First Bus vs Zeelo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
First Bus
Plan your bus journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase digital tickets. Save favorite routes and stops for quick access. Manage your account and payments securely for a convenient travel experience.
- Journey planning
- Live bus tracking
- Digital ticket purchasing
- Save favorite stops
- Departure board
- Gifting tickets
Read full descriptionHide full description
Plan your journey, track your bus, and travel with confidence using the First Bus app. With real-time updates, mobile tickets, and personalised tools, getting around by bus has never been easier. Bus travellers can buy, gift, and activate digital bus tickets, manage secure payments, and save favourite locations, stops, and services for quicker access. The app also supports account management, consent management, while providing access to help and support features. Whether you’re commuting, exploring, or travelling occasionally, the app helps you stay in control from door to door. Planning your journey Find the best routes using locations, stops, or service numbers. View routes, timings, and stop information to plan trips that suit you. Live Bus tracking See your bus in real time on an interactive map and get more accurate arrival estimates. This feature helps reduce waiting uncertainty, improves journey planning, and enables users to make informed travel decisions by knowing exactly where their bus is at any moment. Departure Board Check upcoming services for either your stop or route, with clear timings and filtering (such as First Bus only) options. The time and dates can also be easily adjusted for future travel plans. Favourites Save your most-used stops, locations, and bus services for quick access every time you travel. Buying Buy, gift, and activate digital tickets directly in the app with a variety of filters. Secure payments and instant access mean no paper tickets needed. Tickets appear instantly ready to use in your account. Gifting Send tickets to friends or family quickly and easily. During the ticket buying flow, users can choose to gift a ticket instead of using it themselves, enter recipient details, and complete the purchase securely. Activating Tickets Activate your ticket in the First Bus app when you’re ready to travel. Once activated, it clearly shows its status and validity, making it quick and easy to present when boarding the bus. Account and Payments The First Bus app lets users securely manage their account and payment details in one place. Users can sign up, sign in, and reset their password if needed, as well as view and update their personal information and account settings. They can also choose to delete their account if required. Within the app, users can manage saved payment cards, set a default payment method, and remove cards at any time. All payment information is handled securely, helping ensure a smooth, safe, and convenient ticket purchasing experience. Preferences Choose your region, set walking distance preferences, and manage consent and notifications. Help and support Access FAQs , contacts and support resources in our dedicated help centre.
Zeelo
This platform helps organizations provide smart bus transportation for employees and students. Riders can easily purchase passes, manage their trips, and track their bus in real-time. Get instant updates on delays and board with a digital ticket.
- Purchase and manage travel passes
- Edit booked trips
- 24/7 in-app support
- Real-time vehicle tracking
- Delay notifications
- Digital ticket for boarding
Read full descriptionHide full description
Zeelo is a smart bus platform for organisations, taking thousands of people to work or school everyday. Use our app to purchase rides, manage travel passes and track your driver on the day of your journey. FOR THE RIDERS – Book and manage your travel passes – Edit your booked trips – Speak to our 24/7 support team on the app – Track your vehicle – Receive notifications of any delays – Show your ticket for boarding on the app
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Zeelo at none against First Bus's shown. Zeelo also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). First Bus's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for First Bus against 4.7 for Zeelo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.2K and 756 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 23% of First Bus's written reviews are positive against 29% of Zeelo's.
First Bus ships an update every 9 days, Zeelo every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | First Bus | Zeelo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.2K ratings) | 4.7 (756 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 22.8% of reviews | 28.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.2K — better | 756 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 149 MB | 110 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FirstGroup Plc | Zeelo LTD |
Customer experience
First Bus
Zeelo
User reviews
First Bus
From 2.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for planning journeys
- 🚀 Accurate live bus tracking
- 💡 Ability to save favorite stops
- 👍 Convenient ticket purchasing
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unreliable bus arrival times
- 🐛 Buses disappearing from the app
- 🐛 Technical issues and app crashes
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive interface
- 🤔 Lack of service updates and notifications
Zeelo
From 756 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Convenient transportation
- 💡 Recurring booking option
- 👍 Simple to use app
- 🚌 Smooth ride experience
- 💰 Cost savings
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app
- 🕰️ Inaccurate timetables and delays
- 🤖 Poor customer support and AI chatbot
- 🚌 Poorly maintained buses
- 🤬 Rude and unprofessional drivers
Bugs and requests
First Bus
Reported bugs
3 issues- App pausing music playback
- Inconsistent bus tracking and location data
- Inability to purchase certain ticket types
Requested features
4 requests- Offline ticket access
- Improved journey planning with timetables
- Service change notifications
- Simpler and more user-friendly interface
Zeelo
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Incorrect journey details and booking information
- Inability to log in or access account
- Inconsistent app behavior and functionality
Requested features
5 requests- Improved booking flexibility
- Real-time bus tracking
- Seamless integration with mobile wallets
- Reliable notifications and alerts
- Better multi-user support
In-app purchases
First Bus
No in-app purchases
Zeelo
No in-app purchases








