LccTools vs Virtual Railfan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LccTools
Control and configure your LCC/OpenLCB model railroad directly from your mobile device. Manage locomotives, turnouts, and events, and even update node firmware. Includes a companion Apple Watch app for convenient fast clock display.
- Locomotive control
- Consist management
- Fast clock display
- Turnout operation
- Event activation
- Node configuration
- Firmware updates
- Bus traffic monitoring
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LccTools provides the tools you need to operate and configure your LCC/OpenLCB model railroad in the palm of your hand! - Throttle - Works with the TCS CS-105 to control your locomotives - Consisting - Make, modify and break up locomotive consists - Fast Clock - Display the fast clock time - Turnouts - Operate your DCC turnouts - Events - Send defined events to activate your railroad's controls - Configuration - Provides configuration menus for all your LCC nodes - Firmware Update - Download new, updated firmware into your nodes - Monitor - See the traffic on your LCC bus If you have an Apple Watch, LccTools includes a companion watch app that will let you put the railroad's fast time on your wrist for easy reference. Requires a WiFi LCC network hub. Works with hubs provided by the TCS CS-105, JMRI and others.
Virtual Railfan
Stream live video feeds of real trains from numerous cameras across North America. Experience the thrill of watching trains in real-time, with a wide selection of locations available.
- Watch real trains live
- Live camera feeds
- Multiple North American locations
- Real-time train viewing
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Watch real trains live. The most live cameras and locations in North America. Terms of Use (EULA) - https://live.virtualrailfan.com/terms-and-conditions/web
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: LccTools at 100% against Virtual Railfan's 50%. LccTools also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Virtual Railfan's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (49 vs 5). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Virtual Railfan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. LccTools asks for nothing beyond the download.
LccTools holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Virtual Railfan has 49 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of LccTools's written reviews are positive against 50% of Virtual Railfan's.
LccTools ships an update every 3 weeks, Virtual Railfan every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LccTools | Virtual Railfan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better | 3.5 (49 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 49 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 90 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bob Jacobsen | Virtual Railfan |
Customer experience
LccTools
Virtual Railfan
In-app purchases
LccTools
No in-app purchases
Virtual Railfan
- First Class- Monthly Billing$8.991 Month
- First Class- Annual Billing$99.991 Year
Questions
Is LccTools free?
Is Virtual Railfan free?
Which has better reviews, LccTools or Virtual Railfan?
Do LccTools or Virtual Railfan have ads?
Which is updated more often, LccTools or Virtual Railfan?
Other comparisons
