Heathrow Express vs National Rail
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heathrow Express
Plan and book your journey quickly and easily with live train times and instant ticket access. Manage your account details, payment options, and preferences for a personalized travel experience.
- Personalized travel information
- Quick ticket booking
- Live train times
- Mobile ticket wallet integration
- Account management
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The new improved Heathrow Express app has some great features and benefits to help make planning and booking your trip quick and easy. Personalized experience – Create an account and login to activate all the features of the app. Including presenting your travel day information with your tickets along with live train times on your home screen. Quick booking – Need a ticket in a hurry? Book a ticket in seconds. Once you are logged in you will have the option to activate this new feature, allowing you to book at ticket on the day of travel in just a few clicks. Live train times – In addition to the scheduled times and service information, you will now be able to see live train times on the day you travel, making your trip planning even easier. Accessing tickets – Your tickets can easily be accessed and managed in one place on the app, allowing you to view upcoming tickets for travel and manage past tickets. Plus, you can still add your Heathrow Express tickets to your mobile wallet. Manage your account – With all your details in one place, including payment options, personal details, language and currency settings it’s easy to create and manage your experience how you want it.
National Rail
Plan train journeys, check live times, and purchase tickets for the British rail network. Receive real-time updates on delays and disruptions to travel with confidence.
- Live train times
- Route planning
- Ticket purchasing
- Real-time updates
- Delay notifications
- Save favorite stations
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Your journey, simplified. Get live train times, plan routes, buy tickets, and receive real-time updates—all in one app. Travel smarter with National Rail. Travel with confidence across the British rail network. The National Rail app is your essential companion for stress-free train travel. Plan your journey with our intelligent route planner. Find the fastest connections, compare train times, and get live departure boards for any station. Buy tickets, access Railcard discounts and find the best value Season Tickets all in one place. Stay informed with real-time updates on delays, platform changes, and disruptions. Receive email, SMS, or WhatsApp notifications so you're always in the know during your commute. My Travel. Save our favourite stations and journeys in Live Trains and Journey Planner for quicker results and less clicking. Status and Disruptions. Find out about anything that might impact your journey.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Heathrow Express at none against National Rail's 1. Heathrow Express also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (7.3K vs 98). National Rail's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price 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
Both are free to download. National Rail sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Heathrow Express asks for nothing beyond the download.
Heathrow Express holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heathrow Express has 7.3K ratings behind it against 98, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Heathrow Express's written reviews are positive against 8% of National Rail's.
Heathrow Express ships an update every 3 weeks, National Rail every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Heathrow Express | National Rail |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (7.3K ratings) — better | 4.6 (98 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 30.3% of reviews — better | 7.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7.3K — better | 98 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Heathrow Express | National Rail |
Customer experience
Heathrow Express
National Rail
User reviews
Heathrow Express
From 7.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast & efficient
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Convenient for booking tickets
- 🚀 Saves time
- 👍 Intuitive interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
- 🐛 Tickets not showing up in app
- 🐛 Payment issues
- 🐛 Login/account problems
National Rail
From 98 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for planning journeys
- 🚀 Provides live train status updates
- 🚀 Useful for commuters and frequent travelers
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unreliable and buggy
- 🔍 Difficult to use and navigate
- 🔍 Lacks key functionality compared to previous version
- 🔍 Cluttered and visually unappealing interface
- 💰 Paid version required to remove ads
Bugs and requests
Heathrow Express
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashing on ticket viewing
- Incorrect ticket dates/directions
- Payment processing failures
- Account creation issues
- Ticket information not syncing properly
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to add/manage tickets in app
- Improved ticket downloading/syncing
- More payment options
- Better account management features
- Live service updates and notifications
National Rail
Reported bugs
4 issues- App frequently crashes or freezes
- Inaccurate train times and journey information
- Ticket booking functionality not working properly
- Compatibility issues with newer iPhone models
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to save favorite stations and journeys
- Option to view earlier/past train departures
- More granular search options (e.g. search by minute, not just 15-minute intervals)
- Improved live train tracking and disruption notifications
In-app purchases
Heathrow Express
No in-app purchases
National Rail
- Ad-free version$4.99
Questions
Is Heathrow Express free?
Is National Rail free?
Which has better reviews, Heathrow Express or National Rail?
Do Heathrow Express or National Rail have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heathrow Express or National Rail?
Other comparisons
