CrossCountry vs Centrebus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CrossCountry
Easily book train tickets and check live train times across the National Rail network. Get the best prices directly, apply Railcards and NUS discounts, and enjoy convenient travel planning.
- Book train tickets
- Live train times
- Real-time running information
- No booking or credit card fees
- Use Railcard and NUS discounts
- Extensive network coverage
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Book your train tickets quickly and easily with CrossCountry’s app. You can look up live train times, check real-time running information and buy your train tickets for any train on the National Rail network. It’s free to download, and we won’t charge you a booking or credit card fee. Buy with us direct to get the best price on your CrossCountry tickets, use your Railcard, and exclusive NUS discount on CrossCountry Advance train tickets! About CrossCountry About CrossCountry CrossCountry is a train operating company, running long distance train services in England, Scotland and Wales. The CrossCountry network is the most extensive in Britain, from Aberdeen to Penzance, and South Wales to East Anglia. Key destinations served to include Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leeds, Bristol, Cambridge, Reading and Stansted and Birmingham International airports. CrossCountry's fast and frequent train services feature at-seat catering, quiet zones, and First Class. Visit our social media channels to stay up to date: https://www.facebook.com/CrossCountrytrains/ https://twitter.com/CrossCountryUK https://www.instagram.com/crosscountrytrains/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/282803/
Centrebus
Purchase and display mobile tickets for bus journeys. Track live bus locations and receive important service updates to ensure you're always informed about your travel.
- Buy M-tickets
- Display mobile tickets
- Track live buses
- Receive service announcements
- Scan QR codes for validation
- Real-time bus arrival information
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Buy and display a range of M-tickets, track live buses and stay up to date with service announcements through the app. Create an account, set up your card, choose a ticket and you're ready to ride with Centrebus. Our M-tickets have a QR code that you simply scan to validate! Real-Time information lets you know when the next bus is due and allows you to track your bus while service updates make sure you are always informed about your journey.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Centrebus at none against CrossCountry's shown. Centrebus also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). CrossCountry's advantage is review sentiment (33% vs 9%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for CrossCountry against 4.4 for Centrebus. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 12 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of CrossCountry's written reviews are positive against 9% of Centrebus's.
CrossCountry ships an update every 3 weeks, Centrebus every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CrossCountry | Centrebus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (15 ratings) | 4.4 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.1% of reviews — better | 9.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 99 MB | 137 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CrossCountry Trains | Rise Digital Media Limited |
Customer experience
CrossCountry
Centrebus
In-app purchases
CrossCountry
No in-app purchases
Centrebus
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CrossCountry free?
Is Centrebus free?
Which has better reviews, CrossCountry or Centrebus?
Do CrossCountry or Centrebus have ads?
Which is updated more often, CrossCountry or Centrebus?
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