UK Trains vs Train Hugger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UK Trains
This app tracks the punctuality of UK passenger trains based on the Public Performance Measure (PPM). It defines 'on time' based on arrival within 5-10 minutes of the planned schedule, depending on the service type. Trains failing to complete their planned route are counted as failures.
- Public Performance Measure (PPM) tracking
- On-time train arrival definition
- Service type punctuality thresholds
- Failure count for incomplete routes
- UK passenger train network data
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The public performance measure (PPM) measures the performance of individual trains advertised as passenger services against their planned timetable as agreed between the operator and Network Rail at 22:00 the night before. PPM is therefore the percentage of trains 'on time' compared to the total number of trains planned. A train is defined as on time if it arrives at the destination within five minutes (ie 4 minutes 59 seconds or less) of the planned arrival time for London and South East or regional services, or 10 minutes (ie 9 minutes 59 seconds or less) for long distance services. Where a train fails to run its entire planned route calling at all timetabled stations it will count as a PPM failure.
Train Hugger
Book UK train tickets with this app and help reforest the British countryside. For every ticket booked, a tree is planted in partnership with the Royal Forestry Society. Find the best fares, manage your tickets, and track your tree planting impact.
- Book UK train tickets
- Plant trees in the UK
- Find best fares
- Save e-tickets
- Manage bookings
- Track tree planting
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Welcome to Train Hugger, the UK’s leading green train ticketing app. Whenever you book with Train Hugger, we plant a tree in the UK in partnership with the Royal Forestry Society. We’re planting trees you recognise in places that you’ve been to, in our bid to restore the British countryside. The price is the same, the seat is the same, the journey is the same. You can easily find the best fares, use Apple Pay or PayPal, save e-tickets to your phone, make amends or ask for refunds, all within the app. You can even keep track of how many trees you planted. Our customer service is on hand 7 days a week if you do need to talk to someone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Train Hugger at none against UK Trains's 1. Train Hugger also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). UK Trains's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. UK Trains sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Train Hugger asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for UK Trains against 5.0 for Train Hugger. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
UK Trains ships an update every 4 months, Train Hugger every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | UK Trains | Train Hugger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 90.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonathan Gibbs | Migaloo Ltd |
Customer experience
UK Trains
Train Hugger
In-app purchases
UK Trains
- No Ads$1.99
Train Hugger
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is UK Trains free?
Is Train Hugger free?
Which has better reviews, UK Trains or Train Hugger?
Do UK Trains or Train Hugger have ads?
Which is updated more often, UK Trains or Train Hugger?
Other comparisons
