Amtrak vs Ventra
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Amtrak
Book train tickets, manage your account, and access travel information on the go. Show your eTicket digitally and save payment details for quick purchases. Find station info and check train status easily.
- Digital eTickets
- Ticket purchasing
- Train status checks
- Station information
- Account management
- Apple Wallet integration
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Discover the convenience of traveling with Amtrak. With the Amtrak app you can get simple and intuitive access to all the travel information you need, whenever you need it. • Show your eTicket while onboard, including multi-ride and monthly passes - no need to print • Purchase one-way, roundtrip, multi-ride and monthly tickets with dollars or Amtrak Guest Rewards points • Check train status • Find station information • Edit and manage your account profile • Save credit cards for quick checkout • Send your eTicket to Apple Wallet • And so much more... With the Amtrak app, you can do it all right from your smart device.
Ventra
Manage your public transit fares and tickets for Chicago's CTA, Metra, and Pace services. Load value, buy Metra mobile tickets, and access real-time arrival information all in one place. Add your Ventra Card to your iPhone for seamless travel.
- Manage Ventra Card balance and passes
- Load value and passes to Ventra Card
- Buy Metra mobile tickets
- Real-time CTA, Metra, Pace arrivals
- Add Ventra Card to Apple Wallet
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Ride CTA, Metra & Pace with Ventra: Manage your fares, buy Metra mobile tickets, get arrivals and add your Ventra Card for riding CTA and Pace to iPhone and Apple Wallet. Use transit in and around all of Chicago: It's easy to manage and pay your fare on CTA, Metra and Pace buses and trains with the Ventra app. Find all the features you're used to on the Ventra website and more, including mobile ticketing for Metra trains! With the Ventra app, you can: • Check your balance and available passes in your Ventra Card's transit account. • Instantly load value or passes to your Ventra Card's transit account. • Switch autoload for transit value or passes on and off. • Buy and use Metra mobile tickets to ride any Metra train. • Use transit value you've loaded to buy a Metra ticket. • Get real-time account notifications so you know when it's time to load more fare or buy more tickets. • Get real-time arrival/departure information from CTA, Metra and Pace all in one app—by picking a stop, using favorites or looking at service near where you're standing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Amtrak at 4.7 against Ventra's 1.8. Amtrak also leads on review sentiment (31% vs 8%) and ratings volume (216K vs 3.4K). Ventra's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Amtrak holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Amtrak has 216K ratings behind it against 3.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Amtrak's written reviews are positive against 8% of Ventra's.
Amtrak ships an update monthly, Ventra every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 15, 2026.
| Parameter | Amtrak | Ventra |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (216K ratings) — better | 1.8 (3.4K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 30.5% of reviews — better | 7.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 216K — better | 3.4K |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #18 — better | #109 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 145 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Amtrak | Chicago Transit Authority |
Customer experience
Amtrak
Ventra
User reviews
Amtrak
From 216K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to navigate
- 👍 Helpful for tracking delays and notifications
- 🚂 Positive travel experience overall
- 💻 Reliable for booking and managing trips
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and errors
- 🕰️ Lack of real-time updates on train status
- 📱 Unintuitive and confusing app interface
- 💳 Issues with booking and payment functionality
Ventra
From 3.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Convenient for transit
- 🚀 Helpful for visitors
- 🚀 Reliable payment processing
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Inaccurate arrival/departure times
- 🐛 Confusing user interface
- 🐛 Unreliable login and account management
- 🐛 Payment issues and declined transactions
Bugs and requests
Amtrak
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to modify or cancel reservations
- Inconsistent behavior when booking multi-leg trips
- Problems with logging in and accessing account information
Requested features
4 requests- Add more detailed train information (amenities, quiet cars, etc.)
- Improve trip planning and itinerary management features
- Integrate with mobile wallets for easier ticketing
- Provide better communication during service disruptions
Ventra
Reported bugs
5 issues- Purchase button not working on iPhones
- Favorites list glitches and resets
- Inconsistent and unreliable ticket display
- Frequent app crashes and login issues
- Payment processing failures and lost funds
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to manage Ventra cards and balances
- Improve real-time transit tracking and notifications
- Allow saving of favorite routes and stations
- Integrate with Apple Wallet for easier access
- Provide more transparent and user-friendly payment options
In-app purchases
Amtrak
No in-app purchases
Ventra
No in-app purchases
