Caltrain+ vs Caltrain Live
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Caltrain+
Plan your Caltrain trips with ease. Get real-time schedules, find the fastest routes, and view service alerts. Perfect for commuters and occasional riders needing to navigate the Caltrain system efficiently.
- Trip planning by departure and arrival station
- View full timetables
- Access service alerts
- System map integration
- Filter by 'arrive by' time
- View scheduled stops for each train
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Caltrain+ is a Caltrain schedule and trip planning app that lets you quickly and easily figure out which train to take to get you from Station A to Station B. Additionally you can view full timetables, service alerts, and a system map all from within the app. To use Caltrain+, simply select the station you want to depart from, the station you want to arrive at, and the timetable (Weekday or Weekend), and Caltrain+ will show you a complete list of every matching train you could take along with its number, service type (i.e. Local, Limited, Express, or South County Connector), departure and arrival time, and trip duration. Optionally specify an “arrive by” time to filter the list of trains to only include those which will get you to your destination station before the specified time. You can also view the full list of scheduled stops for a particular train just by tapping on it. Transit data provided by 511.org. Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com.
Caltrain Live
Access real-time Caltrain information, including train status, service disruptions, and timetables with offline access. Plan trips with live data and receive instant alerts for your commute.
- Real-time train status and alerts
- Offline timetable access
- Trip planner with live data
- Service disruption monitoring
- Pinned train status
- Station announcements
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Caltrain Live lets you quickly access all the latest information you need for your Caltrain commute. You can pin a train to quickly access its status and alerts, monitor construction and service disruptions along the corridor, and get the latest timetable with offline access all in one place. - Includes a fast, simple UI with no ads, popups or tracking. - Get a copy of the latest timetable with automatic updates and offline access. - The built-in trip planner includes live data, special event trains, and holiday timetable support. - Monitor trains in realtime and get easy access to trains you care about. - See single tracking events across the corridor and for each station. - Read station announcements. - Train data includes per-stop delays, calculated stop bypass times, and relevant alerts. - Realtime data is fast, uses minimal mobile data, refreshes every 30 seconds, includes departure times to-the-second, alerts from 511, and more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Caltrain+ at 4.8 against Caltrain Live's 4.4. Caltrain+ also leads on ratings volume (2K vs 16) and review sentiment (84% vs 63%). Caltrain Live's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Caltrain+ holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Caltrain+ has 2K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Caltrain+'s written reviews are positive against 63% of Caltrain Live's.
Caltrain+ ships an update every 3 weeks, Caltrain Live every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Caltrain+ | Caltrain Live |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2K ratings) — better | 4.4 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.4% of reviews — better | 62.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2K — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonathan Sahoo | Jackson Loeffler |
Customer experience
Caltrain+
Caltrain Live
Bugs and requests
Caltrain+
Reported bugs
2 issues- App doesn't open
- Unable to process payments
Requested features
3 requests- Expand service to Gilroy
- Post more info on the app like ticketing and upcoming changes
- Add dark mode
Caltrain Live
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Caltrain+
No in-app purchases
Caltrain Live
No in-app purchases









