WSDOT vs FerryFriend
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Statewide traffic map
- Live traffic cameras
- Ferry schedules and locations
- Mountain pass conditions
- Toll rates
- Border wait times
- Train schedules
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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.
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.
- Real-time delay predictions
- Sailing notifications
- Offline cached schedules
- Inline reservation availability
- Drive-up space availability
- Live vessel map
- Ferry line cameras
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. FerryFriend sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.00 per month. WSDOT asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
WSDOT ships an update monthly, FerryFriend every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WSDOT | FerryFriend |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (280 ratings) | 4.9 (2.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 24.3% of reviews | 91.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 280 | 2.9K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #87 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Washington State Department of Transportation | True Course LLC |
Customer experience
WSDOT
FerryFriend
User reviews
WSDOT
From 280 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
WSDOT
No in-app purchases
FerryFriend
- FerryBestFriend$3.001 Month
- FerryBestFriend$5.001 Month
- FerryBestFriend$10.001 Month
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- 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






