Comparison

Marin Airporter vs PermitPulse

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

Head to head
About

Marin Airporter

This app simplifies shuttle bus travel between SFO and Marin County. Purchase tickets, view schedules, and monitor live bus locations for a smooth and efficient journey.

Highlights
  • Buy shuttle bus tickets
  • Check timetables
  • Track live bus locations
  • Seamless travel experience
  • Stress-free transportation
Features
Read full description

Whether you're catching a flight or returning home, Marin Airporter is the must-have app for seamless shuttle bus travel between SFO and Marin County. Buy tickets, check timetables, and track live bus locations—all in one convenient app. Get ready to embark on a stress-free, comfortable, and efficient transportation experience with Marin Airporter.

About

PermitPulse

This app monitors recreation.gov for available permits for popular national parks and wilderness areas. It sends instant push notifications and emails when a desired permit becomes available, helping you secure reservations.

Highlights
  • Real-time permit availability monitoring
  • Push and email notifications
  • Supports Boundary Waters, Rocky Mountain NP, Great Smoky Mountains NP
  • Customizable date and entry point selection
  • Daily reminders for open permits
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

Permits for the Boundary Waters, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains are gone within minutes of going on sale. The good news is that people cancel all the time, and those spots quietly reappear on recreation.gov. The bad news is that nobody tells you when. That's what PermitPulse is for. Pick the entry point or campsite you want and the dates you can go. PermitPulse checks recreation.gov every five minutes, around the clock, and the moment a permit opens up your phone buzzes. WHAT'S COVERED Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: overnight paddle, hike and motor entry points, plus day motor. Rocky Mountain National Park: wilderness camping permits, by camp area and group size. Great Smoky Mountains: backcountry campsites and trail shelters. HOW IT WORKS Choose a park, an entry point or starting area, and the dates you can go. PermitPulse starts watching. When something opens up you get a push notification and an email listing the dates that came free, and you book it on recreation.gov yourself. If a permit stays open, you'll get one reminder a day, so a trip you were still thinking over doesn't quietly slip past you. A FEW OTHER THINGS Dark mode, for the 5am checks from inside a tent. Push and email alerts can each be turned on or off, so you can have one without the other. For Rocky Mountain and the Smokies you can set your group size and pick specific campsites, or just watch a whole area at once. Your first watch is free. After that watches run on tokens: buy a small bundle once and spend them when you need to. Nothing renews and there's no subscription. PermitPulse isn't affiliated with recreation.gov, the Forest Service or the National Park Service, and it can't book anything for you. It watches so you don't have to, and tells you the moment there's something worth grabbing. Questions, bugs, or an entry point we're missing: permitpulseapp@gmail.com

Screenshots

Marin Airporter4 screens
PermitPulse3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PermitPulse at 67% against Marin Airporter's 10%. PermitPulse also leads on rating (4.0 vs 2.5) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). Marin Airporter's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (20 vs 4). On price, update cadence, 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. PermitPulse sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Marin Airporter asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PermitPulse holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Marin Airporter has 20 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of Marin Airporter's written reviews are positive against 67% of PermitPulse's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marin Airporter ships an update fortnightly, PermitPulse every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and August 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Marin Airporter versus PermitPulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarin AirporterPermitPulse
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (20 ratings)4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.0% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20 — better4
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperModeshift Inc.Michael Goodwin

Customer experience

Marin Airporter

All ratings20 ratings
Positive30.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive10.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative70.0%

PermitPulse

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Marin Airporter

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

PermitPulse

One-time4
  • 10 Tokens$0.99
  • 20 Tokens$1.99
  • 60 Tokens$4.99
Show 1 more
  • 120 Tokens$8.99

Questions

Is Marin Airporter free?
Marin Airporter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PermitPulse free?
PermitPulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Marin Airporter or PermitPulse?
PermitPulse is rated higher. Marin Airporter averages 2.5 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while PermitPulse averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Marin Airporter or PermitPulse have ads?
Neither Marin Airporter nor PermitPulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marin Airporter or PermitPulse?
Marin Airporter ships an update fortnightly, and PermitPulse every 8 days. Most recently, Marin Airporter was updated on September 20, 2026 and PermitPulse on August 22, 2026.

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