Comparison

TouchCab vs New Recruit

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

New Recruit

This app helps you build army lists for various miniature tabletop games. It also facilitates tournament organization, allows you to track your game statistics, and manage your miniature collection to see what models you need.

Highlights
  • Build army lists for popular games
  • Organize and manage tournaments
  • View player rankings and statistics
  • Track personal game stats
  • Manage miniature collection
  • Customize user interface
Features
Read full description

New Recruit is an army list builder for miniature tabletop games such as Warhammer 40k, The Old World, Age of Sigmar, The Ninth Age and many more. But not just that, it comes with a lot more features! - Build your army lists for all popular games - Participate in or organise tournaments, very powerful for tournament organisers, because New Recruit can check list validity for you, saving precious time. - View rankings and tournament statistics, lists played by the best players - Track your own games and view your personal stats to see what armies or units work best for you - List your miniature collection and instantly see if a list is playable or what models you need to buy - Highly customizable user interface, make your on themes - New Recruit is in active development and new features are coming regularly! Terms and conditions https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

TouchCab4 screens
New Recruit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: New Recruit at Free against TouchCab's $9.99. New Recruit also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.1) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). TouchCab's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

New Recruit is free to download; TouchCab costs $9.99 up front. New Recruit sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $35.00 per year. TouchCab asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

New Recruit holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: New Recruit has 630 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of TouchCab's written reviews are positive against 88% of New Recruit's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TouchCab ships an update every 2 months, New Recruit every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
TouchCab versus New Recruit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTouchCabNew Recruit
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating2.1 (7 ratings)4.9 (630 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.3% of reviews88.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7630 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB97 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike SutherlandVincent, Gatien,Alphonse MASSIAS

Customer experience

TouchCab

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive77.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.7%

New Recruit

All ratings608 ratings
Positive98.5%
Neutral0.5%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews112 reviews
Positive88.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative9.8%

Bugs and requests

TouchCab

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

New Recruit

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • No reported bugs

Requested features

2 requests
  • Improved data sync between mobile and web
  • Streamlined menu structure for common actions

In-app purchases

None

TouchCab

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

New Recruit

Subscriptions3
  • Mortal Supporter$35.001 Year
  • Immortal Supporter$69.001 Year
  • Godlike Supporter$143.991 Year

Questions

Is TouchCab free?
TouchCab costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is New Recruit free?
New Recruit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TouchCab or New Recruit?
New Recruit is rated higher. TouchCab averages 2.1 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while New Recruit averages 4.9 from 630 ratings.
Do TouchCab or New Recruit have ads?
New Recruit shows ads; TouchCab does not.
Which is updated more often, TouchCab or New Recruit?
TouchCab ships an update every 2 months, and New Recruit every 5 days. Most recently, TouchCab was updated on October 23, 2026 and New Recruit on October 28, 2026.

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