Comparison

WSDOT vs FerryFriend

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

Head to head
About

WSDOT

Access real-time traffic conditions, ferry schedules, and mountain pass reports for Washington State. Stay informed about travel alerts, toll rates, and border wait times to plan your journeys efficiently.

Highlights
  • Statewide traffic map
  • Live traffic cameras
  • Ferry schedules and locations
  • Mountain pass conditions
  • Toll rates
  • Border wait times
  • Train schedules
Read full description

Washington State Traveler information provided by The Washington State Department of Transportation. Features • Traffic Map with statewide traffic cameras and travel alerts. • Ferry schedules, alerts, and real-time ferry locations. • Mountain pass conditions and weather reports. • Washington State toll rates. • Northbound Canadian Border Waits. • Amtrak Cascades Train Schedules.

About

FerryFriend

This app provides comprehensive ferry schedules and real-time information for the Puget Sound region. It offers delay predictions, demand forecasts, and sailing notifications to help riders plan their trips. Users can also access cached schedules offline, check drive-up space availability, and view live vessel maps.

Highlights
  • Real-time delay predictions
  • Sailing notifications
  • Offline cached schedules
  • Inline reservation availability
  • Drive-up space availability
  • Live vessel map
  • Ferry line cameras
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

FerryFriend is the ultimate tool for ferry riders in the Puget Sound! Includes schedules and so much more for Washington State Ferries, Kitsap Transit Fast Ferries, and King County Water Taxi. Features: • Brand new Apple Watch app with schedules, predictions, and your favorite routes on your wrist. • CarPlay support so you can check sailings, predictions, and favorites without picking up your phone. • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for one-glance access to your favorite routes and ferry tickets. • Drive-time ETAs to the terminal from your current location, so you know how long it'll take to reach the dock. • Real-time delay predictions and demand forecasts so you know when sailings will be delayed and how full they'll be. • Sailing notifications for delays, departures, arrivals, loading, and reservation availability. • Cached schedules available offline, even when the WSF servers are down. • Inline reservation availability with quick booking from the app. • Drive-up space availability with historical filling trends. • Live vessel map with detailed status, departure/arrival times, and vessel specs. • Ferry line cameras on a map so you can check the line before you arrive. • Travel alerts with push notifications, snoozing, and day-of-week filtering. • Scan, save, and share your WSF ferry tickets right from the app. • Tide warnings and vessel load indicators in the schedule. • Heads-up on Kingston to Edmonds schedules when the terminal's new boarding-pass system is active, so you don't miss a stop at the kiosk near Lindvog Road. • Customizable delay display, projected departure time or time-late duration, whichever you prefer. • Dark mode and 24-hour time support. Includes information for these departing terminals: Anacortes Annapolis Bainbridge Island Bremerton Clinton Coupeville Edmonds Fauntleroy Friday Harbor Kingston Lopez Island Mukilteo Orcas Island Point Defiance Port Orchard Port Townsend Seattle (WSF and Pier 50) Shaw Island Sidney B.C. Southworth Tahlequah Vashon Island West Seattle (Seacrest Park) Includes data from: Kitsap Transit King County Water Taxi Washington State Ferries - WSDOT

Screenshots

WSDOT4 screens
FerryFriend4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: FerryFriend at 91% against WSDOT's 24%. FerryFriend also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.9) and update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). WSDOT's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support 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. FerryFriend sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.00 per month. WSDOT asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FerryFriend holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FerryFriend has 2.9K ratings behind it against 280, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of WSDOT's written reviews are positive against 91% of FerryFriend's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WSDOT ships an update monthly, FerryFriend every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
WSDOT versus FerryFriend: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWSDOTFerryFriend
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (280 ratings)4.9 (2.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.3% of reviews91.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2802.9K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#87 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWashington State Department of TransportationTrue Course LLC

Customer experience

WSDOT

All ratings280 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral8.9%
Negative48.2%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive24.3%
Neutral9.9%
Negative65.8%

FerryFriend

All ratings2,891 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.2%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews124 reviews
Positive91.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.9%

User reviews

WSDOT

From 280 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Helpful resource for Washington residents
  • 👍 Well-designed app
  • 💡 Useful features like ferry schedules and traffic information

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes on launch
  • 🐛 Inaccurate and delayed information
  • 🔋 High battery consumption due to ads
  • 👎 Poor user experience and outdated design
  • 👎 Unreliable ferry-related features

FerryFriend

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable and easy to use
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🚢 Comprehensive ferry information
  • 💳 Ability to store and manage ferry passes
  • 🗺️ Real-time ferry tracking and dock cameras

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional issues with data accuracy and updates
  • 💰 Subscription model for some features
  • 🔍 Navigation and UI changes in recent updates
  • 🤔 Confusion around new subscription-based features

Bugs and requests

WSDOT

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Inaccurate and outdated traffic and ferry information
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for Apple CarPlay
  • Improve ferry ticket purchasing and management
  • Provide more detailed and real-time pass and road condition updates
  • Add ability to report potholes and other road issues

FerryFriend

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Failure to reflect ferry cancellations in a timely manner
  • Issues with family sharing and subscription management

Requested features

3 requests
  • Push notifications for important updates
  • Improved delay prediction accuracy
  • Restore removed features like favorite routes

In-app purchases

None

WSDOT

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

FerryFriend

Subscriptions11
  • FerryBestFriend$3.001 Month
  • FerryBestFriend$5.001 Month
  • FerryBestFriend$10.001 Month
Show 8 more
  • FerryBestFriend$15.001 Month
  • FerryBestFriend$25.001 Month
  • FerryBestFriend$36.001 Year
  • FerryBestFriends$50.001 Month
  • FerryBestFriend$60.001 Year
  • FerryBestFriend$119.991 Year
  • FerryBestFriend$179.991 Year
  • FerryBestFriend$300.001 Year

Questions

Is WSDOT free?
WSDOT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FerryFriend free?
FerryFriend is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, WSDOT or FerryFriend?
FerryFriend is rated higher. WSDOT averages 2.9 out of 5 from 280 ratings, while FerryFriend averages 4.9 from 2.9K ratings.
Do WSDOT or FerryFriend have ads?
Neither WSDOT nor FerryFriend shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WSDOT or FerryFriend?
WSDOT ships an update monthly, and FerryFriend every 10 days. Most recently, WSDOT was updated on September 22, 2026 and FerryFriend on September 24, 2026.

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