Comparison

Trainline vs Train Times

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
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

Train Times

Access real-time National Rail updates, including live departure and arrival information for all stations. Track your train's progress, find platform details, and easily check for delays.

Highlights
  • Real-time departure and arrival updates
  • Platform information for departures
  • Delay notifications and duration
  • Live train tracking on route
  • Save favorite station boards
Features
Read full description

Get real-time updates for your journeys across the National Rail network and live departure information for all stations. Powered by National Rail real-time data feeds. Features: Search specific journeys and receive real-time departure & arrival updates Find platform information for train departures Easily see if your train is delayed and by how much Track your train on its route, checking where is it in real-time, which stations it will call at & where it has already called at Save your favourite station departure boards conveniently to the main menu

Screenshots

Trainline4 screens
Train Times3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Trainline at none against Train Times's 2. Trainline also leads on review sentiment (29% vs 0%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). Train Times's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). On price, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Train Times sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Trainline asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Trainline ships an update weekly, Train Times every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Trainline versus Train Times: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrainlineTrain Times
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (11K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews28.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size378 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperthetrainlineApp Ktchn Ltd

Customer experience

Trainline

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

Train Times

Written reviews14 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

Train Times

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Trainline

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Train Times

Subscriptions1
  • Commuter Plus7 Days trial$0.997 Days
One-time1
  • Go Pro$3.99

Questions

Is Trainline free?
Trainline is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Train Times free?
Train Times is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Trainline or Train Times have ads?
Trainline shows ads; Train Times does not.
Which is updated more often, Trainline or Train Times?
Trainline ships an update weekly, and Train Times every 5 weeks. Most recently, Trainline was updated on October 31, 2026 and Train Times on October 5, 2026.

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