FDNY vs Ladder suite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FDNY
This app simplifies managing your work schedule, including mutuals, vacations, and paydays. It also provides a directory of firehouses with map and contact information. Track overtime and special events with ease.
- Six-year schedule display
- Mutual partner tracking
- Banked mutual recording
- Firehouse directory with maps
- Overtime and pay tracking
- Event logging
- Retirement countdown
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Tired of fumbling with your FDNY Chart to figure out when you’ll be working two months from now? Sick of coloring the boxes and adding reminders about your mutuals? FDNY to the rescue! Custom-designed with the help of New York City firefighters, FDNY is smart about your chart. It knows about the 25 groups and their schedules, pairing of mutual partners, vacations, RSOT, and so on. The calendar screen always shows your day and night tours and your partner’s tours (using colors of your own choosing) for the next six years from “today.” It takes only a few taps to enter a mutual with your partner. A few more taps and you’ve got a banked mutual recorded with somebody else. Separate balances are maintained for each person. And, there’s no need for a new chart every year. FDNY also contains a list of NYC firehouses and callboxes, complete with locations (one touch to see maps) and firehouse phone numbers (one touch to make calls). Features: • Displays your schedule for the next six years, including vacations, holidays, and paydays. • Double-tap any day to see the day and night group numbers, just like the printed chart. • You can enter colleagues for other groups. • Records banked mutuals. Tracks tours earned or owed on a person-by-person basis. • Formats emails for sending out mutual offers. • Contains a Logbook for keeping track of tours or hours of your choosing. • Shows your vacation periods. • Logs “events” with date, time and location — you can edit the title, text, and location details when you have time. • Displays your tours and those of your mutual partner simultaneously. • Adjustable colors for day/night tours, vacations, RSOT holidays, etc. • Track all overtime, P/P, A2R, and CFR-D by pay period. • Mark special days such as training or medical appointments. • Quickly locate any NYC firehouse on a map. Sort the list by engine or ladder. • Countdown to retirement. • Extensive Help pages for every feature and screen; indexed. If you need help, or have questions or comments, the best way to contact me is by using the in-app email button on the Help screen (2nd best: fdny@buddy.com).. Please don't put questions or suggestions in a review; there's no way for me to reply directly to you. -- Jeff I reply to all emails immediately (or within a few hours if I'm sleeping or traveling, which isn't often). If you didn't hear from me promptly, it means there was failure in the "Tubes." Please try again to contact me. FDNY is for members of the New York City FD (including Fire Marshals, EMS, ABCD, and Light Duty). If you’re not a member of that department, then you do not want this app. Instead, check out Scheduler, which can handle repeatable shift schedules and on which FDNY is based.
Ladder suite
This app provides real-time mobile alerts and streamlined rig checks for fire, EMS, and public safety agencies. It transforms critical information from CAD data into clear, actionable alerts, enhancing situational awareness and operational efficiency for first responders.
- Real-time mobile alerts
- Enhanced situational awareness
- Streamlined rig checks
- Designed for first responders
- Works with CAD data
- Instant incident notifications
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Ladder delivers real-time mobile alerts, enhanced communication, and streamlined rig checks—built specifically for Fire, EMS, and public safety agencies. Designed to work alongside raw CAD data, Ladder transforms critical information into clear, actionable alerts delivered instantly to your mobile device. No clutter. The information you need—when you need it most. Key Features: Real-Time Mobile Alerts Receive incident notifications instantly in a clean, easy-to-read format. Enhanced Situational Awareness Stay informed with intelligent alerting that helps crews understand what’s happening before they arrive. Rig Checks Made Simple Complete and track apparatus checks efficiently from anywhere. Built for First Responders Designed with real-world operations in mind—fast, reliable, and intuitive. Whether you’re responding to alarms, managing daily operations, or ensuring your equipment is ready, Ladder keeps your team connected, informed, and prepared.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ladder suite at Free against FDNY's $7.99. Ladder suite also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.2) and review sentiment (93% vs 61%). FDNY's advantage is chart position (#174 vs unranked). On ratings volume, 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
Ladder suite is free to download; FDNY costs $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ladder suite holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 84 and 38 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of FDNY's written reviews are positive against 93% of Ladder suite's.
FDNY ships an update every 9 days, Ladder suite every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FDNY | Ladder suite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.2 (84 ratings) | 4.7 (38 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.9% of reviews | 93.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 84 — better | 38 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #174 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 108 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Buddy System, LLC | LADDER SUITE LLC |
Customer experience
FDNY
Ladder suite
Bugs and requests
FDNY
Reported bugs
8 issues- Overtime hours not adding up
- Events not saving on calendar
- App crashes regularly
- All data lost
- New version unusable
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- Erased old events
- Paycheck button crashes app
- Dark mode unreadable elements
Requested features
18 requests- Comprehensive user guide
- Tutorial video
- iCloud syncing
- Native iPad support
- ABCD chart for modified schedule
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Military leave tracking
- Vacation entry feature
- Alarm integration for scheduler
- Mutual exchange via text messages
- Highway boxes
- New transit boxes
- Vacation letter chart integration
- EMS side support
- Add station numbers to contacts
- OT shifts slot
- EMS only stations slot
- Ability to turn off dark mode
- Revert to older version
Ladder suite
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
FDNY
No in-app purchases
Ladder suite
No in-app purchases







