Model Railways vs Idle Light Bulb
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Model Railways
Build and expand your dream model railway system. Collect and merge trains to level up, earn money, and unlock new track layouts. Experience the joy of creating your own miniature world.
- Build model railway systems
- Collect and merge trains
- Level up trains
- Earn in-game money
- Unlock new layouts
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Fulfill your childhood dream of building a wonderful model railways system! This is the game you’ve been waiting for the whole time! Add trains, merge them to level up, make tons of money and unlock magnificent railways layouts! What are you waiting for?
Idle Light Bulb
Build and manage a light bulb production empire. Start with a single line, upgrade efficiency, and expand your operations. Hire managers to automate and grow your business into the world's largest.
- Produce light bulbs
- Upgrade production lines
- Transport and sell bulbs
- Hire administrators
- Expand company operations
- Become a bulbs tycoon
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Starting from the first light bulb production line, produce light bulbs, transport them to the conveyor belt, and sell them. Use the profit to upgrade the production line to improve production efficiency. You can also buy new production lines to generate more light bulbs. When you have enough wealth, you can hire administrators to help you manage. Continuously develop your company until it becomes the largest one in the world.
Screenshots
Verdict
Model Railways and Idle Light Bulb both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 81% of Idle Light Bulb's written reviews are positive against 24% of Model Railways's. Model Railways's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Model Railways sells 15 one-off in-app purchases and Idle Light Bulb sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Model Railways against 4.8 for Idle Light Bulb. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.4K and 3.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 24% of Model Railways's written reviews are positive against 81% of Idle Light Bulb's.
Model Railways ships an update every 2 weeks, Idle Light Bulb every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Model Railways | Idle Light Bulb |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.4K ratings) | 4.8 (3.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 24.3% of reviews | 81.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.4K | 3.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 444 MB | 221 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Linh Vu Pham | Solid Games |
Customer experience
Model Railways
Idle Light Bulb
User reviews
Model Railways
From 2.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Good game
- 🚀 Lovely game to play
Room to improve
- 🐛 Lots of bugs
- 🔒 Ads not removed despite purchase
- 🐛 Unable to unlock third area/track
- 🐛 Rewards not granted after watching ads
Idle Light Bulb
From 3.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fun and addictive game
- 💡 Unique concept with light bulbs
- 🚀 Fast progression for new players
- 🤩 Enjoyable gameplay experience
Room to improve
- 🤬 Excessive ads and pop-ups
- 🐛 Offline earnings not always credited
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔋 High battery consumption
Bugs and requests
Model Railways
Reported bugs
4 issues- Unable to unlock third area/track
- Rewards not granted after watching ads
- Inconsistent progression and maxed out trains
- Game crashes after unlocking second track
Requested features
3 requests- More levels/areas
- Fix bugs and issues
- Improve progression and unlock system
Idle Light Bulb
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to scroll up and purchase new lines
- Bulb upgrades not allowing players to sell
- Inconsistent performance and crashes
Requested features
4 requests- Improve offline earnings tracking
- Reduce frequency of ads
- Add more levels and content
- Implement save/restore progress feature
In-app purchases
Model Railways
- Engineer of Train$0.99
- Engineer of Roller Coaster$0.99
- Accountant of Train$0.99
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- Accountant of Roller Coaster$0.99
- Money Pack 1$0.99
- CEO of Train$1.99
- CEO of Roller Coaster$1.99
- Super Deal of Train$2.99
- Epic Deal of Roller Coaster$2.99
- Super Deal of Roller Coaster$2.99
- Epic Deal of Train$2.99
- Coin Pack 3$3.99
- Money Pack 3$3.99
- No Ads$4.99
- Coin Pack 6$14.99
Idle Light Bulb
- Diamond Pack 1$1.99
- No Ads Lite$3.99
- Diamond Pack 2$4.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Diamond Pack 3$9.99
- No Ads Plus$9.99
- Diamond Pack 4$19.99
- Diamond Pack 5$49.99
- Diamond Pack 6$99.99
Questions
Is Model Railways free?
Is Idle Light Bulb free?
Which has better reviews, Model Railways or Idle Light Bulb?
Do Model Railways or Idle Light Bulb have ads?
Which is updated more often, Model Railways or Idle Light Bulb?
Other comparisons
