Comparison

KongBus 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

KongBus

Features
Read full description

KongBus is a Hong Kong bus app. Find bus stops on the map and check bus and green minibus arrivals. What you can do • Map: Lands Department maps; tap a stop for arrivals • Lookup: search routes, bus stops or places • Nearby: bus stops around you • Go: walk, a direct ride or one transfer; save stops and set home or work

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 in Hong Kong 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

KongBus4 screens
巴士 Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: KongBus at none against 巴士 Buddy's 1. 巴士 Buddy's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence 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. 巴士 Buddy sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. KongBus asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

KongBus ships an update every 3 days, 巴士 Buddy every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
KongBus versus 巴士 Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKongBus巴士 Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJapality LimitedJigsaw Tech Limited

In-app purchases

None

KongBus

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

巴士 Buddy

Subscriptions1
  • 巴士 Buddy$1.991 Month

Questions

Is KongBus free?
KongBus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is 巴士 Buddy free?
巴士 Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do KongBus or 巴士 Buddy have ads?
KongBus shows ads; 巴士 Buddy does not.
Which is updated more often, KongBus or 巴士 Buddy?
KongBus ships an update every 3 days, and 巴士 Buddy every 6 days. Most recently, KongBus was updated on October 31, 2026 and 巴士 Buddy on November 6, 2026.

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