Darbi vs S'hail
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Darbi
This app offers real-time traffic updates, incident reports, and roadwork information for Abu Dhabi. Users can plan journeys, check bus and ferry schedules, top up transit cards, book taxis, and pay for parking. It also includes a feature to report transportation service complaints.
- Live traffic conditions
- Traffic incidents and roadworks
- Bus and ferry schedules
- Hafilat card top-up
- Taxi booking
- On-street parking payment
- Geofeedback reporting
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The Integrated Transport Centre(ITC) presents the new update of Darbi application for Abu Dhabi residents and visitors. Darbi Mobile provides an “Intelligent Transport System in the palm of your hand”. The application requires at least 3G network or Wi-Fi access. For many of the system functions, an access to GPS location information on the smartphone is also required. Darbi app provides the users with live data on traffic conditions, traffic incidents and road works in Abu Dhabi. In addition, it provides access to road service patrol. Users can also plan journey around Abu Dhabi city and get real time information of Bus schedules and facilitate Toping up Hafilat Card. The app also enables users to book a taxi, pay for on-street Mawaqif parking, and obtain ferry schedule information. It also enables them to contact ITC through a “Geofeedback” feature to report any complains related to transportation services.
S'hail
Navigate Dubai with ease using this comprehensive travel planner. Discover optimal public transport routes, including buses, metro, marine, and taxis. Plan your journeys, top up your nol card, and explore the city efficiently.
- Public transport route planner
- Multiple transport modes
- Real-time departure times
- Nol card top-up
- Guest and registered user options
- Route cost and time comparison
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RTA S’hail Every day, a smarter way. S’hail is your perfect companion when moving around Dubai. It makes travelling quick, simple and hassle free. S’hail can show you the best public transport routes to take using different modes of transportation available in Dubai, such as Buses, Marine, Metro, Tram, Taxis, e-hailing and even cycling. All of this at your fingertips, thanks to S’hail. You can use S’hail app as a guest user, but we recommend that you login or create a RTA account to benefit from all of the cool features. With its clear, user-friendly and intuitive looks, it offers you a smile with a number of ways you can travel around Dubai . Looking for the fastest or the cheapest route to your destination? or want to know the real time departure time from your locations? Maybe you just wanted to explore new places in Dubai so why not topup your nol cards before you start your journey? When in Dubai, let S’hail guide you through all of your public transport needs. Did you like S’hail? please give us a rating on app stores and also on our Happiness Meter
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Darbi at 53% against S'hail's 9%. Darbi also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). S'hail's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 2.4) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume, 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.
S'hail holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 59 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of Darbi's written reviews are positive against 9% of S'hail's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Darbi ships an update every 4 months, S'hail every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Darbi | S'hail |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.4 (25 ratings) | 4.3 (59 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.9% of reviews — better | 9.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 25 | 59 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 192 MB | 112 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Abu Dhabi Integrated Transport Centre | Roads & Transport Authority |
Customer experience
Darbi
S'hail
In-app purchases
Darbi
No in-app purchases
S'hail
No in-app purchases





