Comparison

Simon Plug&Drive vs HM | DCC

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

Head to head
About

Simon Plug&Drive

Features
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Take control of your electric vehicle charging point with Simon Plug&Drive. Easily manage your Simon charger and optimise energy consumption. Simon Plug&Drive will always be there on your smartphone when you need it so that your vehicle is always ready.   Connect and configure your charger: - Identify, activate and control your charging point using Bluetooth. - Save money by scheduling the hours with the most economical electricity rates in your calendar. - Modulates and defines the contracted power. - Charge your vehicle using the solar energy generated by your photovoltaic panels. - Locks the device so that only you can use it. Download the App and start enjoying the Simon Plug&Drive experience. For any questions: sat@simon.es

About

HM | DCC

Control your model railway system wirelessly with this app. Build your locomotive library, customize their settings, and design your dream layout with untethered control over points, signals, and turntables. Enjoy free sound profiles and upgrade existing systems.

Highlights
  • Wireless model railway control
  • Locomotive customization
  • On-the-fly setting adjustments
  • Layout design tool
  • Controllable points, signals, turntables
  • Free locomotive sound profiles
  • Bluetooth® device linking
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The official app for setting up and controlling your HM7000 range of products. HM | DCC is the new model railway control system that makes it simple to build your library of locomotives and have ultimate control over them in the palm of your hand. Customise your locomotives with images, tinker, tailor & test settings on the fly to perfect your locomotive’s running style. Design your dream layout and manoeuvre locomotives through controllable points, signals, and turntables with untethered control. Easily set up your system. Log in*, link up your Bluetooth® HM devices, power-cycle and away you go. Control your system free of wires. Complete wireless & untethered control of your layout. Upgrade previous systems without ripping out installed controllers and components. Personalise your locomotives. Fill your engine shed with your fleet of locomotives, choose the perfect photo, and programme their settings to see locomotive running styles change instantaneously. Enjoy completely FREE locomotive sound profiles. Connect your HM7000-TXS decoders to HM | DCC and relish a plethora of class locomotive sounds for download. Keep up to date with the latest releases and get more locomotive sound profiles to play with on the day of release. Design your dream layout. Use the in-built Track Builder to draw up and design the perfect layout. Then, export a list easily to know what you need to build it. Everyone’s included. Functions with OO, TT and N scale gauges. Upgrade your previous DCC products to work with HM | DCC. Upgrade “DCC ready” locomotives to HM | DCC app control with HM7000 decoders. Control locomotives fitted with non-Bluetooth® and HM7000 Bluetooth® decoders in parallel. Explore the different ways you can upgrade via the Hornby.com website. *Please note: A Hornby.com account is required for HM | DCC app use. This can be easily created from the Hornby.com website. Internet access is required for device reset, profile download, hardware updates, app updates and app login. Disclaimer: Please ensure that your device is fully compatible with both the HM | DCC app and the HM7000 range of products prior to any purchase. Devices older than 5 years may work but cannot be recommended for control. If unsure, please visit the Hornby.com website or contact Hornby Hobbies customer care.

Screenshots

Simon Plug&Drive4 screens
HM | DCC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Simon Plug&Drive at none against HM | DCC's shown. Simon Plug&Drive also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). HM | DCC's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). On price, in-app purchases 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

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simon Plug&Drive ships an update every 2 months, HM | DCC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Simon Plug&Drive versus HM | DCC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimon Plug&DriveHM | DCC
PriceFreeFree
Rating—2.3 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—56.3% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimonHornby Hobbies Ltd

In-app purchases

None

Simon Plug&Drive

No in-app purchases

None

HM | DCC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simon Plug&Drive free?
Simon Plug&Drive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HM | DCC free?
HM | DCC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simon Plug&Drive or HM | DCC have ads?
HM | DCC shows ads; Simon Plug&Drive does not.
Which is updated more often, Simon Plug&Drive or HM | DCC?
Simon Plug&Drive ships an update every 2 months, and HM | DCC every 4 months. Most recently, Simon Plug&Drive was updated on September 18, 2026 and HM | DCC on June 10, 2026.

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