Live CTA vs EL Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Live CTA
This app provides real-time train departure information for CTA stations. It automatically finds your nearest station or allows you to select one, displaying estimated arrival times, destinations, and route colors. Get up-to-the-minute transit updates to plan your journey.
- Real-time train departures
- Nearest station locator
- Select station by distance or name
- Destination and route color
- Delay information
- Feedback to developers
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Have you ever tried to catch a train at a CTA station, but didn't exactly know when the train was coming? How about guessing how long the train is, only to find out the train was shorter than you thought? If so, then Live CTA is for you! Live CTA will instantly locate the nearest CTA station, and display all the upcoming real-time estimated departures for that station. Additionally, you can also choose to select any other CTA station and get its estimated departures. KEY FEATURES: - Locates your nearest CTA station instantly. - Displays real-time estimated departures loaded directly from CTA servers. - Shows useful information for upcoming trains: - Destination - Estimated time until departure - Route color - Delay information - Allows you to select a station by distance or by name - Feedback tab to send messages directly to the development team SERVICE REQUIREMENTS: - Location Services - A working internet connection DISCLAIMERS and DATA DISTRIBUTION LIABILITY STATEMENT Jonajo Consulting LLC, the owner and producer of Live CTA, shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived (https://www.transitchicago.com/developers/ttdocs/#_Toc296199903). It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of real-time estimated departure data in general and these data in particular. Jonajo Consulting LLC gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. By using the Live CTA application, you agree to these terms and conditions.
EL Tracker
This free Chicago transit app provides real-time departure information with customizable widgets and smart delay calculations. It offers tailored alerts, Siri integration, and accessibility features for low-vision users and multiple languages.
- Customizable departure widgets
- SmartWalk delay calculation
- Siri support
- Low-vision accessibility
- Multiple language support
- Tailored push notifications
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EL Tracker is an app by CTA riders, for CTA riders. We are the only completely free Chicago transit app that offers: - Customizable widgets displaying departures, with SmartWalk delay - Siri support and low-vision accessibility - Multiple languages (including Spanish and Polish) - Tailored alerts with push notifications We are Chicagoans, who were irritated by the lack of a simple Chicago transit app. One night, we said, "Why can't I have a widget that shows me when the train is coming?" And from there, EL Tracker was born. We strive to create technology that has a positive impact on the lives of everyday Chicagoans. We also want to make traveling around the city as accessible as possible, which is why we provide low-vision support, ADA accessibility notations, elevator outage push notifications, and multiple languages. EL Tracker is not an official CTA app, nor are we endorsed by the CTA.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: EL Tracker at every 2 weeks against Live CTA's every 8 months. EL Tracker also leads on ratings volume (83 vs 2). Live CTA's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 90%) and iOS requirement (13.2 vs 15.0). 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
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 — 5.0 for Live CTA against 4.9 for EL Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: EL Tracker has 83 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Live CTA's written reviews are positive against 90% of EL Tracker's.
Live CTA ships an update every 8 months, EL Tracker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Live CTA | EL Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.9 (83 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 90.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 83 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.2 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Jonajo Consulting LLC | Davit Khachatryan |
Customer experience
Live CTA
EL Tracker
In-app purchases
Live CTA
No in-app purchases
EL Tracker
No in-app purchases





