Comparison

ShipIntel vs Zonar Bus Suite Parent

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

Head to head
About

ShipIntel

Features
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ShipIntel - Better decisions today with tomorrow's maritime solution! A must-have AIS based solution for teams involved in maritime business. For tracking, monitoring and analyzing vessel movements and port traffic. Enable companies to plug in enriched AIS data, sea route estimations, and AI models — into their own proprietary data. For better, data-driven maritime decisions and efficient team collaboration. Built by shipping professionals for any type of company involved in maritime business. ShipIntel is a cross-platform software, giving you access to features on web and mobile. Plan the work remotely and with the people in the office, report the work done from the site. Use the mobile app to: - Stay connected with your team through real-time notifications and shared notes, photos and documents. - Add notes and photos to vessels and ports from your mobile device and find that they are instantly available for your colleagues in the office. - Access updated maritime data from anywhere at any time. Get support in-app via our chat when you need help. The chat is operated by people with shipping experience. Popular features in the mobile app: Live and historical AIS positions, reported destinations and ETAs - Track the whole merchant fleet in real-time with global coverage. - View their real-time AIS positions, their last port of call, and the port they are heading to. - Get the ETA, current speed, estimated ballast/laden condition and more. - The vessels are divided into types and sizes (segments and sub-segments). - Search and find vessel by name, IMO, MMSI, or expand your search using LOA, beam, draft, year built, etc. Vessel and port lists (unlimited) - Create an unlimited number of vessel lists and port lists and add them as layers to your map. Custom notifications for vessels and ports - Be notified when vessels set a destination (reported or predicted), arrive in a port/region or at anchorage, pass a line, or depart from a port/region. View port traffic - Find vessels in ports, recent departures, and vessels waiting at anchorages listed with name, segment, and arrival/departure times. Find bunker grades and prices in ports - Access daily updated bunker prices and fixed forward prices in each port. Sea route calculator - Create sea routes from any vessel's live position to any port. - Find the shortest sea routes and compare alternative routes. Get distances, ETAs, calculated carbon emissions (EU ETS) and bunker consumption. Team resources (notes, photos, documents and contacts) - Add notes and photos to vessels and ports, or a list of vessels or ports directly from your mobile device. - Access documents and contacts attached to vessels and ports. Map information layers - Customize your map with information layers such as: - Sea Ice, Piracy, and Marine weather are updated every 24 hours.   - War zones,   - ECA/SECA,   - Economical Zone,   - Load Lines, INL and Polar Codes  - Wind farms.  - Click on the layers for information on constraints.   - Choose between map styles and satellite. Visit our website if you want to learn more: https://maritimeoptima.com/shipintel

About

Zonar Bus Suite Parent

Track your child's school bus in real-time from pick-up to drop-off. Receive notifications, view route information, and manage multiple children for enhanced peace of mind.

Highlights
  • Live bus tracking on aerial map
  • Manage multiple children
  • Real-time boarding/exiting notifications
  • Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)
  • Detailed route information
  • Guardian enrollment for tracking
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Empower parents and guardians to track their child’s school bus, from pick-up to drop-off. Securely, simply and in real time. Bus Suite Parent is a comprehensive bus tracking system that enables them to track their child’s school bus route in real time. More transparency and peace of mind for everyone. 1. Live bus tracking: Parents track the bus in real time on an aerial map view. To protect student privacy, they will no longer see the bus’s location once the route ends. 2. Multiple children: Parents can manage multiple children using the same app, regardless of their school or route. 3. Notifications: Parents configure their real-time notifications as their children board or exit the bus. 4. ETA: Parents are notified with an ETA for their stop is coming up so they can save time and avoid unnecessary waiting time. 5. Route info: Parents have complete route information with all stops, ETAs, and so on. If they miss their stop, they know when and where the next stop will be. 6. Guardians: Enroll guardians and other family members so each can track their children if they need. Note: Bus Suite Parent works with the Bus Suite Driver app, which resides on the bus. If your district uses Zonar Z Pass®, additional notification data may be provided such as the student boarding & exiting the bus. Students’ boarding and exiting is managed through Z Pass, which is completely touchless. Manual check-ins and check-outs are allowed on the driver app only in case the child is not carrying their student card.

Screenshots

ShipIntel4 screens
Zonar Bus Suite Parent4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Zonar Bus Suite Parent at every 4 weeks against ShipIntel's every 5 months. Zonar Bus Suite Parent also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.4). On price, 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShipIntel ships an update every 5 months, Zonar Bus Suite Parent every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 3, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ShipIntel versus Zonar Bus Suite Parent: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShipIntelZonar Bus Suite Parent
PriceFreeFree
Rating—1.8 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.414.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaritime Optima ASZonar

In-app purchases

None

ShipIntel

No in-app purchases

None

Zonar Bus Suite Parent

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShipIntel free?
ShipIntel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Zonar Bus Suite Parent free?
Zonar Bus Suite Parent is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ShipIntel or Zonar Bus Suite Parent have ads?
Neither ShipIntel nor Zonar Bus Suite Parent shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShipIntel or Zonar Bus Suite Parent?
ShipIntel ships an update every 5 months, and Zonar Bus Suite Parent every 4 weeks. Most recently, ShipIntel was updated on September 3, 2026 and Zonar Bus Suite Parent on August 27, 2026.

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