Design A Train vs TrainSet 3D
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
TrainSet 3D
Design and operate your own railway layouts with a virtual steam locomotive. Enjoy a classic simulation experience where you can build intricate track designs and watch your trains run. Minor mishaps are easily fixed with a simple tap.
- Design custom train tracks
- Operate steam locomotives
- In-game repair functionality
- Classic simulation gameplay
- Suitable for all ages
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TrainSet 3D is an homage to that classic HyperCard stack. Design your own tracks and run the steam locomotive around them. If you crash, no worries, repair is just a tap away. Fun for kids of all ages.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: TrainSet 3D at 5.0 against Design A Train's 4.4. TrainSet 3D also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and price ($0.99 vs $1.99). Design A Train's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 39 months) and ratings volume (25 vs 1). On 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
Design A Train costs $1.99 and TrainSet 3D $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
TrainSet 3D holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Design A Train has 25 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Design A Train's written reviews are positive against 100% of TrainSet 3D's.
Design A Train ships an update every 2 months, TrainSet 3D every 39 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Design A Train | TrainSet 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (25 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 39 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 116 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Playtend Apps LLP | Polyhedron Learning Media, Inc. |
Customer experience
Design A Train
TrainSet 3D
In-app purchases
Design A Train
No in-app purchases
TrainSet 3D
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Design A Train free?
Is TrainSet 3D free?
Which has better reviews, Design A Train or TrainSet 3D?
Do Design A Train or TrainSet 3D have ads?
Which is updated more often, Design A Train or TrainSet 3D?
Other comparisons
