Chicago CTA Metro Map vs Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chicago CTA Metro Map
Navigate Chicago's CTA transit system with ease. This app offers interactive maps, real-time train departures, and offline journey planning to help you get around the city efficiently. Save your favorite routes and enjoy a step-by-step guide for stress-free travel.
- Interactive L train maps
- Offline journey planner
- Real-time departure boards
- Step-by-step navigation
- Save favorite routes
- Ad-free VIP option
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Chicago L Metro Map is the navigation app that makes travelling by CTA transit in Chicago simple From the Bean to the Willis Tower, cheering on the Chicago Cubs or rooting for the Chicago Bears, whether you’re a Chicago native on your commute to work or sightseeing fresh from O'Hare International Airport, we’ll show you the best way to get where you’re going in Chicago. We make taking the L easy. You’ll be a Ventra tapping pro in no time Tap, tap, tap! Pan and zoom your way across Chicago with ease using our simple, interactive maps. We’ll even show your route on the map Plan journeys, sharpish Search for stations and find your way using the world’s fastest route planner No internet? No problem Maps and journey planning even work offline Regular map updates Auto-magic updates keep our maps always up-to-date and box fresh Every step of the way A step-by-step guide means you’ll never get lost again Save your faves From finding your way back home to taking the stress out of commuting and all the places in between. Your personal Shortcuts are never more than a swipe away See the next trains Departure Boards take the guesswork out of travelling. No more wasted time stuck on crowded platforms Chicago L Metro VIP features: An ad-free experience Proper VIP treatment, with no ads, ever Priority support Problem with the app? We’ll be there to help you out We’re the world's number one for transit apps. Check out our world-famous Tube Map London, New York Subway Map, and Paris Metro Map apps today Visiting Boston, Los Angeles, or Washington, D.C. soon? We’ve got you covered there, too. Take our apps with you, just search Mapway on the App Store Chicago L Metro VIP available as an in-app subscription: $1.99 monthly or $4.99 annually, or as a one-off purchase of $12.99. Prices may vary by location. Cancel at any time, for any reason. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, at the cost of your chosen price tier. Subscriptions can be managed, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to Account Settings in your iTunes Account. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription to that publication is purchased, where applicable. Privacy Policy: https://mapway.ai/chicagometroios/privacy Terms of use: https://mapway.ai/chicagometroios/terms
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
Track Chicago CTA buses in real-time. Select your route, direction, and stop to view upcoming bus arrivals. Save favorite stops for quick access to arrival times.
- Live bus tracking
- Route and direction selection
- Stop arrival predictions
- Save favorite stops
- Fast and easy to use
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Live bus tracker for Chicago CTA buses. Simply select a route, direction and stop to see the next bus arrivals. Save your favorite stops to see upcoming arrivals with a single touch. - CTA buses - Save unlimited number of favorites - Easy to use - Fast This is not an official app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chicago CTA Bus Tracker at none against Chicago CTA Metro Map's 10. Chicago CTA Bus Tracker also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 33%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Chicago CTA Metro Map's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 37 months) and rating (4.6 vs 4.2). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Chicago CTA Metro Map sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Chicago CTA Bus Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chicago CTA Metro Map holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 155 and 204 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Chicago CTA Metro Map's written reviews are positive against 60% of Chicago CTA Bus Tracker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Chicago CTA Metro Map ships an update every 5 months, Chicago CTA Bus Tracker every 37 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chicago CTA Metro Map | Chicago CTA Bus Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (155 ratings) — better | 4.2 (204 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 59.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 155 | 204 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 37 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 162 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Mapway Inc. | Naiara Albaina |
Customer experience
Chicago CTA Metro Map
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
Bugs and requests
Chicago CTA Metro Map
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
Reported bugs
8 issues- App doesn't update
- App doesn't refresh
- Home page doesn't load
- No information available when searching
- App freezes sometimes
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- No real-time info refresh
- Doesn't load consistently
- Takes a while to upload
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to rearrange favorites
- Add a refresh button
- Improve user-friendliness on the go
- Add train tracking
- Fix discrepancy between app and website
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- Allow users to refresh current input
In-app purchases
Chicago CTA Metro Map
- Unlimited Access$1.991 Month
- VIP Monthly$2.491 Month
- Unlimited Access3 Days trial$7.997 Days
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- Unlimited Access3 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Unlimited Access3 Days trial2 variants$19.991 Year
- Unlimited Access3 Days trial2 variants$29.991 Year
- Unlimited Access3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Unlimited Access3 Days trial$49.991 Year
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chicago CTA Metro Map free?
Is Chicago CTA Bus Tracker free?
Which has better reviews, Chicago CTA Metro Map or Chicago CTA Bus Tracker?
Do Chicago CTA Metro Map or Chicago CTA Bus Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chicago CTA Metro Map or Chicago CTA Bus Tracker?
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