Comparison

Bus Simulator vs Ship Maneuvering Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Bus Simulator

Step into the driver's seat and transport passengers across a vibrant, detailed city in officially licensed buses. Complete missions to unlock new vehicles, routes, and districts, and build your own public transport empire.

Highlights
  • Officially licensed buses from famous manufacturers
  • Detailed and lively city map inspired by Northern Europe
  • Campaign missions to unlock content
  • Build and manage a transport company
  • Variety of bus types (electric, articulated, double-decker)
  • Immersive cockpit experience
Features
Read full description

Take the driver’s seat as you transport passengers around a lively city in officially licensed buses from famous manufacturers: Alexander Dennis, Blue Bird, BYD, IVECO BUS, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Scania, Setra, Volvo, and Vicinity Motor Corp. Drive routes and complete campaign missions to unlock even more buses, districts, and routes. Climb the career ladder and build a public transport network for your city. YOUR BUS. YOUR CITY. IN YOUR HANDS. 10 ORIGINAL BUSES FROM WORLD FAMOUS MANUFACTURERS Original, licensed buses are waiting for you! Drive 10 buses from 10 world-renowned manufacturers – from electric buses to articulated or double decker buses. Featuring manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, IVECO BUS, and BYD, there is plenty of variety of buses. With detailed cockpits, you can take the driver’s seat and experience real bus driving immersion while driving YOUR BUS. TRANSPORT PEOPLE AROUND A LIVELY CITY Explore the game's very detailed and lively map! The city of Havensburg is inspired by cities in northern Europe and offers you a variety of eye-catching buildings and landscapes, including the harbor warehouse district, harbor, old town, and surrounding countryside. In such a vibrant city, people want to get around and drink coffee with friends in the old town district or visit the harbor with their family. Transporting passengers never gets boring – and perhaps they'll even share some stories with you. Now it’s your job to connect the people of YOUR CITY. MANAGE YOUR TRANSPORT COMPANY Prove your driving skills: Make it to the top and build a successful bus transport company. Progressing through the campaign unlocks even more buses, districts, and routes. Build out your transport network by driving routes to earn more Credits, purchasing more buses, and assigning more and more buses to your routes. The success of the company is IN YOUR HANDS!

About

Ship Maneuvering Simulator

Experience realistic ship handling with this simulator. It features advanced physics like astern propeller effects, drift during turns, and velocity-dependent rudder and bow thruster performance. Explore various environments with different ship types.

Highlights
  • Astern propeller effect
  • Drift during turns
  • Pivot point movement
  • Velocity-based rudder effectiveness
  • Bow thruster influenced by velocity
  • Sandbox environment
Features
Read full description

This simulator will give you a realistic experience of what it's like to handle a large ship. It includes some features which often seem to be missing in other simulators: - Astern effect of the propeller - Drift during turn - Pivot point movement - Rudder effectiveness based on propeller flow and ship's own velocity - Bow thruster effectiveness influenced by ship's velocity For the moment there are three ships (cargo ship, supply ship and battle ship). In the future more may be added. The game is played in a sandbox style with a sea, river and port environment and customisable current. I plan to also add wind effect. The simulation is based on the mathematical hydrodynamic MMG model which is also used in professional ship handling and mooring simulators.

Screenshots

Bus Simulator4 screens
Ship Maneuvering Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Ship Maneuvering Simulator at Free against Bus Simulator's $3.99. Ship Maneuvering Simulator also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and review sentiment (86% vs 54%). Bus Simulator's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On ratings volume, device support and iOS requirement 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

Ship Maneuvering Simulator is free to download; Bus Simulator costs $3.99 up front. Bus Simulator sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Ship Maneuvering Simulator asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ship Maneuvering Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 49 and 101 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Bus Simulator's written reviews are positive against 86% of Ship Maneuvering Simulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bus Simulator ships an update monthly, Ship Maneuvering Simulator every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Bus Simulator versus Ship Maneuvering Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBus SimulatorShip Maneuvering Simulator
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (49 ratings)4.2 (101 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.0% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings49101 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.215.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size806 MB338 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerastragon Entertainment GmbHWPC

Customer experience

Bus Simulator

All ratings49 ratings
Positive65.3%
Neutral18.4%
Negative16.3%
Written reviews161 reviews
Positive54.0%
Neutral15.5%
Negative30.4%

Ship Maneuvering Simulator

All ratings101 ratings
Positive79.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative14.9%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative11.0%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Bus Simulator

One-time7
  • Some Credits$0.99
  • Small Package$1.99
  • Lots of Credits$2.99
Show 4 more
  • Medium Package$5.99
  • Large Package$7.99
  • Financial Freedom$7.99
  • All-in-one Package$12.99
None

Ship Maneuvering Simulator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bus Simulator free?
Bus Simulator costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Ship Maneuvering Simulator free?
Ship Maneuvering Simulator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bus Simulator or Ship Maneuvering Simulator?
Ship Maneuvering Simulator is rated higher. Bus Simulator averages 3.9 out of 5 from 49 ratings, while Ship Maneuvering Simulator averages 4.2 from 101 ratings.
Do Bus Simulator or Ship Maneuvering Simulator have ads?
Ship Maneuvering Simulator shows ads; Bus Simulator does not.
Which is updated more often, Bus Simulator or Ship Maneuvering Simulator?
Bus Simulator ships an update monthly, and Ship Maneuvering Simulator every 6 days. Most recently, Bus Simulator was updated on October 19, 2026 and Ship Maneuvering Simulator on October 16, 2026.

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