Comparison

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 vs Sid Meier’s Railroads!

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

Head to head
About

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3

Build and manage your dream theme park in this classic PC strategy simulation, now on mobile. Design thrilling rides, keep guests happy, and explore five unique themes in stunning 3D. Enjoy the full depth of the original game with no in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Create ultimate theme park in 3D
  • Sandbox mode for free building
  • 18 original PC scenarios
  • Guest happiness management
  • Five distinct park themes
  • Controllable cameras and Coaster Cam
Features
Read full description

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 (RCT3) is the classic bestselling PC strategy simulation that now brings the fun of a roller coaster park right to your iPhone or iPad! With a new mobile-friendly UI, the creativity, depth and sophistication of the classic PC game is all here - with NO in-app purchases. ·         Create your ultimate theme park in stunning 3D! ·         Let your imagination run free in Sandbox mode. ·         Play through all 18 scenarios from the original PC game. ·         Watch your guests react to your park as you try to make them happy. ·         Happy guests earn you more in-game money to build out your parks even more. ·         Design your parks using 5 fun themes: Generic, Spooky, Western, Adventure and Sci-fi. ·         See every spine tingling detail with fully controllable cameras.  ·         Grab a front seat for the ride of your life with the jaw-dropping Coaster Cam.  ·         Cope with challenging objectives, changing weather patterns and enjoy beautiful vistas, sunsets, moonlight, and more.​​

About

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

Become a railroad tycoon by building and managing intricate railway networks. Optimize routes, transport goods and passengers, and grow your profits through shrewd business decisions and innovation. Compete with historical figures to become the greatest rail baron.

Highlights
  • Lay tracks and design routes
  • Transport freight and passengers
  • Acquire patents and trade stocks
  • Build or buy industries
  • Compete with historical figures
  • Collect 40 famous trains
  • Train Table Mode for creative building
Read full description

Become history’s greatest rail baron in Sid Meier’s Railroads!, a classic of the tycoon genre now available for iPhone and iPad. In this captivating mix of model train set and railway management simulator, lay tracks and optimise routes to establish lucrative networks of cities and industries, transporting passengers, raw materials and goods across continents. Grow profits through efficiency, innovation, and shrewd business decisions as you acquire valuable patents, trade stocks, and build or buy industries. Compete with world leaders and industrial titans to achieve the ultimate goal — becoming the greatest railroad tycoon of the age! === TRY BEFORE YOU BUY Lay the foundations of your railroad empire during the Gold Rush, then unlock the full game for more maps, trains, and 16 charming scenarios spanning the golden age of rail. CREATE AN EMPIRE OF THE RAILS Carefully lay tracks and design routes to transport freight and passengers, refining and improving operations until your railroad runs like clockwork. STEAM ACROSS 16 CHALLENGING SCENARIOS Test your entrepreneurial mettle in a mix of historical and fictional scenarios, each with a distinctive map and unique objectives. Establish the first passenger line in 1830s Great Britain, stitch together the American West during the Gold Rush, or help Santa with the Christmas rush at the North Pole! COMPETE WITH HISTORY’S BEST Take on world leaders and captains of industry. Grow your business by acquiring industries and railroad-revolutionising patents, or play the stock market and buy out the competition. BRING 40 FAMOUS TRAINS TO LIFE Play with historically important engines from early steam locomotives like Stephenson’s Planet, to the high-speed French TGV, and many iterations and innovations in between. BUILD THE MODEL RAILROAD OF YOUR DREAMS Take the pressure off in Train Table Mode. No competition, time limits, or financial constraints — just all you need to create a railroad that’s as fun to watch as it is satisfying to build. === We recommend playing Sid Meier's Railroads! on iOS 15.5 or later. You need 1.7GB of free space on your device, though we recommend at least double this to avoid initial installation issues. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 6S / 6S Plus and later • Any iPhone SE • iPod Touch (7th generation, 2019) Supported iPads: • iPad mini (5th generation, 2019) and later • iPad Air (3rd generation, 2019) and later • iPad (5th generation, 2017) and later • Any iPad Pro • If you require assistance, please contact our support team at support@feralinteractive.com © 2006-2024 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Originally developed by Firaxis Games. Sid Meier’s Railroads!, Firaxis Games, 2K, Take-Two Interactive Software and their respective logos are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive. iOS and the iOS logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 34 screens
Sid Meier’s Railroads!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sid Meier’s Railroads! at Free against RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3's $4.99. Sid Meier’s Railroads! also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.9). RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads 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

Sid Meier’s Railroads! is free to download; RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 costs $4.99 up front. Sid Meier’s Railroads! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sid Meier’s Railroads! holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.7K and 1.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3's written reviews are positive against 59% of Sid Meier’s Railroads!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 ships an update every 3 weeks, Sid Meier’s Railroads! every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 versus Sid Meier’s Railroads!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRollerCoaster Tycoon® 3Sid Meier’s Railroads!
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (1.7K ratings)4.7 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.5% of reviews59.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.7K — better1.3K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#81 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size672 MB1.6 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAtariFeral Interactive Ltd

Customer experience

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3

All ratings1,685 ratings
Positive70.4%
Neutral9.5%
Negative20.1%
Written reviews570 reviews
Positive57.5%
Neutral14.9%
Negative27.5%

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

All ratings1,304 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews186 reviews
Positive59.1%
Neutral16.1%
Negative24.7%

User reviews

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Exactly like the PC version
  • 👍 Great value for money
  • 👍 Intuitive touch controls
  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 👍 Faithful port of a beloved game

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🔇 No background audio support
  • 🚫 Lacks expansion packs
  • 🚫 Object limit in sandbox mode
  • 🚫 Outdated graphics and UI

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Faithful port of original
  • 🎮 Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics
  • 🕰️ Hours of replay value

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔋 Battery draining issues
  • 🕹️ Fiddly track laying controls
  • 🤖 Subpar AI opponents
  • 💰 Expensive for a mobile game

Bugs and requests

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when park gets too large
  • Path and queue connections issues
  • Saving and loading problems
  • Unresponsive buttons and UI elements

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add expansion packs (Soaked, Wild)
  • Improve path and terrain editing
  • Increase object limit in sandbox mode
  • Add support for custom music
  • Optimize for newer devices and iOS versions

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Disappearing tracks
  • Routing issues and inability to connect stations
  • Map freezing and becoming unresponsive

Requested features

5 requests
  • Larger maps
  • More scenarios and campaigns
  • Multiplayer mode
  • Ability to buy/sell shares
  • More train and engine variety

In-app purchases

None

RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

One-time1
  • Full Game Unlock$12.99

Questions

Is RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 free?
RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sid Meier’s Railroads! free?
Sid Meier’s Railroads! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 or Sid Meier’s Railroads!?
Sid Meier’s Railroads! is rated higher. RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Sid Meier’s Railroads! averages 4.7 from 1.3K ratings.
Do RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 or Sid Meier’s Railroads! have ads?
Neither RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 nor Sid Meier’s Railroads! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 or Sid Meier’s Railroads!?
RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sid Meier’s Railroads! every 5 months. Most recently, RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 was updated on September 24, 2026 and Sid Meier’s Railroads! on September 23, 2026.

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