BearPool vs The Piper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BearPool
This rideshare app connects UC Berkeley students to share rides and save money. It allows users to post or join ride groups, coordinate plans via chat, and offers gender preference filtering for added comfort. Designed for students, it simplifies carpooling for campus commutes and travel.
- Share rides to save money
- Exclusive to UC Berkeley students
- Post or join ride groups
- Gender preference filtering
- In-app group chat for coordination
- Simple and affordable carpooling
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BearPool is Cal's biggest rideshare board, built exclusively for UC Berkeley students. Split costs. Meet riders you can trust. Get where you're going. Why BearPool? Berkeley students only. .edu email required. Post or join rides in seconds. Built-in group chat to coordinate plans. Gender preference filtering for your comfort. Save money on every trip. Heading to the airport, campus, or out of town? Find a ride with someone already going your way.
The Piper
This app offers a convenient way to navigate your local area for short trips and spontaneous outings. Discover nearby restaurants, events, and points of interest without needing a car. It's designed for relaxed, easy exploration at your own pace.
- Local navigation
- Discover nearby places
- Short trip planning
- Spontaneous outings
- Car-free exploration
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Piper is your go-to ride for getting around locally. Designed for short trips and spontaneous plans, Piper makes it easy to explore nearby restaurants, events, and places of interest—no car required. It’s relaxed, convenient, and built to move at your pace.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: The Piper at 5.0 against BearPool's 4.7. The Piper also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 83%). BearPool's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and ratings volume (12 vs 3). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
The Piper holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of BearPool's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Piper's.
BearPool ships an update every 2 months, The Piper every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BearPool | The Piper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (12 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 135 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Maaz Dhalech | THE PIPEY LLC |
Customer experience
BearPool
The Piper
In-app purchases
BearPool
No in-app purchases
The Piper
No in-app purchases
