Comparison

Bus O'Clock vs Skyby

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

Head to head
About

Bus O'Clock

This app provides live bus departure times for London, helping you avoid waiting at stops. It features a 'Find me' function to locate nearby stops and a favorites list for quick access to frequently used locations.

Highlights
  • Live bus departure times
  • Departure countdown clock
  • Find nearest bus stop
  • Favorite bus stops
  • Apple Watch support
  • Clean interface
Features
Read full description

Bus O'Clock (BOC) is a simple live bus departures app for London. It's fast, easy to use and covers the whole of London so you will never be left wondering how long you've got to wait for the next bus. The 'Find me' function locates your nearest stop and serves up a simple departure countdown on a super-friendly clock. Keep your favourite bus stops just one click away in the 'Favourites' list. FEATURES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Quick access to bus departure times - Live display of departure times of the next 30 minutes - Keep your most frequently used bus stops in the favourites list - APPLE WATCH SUPPORT! - Clean and simple interface --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy!

About

Skyby

Instantly identify commercial flights overhead without searching. Track airline, origin, destination, and aircraft type in real-time. Set alerts for specific planes or monitor your chosen airspace.

Highlights
  • Instant overhead flight identification
  • Real-time airline, origin, and destination
  • Aircraft type and altitude display
  • Inbound flight indicator
  • Customizable alerts for specific aircraft
  • Automatic logbook of flights
Features
Read full description

Know exactly what's flying over you. Look up, and whatever is overhead appears on screen. Airliners, private jets, helicopters, and more, identified instantly. No searching, no typing, no menus. NOTE: Some features shown in the screenshots require Skyby Pro. Whether you're a planespotter camped at the end of a runway or a casual fan glancing up from home, Skyby reads the sky in real time and shows the aircraft directly above: the airline or operator, the aircraft type, the altitude, and, for scheduled flights, where it came from and where it's headed. An inbound indicator shows when a flight is coming into range. Two ways to use it: Set it and forget it. Prop Skyby on a desk, shelf, or windowsill and leave it running: a quiet radar for your patch of sky. Set an alert for the aircraft you care about, and Skyby chimes the moment one flies over. Pull it out and look up. On a walk or in the backyard, open Skyby and see what's flying over right now. From airliners to helicopters: Skyby identifies it all. The passenger and cargo jets, the private planes and business jets, the helicopters overhead. And yes, if a blimp drifts over, Skyby catches that too. Prefer to keep it to the airlines? Flip on Commercial Only in settings. Set your spot, or take it with you: Use your current location Drop a pin anywhere in the coverage area to watch the planes over home while you're away Or set the pin to live, and Skyby follows you as you move WHAT YOU GET Instant overhead ID for the aircraft above you Adjustable search area, up to 3 nm free (wider with Pro) Alerts that chime when a plane you care about flies over (A380 and 747 built in, free) An inbound indicator when a flight is coming into range Real routes and aircraft types for scheduled flights A logbook that saves your catches automatically Available across the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines and Singapore today, with more on the way Skyby Pro adds aircraft photos matched to the tail number (when available), custom alerts (any airline, aircraft type, flight number, or tail), your full logbook with search and bookmarks, detailed stats, and an even wider search radius. Skyby runs on iPhone and iPad, and it shines on iPad propped up on a desk or shelf. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Bus O'Clock4 screens
Skyby4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bus O'Clock at none against Skyby's 4. Bus O'Clock also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). Skyby's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 22 months) and review sentiment (86% vs 64%). 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. Skyby sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Bus O'Clock asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bus O'Clock holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Skyby has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Bus O'Clock's written reviews are positive against 86% of Skyby's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bus O'Clock ships an update every 22 months, Skyby weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Bus O'Clock versus Skyby: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBus O'ClockSkyby
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.6 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews64.3% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings112 — better
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSennepStoryForward

Customer experience

Bus O'Clock

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative35.7%

Skyby

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

Bus O'Clock

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Skyby

Subscriptions2
  • Skyby Pro$2.991 Month
  • Skyby Pro Annual$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • Skyby Founder Lifetime$19.99
  • Skyby Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Bus O'Clock free?
Bus O'Clock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Skyby free?
Skyby is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bus O'Clock or Skyby?
Bus O'Clock is rated higher. Bus O'Clock averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Skyby averages 4.6 from 12 ratings.
Do Bus O'Clock or Skyby have ads?
Neither Bus O'Clock nor Skyby shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bus O'Clock or Skyby?
Bus O'Clock ships an update every 22 months, and Skyby weekly. Most recently, Bus O'Clock was updated on October 24, 2026 and Skyby on October 31, 2026.

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