Comparison

NW Ferry vs flySEA

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

Head to head
About

NW Ferry

Plan your Washington State Ferry trips with real-time schedules, live vessel tracking, and service alerts. This app provides terminal cameras and drive-up space estimates to help you stay informed and ahead of delays.

Highlights
  • Real-time schedules & fares
  • Live vessel tracking
  • Service alerts
  • Terminal cameras
  • Drive-up space estimates
  • Favorites & recents
  • Apple Watch app & widgets
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Plan your Washington State Ferry trip in seconds. NW Ferry gives you real-time schedules, live vessel tracking, service alerts, terminal cameras, and drive-up space estimates — everything you need, in one fast app. Whether you're a daily commuter or heading to the San Juan Islands for the weekend, NW Ferry keeps you one step ahead at the dock. What you get with NW Ferry: - Real-time schedules & fares: Check upcoming departures, fares, and seasonal schedule changes for every WSF route - Live vessel tracking: Watch ferries cross Puget Sound in real time - Service alerts: Know about delays, cancellations, and route changes before you leave - Terminal cameras: See dock conditions before you drive there - Drive-up space: View estimated vehicle space remaining for upcoming sailings - Favorites & recents: Save your go-to terminal pairs and jump back to recent routes in one tap - Quick route swap: Reverse your departure and arrival terminals in one tap - Apple Watch app & widgets: Check your next sailing from your wrist — with Closest Terminal and Favorite Terminal widgets - Home Screen & CarPlay widgets: See upcoming departures at a glance, including a Favorite Terminal widget for CarPlay Terminals covered: Anacortes, Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Clinton, Coupeville, Edmonds, Fauntleroy, Friday Harbor, Kingston, Lopez Island, Mukilteo, Orcas Island, Point Defiance, Port Townsend, Seattle, Shaw Island, Sidney B.C., Southworth, Tahlequah, and Vashon Island. NW Ferry requires an internet connection to load live schedule, fare, and vessel data. NW Ferry is an independent app and is not affiliated with WSDOT or Washington State Ferries.

About

flySEA

Navigate your airport experience with ease. Find the shortest security lines, locate dining and shopping, and discover amenities. Get real-time flight updates and ground transportation information to make your journey smooth.

Highlights
  • TSA security checkpoint wait times
  • Parking spot reminder
  • Airport directory and map
  • Explore amenities
  • Find your flight and gate
  • Ground transportation information
Features
Read full description

The Sea-Tac app will help you get to your gate calm, cool and collected! Whether you’re looking for the fastest TSA security checkpoint line, the closest dining options to your gate or the fastest transportation to get you to downtown Seattle, the Sea-Tac app can help. Take advantage of Sea-Tac’s free Wi-Fi and download the official Sea-Tac Airport app for terminal maps, flight information and transportation tips. Features: * TSA security checkpoint wait times: Find the most convenient line with up-to-date wait time information * Parking spot reminder: Snap a photo of your parking spot to skip post-flight wandering * Shopping, dining and relaxing: Look at the airport directory and map to see all of our dining and retail options throughout the airport * Explore our amenities: Get the most comfortable visit with our water bottle filling stations, nursing suites, pet relief areas, cell phone charging stations, children’s play area and more * Find your flight: Enter your flight number to get your gate location and alert notifications * Ground transportation: Find information on airporters, courtesy shuttles, limos, public transit (buses or Link light rail), rental cars, taxis, app-based rideshare (Lyft, Uber, Wingz) and more

Screenshots

NW Ferry4 screens
flySEA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: NW Ferry at 68% against flySEA's 8%. NW Ferry also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.6) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 162). flySEA's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

flySEA is free to download; NW Ferry costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NW Ferry holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NW Ferry has 2.2K ratings behind it against 162, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of NW Ferry's written reviews are positive against 8% of flySEA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NW Ferry ships an update every 6 months, flySEA every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
NW Ferry versus flySEA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNW FerryflySEA
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better2.6 (162 ratings)
Positive reviews67.6% of reviews — better8.4% of reviews
Number of ratings2.2K — better162
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#172 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDurbinwarePort of Seattle

Customer experience

NW Ferry

All ratings2,189 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews68 reviews
Positive67.6%
Neutral8.8%
Negative23.5%

flySEA

All ratings157 ratings
Positive33.8%
Neutral8.9%
Negative57.3%
Written reviews83 reviews
Positive8.4%
Neutral7.2%
Negative84.3%

User reviews

NW Ferry

From 2.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Accurate and up-to-date
  • 📊 Helpful for planning ferry trips
  • 🔍 Useful camera views
  • 🗓️ Essential for frequent ferry users

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable data and inaccurate information
  • 🔍 Missing important features like arrival times
  • 💰 Paid app with limited functionality compared to free options
  • 🔄 Slow to update and unresponsive to schedule changes
  • 🔧 Buggy and crashes frequently

flySEA

From 162 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗺️ Helpful wayfinding and navigation between gates
  • ✈️ Flight status and delay notifications
  • 🎯 Gate and concourse location information
  • 🍽️ Restaurant and dining location finder
  • 📍 Interactive airport map with directions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Security wait times broken for months
  • ❌ Inaccurate wait time reporting
  • 🗺️ Poor map functionality and confusing layout
  • 🔄 Inconsistent and unreliable performance
  • 📱 Frequent app crashes and glitches

Bugs and requests

NW Ferry

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App won't open on Apple Watch
  • Broken links to customer support
  • Inconsistent display of car capacity information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Display full day's schedule instead of just upcoming ferries
  • Allow customization of routes/terminals shown
  • Add real-time updates for delayed/late ferries
  • Integrate ticket purchasing/reservation functionality
  • Improve widget and 3D Touch functionality

flySEA

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Security wait times not displaying or updating
  • App crashes when selecting retail shops
  • Flight search returns 'Not Found' errors
  • Map resets zoom level unexpectedly
  • Blank white screens on multiple tabs
Show 8 more
  • Flight information tabs non-functional
  • Unresponsive refresh button
  • Incorrect gate and terminal information
  • Persistent flight alerts despite disabling
  • Notification toggle not working
  • Crashes with iOS 12 and iPhone X
  • Clunky navigation requiring excessive taps
  • Incorrect parking rate information

Requested features

12 requests
  • Direct turn-by-turn navigation between specific gates
  • TSA PreCheck checkpoint identification on map
  • Multiple location viewing on single map
  • Real-time train and light rail status
  • Traffic and parking lot availability information
Show 7 more
  • Centralized dining hours display with filtering
  • Web-based security wait times access
  • International flight departure information
  • Searchable location finder on map
  • Pet relief area locations
  • Flight number and destination search functionality
  • Accurate travel time estimates between locations

In-app purchases

None

NW Ferry

No in-app purchases

None

flySEA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NW Ferry free?
NW Ferry costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is flySEA free?
flySEA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NW Ferry or flySEA?
NW Ferry is rated higher. NW Ferry averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.2K ratings, while flySEA averages 2.6 from 162 ratings.
Do NW Ferry or flySEA have ads?
Neither NW Ferry nor flySEA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NW Ferry or flySEA?
NW Ferry ships an update every 6 months, and flySEA every 3 months. Most recently, NW Ferry was updated on November 1, 2026 and flySEA on October 22, 2026.

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