Citymapper vs MTA TrainTime
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Citymapper
Plan and navigate your journeys using real-time public transit, ride-sharing, and micro-mobility options. Get turn-by-turn directions, live updates, and compare travel times and costs across various modes of transport.
- Real-time trip planning
- Turn-by-turn navigation
- Live wait times and ETAs
- Integration with ride-sharing and bike-sharing
- Personalized alerts for favorite lines
- Offline map access
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Instantly compare your travel options in real-time across all transport modes globally! Easily navigate your city with turn-by-turn directions for all your public transportation, walking, cycling and scooter trips. THOUSANDS OF 5 STAR REVIEWS * "This is my favorite transit app. Full-featured and a breeze to use. I really appreciate the Uber integration." * "Only way to get around NYC and Chicago. Easy and accurate. Download this one NOW" * "I love it. It’s the best thing since zippers, peanut and jelly and 1 TB thumb drives" * "Support for the SF Bay Area is particularly impressive because it aggregates all transit systems imaginable (BART, Caltrain, MUNI, VTA, etc.) into one seamless app" FIND THE BEST ROUTE ► Simple trip planning combining all transport modes: bus, subway, train, ferry, cabs, ride share, car share, bike share, e-scooters and walking. Discover routes you never knew existed HIT THE GO BUTTON FOR STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS ► Turn-by-turn navigation for all your transit, walking, personal cycling, bike shares and scooter trips. Choose between 3 different map views, see the charge levels of e-scooters and e-bikes around you, we even help you avoid no-parking zones. We take care of the logistical thinking so you are free to enjoy the ride EXPERIENCE ONE-STOP-SHOP MOBILITY ► Compare cab fares, hail a ride, hop on a shared bike or find the nearest e-scooter all from within the app. Our partners include: Uber, Lyft, JUMP, Lime, Bird, Spin, Skip, Scoot, Citi Bike, JerseryBike, Bluebikes, Indego, CaBi, Divvy, Metro Bike, Breeze, Bay Wheels, Healthy Ride, Relay, BCycle, SA Bike Share, GREENbike, Grid, RTC Bike, BIKETOWN, Biki BEAT THE RUSH HOUR CROWD ► Live wait times and ETA so you'll never miss a bus, train or ferry again. Follow your bus / train as it's approaching on a real-time map, see the best train car to board, get alerted when it's time to get off, and get in and out from the best exit at any subway / train station PERSONALIZE YOUR CITY ► Save Home, Work and your go-to stops or stations for lightning fast trip planning. Subscribe to your favorite subway, train, bus or ferry line for automatic disruption, delay, and status alerts GET SOCIAL ► Share your live trip: let friends follow your live trip to know when you'll arrive. Share any location or address: one tap for others to get directions TRAVEL OFFLINE ► Access offline the official NYC subway map, Manhattan bus map, Brooklyn bus map, Queens bus map, DC metro map, Muni Metro map, and more CITY COVERAGE ► New York City | Chicago | Los Angeles | San Francisco | Washington DC | Boston | Philadelphia | Seattle | Miami | Atlanta | Portland | Denver | Baltimore | San Diego | Minneapolis | Houston | Phoenix | Dallas | Las Vegas | Pittsburgh | Honolulu | Salt Lake City | San Antonio | St. Louis | Cleveland | Austin + Many more worldwide! See the full list and vote for the next one in the app or at https://citymapper.com/cities TRANSIT AGENCIES ► We use open data from transit agencies in the cities we cover, including: MTA | CTA | LA Metro | MBTA | WMATA | SEPTA | NJ Transit | Muni | BART | King Bus | MARTA | LIRR | RTD | TriMet | Metro-North Railroad | PATH | Houston METRO | San Diego MTS | Miami-Dade Transit | Metro Transit | METRA | RTC Bus | TheBus | Port Authority | DART | AC Transit | Sound Transit | UTA | OCTA | VIA | PTD | Metro Transit | RTA | Capital Metro | Broward County Transit Division | NY Waterway Ferries | Washington State Ferries | LBT | Nassau Inter County Express (NICE)| Valley Metro | Metrolink | Santa Monica Big Blue Bus (BBB) KEEP IN TOUCH ► If you have questions or feedback or something we may have missed in your city email us at support@citymapper.com Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Citymapper Privacy Policy: https://citymapper.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://citymapper.com/terms
MTA TrainTime
This app allows railroad customers to buy and use tickets, plan journeys, and track trains in real-time. It offers features like split payments, multi-station trip planning, and real-time GPS tracking for a seamless travel experience.
- Buy and use railroad tickets
- Plan trips with departure times
- Real-time GPS train tracking
- View train car layouts and crowding
- Split ticket payments
- Share trip details
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The TrainTime app provides a one-stop shop for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad customers, where riders can buy and use tickets, plan their trips, track their trains, and more. • Buy tickets with Apple Pay or credit/debit card. Split payment between two cards. • Plan trips with departure times and transfer details before you travel. You can also search for two origin and/or two destination stations at once. • Save your frequent trains for easy access • Share trips with family and friends so they know when to expect you • Follow your trip with real-time GPS tracking, updated every few seconds • See the layout of your train and how crowded each car is • Chat with a customer service representative for either LIRR or Metro-North within the app
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MTA TrainTime at none against Citymapper's 3. MTA TrainTime also leads on ads (none vs shown). Citymapper's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 53%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Citymapper sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. MTA TrainTime asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Citymapper against 4.9 for MTA TrainTime. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 108K and 211K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Citymapper's written reviews are positive against 53% of MTA TrainTime's.
Citymapper ships an update every 10 days, MTA TrainTime weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Citymapper | MTA TrainTime |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (108K ratings) | 4.9 (211K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.9% of reviews — better | 52.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 108K | 211K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #18 | #15 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 292 MB | 129 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Citymapper Limited | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
Customer experience
Citymapper
MTA TrainTime
User reviews
Citymapper
From 108K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent navigation
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚇 Comprehensive public transport information
- 🗺️ Accurate route planning
- ⏱️ Real-time updates
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate schedule information
- 🔧 Unreliable live updates
- 🚧 Limited coverage in some cities
- 💰 Paywall for basic features
- 🔋 High battery consumption
MTA TrainTime
From 211K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Efficient and easy to use
- 👍 Consolidated app with all features
- 🚅 Accurate real-time train tracking
- 💳 Seamless ticket purchasing
- 📆 Helpful calendar integration
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🕰️ Inconsistent train arrival/departure times
- 🔍 Difficult to find older tickets
- 🔀 Confusing ticket type selection
Bugs and requests
Citymapper
Reported bugs
3 issues- Delayed transit arrival notifications
- Incorrect route suggestions
- Glitches when switching between cities
Requested features
5 requests- Offline mode support
- Customizable route preferences
- Integration with other transit apps
- Improved accessibility features
- Better multimodal transportation options
MTA TrainTime
Reported bugs
3 issues- Ticket purchase failures
- Device blocked from purchasing tickets
- Incorrect track information displayed
Requested features
4 requests- Apple Watch support
- Ability to plan trips for future dates
- More detailed crowding/capacity information
- Improved search and filtering options
In-app purchases
Citymapper
- Citymapper CLUB7 Days trial$1.491 Month
- Citymapper CLUB7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Citymapper CLUB+$99.991 Year
MTA TrainTime
No in-app purchases









