Comparison

Railmap for Open Railway Map vs Open Railroad Guide

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

Head to head
About

Railmap for Open Railway Map

Discover the world through the lens of train tracks. Explore global rail networks, understand speed limits on different lines, and view detailed information about railway signals. The app caches visited locations for faster loading.

Highlights
  • Explore global train tracks
  • View speed limits on tracks
  • Detailed signal information
  • Multiple map layers
  • Offline caching of locations
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Railmap allows you to explore the world with a whole new sight: the world of train tracks. Explore three different rail map layers: STANDARD Explore the global network of train tracks. SPEED Get a feeling about how fast you can go on which train tracks. SIGNALS See detailed information about signs and signals on train tracks. Railmaps also caches places you've seen on your device so they'll load even faster if you want to see the again.

About

Open Railroad Guide

Explore detailed railroad maps, historical imagery, and live train data. Features include AR track viewing, frequency finding, and community collaboration for rail enthusiasts and historians.

Highlights
  • Live train map
  • AR 3D Track View
  • Frequency Finder
  • Channel Log
  • Transit Map
  • Rail Community
  • Train Watch
  • FRA Records
Features
Read full description

OpenRailroadGuide puts detailed railroad maps and historical aerial imagery in your pocket so you can explore, save, and share the places that matter to railfans, historians, and planners. Enjoy a completely distraction free experience with no ads on any level! -**My Trip:** Manage your Amtrak and VIA Rail trips all in the app -**ORG Postchive:** Post videos and photos to the rail community -**Live train map:** View all Amtrak and VIA Rail trains on a Live Map -**AR 3D Track View:** See tracks in augmented reality to get quick identification. -**Frequency Finder:** Find the exact frequency of any rail line in NA to use on your scanner -**Channel Log:** Use side-by-side with your scanner to tag and organize your channels -**Transit Map:** View all transit lines in your local city, with color coded lines -**Rail Community:** Use the rail community to collaborate with other users to put user-made info on rail lines and train sightings that update in real time -**Train Watch:** Put specific points on the map to get alerts and see upcoming trains to that point - **FRA Records:** Get official records by the FRA on how much trains run through a railroad in the day, night, and weekly. - **Interactive Map:** Fast vector-tile map with smooth zooming and panning built for rail lines and right-of-ways. - **Grade Crossings:** View every railroad crossing in the US with full FRA Inventory records on them. -**Trainspotting Logs & AI Predictions:** Log every train you spot and use AI Overview to predict where & when the next train will be -**Railroad Lookup:** Lookup the selected Railroad directly on the internet within the app to get all the info you need - **Historical Imagery:** Slide through years of aerial imagery to compare past and present alignments. - **Saved Places & Folders:** Save coordinates with notes, organize them into folders, edit details, and quickly fly to any point. - **Local Edits & Annotations:** Draw and persist local edits and annotations right on the map; they render alongside map tiles. - **Seamless Device Sync:** Automatic background sync and backups via iCloud Key-Value Store keep your saved places and edits in sync across your devices. - **Restore & Backup:** One-tap restore and safe merge behavior prevent accidental data loss and detect when data are already up to date. - **Quick Access:** Add bookmarks from the map or the main menu and use a dedicated “View on Map” flow that reliably navigates and centers the map on saved places. - **Power Tools for Enthusiasts:** Street-view toggle, custom map styles and layers, and a compact UI designed for quick field reference. Privacy: Your saved places and edits are stored on-device and synced only via your iCloud account when enabled. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Railmap for Open Railway Map4 screens
Open Railroad Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Open Railroad Guide at Free against Railmap for Open Railway Map's $2.99. Open Railroad Guide also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). Railmap for Open Railway Map's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ratings volume (726 vs 49). On rating 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

Open Railroad Guide is free to download; Railmap for Open Railway Map costs $2.99 up front. Open Railroad Guide sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Railmap for Open Railway Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Open Railroad Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Railmap for Open Railway Map has 726 ratings behind it against 49, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Railmap for Open Railway Map's written reviews are positive against 100% of Open Railroad Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Railmap for Open Railway Map ships an update monthly, Open Railroad Guide every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Railmap for Open Railway Map versus Open Railroad Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRailmap for Open Railway MapOpen Railroad Guide
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (726 ratings)4.9 (49 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings726 — better49
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
Best chart rank#78 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB242 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlorian ChrometzIKworks

Customer experience

Railmap for Open Railway Map

All ratings701 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive67.4%
Neutral9.0%
Negative23.6%

Open Railroad Guide

All ratings47 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Railmap for Open Railway Map

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Map stops loading after several minutes of use
  • Tracks disappear when zooming in beyond certain level
  • Signals overlay not displaying correctly
  • App freezes during zoom operations
  • Location services not updating properly
Show 5 more
  • Clipboard access without user permission
  • Performance degradation after recent updates
  • Inconsistent rendering of rail lines
  • App crashes on certain devices/iOS versions
  • Map loading issues with poor data connection

Requested features

20 requests
  • Search functionality for locations and stations
  • Legend/key explaining map symbols and colors
  • iPad optimization
  • German language support
  • Train tracking capability
Show 15 more
  • Navigation/routing features
  • Offline map data download
  • Map rotation capability
  • Ability to toggle overlays independently
  • Searchable signal and switch IDs
  • Coordinate copying feature
  • User-contributed data updates (closures, construction)
  • Speed limit information
  • Railway operator color coding
  • Train frequency indicators
  • Links to timetables and ticket purchase
  • Measurement tools (distance between points)
  • Customizable measurement units (metric/imperial)
  • Bookmarking/saving locations
  • Improved map detail and clarity

Open Railroad Guide

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Railmap for Open Railway Map

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Open Railroad Guide

Subscriptions3
  • Insider Club$2.991 Month
  • ORG+ Monthly$12.001 Month
  • ORG+ Yearly$84.001 Year
One-time4
  • AI Tools for ORG$6.99
  • Open Railroad Guide Premium$14.99
  • Unlock All$20.00
Show 1 more
  • ORG+ Lifetime$129.99

Questions

Is Railmap for Open Railway Map free?
Railmap for Open Railway Map costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Open Railroad Guide free?
Open Railroad Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Railmap for Open Railway Map or Open Railroad Guide?
Open Railroad Guide is rated higher. Railmap for Open Railway Map averages 4.7 out of 5 from 726 ratings, while Open Railroad Guide averages 4.9 from 49 ratings.
Do Railmap for Open Railway Map or Open Railroad Guide have ads?
Railmap for Open Railway Map shows ads; Open Railroad Guide does not.
Which is updated more often, Railmap for Open Railway Map or Open Railroad Guide?
Railmap for Open Railway Map ships an update monthly, and Open Railroad Guide every 5 days. Most recently, Railmap for Open Railway Map was updated on October 29, 2026 and Open Railroad Guide on October 28, 2026.

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