Railcard vs Southeastern
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Railcard
Access and display your train ticket discounts directly on your mobile device. Never forget your discount card again and save on most train fares. Supports a wide variety of railcards for different traveler needs.
- Store railcards on mobile
- Save 1/3 on train fares
- Instant digital access
- Supports multiple railcard types
- Ready for next train journey
Read full descriptionHide full description
With a Railcard, you'll enjoy ⅓ off most fares when you go by train. Download the app now so you will never forget your Railcard again- have your Railcard on your mobile, ready for your next train journey. Suitable for storing newly-purchased 16-25 Railcard, Santander 16-25 Railcard, 26-30 Railcard, Devon & Cornwall Railcard, Family & Friends Railcard, Senior Railcard, Two Together Railcard, Veterans Railcard, Disabled Persons Railcard, Network Railcard, and 16-17 Saver. *Most Railcards are available instantly on your mobile. However, 16-25 Railcards for those applying as mature students, Veterans Railcards and Disabled Persons Railcards may take up to 5 working days for approval.
Southeastern
Purchase train tickets for any UK railway station with no booking fees. Get real-time updates, digital railcards, and automatic delay compensation claims. This app offers a user-friendly interface with accessibility features.
- Buy train tickets to any UK station
- eTickets and Key Smartcard options
- Personalized common journeys
- One-click delay compensation claims
- Real-time journey alerts
- Digital Railcards
- SeatFinder busy train information
Read full descriptionHide full description
Travel anywhere: buy train tickets to and from any UK railway station, getting you where you need to go. eTickets and Key Smartcard tickets: offer more sustainable alternatives to paper tickets. Common Journeys: personalise your home screen and receive real-time updates on journeys you regularly make. One Click Delay Repay: making delays easier! We’ll automatically generate a delay replay claim and tell you about the compensation you’re entitled to if your train is delayed by 15 minutes or more. Journey alerts: get real-time notifications for journeys you are about to make straight to your phone. Digital Railcards: save money with the convenience of a Digital Railcard on your phone. Check how busy your train will be with SeatFinder information. Powered by data from Southeastern, National Rail Enquiries and Transport for London. Built with accessibility in mind: the user-friendly interface helps those with accessibility needs, and makes booking travel assistance easy.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Railcard at free against Southeastern's free with in-app purchases. Railcard also leads on ratings volume (7.3K vs 85). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Railcard against 4.7 for Southeastern. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Railcard has 7.3K ratings behind it against 85, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 44% of Railcard's written reviews are positive against 43% of Southeastern's.
Railcard ships an update monthly, Southeastern every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Railcard | Southeastern |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (7.3K ratings) — better | 4.7 (85 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 43.8% of reviews — better | 42.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7.3K — better | 85 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 85 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | National Rail | The Go-Ahead Group plc |
Customer experience
Railcard
Southeastern
User reviews
Railcard
From 7.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💰 Great value
- 📱 Easy to use app
- 🚀 Fast digital delivery
- 🙌 Helpful customer service
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app/website
- 🤯 Confusing renewal process
- 📵 Unusable without internet
- 🤖 Lack of accessibility features
Southeastern
From 85 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Convenient for booking tickets
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Useful features like delay repay
- 👍 User-friendly interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent issues with loading tickets to key card
- 🐛 Unreliable app performance, crashes and glitches
- 🐛 Confusing and unintuitive user experience
- 🐛 Inconsistent functionality across different device types
- 🐛 Poor accessibility for disabled users
Bugs and requests
Railcard
Reported bugs
3 issues- Railcard disappearing from app
- Download codes not working
- Incorrect/missing card details
Requested features
3 requests- Add to Apple Wallet
- Automatic renewal reminders
- Offline mode for digital cards
Southeastern
Reported bugs
5 issues- Inability to load tickets onto key card
- Inconsistent behavior when purchasing tickets
- Errors and crashes when trying to claim delay repay
- Issues with recognizing and applying railcard discounts
- Problems with syncing ticket purchases across devices
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to save and reuse common journeys
- Offline support for accessing tickets
- Integration with mobile wallets like Apple Pay
- Improved accessibility features
- Better tracking and management of purchased tickets
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- More intuitive and streamlined user interface
In-app purchases
Railcard
No in-app purchases
Southeastern
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Railcard free?
Is Southeastern free?
Which has better reviews, Railcard or Southeastern?
Do Railcard or Southeastern have ads?
Which is updated more often, Railcard or Southeastern?
Other comparisons
