RydeMates vs Bruin Carpool
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RydeMates
This app facilitates carpooling for UCLA students traveling to and from LAX. Users can create or join groups of up to four students to share rides, saving money and reducing environmental impact. Coordinate logistics and connect with fellow students for a simpler travel experience.
- Connect UCLA students for rides
- Carpooling to and from LAX
- Group creation and joining
- In-app chat for coordination
- Save money on travel
- Reduce carbon emissions
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RydeMates connects college students who need rides between their campus and LAX, making carpooling simple, safe, and rewarding. Whether you're heading to LAX or back to UCLA or USC, find a group of up to 4 students to ride with and turn every journey into an opportunity to save money, reduce emissions, and make new friends. Users can create or join carpools listed on the groups page and chat with other riders within their group to coordinate ride logistics. Download now to help the planet and your wallet!
Bruin Carpool
This app connects UCLA students for shared rides, significantly reducing travel costs to destinations like LAX or Union Station. It allows verified Bruins to split fares for services like Waymo or Uber, avoiding surge pricing and expensive solo trips.
- Fare splitting for rideshares
- Connects verified UCLA students
- Reduces travel costs
- Avoids surge pricing
- Secure and trusted rides
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Stop overpaying for your ride to the airport. Bruin Carpool is the ultimate fare-splitting hack for the UCLA community, designed to turn that expensive solo Uber or Lyft into a fraction of the cost. Whether you’re catching a flight at LAX, heading to Union Station for the weekend, returning to campus, or anywhere else you like our platform connects you exclusively with verified Bruins heading the exact same way. Why drop $70 on a solo ride when you can split a Waymo or Uber with a fellow student you can trust? Stay safe, skip the "surge price" stress, and join the hundreds of Bruins who travel smarter. Your ucla.edu email is your ticket to cheaper travel download Bruin Carpool and stop paying full price today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Bruin Carpool at every 11 days against RydeMates's every 2 months. Bruin Carpool also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.4). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Bruin Carpool holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
RydeMates ships an update every 2 months, Bruin Carpool every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RydeMates | Bruin Carpool |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Devon Bradley | CADEN MANATO MINAMI |
Customer experience
RydeMates
Bruin Carpool
In-app purchases
RydeMates
No in-app purchases
Bruin Carpool
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is RydeMates free?
Is Bruin Carpool free?
Which has better reviews, RydeMates or Bruin Carpool?
Do RydeMates or Bruin Carpool have ads?
Which is updated more often, RydeMates or Bruin Carpool?
Other comparisons
