# Here Comes the Bus vs FAMILIES | TalkingPoints

The clearest difference is rating: FAMILIES | TalkingPoints at 4.8 against Here Comes the Bus's 4.5. FAMILIES | TalkingPoints also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

FAMILIES | TalkingPoints holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 74K and 92K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 31% of Here Comes the Bus's written reviews are positive against 24% of FAMILIES | TalkingPoints's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Here Comes the Bus ships an update every 2 months, FAMILIES | TalkingPoints every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Here Comes the Bus | FAMILIES | TalkingPoints |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (74K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/here-comes-the-bus/id981902595/reviews) | **[4.8 (92K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/families-talkingpoints/id1320244591/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 74K | **92K** |
| Positive reviews | **31.1% of reviews** | 23.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #122 | **#68** |
| Size | 40 MB | 44 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Synovia Solutions LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/981902594) | [TalkingPoints Corp](https://appshunter.io/developer/1205379491) |

## What reviewers say

### Here Comes the Bus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/here-comes-the-bus/id981902595)

**Currently charting:** #122 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

Track your child's school bus in real-time and receive notifications about its location and their boarding/deboarding. This app ensures your child arrives at the bus stop on time and provides peace of mind regarding their safety and transportation.

**Highlights:** Real-time bus location tracking, Customizable map view, Push notification alerts, Student ridership tracking, Arrival and departure information, Multi-child tracking, Multilingual support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Helpful for tracking bus location
- 👍 Provides peace of mind for parents
- 💡 Useful concept for school transportation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Unreliable and buggy
- 🚫 Inaccurate bus location data
- ⚠️ Unresponsive customer support
- 🕰️ Delayed or missing notifications

**Reported bugs**

- Bus location stuck or showing incorrect position
- App crashing or not loading bus data
- Student bus assignments not properly reflected

**Requested features**

- Improve notification accuracy and timeliness
- Allow customization of notification settings per child
- Integrate with school transportation systems for better data sync


### FAMILIES | TalkingPoints

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/families-talkingpoints/id1320244591)

**Currently charting:** #68 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

This app facilitates communication between parents and educators, allowing users to send and receive messages in their preferred language. It automatically translates messages into English for teachers, fostering greater involvement in a child's education.

**Highlights:** Parent-teacher messaging, Multilingual communication, Automatic message translation, Stay engaged in child's learning, School communication platform

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great communication app
- 🚀 Easy to contact teachers
- 💡 Convenient for parents
- 🚀 Saves time on return phone calls

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
- 🐛 Logging out issues
- 🐛 Notifications not working
- 🐛 Slow to load messages

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- Logging out issues
- Notifications not working
- Slow to load messages
- Unreliable service

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode
- Improve message organization and filtering
- Allow both parents to see conversation history
- Provide desktop/web interface
- Add time/date stamps for messages


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Here Comes the Bus free?

Here Comes the Bus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is FAMILIES | TalkingPoints free?

FAMILIES | TalkingPoints is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Here Comes the Bus or FAMILIES | TalkingPoints?

FAMILIES | TalkingPoints is rated higher. Here Comes the Bus averages 4.5 out of 5 from 74K ratings, while FAMILIES | TalkingPoints averages 4.8 from 92K ratings.

### Do Here Comes the Bus or FAMILIES | TalkingPoints have ads?

Neither Here Comes the Bus nor FAMILIES | TalkingPoints shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Here Comes the Bus or FAMILIES | TalkingPoints?

Here Comes the Bus ships an update every 2 months, and FAMILIES | TalkingPoints every 3 weeks. Most recently, Here Comes the Bus was updated on November 6, 2026 and FAMILIES | TalkingPoints on November 6, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Here Comes the Bus or FAMILIES | TalkingPoints?

Here Comes the Bus currently peaks at #122 in the App Store charts, and FAMILIES | TalkingPoints at #68. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*