck space are now easier to check with the updated Current Conditions layout. Travel preferences make it easier to find your frequently traveled routes, check which sailing is being ticketed, and view status of upcoming sailings. ALERTS Never miss any updates on the routes that matter the most to you. Opt-in to receive timely push notifications for service notices and upcoming booking reminders on your device. ADDITIONAL FEATURES AVAILABLE • Foot passenger bookings • Request accessibility products: boarding assistance, wheelchair at the terminal Note: Tablet landscape view is currently not supported in the app. If you are using a tablet, use the app in portrait view only. VISIT BCFERRIES.COM TO ACCESS THE FOLLOWING FEATURES • Booking BC Ferries Vacations packages • Commercial vehicle bookings • Group bookings of 10 or more passengers • To create an account

Screenshots

Explore Abbotsford4 screens
BC Ferries4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Explore Abbotsford at 100% against BC Ferries's 7%. BC Ferries's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Explore Abbotsford ships an update every 3 months, BC Ferries every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Explore Abbotsford versus BC Ferries: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplore AbbotsfordBC Ferries
PriceFreeFree
Rating—2.2 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better7.5% of reviews
Number of ratings—18 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB34 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCanada's Best AppsBC Ferry Services Inc.

Customer experience

Explore Abbotsford

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BC Ferries

All ratings18 ratings
Positive22.2%
Neutral16.7%
Negative61.1%
Written reviews134 reviews
Positive7.5%
Neutral7.5%
Negative85.1%

Bugs and requests

Explore Abbotsford

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

BC Ferries

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • Update loop requesting repeated updates despite being current
  • App crashes on launch, especially on iOS 26
  • Login screen freezes and authentication errors
  • Booking confirmation not displaying in 'My Bookings' section
  • Reverse direction button activates on accidental touch
Show 12 more
  • Payment page spinning indefinitely then failing
  • Session expiration and random logouts
  • Bookings showing as cancelled when they're active
  • App won't accept correct credentials despite website login working
  • Navigation buttons at bottom not functioning
  • Schedule direction inverted for certain routes
  • Current Conditions showing inaccurate space availability
  • Booking edit functionality not accepting changes
  • Account lockout with no recovery option
  • Foreign email addresses not receiving verification codes
  • Oversized vehicle selection cutting off edit buttons
  • Password authentication error during booking despite being logged in

Requested features

14 requests
  • Calendar integration for bookings
  • Dark mode option
  • iPad landscape mode support
  • Service notifications within app without email duplicates
  • Ability to view bookings beyond 45 days
Show 9 more
  • BC Experience Card reload functionality
  • Native iOS app design instead of web wrapper
  • Password manager support
  • Account creation option from app login screen
  • Booking reference number recognition for pre-made reservations
  • Ferry delay/lateness visibility
  • Grace period for accidental bookings without fees
  • Accessibility improvements for VoiceOver/screen readers
  • Better error messaging for failed transactions

In-app purchases

None

Explore Abbotsford

No in-app purchases

None

BC Ferries

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Explore Abbotsford free?
Explore Abbotsford is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BC Ferries free?
BC Ferries is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Explore Abbotsford or BC Ferries have ads?
Neither Explore Abbotsford nor BC Ferries shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Explore Abbotsford or BC Ferries?
Explore Abbotsford ships an update every 3 months, and BC Ferries every 2 months. Most recently, Explore Abbotsford was updated on October 8, 2026 and BC Ferries on October 16, 2026.

Other comparisons