Comparison

PulseHK vs 巴士 Buddy

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

Head to head
About

PulseHK

Features
Read full description

Hong Kong, in your hands. PulseHK brings Hong Kong transport and everyday places into one clear, privacy-conscious native app. From the daily commute to a nearby pharmacy, public toilet, park or police station, start with one map. TRANSPORT AND JOURNEYS • Search buses, MTR, minibuses, ferries and verified transport data • See route directions, stop sequences and available estimated arrivals • Plan cross-district, cross-harbour and connecting journeys; save regular routes and places • Download transport data for supported offline search and journey planning EVERYDAY DISCOVERIES • Browse 60 place categories, including pharmacies, police stations, schools, sports facilities and public services • Switch between map and list, with addresses, source details and available contact information • Explore hiking trails and distance posts • Check Hong Kong Observatory weather and update times with an animated sky HUANGGANG TRANSPORT • Explore Hong Kong connections, directions, boarding bays, fares and service periods • Check B14 and connecting services, and plan around your departure time CLEAR ABOUT THE DATA Estimated arrivals, timetables, delayed data and unavailable information are distinguished. Reference coordinates do not imply a verified entrance. Weather animations are illustrations, not live images of your location. Always check the latest official and operator announcements. MADE FOR YOUR EVERYDAY Traditional Chinese, English and Simplified Chinese; light and dark appearances; accessible text sizes. No account is required to browse transport or places. Location permission is requested only when you actively choose nearby or current location. Sign in with Apple to participate in moderated station messages. PulseHK has no third-party advertising or cross-app tracking and does not record continuous location trails. Data comes from public and authorised sources. Coverage, availability and update speed depend on upstream sources and network conditions.

About

巴士 Buddy

Get live arrival times and plan trips for buses, minibuses, and the MTR in Hong Kong. Features include route planning with transfers, walking times, and fares. Supports multiple languages and extensive public transport coverage.

Highlights
  • Live bus, minibus, and MTR arrival times
  • Trip planning with transfers and fares
  • Route maps and walking directions
  • Fare information and departure times
  • Multi-language support (EN, TC, SC)
  • Coverage of KMB, Citybus, ferries, trams, and more
Features
Read full description

巴士 Buddy (Bus Buddy) is the Hong Kong bus app for everyday riders: live arrival times (ETA) for KMB, Citybus, green minibuses and the MTR, a live map of where every bus is, and a trip planner that handles transfers. Live arrivals and the bus map are free. LIVE BUS MAP Open any route and see where every bus is right now. Pick the bus you're on and see when it reaches each stop along the way. CONNECTIONS AT A GLANCE Tap any stop on a route to see the other routes you can change to there. Subscribers also see when each connecting bus is due, and open its route, live, with one more tap. NEARBY STOPS, LIVE ARRIVALS Your nearby bus and minibus stops appear as soon as you open the app. Swipe between them, or open a stop to see every route serving it and how many minutes until the next bus. Star the stops you use and they come first. TRIP PLANNER Enter where you're going and see every way there: when the next bus comes, when you'll arrive, the walk, the changes and the fare. Subscribers see which buses to take and where to board, with MTR exits, step by step. Without a subscription you can open one trip a week in full. FOR DAILY COMMUTING • Save the routes and stops you use for one-tap access • Recent routes, stops and destinations are remembered • Route maps show the ride and the walk at each end • Fares, first and last departures, and timetables • Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and English COVERAGE KMB and Long Win, Citybus (including former NWFB routes), New Lantao Bus, Discovery Bay Transit, green minibuses, MTR, Light Rail and its feeder buses, ferries (Sun Ferry, Fortune Ferry, HKKF) and trams. Ferries, Light Rail and trams show published timetables. FREE AND SUBSCRIPTION Free: live arrivals, the live bus map, nearby stops and stop boards, the routes you can change to, saved routes and stops, a preview of every trip plan, one full trip plan a week, and a weekly allowance of route look-ups. A subscription adds full trip plans (which buses, where to board, step by step), the arrival times of connecting buses, and unlimited route look-ups. New subscribers get the first month free, then a monthly subscription. Cancel any time in Settings. It renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends, and your Apple Account is charged when you confirm the purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://jigsawtech.app/busbuddy/privacy Route, timetable and stop data from Hong Kong government open data (DATA.GOV.HK).

Screenshots

PulseHK4 screens
巴士 Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: 巴士 Buddy at 15.0 against PulseHK's 18.0. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PulseHK sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and 巴士 Buddy sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PulseHK ships an update every 4 days, 巴士 Buddy every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
PulseHK versus 巴士 Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPulseHK巴士 Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size256 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFANGJIAN NIUJigsaw Tech Limited

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PulseHK

One-time1
  • This Stop · One Line$0.29
1 purchases

巴士 Buddy

Subscriptions1
  • 巴士 Buddy (BusBuddy)1 Month trial$1.991 Month

Questions

Is PulseHK free?
PulseHK is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is 巴士 Buddy free?
巴士 Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PulseHK or 巴士 Buddy have ads?
Neither PulseHK nor 巴士 Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PulseHK or 巴士 Buddy?
PulseHK ships an update every 4 days, and 巴士 Buddy every 3 days. Most recently, PulseHK was updated on October 18, 2026 and 巴士 Buddy on October 14, 2026.

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