Comparison

VR Matkalla vs OSL

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

Head to head
About

VR Matkalla

This app is your comprehensive travel companion for train journeys. Purchase tickets, manage your bookings, and receive real-time updates about your trip. Enjoy features like seat reservations, meal ordering, and personalized benefits.

Highlights
  • Purchase single, multi, and season train tickets
  • Reserve seats and upgrade to premium classes
  • Modify ticket departure times and seats
  • Real-time journey updates and notifications
  • Order meals and coffee for your journey
  • Access exclusive traveler benefits
Features
Read full description

The VR Matkalla app is a travel companion that can help you at every stage of your journey. START TRAVELLING The VR Matkalla app is the best way to buy tickets for VR’s commuter and long-distance trains. The app offers single tickets, multi-tickets and season tickets for regular travellers, as well as corporate tickets for business travellers. Starting or continuing your journey in the capital region and in many other cities around Finland is easy! You can buy single tickets from HSL and other local transport operators for your journey to and from the train station. We will send your ticket to both the app and your email. You can pay for your journey using internet banking, a payment card and MobilePay, or with employee benefits like Epassi, Smartum and Edenred. If you have bought your tickets as a logged-in customer, you can always find the tickets you have bought in your own VR account, in the app and at vr.fi. This means that you can buy your ticket on your computer at home or in the app and travel with that same ticket on your phone. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT? When buy a ticket, you can conveniently reserve a seat using the coach map. You can also buy the seat next to you and enjoy the extra space. If you want to add a touch of luxury to your journey, you can travel in Ekstra Calm Class, where you can enjoy the peace and quiet, or in Ekstra Relaxed, which offers the best view. In Ekstra Classes, the ticket price includes hot drinks and spring water. When buying your ticket, you can also buy a ticket for your travel companion, bicycle or pet. PLANS CAN CHANGE Sometimes things don’t go as planned. In the VR Matkalla app, you can also make changes after buying the ticket. You can conveniently change your seat and the departure time of your journey as self-service, or upgrade your seat to Ekstra Class after the purchase. If needed, the change can be made to the tickets of the whole travel party. If you’ve bought cancellation insurance, you can also cancel your journey in the app for free if plans change. WHERE ARE WE AT? With the On-Track section of the VR Matkalla app, you will get real-time updates about your journey, so you will always know what is happening. When you allow push notifications related to your journey, you will be informed about things like your train’s departure, the movement of the train, changed timetables, transfers and your train’s arrival. You can also view your train’s services and accessibility information in the app. If we have to cancel your train journey, we will suggest new journeys in the app for you to choose from. ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY You can order delicious meals to your seat in the app during the journey. You can also pre-order a coffee and pick it up at the checkout of the restaurant car without queuing. YOU WILL ALWAYS KNOW YOUR BENEFITS For those who download the app, we offer tasty benefits that you can use in the train’s restaurant car. In addition, we will also tell you about changing benefits that will make your journey even more better. You can find our tips and benefits in the Messages section of the VR Matkalla app. You can check the carbon footprint of the journeys you’ve taken in the past 12 months in the app. Did you know that the carbon dioxide emissions of a train are 98% lower than those of a car? On the train, you always travel in an environmentally friendly manner. Join us on our journey and download the VR Matkalla app today!

About

OSL

Purchase Oulu Regional Transport tickets, including student passes, directly from your phone. The app provides real-time bus tracking, route planning, and immediate ticket validation upon purchase. All tickets are valid across the entire OSL travel area.

Highlights
  • Purchase single, day, and season tickets
  • Student ticket options available
  • Immediate ticket validation
  • QR code ticket display
  • Route planner
  • Real-time bus tracking
  • Nearest stop and timetable information
Read full description

With the OSL application, you can purchase single, day, and season tickets for Oulu Regional Transport (OSL) – including student tickets – anytime and anywhere. The ticket becomes valid immediately after payment. You can pay for the ticket using Visa, Visa Electron, or Mastercard (both debit and credit), mobile payment, MobilePay, or Edenred within the app. The ticket features a QR code and the remaining validity period. Show the ticket's QR code to the reader at the bottom of the bus ticket device at the beginning of each trip, including when transferring from one line to another. Tickets are valid on all buses throughout the OSL travel area. The travel area includes Ii, Hailuoto, Kempele, Liminka, Lumijoki, Muhos, Oulu, and Tyrnävä. The app also allows you to use a route planner and provides real-time information on bus movements on the map. The service locates your position and informs you of the nearest lines, stops, routes, and timetable information. You can also see any possible traffic exceptions in the app's Notifications tab. The application download is free of charge. For more information about OSL: https://www.osl.fi/ Accessibility statement: https://www.osl.fi/ehdot-ja-tietosuoja/accessibility-statement-for-the-osl-mobile-application/

Screenshots

VR Matkalla4 screens
OSL3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: OSL at free against VR Matkalla's free with in-app purchases. VR Matkalla's advantage is ratings volume (569 vs 12) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for VR Matkalla against 4.9 for OSL. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VR Matkalla has 569 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VR Matkalla ships an update every 3 weeks, OSL every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
VR Matkalla versus OSL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVR MatkallaOSL
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (569 ratings)4.9 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings569 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVRWaltti Solutions Oy

Customer experience

VR Matkalla

All ratings567 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive52.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative44.0%

OSL

All ratings12 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

VR Matkalla

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Login issues (expired link, session token)
  • Card not saved after entry
  • Registration link unresponsive
  • UI confusion for route selection
  • Station status not clear
Show 4 more
  • Website tickets not viewable in app
  • Login failure with correct credentials
  • Confirmation email not delivered
  • Password creation rules not accepted

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Apple Pay support
  • App should remember card details
  • Option to input confirmation number for website tickets
  • Easier to find seat change section
  • Improve searchability of the app name

OSL

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

VR Matkalla

No in-app purchases

None

OSL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VR Matkalla free?
VR Matkalla is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OSL free?
OSL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, VR Matkalla or OSL?
OSL is rated higher. VR Matkalla averages 4.8 out of 5 from 569 ratings, while OSL averages 4.9 from 12 ratings.
Do VR Matkalla or OSL have ads?
Neither VR Matkalla nor OSL shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VR Matkalla or OSL?
VR Matkalla ships an update every 3 weeks, and OSL every 2 months. Most recently, VR Matkalla was updated on October 29, 2026 and OSL on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons