# MBTA mTicket vs RIPTA Wave

The clearest difference is rating: MBTA mTicket at 2.6 against RIPTA Wave's 1.5. MBTA mTicket also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (27% vs 5%). RIPTA Wave's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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

MBTA mTicket holds the better App Store score, 2.6 against 1.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 644 and 217 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of MBTA mTicket's written reviews are positive against 5% of RIPTA Wave's.

MBTA mTicket ships an update every 3 months, RIPTA Wave every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MBTA mTicket | RIPTA Wave |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[2.6 (644 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mbta-mticket/id560487958/reviews)** | [1.5 (217 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ripta-wave/id1490019520/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **644** | 217 |
| Positive reviews | **27.4% of reviews** | 5.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#117** | — |
| Size | 79 MB | 91 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MBTA](https://appshunter.io/developer/1055198019) | [Bytemark, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/925346607) |

## What reviewers say

### MBTA mTicket

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mbta-mticket/id560487958)

**Currently charting:** #117 Top Free · Travel (US App Store)

Purchase Commuter Rail and Ferry tickets instantly from your smartphone. This app acts as a mobile ticket office, allowing you to buy single, round-trip, and 10-ride tickets securely. Your phone becomes your ticket, and purchased tickets are stored within the app for easy access and transfer.

**Highlights:** Secure ticket purchasing, Smartphone as ticket, Ticket transferability, View schedules and alerts, Purchase 10-ride tickets

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app and reliable
- 👍 Clean and simple, easy to use
- 👍 Functional and works as needed
- 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Works fine, no issues experienced

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitchy at best, frequently crashes
- 🐛 Buggy, payment processing issues
- 🐛 Unreliable, app often doesn't work
- 🐛 Broken features, poor UX
- 🐛 Payments not working, app unusable

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues, unable to create account
- Tickets disappearing, money stolen
- Brightness settings not resetting
- Incompatible with older devices

**Requested features**

- Add support for Apple Wallet
- Integrate with mobile wallets
- Improve navigation and ticket management
- Add real-time train schedule updates
- Allow changing account details


### RIPTA Wave

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ripta-wave/id1490019520)

Purchase and manage public transit fares directly from your smartphone. Load money onto your account and use your phone as your ticket to ride, with options for one-way, day, and monthly passes. Your fare balance is always accessible and transferable.

**Highlights:** Secure fare purchasing, Smartphone as ticket, Earn As You Go fare system, Transferable fare balance, One-way, Day, and Monthly passes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- ✅ Convenient contactless payment option
- 🎯 Ride-to-earn feature allows flexible payment
- 📱 No need to carry physical cards
- 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing interface design
- ⚙️ Auto-purchase functionality available

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- 💸 Minimum $5-$6 charge requirement (fare is only $2)
- 🔐 Constant login and authentication issues
- 💰 Money disappears or fails to load on virtual cards
- ❌ QR code scanner doesn't work reliably

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup and during payment
- QR code scanner fails to read barcodes
- Random logout without user action
- Payment verification fails despite successful charge
- Virtual cards created unexpectedly

**Requested features**

- Integration with Apple Wallet and Apple Pay
- Support for Samsung devices
- One-way ticket option instead of only day/monthly passes
- Transfer pass availability in app (currently bus-only)
- Credit card payment option


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MBTA mTicket free?

MBTA mTicket is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is RIPTA Wave free?

RIPTA Wave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, MBTA mTicket or RIPTA Wave?

MBTA mTicket is rated higher. MBTA mTicket averages 2.6 out of 5 from 644 ratings, while RIPTA Wave averages 1.5 from 217 ratings.

### Do MBTA mTicket or RIPTA Wave have ads?

Neither MBTA mTicket nor RIPTA Wave shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MBTA mTicket or RIPTA Wave?

MBTA mTicket ships an update every 3 months, and RIPTA Wave every 2 months. Most recently, MBTA mTicket was updated on September 24, 2026 and RIPTA Wave on September 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*