KickMap NYC vs Subway Now
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KickMap NYC
Navigate the NYC subway system with ease using this comprehensive transit app. It offers offline maps, real-time service alerts, and detailed station information, ensuring stress-free travel day or night. Plan your routes, find nearby stations, and explore points of interest with a user-friendly interface.
- Offline NYC subway map and directions
- Real-time service advisories with push notifications
- 24-hour day/night maps
- Real-time station arrival times
- Pop-up street maps for station exits
- GPS locator for nearby stations
- MTA Transit Alerts customization
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KickMap NYC. It’s an all-in-one app for stress-free rides to your destinations. Our user-friendly design and clear maps take the guesswork out of your commute, helping you get anywhere in the city quickly and confidently. Here's what makes KickMap NYC your go-to subway app: Effortless trip planning: Calculate routes between any two locations, including stations and street addresses. Know before you go: Get real-time service advisories with push notifications for delays and disruptions, to help plan your travel schedule. Day or night, no problem: Unlike most subway apps, the 24-hour KickMap NYC switches automatically to show which lines run during night hours, ensuring a confident journey at any time. Real-time station information : Tap and hold any station on the map to see live train arrival times and a detailed street map showing exits and entrances. Simple and clear: Our intuitive interface makes planning your trip a breeze, so you can spend less time navigating and more time exploring NYC! Download KickMap NYC today and experience the easiest way to ride the NYC subway! Features: NYC subway map and directions work underground without an internet connection. Directions without an internet connection displayed right on the map. Very easy to use - All lines and connections shown clearly. 24-hour Day/Night maps - Automatically switches maps at 11pm and 6 am. Pop-up street map - Press any station for 3 seconds to see station entrances and the local area. Built-in Compass - Keeps you oriented at street level. GPS Locator - Shows subway stations closest to you. Official MTA Transit Alerts - Customize push notifications of delays for the lines you choose. Identifies stations with no free cross-over to go in opposite direction. Shows over 350 NYC Neighborhoods and Parks and over 1000 points of interest. “One of the top ten New York City-based apps" - Huffington Post “Easier to read" - The New York Times “One of the best apps for navigating NYC’s subway lines" - CNET “Easy, detailed, and clear" - Apple Gazette “Navigating the NY subway has never been easier" - Appolicious.com “Easier to see all the lines" - Treehugger.com “You’ll know how to get where you’re going whether it’s 3PM or 3AM" - SmarterTravel.com “Encourages people to take advantage of the subway" - Transitmy.org
Subway Now
This app provides real-time NYC subway arrival times and live train locations on an interactive map. It offers detailed service pattern views, transfer time estimates, and customizable alerts to help navigate the subway system efficiently.
- Live train location tracking
- Real-time arrival times
- Interactive subway map
- Transfer time estimates
- Customizable trip alerts
- Data-driven service alerts
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Subway Now (formerly The Weekendest) is the ultimate companion app to ride the NYC Subway. Simply open it to see all nearby arrival times in zero taps, and go! Subway Now is the first and only realtime New York City Subway map app: - Track live train locations - Get the most accurate train arrival predictions across nearby stations - Check live train statuses and delays - View current subway service pattern on a map, including re-routes and skipped stops - Track your train's estimated arrival time and connection times right on your Lock Screen* - Check connection times before you arrive at your transfer station - Departure time and service status Widgets for your Home Screen or Lock Screen From the Press: "With one tap, [Subway Now] identifies your location and current travel options... look ahead to transfers. Service Changes are in view as part of the complete picture of possible rides." - PIX11 News "Several voices on Twitter pointed out that a digital MTA map, arguably superior, already exists. At a transportation conference in Brooklyn last year Sunny Ng unveiled an open-source creation he calls The Weekendest — a riff on the name of the MTA’s previous service-change map, called The Weekender." - Bloomberg CityLab "To go beyond the MTA service alerts, you need to look at headways, which is the time between trains on a line. I can use [Subway Now] to easily see where the trains are bunching or slowing due to issues and plan accordingly." - VICE Motherboard From our users: "Your app has seriously improved my knowledge of the subway system by getting me to do more of my own routing. It’s like using a multiplication table instead of a calculator." "Because of this app, I had the information needed to hustle to my train or make a connecting transfer, before a gap in service." "MTA has planned weekend and night service and this helped me find an easy way home." "Being able to see exactly where your train is minute by minute is unbeatable." "Nothing else comes close to reliable realtime information for the subway, not even the station display boards." Additional Features: - Our own data-driven service alerts, delay detection, integrated with MTA official alerts - Save favorite subway stations for easy access - Customizable Trip Arrival alerts, be notified when your train is about to arrive* - Light mode/dark mode support - Station accessibility notices, and accessibility station filter - Optimized for intermittent offline viewing (you know how it is underground) - iOS 26 support - No ads! * Background Trip Tracker and Trip Arrival Alerts require paid subscription add-on Terms of Use: https://www.subwaynow.app/terms-of-use-ios Privacy Policy: https://www.subwaynow.app/privacy-ios
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Subway Now at Free against KickMap NYC's $2.99. Subway Now also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). KickMap NYC's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and chart position (#47 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ads 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
Subway Now is free to download; KickMap NYC costs $2.99 up front. Subway Now sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. KickMap NYC asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for KickMap NYC against 4.8 for Subway Now. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KickMap NYC has 464 ratings behind it against 82, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of KickMap NYC's written reviews are positive against 90% of Subway Now's.
KickMap NYC ships an update every 2 months, Subway Now weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KickMap NYC | Subway Now |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (464 ratings) | 4.8 (82 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 94.5% of reviews — better | 90.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 464 — better | 82 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #47 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KICK Design Inc | Sunny Ng |
Customer experience
KickMap NYC
Subway Now
User reviews
KickMap NYC
From 464 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🚀 Offline functionality
- 🗺️ Clear and visually appealing map design
- 💡 Useful features like station details and neighborhood information
- 🔍 Helpful for navigating the NYC subway system
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional issues with service change updates
- 🔍 Could use more detailed alerts and notifications
Subway Now
From 82 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚊 Live train data and position tracking
- 🗺️ Detailed subway map with disruption updates
- ⏱️ Accurate arrival time predictions
- 🕰️ Helpful for weekend and night travel
- 🤖 Clean and functional interface
Room to improve
- 🌐 Unavailable on macOS
Bugs and requests
KickMap NYC
Reported bugs
2 issues- Delays not always accurately reported
- Occasional crashes or freezes
Requested features
3 requests- Real-time train arrival information
- Widgets for quick access
- Android version availability
Subway Now
No bugs or feature requests surfaced in reviews.
In-app purchases
KickMap NYC
No in-app purchases
Subway Now
- Subway Now+ - Monthly$1.991 Month
- Subway Now+ - Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
- Subway Now+ - Lifetime$74.99








