P+Rail vs HotelCard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
P+Rail
This app allows you to pay for parking at SBB P+Rail locations and ten partner railways quickly and without cash. It helps you find nearby parking, provides details about each spot, and allows for easy cancellation of payments within the first few minutes. You can also manage multiple vehicles and favorite locations.
- Cashless parking payment
- Finds nearest parking spaces
- Displays parking space information
- Cancel parking payments
- View parking ticket history
- Manage multiple number plates
- Reserve parking spots
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More than a parking meter. Who said that trains and cars can’t be friends? With P+Rail, these two modes of transport can be combined with ease. With the SBB P+Rail app, you can pay for your parking quickly and cashfree. The P+Rail app unifies SBB P+Rail parking spaces with those of ten partner railways (BLS, RhB, RBS, TPF, SOB, MGB, OeBB, AB, AVA and Zentralbahn). And here’s why the SBB P+Rail app is so simple and fast: The app always knows exactly where your nearest parking space is, so you don’t need to go to the information board. Extra information about the parking spaces is displayed for each location, such as the number of electric car charging stations or important restrictions. If you make a mistake while booking, you can easily cancel your parking payment independently within the first few minutes. You can access an overview of your active, expired and refunded parking tickets. You can store several number plates and save your personal favourite locations in the quick selection view. Already using the SBB Mobile app for searching the timetable or purchasing tickets? You can use your SwissPass login for the SBB P+Rail app too. In future, you will be able to use your stored payment methods in both apps – wherever and whenever you are on the move. Make sure you have a spot: there is a binding reservation option for 30 busy locations – find it easily in the app menu. Find out for yourself!
HotelCard
Access exclusive hotel deals in Switzerland and neighboring regions with up to 50% off. This app allows you to search, book, and manage your hotel stays on your mobile device, keeping your digital card handy wherever you go.
- Digital HotelCard access
- Search and book hotels
- Manage bookings
- Favorite hotels list
- Travel inspiration
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HotelCard - up to 50% discount in 500 hotels, in and around Switzerland Already have a HotelCard? Log in to the app with your regular HotelCard account and discover the best hotel deals in Switzerland. Don't have a HotelCard yet? Visit www.hotelcard.ch to order your personal HotelCard. A HotelCard gives you access to the best hotel offers in Switzerland and neighbouring regions and allows you to stay at 500 attractive hotels with discounts of up to 50%. Advantages of the HotelCard app: - Having your digital HotelCard with you, wherever you are - Searching and booking hotels on your mobile phone - Marking your favourite hotels and managing your bookings - Getting new ideas and inspiration for your next trip NOTE: You need a valid HotelCard and login to use this app.
Screenshots
Verdict
P+Rail and HotelCard both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of P+Rail's written reviews are positive against 0% of HotelCard's. P+Rail also leads on ratings volume (101 vs 10). HotelCard's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for P+Rail against 4.7 for HotelCard. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: P+Rail has 101 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of P+Rail's written reviews are positive against 0% of HotelCard's.
P+Rail ships an update every 6 weeks, HotelCard every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | P+Rail | HotelCard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (101 ratings) | 4.7 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 77.5% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 101 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SBB AG | Hotelcard AG |
Customer experience
P+Rail
HotelCard
In-app purchases
P+Rail
No in-app purchases
HotelCard
No in-app purchases
