Comparison

Clipper Card vs skipqlive

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

Head to head
About

Clipper Card

Manage your transit card for contactless fare payments across the San Francisco Bay Area. Load value, plan trips with real-time information, and pay fares directly from your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Pay fares with Clipper in Apple Pay
  • Manage transit accounts
  • Load cash value and transit passes
  • Plan trips with real-time info
  • Add/transfer cards to Apple Wallet
  • View account activity
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Clipper app is here! - Pay your fares with Clipper in Apple Pay - Manage your account(s) - Load cash value and transit passes - Plan your trips Clipper is the all-in-one transit card used for contactless fare payments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The new Clipper app lets you manage your Clipper account from your iPhone—add value, view your history, and plan your trip! Download the Clipper app today! Pay with Your iPhone or Apple Watch The Clipper app gives you step-by-step instructions for setting up a new Clipper card or transferring an existing Clipper card to your Apple Wallet. Manage Your Account The Clipper app gives you the same account access as the website, but on your iPhone! You can register a new card, load cash value and transit passes, set up Autoload, view your recent activity, and other features. Sign in and out of multiple Clipper accounts in the Clipper app to manage a card on behalf of someone else. Plan Your Trip The Clipper app has real-time transit information and helpful trip planning tools to make getting around the Bay easy! You can view nearby transit options and routes, get real-time travel and arrival information, and save your favorite locations, stops, and stations. By downloading this app, you agree to and accept the terms of the Clipper Mobile Application License Agreement (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/mobile-application-agreement.html) and the Clipper Privacy Policy (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/privacy.html). Clipper serves 24 transit services in the San Francisco Bay Area: AC Transit BART Caltrain City Coach County Connection Dumbarton Express FAST Golden Gate Ferry Golden Gate Transit Marin Transit Muni Petaluma Transit SamTrans San Francisco Bay Ferry Santa Rosa CityBus SMART SolTrans Sonoma County Transit Tri Delta Transit Union City Transit Vine VTA WestCAT Wheels By downloading this app, you agree to and accept the terms of the Clipper Mobile Application License Agreement (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/mobile-application-agreement.html) and the Clipper Privacy Policy (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/privacy.html).

About

skipqlive

See how busy nearby places like coffee shops and gyms are in real-time. Get current wait times based on user reports and historical data. Easily contribute your own observations to help others.

Highlights
  • Real-time busyness reports
  • Current wait time estimates
  • User-submitted reports
  • Historical data blending
  • Automatic closure detection
  • No account required
Features
Read full description

Ever shown up to a coffee shop, gym, or restaurant with no idea what you were walking into? SkipQLive shows you how busy nearby places actually are right now, based on reports from people who are there in the moment. Pick a place and see its current wait time. If you're there yourself, tap once to report what you're seeing so the next person doesn't have to guess. Reports stay useful for about three hours, and we blend them with past patterns so you still get a decent read even when reports are sparse. If a place is closed, we know, and reporting pauses automatically. There's no sign up and no account. We don't track you or show ads. The app just tells you what's busy and what's not, and gets out of your way. Wait times break down into four levels. No Wait is under 5 minutes. Short Wait is 10 to 20 minutes. Moderate is 20 to 40 minutes. Long Wait is 40 minutes or more. This is a small app made by two independent developers. If something's off or you want a place added, email SkipQ.feedback@gmail.com.

Screenshots

Clipper Card4 screens
skipqlive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: skipqlive at 100% against Clipper Card's 3%. skipqlive also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 3 months). Clipper Card's advantage is ratings volume (12K vs 4) and chart position (#160 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

skipqlive holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Clipper Card has 12K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 3% of Clipper Card's written reviews are positive against 100% of skipqlive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clipper Card ships an update every 3 months, skipqlive every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Clipper Card versus skipqlive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClipper Cardskipqlive
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (12K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews2.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#160 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMetropolitan Transportation CommissionAryan Shrivastava

Customer experience

Clipper Card

All ratings9,408 ratings
Positive68.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews414 reviews
Positive2.9%
Neutral6.5%
Negative90.6%

skipqlive

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Clipper Card

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezes and crashes frequently
  • Card balances not updating properly
  • Issues with adding cards to Apple Wallet
  • Inconsistent behavior when loading funds

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improve real-time sync of card balance and transactions
  • Streamline process to cancel auto-load and transfer balances
  • Provide better customer support and communication
  • Enhance security features for lost/stolen cards
  • Eliminate unnecessary fees

skipqlive

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Clipper Card

No in-app purchases

None

skipqlive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Clipper Card free?
Clipper Card is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is skipqlive free?
skipqlive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Clipper Card or skipqlive?
skipqlive is rated higher. Clipper Card averages 3.8 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while skipqlive averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Clipper Card or skipqlive have ads?
Neither Clipper Card nor skipqlive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Clipper Card or skipqlive?
Clipper Card ships an update every 3 months, and skipqlive every 4 weeks. Most recently, Clipper Card was updated on October 28, 2026 and skipqlive on October 8, 2026.

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