Comparison

Train Layouts 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

Train Layouts

Explore and download model train layouts created by enthusiasts. Find inspiration for your own railway, sort layouts by scale or popularity, and connect with other hobbyists. Create shopping lists and favorite track plans.

Highlights
  • Explore and download model train layouts
  • Create and export shopping lists
  • Like and favorite track plans
  • Connect with fellow model railroaders
  • Open local RailModeller Pro layouts
Currently charting
Read full description

Hundreds of ready-made model railway track plans to browse and enjoy, made by model railroaders and shared with each other. Browse by scale - H0, N, O, and other common gauges - to find plans in the scale you run. Filter by vendor and track system, so you only see plans built with the track you already own. Explore the layout itself, not just a picture of it. Pinch to zoom, pan freely, and tap any track piece for its details. Open the part list for any plan and export it as text. Use it to price a build or order the pieces. Like the plans you find worth keeping. You can sort the whole catalog by popularity, so the ones people like most are easy to find. Train Layouts shows track plans, it does not edit them. Design your own layouts in RailModeller Pro or RailModeller Express on the Mac, then open them on your iPhone or iPad, for example through iCloud Drive.

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
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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

Train Layouts4 screens
Open Railroad Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Open Railroad Guide at 100% against Train Layouts's 11%. Open Railroad Guide also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and rating (4.9 vs 4.1). Train Layouts's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and chart position (#69 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, monetization model 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; Train Layouts costs $2.99 up front. Open Railroad Guide sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Train Layouts asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Open Railroad Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 86 and 50 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 11% of Train Layouts's written reviews are positive against 100% of Open Railroad Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Train Layouts ships an update every 2 months, Open Railroad Guide every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Train Layouts versus Open Railroad Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrain LayoutsOpen Railroad Guide
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (86 ratings)4.9 (50 ratings) — better
Positive reviews11.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings86 — better50
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#69 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.6 — better18
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB250 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJan P. BarnholtIKworks

Customer experience

Train Layouts

All ratings86 ratings
Positive81.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative16.3%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive11.1%
Neutral5.6%
Negative83.3%

Open Railroad Guide

All ratings50 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Train Layouts

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Open Railroad Guide

Subscriptions3
  • Insider Club$2.991 Month
  • ORG+ Monthly$12.001 Month
  • ORG+ Yearly$84.001 Year
One-time1
  • ORG+ Lifetime$129.99

Questions

Is Train Layouts free?
Train Layouts 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, Train Layouts or Open Railroad Guide?
Open Railroad Guide is rated higher. Train Layouts averages 4.1 out of 5 from 86 ratings, while Open Railroad Guide averages 4.9 from 50 ratings.
Do Train Layouts or Open Railroad Guide have ads?
Neither Train Layouts nor Open Railroad Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Train Layouts or Open Railroad Guide?
Train Layouts ships an update every 2 months, and Open Railroad Guide every 5 days. Most recently, Train Layouts was updated on November 12, 2026 and Open Railroad Guide on November 13, 2026.

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