Comparison

Bee Network vs Starling Bikes

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

Head to head
About

Bee Network

Plan your public transport journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase tram and bus tickets. Find nearby stops, get live departure times, and save your favorite locations for quick access. Rate your travel experience to help shape future services.

Highlights
  • Live bus tracking
  • Nearest stop finder
  • Live departure times
  • Journey planning
  • Buy tram and bus tickets
  • View active tickets
  • Rate your journey
Features
Read full description

Say yellow to the Bee Network app, brought to you by Transport for Greater Manchester. You can find your nearest stop, get live departure times, track your bus, plan a journey and buy and use tram tickets. Use the Bee Network app to: • Track bus live locations • Find your nearest stops and departure times, save your favourites for quick access • Plan your journey on public transport or by active travel • Buy and display tram, bus and multi modal tickets • View active, purchased and expired tickets • Rate your journey BUS TRACKING View the live locations of buses on a map and track them along the route to your stop. You can also see the locations of subsequent buses and where they are currently are on the route. LIVE TRAVEL UPDATES Get live departure times for bus, tram and train. Find your nearest stop, select it as a ‘favourite’ and stay updated. JOURNEY PLANNING You can plan public transport journeys on buses, trams and trains as well as active travel via cycling, cycle hire and walking. Filter results by travel mode or step-free access. Park and ride options are provided when available. We will let you know the right ticket for your journey and either give you the option to buy it in the app or provide you with pricing information and instructions for other retail channels. BUY, SAVE AND DISPLAY TICKETS FROM THE APP You can buy selected bus and tram tickets on the Bee Network app, including our new Bee AnyBus+Tram tickets and use the app to display or scan your ticket when boarding or for inspection. You can now pay easily with Apple Pay and Google Pay as well as the option to save your payment details, to make it quicker and easier when you’re buying your tickets. RATE YOUR JOURNEY Let us know about your bus and tram journeys in Greater Manchester. We will use your feedback to shape the Bee Network. For further information go to beenetwork.com Please note that you must have a valid ticket to travel on public transport otherwise you are liable for a Penalty Fare. If you are using the app to buy and display tickets for travel, make sure your phone has enough battery to display your ticket for the duration of your journey. Bee Network: Powered by Transport for Greater Manchester. Every journey. Every day.

About

Starling Bikes

Easily find and rent bikes or e-bikes for a faster, more convenient, and sustainable way to travel. Unlock a ride from numerous stations across Greater Manchester and enjoy a fun, efficient journey. The app guides you through starting and ending your rental.

Highlights
  • Find bike and e-bike stations
  • Unlock bikes via the app
  • Safe and easy-to-use bikes
  • Pay As You Ride options
  • Minute Bundles and passes
  • View promotions and rates
Features
Read full description

Cities are better when more people are on two wheels! Travel in a faster, more convenient, and sustainable way by bike or e-bike. We can guarantee it's more fun than sitting in traffic. Use the Starling Bank Bikes app to find and unlock a bike or e-bike from one of the many bike hire stations across Greater Manchester! We've designed our bikes to be safe and easy to use for an enjoyable ride. It's as easy as app, tap, and roll. Getting started ------------------------------- Download the Starling Bank Bikes App Create an account and add a payment method Enjoy your ride! Ending your ride ------------------------------- Find a convenient bike hire station in the app. Head there and park up your ride. Follow the instructions in the app to finish your journey How much does it cost? ------------------------------- Get rolling right away with our Pay As You Ride options. We also have a range of Minute Bundles and passes to suit more regular riders. Open the app to see the latest promotions and rates for your scheme. Download the Starling Bank Bikes App and start riding with us today.

Screenshots

Bee Network4 screens
Starling Bikes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bee Network at 4.7 against Starling Bikes's 3.7. Bee Network also leads on ratings volume (2.2K vs 3) and review sentiment (18% vs 7%). On price, update cadence, 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

Bee Network holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bee Network has 2.2K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 18% of Bee Network's written reviews are positive against 7% of Starling Bikes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bee Network ships an update every 3 weeks, Starling Bikes fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 1, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bee Network versus Starling Bikes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBee NetworkStarling Bikes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews17.6% of reviews — better7.4% of reviews
Number of ratings2.2K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB141 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTransport for Greater ManchesterBeryl

Customer experience

Bee Network

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews233 reviews
Positive17.6%
Neutral5.2%
Negative77.3%

Starling Bikes

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive7.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative90.7%

Bugs and requests

Bee Network

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Buses disappearing from the app
  • Incorrect ticket validation leading to fines
  • App unable to load tickets or log in at times

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add offline mode for tickets
  • Integrate with Apple Wallet
  • Improve journey planning and route search
  • Provide more detailed service disruption information

Starling Bikes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Bee Network

No in-app purchases

None

Starling Bikes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bee Network free?
Bee Network is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Starling Bikes free?
Starling Bikes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bee Network or Starling Bikes?
Bee Network is rated higher. Bee Network averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.2K ratings, while Starling Bikes averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Bee Network or Starling Bikes have ads?
Neither Bee Network nor Starling Bikes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bee Network or Starling Bikes?
Bee Network ships an update every 3 weeks, and Starling Bikes fortnightly. Most recently, Bee Network was updated on October 1, 2026 and Starling Bikes on October 1, 2026.

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