Comparison

Trainline vs Ruter

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

Ruter

Plan your journeys and purchase tickets for public transport in Oslo and Akershus. This app provides real-time departure information, route planning, and allows you to see vehicle locations and crowding levels. It also offers options for renting e-scooters, e-bikes, and city bikes.

Highlights
  • Plan journeys from A to B
  • Buy tickets for public transport
  • Real-time departure times
  • Live vehicle tracking
  • See crowding information
  • Rent e-scooters and bikes
Features
Read full description

The Ruter app gives you full mobility in Oslo and Akershus. Find all departures and get around with public transport such as trams, metro, buses and ferries. Select your preferred modes of transport, find the best routes and buy your tickets – all in one app. Top features in the Ruter app: • Buy tickets for public transport – for yourself and others • Plan journeys from A to B • See all departure times, and use the map to see where your mode of transportation is in real time • See how crowded the bus or tram is • Get relevant service disruption information • Add favourites to save places you visit often • See accessibility information for stops • Pay by card, Vipps or Apple Pay Unlock more features by creating a personal profile: • Find, ride and pay for e-scooters, e-bikes and city bikes • Save your journeys for later • Store tickets, history and favourites – even if you change phones • Get access to new concepts and products With a Ruter profile you’ll also get quicker and more convenient customer service. We’re always happy to hear from you if you need help, have feedback or suggestions for improvement. Tips to get even more out of the Ruter app: • If you share your location, the app will show you nearby stops and give you more accurate and relevant travel suggestions. • Use smart widgets to buy tickets or see departures from your favourite stops. Keep an eye out for more features in the future – and thank you for travelling with us!

Screenshots

Trainline4 screens
Ruter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Ruter at none against Trainline's shown. Ruter also leads on review sentiment (51% vs 29%). Trainline's advantage is chart position (#121 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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 4.8 for Ruter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10K and 3.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 29% of Trainline's written reviews are positive against 51% of Ruter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Trainline versus Ruter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrainlineRuter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (10K ratings) — better4.8 (3.8K ratings)
Positive reviews28.5% of reviews51.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10K — better3.8K
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#121 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size377 MB87 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperthetrainlineRuter As

Customer experience

Trainline

All ratings10,178 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral0.4%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews1,307 reviews
Positive28.5%
Neutral8.1%
Negative63.4%

Ruter

All ratings3,849 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.2%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive51.4%
Neutral6.5%
Negative42.1%

User reviews

Trainline

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient for train travel
  • 🚀 Helpful for planning trips
  • 🚀 Reliable app
  • 🚀 Great for booking tickets

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with glitches
  • 🐛 Unreliable payment processing
  • 🐛 Inaccurate train information
  • 🐛 Poor customer service
  • 💰 Expensive booking fees

Ruter

From 3.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Smooth and easy to use
  • 🚀 Helpful for navigating public transport
  • 🚀 Provides real-time updates on bus/train arrivals
  • 💡 Allows purchasing tickets within the app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with account registration, especially for non-Norwegian phone numbers
  • 🐛 Unreliable real-time arrival information
  • 🔍 Lack of support for train and ferry travel
  • 🤔 Confusing to determine the right ticket to purchase

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

Ruter

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Tickets disappearing after phone restart
  • Verification codes not being received
  • App crashing or freezing on older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to manually reorder shortcut stations
  • Offline support for proof of fare
  • Improved walking directions between connections
  • Support for international credit cards and Apple Pay

In-app purchases

None

Trainline

No in-app purchases

None

Ruter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Trainline free?
Trainline is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ruter free?
Ruter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Trainline or Ruter?
Trainline is rated higher. Trainline averages 4.9 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while Ruter averages 4.8 from 3.8K ratings.
Do Trainline or Ruter have ads?
Trainline shows ads; Ruter does not.
Which is updated more often, Trainline or Ruter?
Trainline ships an update weekly, and Ruter weekly. Most recently, Trainline was updated on September 24, 2026 and Ruter on September 23, 2026.

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