Comparison

Train Home vs Raildar

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

Head to head
About

Train Home

This app displays National Rail and London Overground train departure information on a single screen. Commuters can favorite common journeys for instant access and receive notifications for upcoming departures. Pinned trains offer real-time location and arrival updates.

Highlights
  • Real-time UK train departure information
  • Favorite journeys for quick access
  • Departure notifications via GPS
  • Pinned train tracking with live updates
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Direct data from National Rail Enquiries
Features
Read full description

This app is for the commuters. Display all the National Rail and London Overground train departure information you need on one simple screen. No more searching, no more taps. Once you've set it up, open the app and the info you need is always right there in front of you. The app allows you to add stations that you commonly travel between to your favourites, then the departure board for those journeys will appear right on the app's home screen as soon as you open the app. The list is ordered by distance from your current location so the trains you're interested in are always right there at the top of your screen. If your device has GPS (iPhones and some iPads), when you walk into one of your favourite stations you can choose to receive a notification with departure times of the next few trains to your chosen destination. You don't even have to open the app to see when your next train will be, it just appears! As easy as that. If you use both an iPhone and an iPad your favourite journeys will automatically sync using iCloud - no need to set everything up twice. If your commute is even more fixed, you can also pin individual trains. Once you’ve decided on a departure, tap on it to pin it. The departure will move to the top of the screen and give you more details about where the train is currently. Once it sets off it’ll stay there, even when the departure has dropped off the station’s departure board, keeping you updated with the last station you passed through, your estimated arrival time, platform and any delays. All the information comes direct from National Rail Enquiries so will be as up to date and real time as the station boards. We're all creatures of habit, if you find yourself often travelling between the same stations (for work or pleasure), this is the app for you! Note: This isn't a journey planner. Only direct train services between stations will show up, the app won't suggest connections. But once you've found out the connection points of your journey, add them into this app to keep up to date with the train times.

About

Raildar

This app provides real-time tracking of trains across the entire UK rail network. It allows users to see the live location of their train, search for specific services, and explore rail activity nationwide. An optional subscription offers an enhanced experience with extended tracking and no ads.

Highlights
  • Live train positions across the UK
  • Search and follow specific train services
  • View historical train routes
  • Explore nationwide rail activity
  • Extended live tracking (subscription)
  • Ad-free experience (subscription)
Features
Read full description

Raildar – Live UK Train Tracking See the UK rail network come alive in real time. Raildar accurately plots the live location of trains across the entire UK rail network, giving you a clear picture of where your train is right now - not just when it was scheduled. Whether you’re commuting, waiting for a connection, or just a rail enthusiast, Raildar lets you: - View live positions of trains across the UK - Search for a specific service and follow it on the map - Check where your train has been earlier today - Pan around the map to explore rail activity nationwide Simple, fast, and built for anyone who wants to know what’s really happening on the rails. Raildar Subscription (Optional) Keeping live train locations up to date for the entire UK network is data-intensive and keeps our servers busy. To keep the app free for everyone, Raildar uses a short live-update timeout in the standard version. With Raildar Subscription, you unlock a smoother, more powerful experience: - Extended live tracking without frequent timeouts - No adverts - Extra train details, including headcodes - A more seamless, uninterrupted map experience Subscriptions are available monthly, or for 6 months at a discounted monthly rate. You can try Raildar Subscription free for 7 days before committing. Subscription Details Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at the end of the free trial Subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the subscription ending You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time via your Account Settings (using the “Manage” button on the Upgrade page) Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited once a subscription is purchased Subscription fees are non-refundable; no refunds are given for unused time if cancelled Full terms and conditions can be found at https://raildar.co.uk/appterms.html

Screenshots

Train Home4 screens
Raildar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Train Home at 87% against Raildar's 17%. Train Home also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). Raildar's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly). On price 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. Raildar sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Train Home asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Train Home ships an update monthly, Raildar every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 2 level
Train Home versus Raildar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrain HomeRaildar
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews87.0% of reviews — better16.9% of reviews
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB47 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperThomas ThorpeArc Internet Ltd

Customer experience

Train Home

Written reviews23 reviews
Positive87.0%
Neutral8.7%
Negative4.3%

Raildar

Written reviews59 reviews
Positive16.9%
Neutral6.8%
Negative76.3%

Bugs and requests

Train Home

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Raildar

Reported bugs

40 issues
  • Map covered in black rectangles
  • Zoom takes you to random locations
  • Stopped working, no service
  • Map is entirely broken, says no internet
  • Map jumps when zooming
Show 35 more
  • Map jumps when zooming in
  • Map not showing any trains
  • Map does not work
  • Shows phantom trains, wrong platforms
  • White screen with openstreetmap logo
  • No connection reported
  • Map jumps around when moving or zooming
  • Crashing when zooming in
  • Map jumps to different places
  • Search from map shows nothing, just blank
  • Moving around map is like a mystery tour
  • Map keeps bugging and moving back to London
  • Says no internet connection
  • Pinch to zoom doesn't work, moves to random location
  • Map crashes on every zoom
  • App repeatedly crashes
  • Navigation within the app is poor
  • Zooming in on map using finger gestures is bad
  • Train tracking is sporadic with freezes
  • Map keeps relocating itself
  • Map drag causes app crash
  • Map doesn't zoom in
  • Map is unusable
  • Zooming into map ends up on south coast
  • Map relocating you away from area
  • Train markers are odd
  • App asks for permission to track all the time
  • Searching for trains says 'no train found'
  • Stuff pops out of top corner
  • Map doesn't focus or update
  • Map jumps to different locations all over the country when trying to zoom in
  • App crashes when trying to identify an individual service
  • Cannot enable 'Display Current Location on Map'
  • Map zooms off to the east coast of the UK
  • App crashes on iPhone 6

Requested features

10 requests
  • Track heritage type trains like steam trains
  • See where heritage trains are operating
  • Fix issue with 4G connection
  • Make freight trains and other trains easily accessible
  • Improve Avanti West Coast tracking
Show 5 more
  • Show all train types including Avanti West Coast
  • Make rail lines and stations more prominent
  • Add Lea Bridge station
  • Show full names for new stations
  • Display all services from a station, not just specific routes

In-app purchases

None

Train Home

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Raildar

Subscriptions2
  • Raildar Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Raildar 6 Month Subscription7 Days trial$7.996 Months

Questions

Is Train Home free?
Train Home is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Raildar free?
Raildar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Train Home or Raildar have ads?
Raildar shows ads; Train Home does not.
Which is updated more often, Train Home or Raildar?
Train Home ships an update monthly, and Raildar every 2 days. Most recently, Train Home was updated on October 3, 2026 and Raildar on October 17, 2026.

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