Comparison

BC Ferries vs Whale Tracker

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

Head to head
About

BC Ferries

Plan and book personal ferry travel with ease. Manage your trips, check schedules, and view current conditions instantly. Receive timely alerts for service notices and booking reminders.

Highlights
  • Personalized dashboard
  • Set travel preferences
  • Book and manage trips
  • Express booking
  • Seamless check-in
  • View schedules and conditions
  • Push notifications for alerts
Features
Read full description

Introducing a new travel resource for planning and booking personal ferry travel. Book sailings, manage your trips, and check schedules and current conditions in a flash with the BC Ferries app. HOMEPAGE DASHBOARD Your personalized home screen features an at-a-glance view of your upcoming bookings, travel preferences, deals and offers and more. TRAVEL PREFERENCES Get quick access to schedules, current conditions and a faster booking experience on your frequently travelled routes by setting up travel preferences. Give your travel preferences nicknames, set departure and arrival terminals and add passenger and vehicle details on bookable routes. BOOK AND MANAGE YOUR FERRY TRAVEL Make your booking experience easier with personalized travel preferences. Quickly jump to the next available sailing with the new Express book feature, and change or cancel existing bookings on-the-go. SEAMLESS CHECK-IN AT THE TERMINAL Get quick access to your upcoming trips right from your home screen for seamless check-in with the app at the terminal. SCHEDULES Plan your trip with confidence with enhanced features on daily and seasonal schedules for all BC Ferries routes. Easily check sailing times for your favourite routes with travel preferences, and book directly from the schedules pages for bookable routes. Daily schedules now show the next sailing being ticketed and estimated deck space available. CURRENT CONDITIONS Route sailing status and estimated deck space are now easier to check with the updated Current Conditions layout. Travel preferences make it easier to find your frequently traveled routes, check which sailing is being ticketed, and view status of upcoming sailings. ALERTS Never miss any updates on the routes that matter the most to you. Opt-in to receive timely push notifications for service notices and upcoming booking reminders on your device. ADDITIONAL FEATURES AVAILABLE • Foot passenger bookings • Request accessibility products: boarding assistance, wheelchair at the terminal Note: Tablet landscape view is currently not supported in the app. If you are using a tablet, use the app in portrait view only. VISIT BCFERRIES.COM TO ACCESS THE FOLLOWING FEATURES • Booking BC Ferries Vacations packages • Commercial vehicle bookings • Group bookings of 10 or more passengers • To create an account

About

Whale Tracker

Discover real-time, verified whale and shark sightings worldwide on a live map. Receive proximity alerts, track individual whales, and explore migration routes. Ideal for whale watchers, boaters, and ocean enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Live sightings map
  • Proximity alerts
  • Track individual whales
  • Worldwide coverage
  • Migration routes
  • Captain Mode for boaters
Features
Read full description

See whales — in real time. Whale Tracker turns every coastline into a live map of what's out there right now — verified whale sightings near you, reported by a trusted community of spotters, captains, and researchers worldwide. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Live sightings map — orca, humpback, blue, sperm, grey, fin & southern right whales • Sightings near you — see what's been spotted on your coast today • Proximity alerts — get notified the moment a whale is near, by species and radius • Follow individual whales — know when one you're tracking is seen again • Worldwide coverage — USA, Canada, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Iceland, the Azores, Japan, UK & dozens more • Migration routes — follow the giants as they travel • Captain Mode — live chart with real-time proximity alerts & speed warnings for boaters • Listen Live — hear orcas and humpbacks on live underwater microphones • Whale news & articles — whale science, conservation & current sightings Whether you're whale watching, boating, fishing, or just love the ocean, Whale Tracker puts the sea in your pocket. Download and see what's swimming near you today. Auto-Renewable Subscription Some features require an active subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at purchase confirmation. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/orca-spotter-privacy-policy/home

Screenshots

BC Ferries4 screens
Whale Tracker3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Whale Tracker at 57% against BC Ferries's 7%. Whale Tracker also leads on rating (4.2 vs 2.2) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). BC Ferries's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 15) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume and ads 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. Whale Tracker sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. BC Ferries asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Whale Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 28 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 7% of BC Ferries's written reviews are positive against 57% of Whale Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BC Ferries ships an update every 2 months, Whale Tracker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
BC Ferries versus Whale Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBC FerriesWhale Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.2 (18 ratings)4.2 (28 ratings) — better
Positive reviews7.5% of reviews57.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1828 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBC Ferry Services Inc.STEPHEN VICTOR HART

Customer experience

BC Ferries

All ratings18 ratings
Positive22.2%
Neutral16.7%
Negative61.1%
Written reviews134 reviews
Positive7.5%
Neutral7.5%
Negative85.1%

Whale Tracker

All ratings28 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral4.8%
Negative38.1%

Bugs and requests

BC Ferries

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • Update loop requesting repeated updates despite being current
  • App crashes on launch, especially on iOS 26
  • Login screen freezes and authentication errors
  • Booking confirmation not displaying in 'My Bookings' section
  • Reverse direction button activates on accidental touch
Show 12 more
  • Payment page spinning indefinitely then failing
  • Session expiration and random logouts
  • Bookings showing as cancelled when they're active
  • App won't accept correct credentials despite website login working
  • Navigation buttons at bottom not functioning
  • Schedule direction inverted for certain routes
  • Current Conditions showing inaccurate space availability
  • Booking edit functionality not accepting changes
  • Account lockout with no recovery option
  • Foreign email addresses not receiving verification codes
  • Oversized vehicle selection cutting off edit buttons
  • Password authentication error during booking despite being logged in

Requested features

14 requests
  • Calendar integration for bookings
  • Dark mode option
  • iPad landscape mode support
  • Service notifications within app without email duplicates
  • Ability to view bookings beyond 45 days
Show 9 more
  • BC Experience Card reload functionality
  • Native iOS app design instead of web wrapper
  • Password manager support
  • Account creation option from app login screen
  • Booking reference number recognition for pre-made reservations
  • Ferry delay/lateness visibility
  • Grace period for accidental bookings without fees
  • Accessibility improvements for VoiceOver/screen readers
  • Better error messaging for failed transactions

Whale Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BC Ferries

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Whale Tracker

Subscriptions9
  • Whale Tracker Monthly2 variants$3.991 Month
  • Whale Tracker Premium Monthly2 variants$4.991 Month
  • Whale Tracker Monthly2 variants$4.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Whale Tracker Premium Monthly$8.991 Month
  • Whale Tracker Yearly$14.991 Year
  • Whale Tracker Premium Yearly2 variants$19.991 Year
  • Whale Tracker Yearly2 variants$19.991 Year
  • Whale Tracker Yearly$22.991 Year
  • Whale Tracker Premium Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock everything forever.$64.99

Questions

Is BC Ferries free?
BC Ferries is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Whale Tracker free?
Whale Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BC Ferries or Whale Tracker?
Whale Tracker is rated higher. BC Ferries averages 2.2 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Whale Tracker averages 4.2 from 28 ratings.
Do BC Ferries or Whale Tracker have ads?
Neither BC Ferries nor Whale Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BC Ferries or Whale Tracker?
BC Ferries ships an update every 2 months, and Whale Tracker every 2 weeks. Most recently, BC Ferries was updated on October 27, 2026 and Whale Tracker on October 25, 2026.

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