Comparison

Trainline vs WESTlink

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

Head to head
About

Trainline

Book train and bus tickets across Europe with ease. Compare prices from hundreds of operators, find the best deals, and manage your digital tickets all in one place. Get real-time updates and travel notifications for a smoother journey.

Highlights
  • Book train and bus tickets
  • Compare prices from 260+ companies
  • Best Price Guarantee
  • Real-time notifications
  • Live timetable tracking
  • Digital tickets
  • Travel blogs and popular journeys
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Welcome, future Trainliner. Get on board with millions of world-wide users, today, to travel confidently with us – Europe’s leading train and bus app. Why? Whether heading to an international city or from an international terminal, in a matter of clicks you’ll be booking the best seats in advance or saving money on-the-day with our Best Price Guarantee. And for those who like to stay looped, you can turn on real-time notifications and keep an eye on live timetable tracking – you can even use Crowd Alerts to find out how busy your train is. Plus, forgetting, misplacing, or totally destroying your paper tickets becomes a thing of the past when you purchase digital versions through our app! With so much to see and do, getting there should be the easy part – and when you book through our app, it is! Find cheap tickets for Eurostar, Avanti West Coast, GWR, LNER, National Express, Renfe, Iryo, Trenitalia, Italo, and many other European rail lines. Or if you want to buy bus tickets, simply search and book directly in the app. Need some travel inspo first? We got that covered, too, with travel blogs and suggested “popular journeys”. So, whether you want to book bus seats, get cheap train tickets, or stay updated during your journey, you can always rely on our app to deliver the goods. Why use Trainline to book train and bus tickets? - Buy all your tickets in one place – plan your dream country-hopping journey on our app. - Compare train and bus options from 260 train and bus companies. - Compare prices and get cheap tickets in your preferred currency (USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, CHF, and SEK). - Buy tickets with Amex, Apple Pay, PayPal, and all major credit cards and debit cards. - Add loyalty and discount cards to get benefits on cheap tickets on UK rail services, Eurostar, SNCF, Thalys, and Renfe. - Book tickets in advance or buy same-day train tickets up to 15 minutes before departure. - Buy tickets on your phone to skip station queues for selected routes. - Add Cancel for Any Reason to your booking for cover up to 15 minutes before departure. - Save plans for later and lock in tickets for up to 7 days. - Find the best value train tickets using our price calendar. Our partners: Across Europe and the UK, you can browse routes with Eurostar (UK, France and the Netherlands) Heathrow Express (UK) Avanti West Coast (UK) GWR (UK) National Express (UK) London Overground (UK) SNCF (France) TGV Lyria (France) Thalys (France) Trenitalia (Italy) Italo (Italy) Renfe (Spain) Alsa (Spain) Deutsche Bahn (Germany) ÖBB (Austria) SBB (Switzerland) NS (the Netherlands) SNCB (Belgium) Flixbus and many, many more… No matter who you choose to rail with, we make buying European tickets a smooth experience while bringing you the best fares available for every fuss-free journey. But should you need it, our dedicated customer support team is on-hand (and on the phone) to help you navigate the railways of Europe. Just give us a call! So, download our FREE Trainline app and get access to everything you need to train across the UK and Europe like a pro. Visit our FAQs page to find out more: https://www.thetrainline.com/en/help/ Or, follow us on social: FB: thetrainlinecom TW: /thetrainline IG: @trainline *Promo Code offering 10% off (up to $20) available exclusively on the Trainline app for the purchase of train tickets to travel in Europe or between the UK and Europe (excluding booking fees). Offer valid for US customers based in the US, for their first in-app purchase, limited to 1091 discount codes and can be used once per customer. This offer is subject to availability and bookings must be made before 23:59 EST on 31 May 2026 paid in US Dollars (USD). Promo Codes cannot be used with any other Trainline offer and can only be applied once. This offer is subject to availability and will end on 8 March 2026. To see all conditions that apply to this Promo Code Offer, please refer to https://www.thetrainline.com/terms.

About

WESTlink

Book a shared on-demand bus service for flexible travel in the West of England. This app connects you to destinations not easily served by traditional routes, planning efficient journeys based on passenger demand. Enjoy guaranteed seating and fare prices comparable to existing bus services.

Highlights
  • On-demand bus booking
  • Shared rides
  • Flexible routes
  • Real-time arrival notifications
  • Book up to 5 passengers
  • Zone-based service
Features
Read full description

Get on board WESTlink, your new shared on-demand bus service in the West of England. WESTlink is a new type of bus service and meets the needs of people who may not be in easy reach of existing bus routes or rail lines, or where no service currently exists. Space on the bus can be easily booked by the app, which plans a route based on where other passengers are going so that it can pick up and drop off more people to places nearby. Passengers will be collected and dropped off from some existing bus stops, and also ‘virtual’ bus stops. The service will link passengers to major bus and rail services for their onward journey, and also some key destination points. It runs without a fixed timetable or route and is booked ‘on demand’ or up to a day in advance. The service will operate within 3 zones: North, South and the Future Transport Zone, covering the vast majority of the West of England region, outside of Bristol and Bath city centres. When you book, the service will allocate you to the most efficient pick up and drop off nearest to your start and end destinations, depending on the route and requests from other users. You can book on demand or up to a day in advance for yourself and up to 4 passengers. Using the app will also notify the arrival time of the vehicle, so there is no need to leave home before necessary. Everyone will have a guaranteed seat as they are prebooked. Ticket prices will match fares on West of England buses. All concessionary passes are accepted on this service. HOW TO USE Create an account. Download the WESTlink app and follow the simple signup steps. Book a ride. Enter your pick up and drop off addresses, choose the ride that works best for you, and tap Book ride. Meet your driver. Check the app to find exactly where to meet the vehicle. It may be a short walk from where you are, but your designated pickup point helps to cut down on detours and make your journey faster! View a map of the zones and find out more information about WESTlink at www.westlink.app

Screenshots

Trainline4 screens
WESTlink4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: WESTlink at none against Trainline's shown. WESTlink also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Trainline's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 2) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Trainline against 5.0 for WESTlink. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Trainline has 11K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 29% of Trainline's written reviews are positive against 22% of WESTlink's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Trainline ships an update weekly, WESTlink every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Trainline versus WESTlink: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrainlineWESTlink
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (11K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.8% of reviews — better22.2% of reviews
Number of ratings11K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#207 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size378 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperthetrainlineVia Transportation, Inc.

Customer experience

Trainline

All ratings10,498 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral0.4%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews1,366 reviews
Positive28.8%
Neutral8.0%
Negative63.3%

WESTlink

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral8.3%
Negative69.4%

Bugs and requests

Trainline

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Inability to book tickets or complete transactions
  • Incorrect train details and platform information
  • Tickets not showing up in the app
  • Railcard not recognized or applied correctly

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to link existing railcards
  • Improve search and filtering options
  • Provide better notifications for train delays/cancellations
  • Allow easy ticket refunds and exchanges
  • Add map feature to locate train stations
Show 1 more
  • Integrate with Apple Wallet for seamless ticket access

WESTlink

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Trainline

No in-app purchases

None

WESTlink

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Trainline free?
Trainline is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is WESTlink free?
WESTlink is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Trainline or WESTlink?
WESTlink is rated higher. Trainline averages 4.9 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while WESTlink averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Trainline or WESTlink have ads?
Trainline shows ads; WESTlink does not.
Which is updated more often, Trainline or WESTlink?
Trainline ships an update weekly, and WESTlink every 5 weeks. Most recently, Trainline was updated on October 29, 2026 and WESTlink on October 21, 2026.

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