Comparison

BART Watch vs Clipper Card

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

Head to head
About

BART Watch

This app provides a discreet way for public transit riders to report suspicious activity directly to transit police. Users can send text messages, photos, and location data, with options for anonymity. It also features alerts for persons of interest.

Highlights
  • Report suspicious activity
  • Send text messages and photos
  • Discreet reporting with disabled flash
  • Location sharing
  • Anonymous reporting option
  • Direct call to transit police
  • Be On the Look Out (BOLO) alerts
Features
Read full description

BART Watch: Free Security App for Riders. The BART Watch App offers the public a quick and discreet method for reporting suspicious activity directly to BART Police. The app can send pictures, text messages, and locations of suspicious people or activities. From the home screen, users have two easy options for contacting BART Police: * The “Report a Problem” button allows users to send text or photos directly to BART Police. To ensure discretion, the camera flash is automatically disabled when photos are taken through the app. When reporting an issue, users can select locations and report categories to assist BART Police. Riders can also send reports anonymously if they chose. * The “Call BART Police” button will connect customers directly to BART Police. The application is designed for BART. If you send a report in an area without cellular connectivity, it will be stored and sent when connectivity returns. The system is also designed to send text messages before pictures so that BART Police can get app reports as quickly as possible. Additional Features BOLO (Be On the Look Out) Alerts. BOLO Alerts on the BART Watch App may display alerts from BART Police about specific persons of interest. For example, BART Watch may display information about a missing person or child, such as where they were last seen. If you see a person from a BOLO, immediately call 911 and send an app report to BART Police discreetly. Help keep BART safe, "See something, Say something."

About

Clipper Card

Manage your transit card for contactless fare payments across the San Francisco Bay Area. Load value, plan trips with real-time information, and pay fares directly from your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Pay fares with Clipper in Apple Pay
  • Manage transit accounts
  • Load cash value and transit passes
  • Plan trips with real-time info
  • Add/transfer cards to Apple Wallet
  • View account activity
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Clipper app is here! - Pay your fares with Clipper in Apple Pay - Manage your account(s) - Load cash value and transit passes - Plan your trips Clipper is the all-in-one transit card used for contactless fare payments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The new Clipper app lets you manage your Clipper account from your iPhone—add value, view your history, and plan your trip! Download the Clipper app today! Pay with Your iPhone or Apple Watch The Clipper app gives you step-by-step instructions for setting up a new Clipper card or transferring an existing Clipper card to your Apple Wallet. Manage Your Account The Clipper app gives you the same account access as the website, but on your iPhone! You can register a new card, load cash value and transit passes, set up Autoload, view your recent activity, and other features. Sign in and out of multiple Clipper accounts in the Clipper app to manage a card on behalf of someone else. Plan Your Trip The Clipper app has real-time transit information and helpful trip planning tools to make getting around the Bay easy! You can view nearby transit options and routes, get real-time travel and arrival information, and save your favorite locations, stops, and stations. By downloading this app, you agree to and accept the terms of the Clipper Mobile Application License Agreement (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/mobile-application-agreement.html) and the Clipper Privacy Policy (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/privacy.html). Clipper serves 24 transit services in the San Francisco Bay Area: AC Transit BART Caltrain City Coach County Connection Dumbarton Express FAST Golden Gate Ferry Golden Gate Transit Marin Transit Muni Petaluma Transit SamTrans San Francisco Bay Ferry Santa Rosa CityBus SMART SolTrans Sonoma County Transit Tri Delta Transit Union City Transit Vine VTA WestCAT Wheels By downloading this app, you agree to and accept the terms of the Clipper Mobile Application License Agreement (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/mobile-application-agreement.html) and the Clipper Privacy Policy (https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/privacy.html).

Screenshots

BART Watch3 screens
Clipper Card4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BART Watch at 4.4 against Clipper Card's 3.8. BART Watch also leads on review sentiment (34% vs 3%). Clipper Card's advantage is chart position (#112 vs unranked) and ratings volume (11K vs 2.8K). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BART Watch holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.8K and 11K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of BART Watch's written reviews are positive against 3% of Clipper Card's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
BART Watch versus Clipper Card: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBART WatchClipper Card
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (2.8K ratings) — better3.8 (11K ratings)
Positive reviews34.1% of reviews — better3.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2.8K11K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#112 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperELERTS CorpMetropolitan Transportation Commission

Customer experience

BART Watch

All ratings2,797 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.4%
Negative9.9%
Written reviews88 reviews
Positive34.1%
Neutral8.0%
Negative58.0%

Clipper Card

All ratings9,408 ratings
Positive68.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews404 reviews
Positive3.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative90.3%

User reviews

BART Watch

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Speedy response
  • 🚀 Helpful app
  • 🚀 Fast response time!
  • 🚀 Buen trabajo
  • 🚀 Excellent app/very useful

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Logo is too big
  • 🔍 Works horrible in tunnel and tube
  • 🔍 If you like to answer endless inane questions
  • 🔍 Useless
  • 🔍 No response

Clipper Card

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient to add Clipper card to Apple Wallet
  • 👍 Easy to manage Clipper card balance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with frequent issues
  • ⏱️ Slow to update card balance and transaction history
  • 💳 Difficult to cancel auto-load or transfer card balances
  • 🤖 Poor customer service and unresponsive support
  • 🔒 Security concerns with lost/stolen cards

Bugs and requests

BART Watch

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • had a good connection but unable to upload
  • Can't file a report and a kid is lighting things on fire in the BART car. Obvious the camera doesn't work. Good job!
  • Don't see an option for fare evader

Requested features

2 requests
  • Need a way to report non-police matters too
  • Upload a photo of disruptive behavior

Clipper Card

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezes and crashes frequently
  • Card balances not updating properly
  • Issues with adding cards to Apple Wallet
  • Inconsistent behavior when loading funds

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improve real-time sync of card balance and transactions
  • Streamline process to cancel auto-load and transfer balances
  • Provide better customer support and communication
  • Enhance security features for lost/stolen cards
  • Eliminate unnecessary fees

In-app purchases

None

BART Watch

No in-app purchases

None

Clipper Card

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BART Watch free?
BART Watch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Clipper Card free?
Clipper Card is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BART Watch or Clipper Card?
BART Watch is rated higher. BART Watch averages 4.4 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Clipper Card averages 3.8 from 11K ratings.
Do BART Watch or Clipper Card have ads?
Neither BART Watch nor Clipper Card shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BART Watch or Clipper Card?
BART Watch ships an update every 3 months, and Clipper Card every 3 months. Most recently, BART Watch was updated on September 25, 2026 and Clipper Card on September 26, 2026.

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