Metro Pulse vs Jet Handy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Metro Pulse
This app provides real-time transit information for the Washington region, including arrival times, service alerts, and trip planning. It offers practical details on nearby stations, elevator status, and offline maps for convenient travel.
- Real-time arrival times
- Nearby station information
- Trip planner with fare estimates
- Service alerts and notifications
- Offline route maps
- SmarTrip® integration
- Online chat support
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Metro Pulse helps you stay informed before you go and while you’re on the move. On bus or rail, across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, you can check real time arrivals, plan trips, save your favorites, chat with us, and get service updates — all in one easy to use app. The official app of Metro, Metro Pulse has the up-to-the-second information you need to get where you want to go. Real Time Arrivals See accurate, real time data for every train and bus. Know when your ride is coming and whether delays or service changes could affect your trip so you can adjust with confidence. Explore Nearby Service Use the Explore tab to view Metro service near your current location or anywhere you drop a pin on the map. Save Your Favorites Keep your most used lines, routes, stations, stops, and places within easy reach • Favorite a rail line or bus route to preview arrivals at nearby stations or stops • Favorite a specific station or stop to see upcoming arrivals anytime Plan and Customize Your Trip Find the best way to get from point A to point B using bus, rail, or both. • Compare route options • View fare estimates and travel times • Choose when you want to leave — now or later • Customize preferences like travel modes, walking distance, access to elevators AI Powered Chat Get quick answers about arrivals, delays, service changes, and more. If you need additional help, connect directly with a Metro customer service representative. Service Alerts Stay updated on delays, service changes, cancellations, track work, and emergencies so you can avoid surprises. Designed for Metro Riders Built for riders across the DMV and redesigned with your feedback, Metro Pulse gives you the information you need when you need it — helping you move through the region with less stress and more confidence. Metro Pulse keeps your trip on track — before, during, and after your ride.
Jet Handy
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Jet Handy is a logbook for the planes you see. Look up, open Overhead, and there they are — every airliner in the sky around you, pulled from live ADS-B data. Tail number, airline, type, altitude, how far away. Tap one to mark it spotted, or log the whole sighting with notes and photos. THE COLLECTION Every airline's fleet, tail by tail. Browse by continent, open American or Lufthansa or Qatar Airways, and tick off the airframes you've actually seen. A counter tells you how far you've got. OVERHEAD Live aircraft near you, refreshed every fifteen seconds, on a map and in a list sorted by distance. See a plane, find it in the list, mark it — no squinting at a tail number you couldn't quite read. THE SKY LOG For the sightings worth remembering. Date, tail, airline, type, where you were standing, and what you thought. Add photos: they stay on your iPhone and are never uploaded anywhere. FLOWN The tails you've personally flown on, with the date. A separate collection from the ones you've watched from the ground, and a surprisingly good way to remember trips. BADGES Small milestones, quietly kept. Ten spotted. Five flown. SYNCED, AND FINE WITHOUT SIGNAL Your collection syncs with the Jet Handy website, so it's the same list on your phone and in a browser. Spotting tends to happen where the signal is worst, so anything you record without a connection is saved on the device and sent on automatically once you're back in range. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No ads. No analytics. No tracking, of any kind. Your photos never leave your phone, your location is never stored, and your data stays yours — export a full backup whenever you like, and delete your account from inside the app if you ever want to. Jet Handy needs a free account, and works best somewhere you can see the sky.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Metro Pulse at 16.0 against Jet Handy's 18.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Metro Pulse | Jet Handy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (128 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 21.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 128 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | Typo Fire |
Bugs and requests
Metro Pulse
Reported bugs
3 issues- Old bus route numbers displayed on iPad app
- Location permissions not working
- Inability to switch between train and bus
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to plan future trips
- Fare data integration
- Scrollable and closable welcome screen
Jet Handy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Metro Pulse
No in-app purchases
Jet Handy
No in-app purchases









