Comparison

Design A Train vs Train Station Kit

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Design A Train

Design and color your own trains with a variety of tools and stickers. Once complete, you can save, share, print, or integrate your creations into other train-themed games.

Highlights
  • Customize train cars and engines
  • Easy one-touch coloring
  • Add and reposition stickers
  • Assemble and rearrange full trains
  • Export to other train games
  • Save, share, and print creations
Features
Read full description

Do you love trains? Do you love coloring? Then Design A Train is the perfect app for you - or your train-loving toddler. Design A Train allows you to select a train car or engine and customize it to your heart's delight. Simply pick a train car or engine, color it in as desired with easy one-touch fill, and then add some stickers for extra fun. When you're done with your locomotive masterpiece you can save it to your device, share it with the family - or perhaps print it out for a prize place on the family fridge. FEATURES: - CUSTOMIZE & COLOR Easily add color to your train. Just tap a color from the palette and then tap your train. - ZOOM (iPhone/iPod Touch only) Easily zoom in to color some of the smaller regions. - STICKERS Browse a range of stickers and then tap to add to your train. Change your mind about a sticker? You can drag stickers to reposition them or just double-tap to delete. - PLAY WITH YOUR TRAIN Once you have customized a car or engine, you can add it to your full train and then rearrange and place your train cars as desired. - INTEGRATION WITH BUILD A TRAIN Customize your train and then with one tap, you can export your very own personal train for use with Build A Train. - INTEGRATION WITH BUILD A TRAIN PUZZLES Customize your train and select the train yard of your choice. Then with one tap, you can export your very own customized puzzle for use with Build A Train Puzzles. - SAVE, SHARE AND PRINT You can save your train cars to your device library, easily send them to friends or print them out. Note: printing is supported for devices running iOS 4.2+ that are connected to AirPrint enabled printers. "Highly recommend" - http://Best10Apps.com Got suggestions for improving Design A Train? Leave a review and let us know! We love to hear constructive feedback - it helps make the app better. -- To learn more about Playtend please visit us at http://playtend.com

About

Train Station Kit

Manage and develop a bustling train station, attracting passengers and customizing trains. Experience a compelling story with engaging side events and a realistic background system that keeps time moving even when the app is closed. Enjoy a charming and relaxing simulation game suitable for all ages.

Highlights
  • Station development and management
  • Attract and manage passengers
  • Train customization
  • Realistic background system
  • Main story and side events
  • Photo mode for trains
  • Cute animal passengers
Features
Read full description

A simple station game you can play anytime to pass the time! [Features] - Experience a day in the life of a station—brought to life in stunning detail! - Recreate a bustling hub with over 100,000 daily passengers, all represented by lively characters! - Even when you close the app, time keeps moving with a realistic background system. - Relax and simply watch your station—you’ll find it soothing and enjoyable. - A main story packed with drama, plus tons of fun side events to discover! - Just watching the trains run along the rails is entertaining in itself. - Double the fun by snapping photos of your favorite trains! - Cute animal passengers have joined the fun, making your station even more charming. [Gameplay] Build a brand-new station, place items, and attract more and more passengers! As customers use your station, its reputation grows and the crowd increases. Once you’re stable, decide the direction of development—will your station become a tourist hotspot or a commercial hub? As your station expands, you’ll unlock the train yard, where you can customize trains with your favorite colors and designs! [Story] After a major failure at work, you—once an elite employee—are reassigned to this unusual project. Here, you take on the role of Stationmaster, joined by three energetic “station girls” assigned to support you. Together, you must tackle the ambitious mission of handling 500,000 passengers in a single day. What secrets lie in the Stationmaster’s past…? And what is the true purpose behind this project…? [From the Developers] Because it’s a train-themed game, both adults and kids can enjoy playing together! At first it might feel a little challenging, so we recommend parents play alongside younger kids. We plan to keep adding new elements and features in future updates to make the experience even more fun. We’d love for you to download the game and start building your dream station today!

Screenshots

Design A Train4 screens
Train Station Kit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Train Station Kit at Free against Design A Train's $1.99. Train Station Kit also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (91% vs 71%). Design A Train's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Train Station Kit is free to download; Design A Train costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Train Station Kit holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 34 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Design A Train's written reviews are positive against 91% of Train Station Kit's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Design A Train versus Train Station Kit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDesign A TrainTrain Station Kit
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (25 ratings)4.8 (34 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews90.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2534 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB128 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlaytend Apps LLPyuichiro hino

Customer experience

Design A Train

All ratings25 ratings
Positive84.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative12.0%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral9.5%
Negative19.0%

Train Station Kit

All ratings34 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral8.8%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews120 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral2.5%
Negative6.7%

In-app purchases

None

Design A Train

No in-app purchases

None

Train Station Kit

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Design A Train free?
Design A Train costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Train Station Kit free?
Train Station Kit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Design A Train or Train Station Kit?
Train Station Kit is rated higher. Design A Train averages 4.4 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Train Station Kit averages 4.8 from 34 ratings.
Do Design A Train or Train Station Kit have ads?
Neither Design A Train nor Train Station Kit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Design A Train or Train Station Kit?
Design A Train ships an update every 2 months, and Train Station Kit every 2 months. Most recently, Design A Train was updated on October 15, 2026 and Train Station Kit on October 16, 2026.

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