# Railcard vs Southeastern

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Railcard | Southeastern |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (7.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/railcard/id1246748048/reviews)** | [4.7 (85 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/southeastern-train-tickets/id1544126349/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **7.3K** | 85 |
| Positive reviews | **43.8% of reviews** | 42.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 43 MB | 85 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [National Rail](https://appshunter.io/developer/512167281) | [THE GO-AHEAD GROUP PLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/566501475) |

## What reviewers say

### Railcard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/railcard/id1246748048)

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.

**Highlights:** Store railcards on mobile, Save 1/3 on train fares, Instant digital access, Supports multiple railcard types, Ready for next train journey

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💰 Great value
- 📱 Easy to use app
- 🚀 Fast digital delivery
- 🙌 Helpful customer service

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy app/website
- 🤯 Confusing renewal process
- 📵 Unusable without internet
- 🤖 Lack of accessibility features

**Reported bugs**

- Railcard disappearing from app
- Download codes not working
- Incorrect/missing card details

**Requested features**

- Add to Apple Wallet
- Automatic renewal reminders
- Offline mode for digital cards


### Southeastern

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/southeastern-train-tickets/id1544126349)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Apple Wallet

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Convenient for booking tickets
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Useful features like delay repay
- 👍 User-friendly interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Railcard free?

Railcard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Southeastern free?

Southeastern is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Railcard or Southeastern?

Railcard is rated higher. Railcard averages 4.8 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Southeastern averages 4.7 from 85 ratings.

### Do Railcard or Southeastern have ads?

Neither Railcard nor Southeastern shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Railcard or Southeastern?

Railcard ships an update monthly, and Southeastern every 3 weeks. Most recently, Railcard was updated on October 30, 2026 and Southeastern on October 29, 2026.

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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.*