Comparison

TAP LA vs The Good Host

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

Head to head
About

TAP LA

Pay for transit fares across Los Angeles with your mobile device. This app allows you to purchase passes, manage multiple cards, and use touchless payment on numerous bus and train systems. It also offers trip planning and access to multimodal programs.

Highlights
  • Touchless payment
  • Add TAP card to iPhone/Apple Watch
  • Purchase transit passes
  • Manage multiple TAP cards
  • Add TAP card to Apple Wallet
  • Trip planning tools
  • Reduced fare support
Features
Read full description

Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority ("LACMTA"), a government agency, is the owner and developer of this app. TAP is your ticket to ride transit in greater Los Angeles! It is accepted on 27 systems including LA Metro, providing a vast network of buses and trains. - Make your travel safe and easy with touchless payment and card management. - Add a new TAP card to your iPhone and Apple Watch and use your fare immediately. - Use your iPhone (8 and above) and Apple Watch (Series 3 and above) to tap with Apple Pay when boarding a bus or train. - Enjoy flexible payment options including credit/debit cards, account cash and Apple Pay. - Purchase a transit pass or Stored Value for any agency in Los Angeles County. - Manage multiple cards in your TAP account (iPhone 5 and above). - Add your TAP card to Apple Wallet, enable Express Transit and quickly tap and pay when you board. You don't even have to wake up your phone! - Supports reduced fares for seniors, students, persons with disabilities and low-income riders. - Transfer a TAP card in your account to your Apple Wallet and leave the plastic at home. - Access multimodal programs such as Metro Bike Share. - Use Trip Tools to plan trips, find nearby transit options, view real-time arrivals and save favorite destinations and stops. - Enjoy the benefits of a TAP account, such as Balance Protection, card management, discounts, promotions, transaction history and friendly customer service. - Accepted on 27 transit systems in LA County including: Angels Flight Railway Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) Baldwin Park Transit Beach Cities Transit Burbank Bus Carson Circuit Compton Renaissance Transit System Culver CityBus Foothill Transit Gardena GTRANS Glendale Beeline Glendora Transportation Division Huntington Park Transit Unlimited LA County Department of Public Works LADOT Transit Lawndale Beat Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Long Beach Transit Metro Montebello Bus Lines Monterey Park Spirit Bus Norwalk Transit Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority Pasadena Transit Santa Clarita Transit Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Torrance Transit

About

The Good Host

Features
Read full description

Family's coming. Be the host they'll remember. When guests visit, you want to show them the very best of your city — but between work and everything else, who has time to plan it? The Good Host builds you a ready-to-share plan of real, local places in seconds. Your parents, in-laws, or old friends get a trip they'll rave about, and you look like you planned for weeks. REAL PLACES, NOT MADE-UP ONES Every suggestion is a real, verified spot — checked against Google, rated, and reviewed. No closed restaurants, no places that don't exist. Just the spots locals actually know about. TAILORED TO YOUR GUESTS Tell us who's visiting — parents, in-laws, adult kids, old friends — their ages, and what they're into. You get activities, restaurants, and day trips that fit them, not a generic tourist list. READY IN SECONDS, SHARED IN A TAP Build a full plan for the whole visit, organize it by day, and share a clean itinerary — or export a polished PDF — straight to your guests. Everyone knows the plan before they land. KEEP THE MEMORIES When the trip's over, the memories stay. Guests sign your guestbook, and every note lives on across every visit you host. WHY HOSTS LOVE IT Real, verified local places — rated and reviewed Plans built around who's actually visiting A shareable itinerary and printable PDF A guestbook that outlasts the trip Made for the host, not the tourist Stop scrambling the night before they arrive. Be the host they'll remember.

Screenshots

TAP LA4 screens
The Good Host4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TAP LA at none against The Good Host's 3. TAP LA also leads on iOS requirement (13 vs 26.5). The Good Host's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months). On price, ads 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. The Good Host sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. TAP LA asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TAP LA ships an update every 5 months, The Good Host every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
TAP LA versus The Good Host: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTAP LAThe Good Host
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.9 (852 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews11.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings852 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityJOSEPH YI

Bugs and requests

TAP LA

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Card registration and activation issues
  • Disappearing funds and balances
  • Inconsistent app performance

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow multiple devices for one account
  • Improve reliability of fund loading
  • Provide more transparent transaction history
  • Integrate with more payment methods

The Good Host

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

TAP LA

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

The Good Host

Subscriptions1
  • Yearly Plan$24.991 Year
One-time2
  • Trip Pass$5.99
  • Lifetime Access$99.99

Questions

Is TAP LA free?
TAP LA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Good Host free?
The Good Host is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TAP LA or The Good Host have ads?
Neither TAP LA nor The Good Host shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TAP LA or The Good Host?
TAP LA ships an update every 5 months, and The Good Host every 10 days. Most recently, TAP LA was updated on November 3, 2026 and The Good Host on October 25, 2026.

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