Comparison

NY Waterway vs Wildlands Conservancy

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

Head to head
About

NY Waterway

Purchase ferry tickets paper-free and use your phone as your boarding pass. Securely store personal information and payment details for convenient travel across New York Harbor. Access route maps, schedules, and advisories for a seamless journey.

Highlights
  • Paper-free ticket purchasing
  • Phone as ticket
  • Secure encrypted transactions
  • Route maps
  • Schedules
  • Advisories
  • Bus locator
Features
Read full description

Your Phone Is Your Ticket. This app allows users to purchase NY Waterway tickets paper-free from any location and use their phone as a ticket. All personal information and payments are transmitted encrypted and stored securely. NY Waterway has the largest ferry and excursion fleet in the New York Harbor. Since it's launch in 1986, it has served over 65 million passengers. With routes stretching along both the Hudson and East Rivers and a complimentary bus service, NY Waterway is an easy and comfortable way to travel to and from Manhattan. Features: - Secure ticket purchasing - Your phone is your ticket - Route maps - Schedules - Advisories - Bus Locator

About

Wildlands Conservancy

Discover outdoor adventures with interactive trail maps and learn about local flora and fauna. Get driving directions, real-time weather updates, and enjoy offline access to maps and features. Share your experiences and sign up for exciting events.

Highlights
  • Interactive trail maps
  • Integrated driving directions
  • GPS-powered navigation
  • Points of interest information
  • Offline mode functionality
  • Live local weather updates
  • Event sign-ups
Read full description

Ditch those paper trail maps and find get-outdoors fun at with Wildlands! Choose from our Emmaus-based Pool Wildlife Sanctuary or South Mountain. Learn about the not-to-be-missed features, special plants, native wildlife, and cool activities you’ll find at each preserve. Discover adventure in the outdoors as you navigate our trails. Explore with confidence using interactive trail maps. Share your outdoor experience with friends by easily uploading photos to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Sign up for cool events like Hoot Hikes, Tubing Tuesdays, Lehigh River Sojourn and more! Key Features: - You can’t explore if you can’t get there. Integrated driving directions—and a direct connection to Apple Maps—will get you on the right track. - Don’t get lost… unless you want to! GPS-powered, color-coded trail maps mean you’ll always know where you are and where you’re going. - Learn! Follow pins marked along the trails to discover points of interest and learn about the world around you! - Game! Wander our trails and be surprised by fun push notifications! - Works in offline mode! Most features—including trail maps—will work even when you don’t have cell reception or wi-fi. - Poncho, sunscreen, or snowshoes? Live, local weather will help you plan accordingly. About Wildlands Wildlands Conservancy is the nonprofit land trust of the Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River watershed. We’ve been creating lasting connections to nature since 1973, through land protection, environmental stewardship, and education. Wildlands has protected more than 54,000 acres of high-conservation-value lands, it benefits more than 19,000 school-age children annually through environmental education, and is focused on improving water quality and wildlife habitat within and beyond its nine nature preserves totaling more than 2,600 acres. For more information visit www.wildlandspa.org.

Screenshots

NY Waterway4 screens
Wildlands Conservancy3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NY Waterway at 4.8 against Wildlands Conservancy's 3.1. NY Waterway also leads on ratings volume (11K vs 11). Wildlands Conservancy's advantage is review sentiment (33% vs 16%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NY Waterway holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NY Waterway has 11K ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 16% of NY Waterway's written reviews are positive against 33% of Wildlands Conservancy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
NY Waterway versus Wildlands Conservancy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNY WaterwayWildlands Conservancy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (11K ratings) — better3.1 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews16.2% of reviews33.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11K — better11
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBytemark, Inc.Weblications

Customer experience

NY Waterway

All ratings7,887 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews130 reviews
Positive16.2%
Neutral8.5%
Negative75.4%

Wildlands Conservancy

All ratings11 ratings
Positive54.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative45.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Bugs and requests

NY Waterway

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Inability to log in or access tickets
  • Tickets disappearing from user accounts
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Live ferry tracking
  • Improved bus locator
  • Seamless multi-ticket management
  • Support for Apple Pay and other digital wallets
  • Better user account management

Wildlands Conservancy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

NY Waterway

No in-app purchases

None

Wildlands Conservancy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NY Waterway free?
NY Waterway is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Wildlands Conservancy free?
Wildlands Conservancy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NY Waterway or Wildlands Conservancy?
NY Waterway is rated higher. NY Waterway averages 4.8 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Wildlands Conservancy averages 3.1 from 11 ratings.
Do NY Waterway or Wildlands Conservancy have ads?
Neither NY Waterway nor Wildlands Conservancy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NY Waterway or Wildlands Conservancy?
NY Waterway ships an update every 3 months, and Wildlands Conservancy every 3 months. Most recently, NY Waterway was updated on October 27, 2026 and Wildlands Conservancy on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons