Comparison

Arrival BART vs BartBuddies

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

Head to head
About

Arrival BART

Get real-time train predictions and plan your journeys with this intuitive transit app. It offers fast access to essential BART information, including transfer details and alerts, all without ads or data collection.

Highlights
  • Real-time train predictions
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Detailed stop information
  • Trip planner with suggestions
  • BART alerts for delays
  • Intelligent station search
  • Siri Shortcuts integration
Read full description

Arrival is the beautiful and clean BART app for commuters. With an interface that is easy and intuitive to use, you get access to real-time train predictions for the station nearest to you from the moment you launch it. This fast experience quickly gets you access to the information you need without excess tapping and visual clutter and allows you to quickly see detailed information (where to transfer, transfer windows, and train colors) for any stop. Key Features: * FAST One of Arrival's best features is that it is fast. Really fast. It loads the information you need quickly and without any extra steps. This allows you to take BART throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with ease. * Trip Planner Arrival's trip planner allows you to plan trips to stations ahead of time. It will even provide suggestions of potential arrival and departure times. * BART Alerts Arrival displays BART warnings in real time to help you avoid delays. * Station Search Arrival has an intelligent station search algorithm that uses on-device machine learning to provide you with relevant results. * Siri Shortcuts Use Siri Shortcuts to automate Arrival. * Machine Learning Arrival uses on-device machine learning throughout the system to provide intelligent suggestions and speed up your experience. * NO ADs Arrival has zero ads or clutter. It's just the BART information you need. * Private & Secure Arrival intentionally does not collect identifiable information. It processes as much data as it can on device. Additionally, it does not sell or share information with 3rd party advertisers. Arrival is an unofficial BART app. BART is the trademark of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Arrival's data comes from the BART developer program under the respective license.

About

BartBuddies

This app provides real-time tracking for BART trains, allowing users to share precise arrival times at any station. It simplifies coordinating meetups with friends by eliminating guesswork.

Highlights
  • Real-time BART train tracking
  • Share exact ETA at any station
  • Coordinate meetups easily
  • Eliminates guesswork for arrivals
Features
Read full description

BartBuddies tracks your BART train in real time and lets you share its exact ETA at any station, making it easy to coordinate meetups with friends without the guesswork.

Screenshots

Arrival BART4 screens
BartBuddies3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BartBuddies at 5.0 against Arrival BART's 4.7. Arrival BART's advantage is ratings volume (21 vs 4) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

BartBuddies holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arrival BART has 21 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Arrival BART's written reviews are positive against 100% of BartBuddies's.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Arrival BART versus BartBuddies: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArrival BARTBartBuddies
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (21 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings21 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.5
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRonan FurutaLee Alan Honigberg

Customer experience

Arrival BART

All ratings21 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive92.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.7%

BartBuddies

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Arrival BART

No in-app purchases

None

BartBuddies

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Arrival BART free?
Arrival BART is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BartBuddies free?
BartBuddies is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Arrival BART or BartBuddies?
BartBuddies is rated higher. Arrival BART averages 4.7 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while BartBuddies averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Arrival BART or BartBuddies have ads?
Neither Arrival BART nor BartBuddies shows ads.

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