BOS vs Lowell311
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BOS
Report non-emergency neighborhood issues in Boston, such as potholes and graffiti. Track the status of your reports and view active issues on a city map. This app helps residents improve their communities by streamlining communication with city services.
- Report neighborhood issues
- Track report status
- View active reports on map
- Submit non-emergency requests
- Community improvement tool
Read full descriptionHide full description
BOS:311 enables Boston's residents to improve their neighborhoods by reporting non-emergency issues in their communities, like potholes and graffiti. Reports are automatically fed into the City of Boston’s work order system to track and assign them to City staff. Through the app, you can follow the status of your request, as well as the statuses of other reports in the City. There’s even a map to get an easy overview of active reports in Boston.
Lowell311
Connect with the City of Lowell, MA through its official mobile application. Report city issues, manage bill payments, and receive important news updates conveniently.
- Report city issues
- Pay bills
- Receive news flashes
- Stay updated with city information
- Official city app
Read full descriptionHide full description
Stay connected with the City of Lowell, MA. As the official mobile app, Lowell311 lets you quickly report issues, pay your bills, and stay updated with our news flashes—all in one place
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BOS at 2.6 against Lowell311's 2.0. BOS also leads on review sentiment (36% vs 0%) and ratings volume (80 vs 6). Lowell311's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 4 months). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BOS holds the better App Store score, 2.6 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BOS has 80 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of BOS's written reviews are positive against 0% of Lowell311's.
BOS ships an update every 4 months, Lowell311 every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 16, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BOS | Lowell311 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (80 ratings) — better | 2.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.2% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 80 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.4 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | City of Boston | City of Lowell |
Customer experience
BOS
Lowell311
Bugs and requests
BOS
Reported bugs
20 issues- Reports opened for months with no action
- App doesn't do its job or city departments don't
- Reports go unanswered for months
- App doesn't recognize certain areas
- New version is slower and less effective
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Map feature is broken or unreliable
- Cases never close or are not resolved
- App is clunky and difficult to use
- App crashes upon opening
- App stops working after iOS updates
- App shows 'updates failed'
- App button for creating new requests not working
- App opens multiple reports at once
- Clicking on map pins opens an unclosable banner
- App stops showing correct trash pickup days
- App is broken when trying to attach a picture
- App is broken after new update
- Impossible to create a new report for months
- Server registration fails
- App crashes on older iOS versions
Requested features
13 requests- Allow users to comment on or corroborate reports
- Add ability to delete a report
- Add feature to report speeding
- Make 'recent reports' tab accessible for voiceover users
- Add more categories for reporting (e.g., cyclists, bike lanes)
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Increase app awareness through ads, especially in underserved communities
- Improve filtering options for reports on the map
- Allow users to see if an issue has already been reported
- Revert to previous app version
- Fix bugs and add new features instead of completely changing everything
- Add dark mode option
- Improve map accuracy for address location
- Add option to report crimes (currently only for non-crimes)
Lowell311
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BOS
No in-app purchases
Lowell311
No in-app purchases
