TouchCab vs Locontrol
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TouchCab
Control your DCC model railroad wirelessly from your iPhone or iPod touch. Manage locomotives, speed, functions, and switches with a user-friendly interface. Compatible with ESU, Märklin, and Lenz command stations.
- Wireless DCC model railroad control
- Control locomotives and their functions
- Manage speed and train routes
- Operate switches and signals
- Alphabetical listing of locomotives and accessories
- Switchable left/right-handed operation
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You have a model railroad. You have an ECoS or ECoS2 digital command station from ESU, a Central Station from Märklin or a Lenz v3.6 command station. You also have an iPhone or an iPod touch from Apple and a wireless network connected to the command station. Would you like to run your model railroad from the iPhone or iPod? You can - with TouchCab. So what is TouchCab? TouchCab is a handheld controller for your DCC (Digital Command Control) model railroad / railway / train set. With TouchCab you can follow your trains around your layout without having to worry about plugging and unplugging a wired device. You can throw switches/turnouts and set train routes as you move along. Features: - Control all the locomotives defined in the command station. - Access up to 29 functions of each locomotive. - Clear overview of the locomotive’s speed and state. - Easily change the throttle from left- to right handed operation. - Wireless network connection to the command station. - Control all switches/turnouts and signals defined in the command station. - Locomotives and accessories are listed alphabetically, regardless of their order in the command station lists. Supported DCC command stations: ECoS 50000 by ESU (v1.1.3 or higher) ECoS 2 50200 by ESU (v3.2.0 or higher) Central Station 60212 by Märklin (v2.0.4 or higher) Lenz 23151 XpressNet Interface with Lenz v3.6 command stations LZV100 or LZ100 Requirements: -Digital Model Railway with a compatible DCC Command Station - Network connection to the command station - Wireless connection to the iPhone or iPod Touch Instructions: - Tap the speed wedge in either side to speed up and slow down your trains - Change speed gradually by dragging across the speed wedge - Double-tap the halt button to halt all trains. - Swipe the function buttons sideways to access locomotive functions above F7 - Switch between left and right hand operation from the options tab - Control routes and turnouts from the turnouts tab - Control signals and other accessories from the signals tab Want to try before your buy? Try TouchCab Free - a feature limited free version that is built on the same code base as TouchCab.
Locontrol
Control your model railroad locomotives with an elegant DCC controller. Capture videos and photos of your trains in action. Compatible with DCC systems featuring Wi-Fi modules and JMRI.
- DCC locomotive control
- In-app camera for videos and photos
- Wi-Fi module compatibility
- JMRI integration
- Elegant and easy-to-use interface
- Locomotive list management
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Control your locomotives in a model railroad layout with the most elegant DCC controller for iOS! And with the Locontrol camera, make videos and take photos while commanding the trains! Locontrol is compatible with any DCC system with a Wi-Fi module, as MRC (with a Prodigy Wi-Fi Module) or Digitrax (with a LNWI module). Locontrol can also control your trains via JMRI. - Make videos and take pictures while controlling your locos; - Easy to use through your locomotive list; - Elegant interface with easy access to all main functions; - Compatible with any DCC system with a Wi-Fi server; - Use with JMRI: just set the Wi-Fi server available on Decoder Pro; Terms & Conditions: https://locontrol.flycricket.io/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://locontrol.flycricket.io/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Locontrol at Free against TouchCab's $9.99. Locontrol also leads on rating (3.0 vs 2.1) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). TouchCab's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (77% vs 47%). On ratings volume, 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
Locontrol is free to download; TouchCab costs $9.99 up front. Locontrol sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. TouchCab asks for nothing beyond the download.
Locontrol holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 15 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of TouchCab's written reviews are positive against 47% of Locontrol's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
TouchCab ships an update every 2 months, Locontrol weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TouchCab | Locontrol |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.1 (7 ratings) | 3.0 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 77.3% of reviews — better | 47.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 11.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Mike Sutherland | Danny Araujo |
Customer experience
TouchCab
Locontrol
In-app purchases
TouchCab
No in-app purchases
Locontrol
- Full Access1 Month trial$0.991 Month
- Full Access$9.991 Year









