V/Line vs NextThere
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
V/Line
Plan your train journeys with real-time updates and platform information. Save favorite routes for quick access to upcoming services, including details on train type, accessibility, and bike storage.
- Save favorite journeys
- View next five train services
- Platform information
- Train type and accessibility details
- Bike storage capacity
- Live service updates
- Timetables and journey planner access
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• Save your favourite journeys to see your next five train services at a glance. • View platform information for services departing and arriving into Southern Cross Station. • See what train will be running your service, the number of accessible spaces on-board, and how many bikes can be stowed in the bike storage areas. • Easily access live service updates, timetables and the plan your journey tool on V/Line’s website.
NextThere
Get real-time public transport departure information for trains, buses, ferries, and trams. Track your journey live, receive disruption alerts, and access live service load data. Offers optional premium features like walking directions and customizable notifications.
- Real-time departure information
- Live trip tracking
- Disruption and service change alerts
- Live train and bus load data
- Save favorite stations and routes
- Walking directions and boarding notifications (Pro)
- Home/Lock Screen widgets (Pro)
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If you want to know when the next train, bus, ferry or tram to your destination will arrive, you need NextThere. It's simple, fast and real-time - like having a platform indicator in the palm of your hand. It knows where you are, and with a tap you can see just the services to your destination. • Save stations, stops and routes you use public transport from and you'll see the next services due to depart • Tap on a service to track your trip live • Live train and bus load data (where available) • Detailed alerts about disruptions, service changes and trackwork • All in a simple, gorgeous interface designed for iOS • VoiceOver support NextThere covers public transport in these cities on your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch - for free! Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin, Alice Springs, Gold Coast, regional towns New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch United States: California, Chicago, New York City, Boston, Portland, Seattle, Honolulu, Charlotte and Raleigh. If you want some extra awesome features, you can also subscribe to NextThere Pro: • Tap "Go" to receive walking directions and boarding/alighting notifications as your service approaches • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for nearby upcoming services • Save as many stops as you like - non-subscribers are limited to 3 saved items • Receive push notifications about incidents and disruptions so you're always up to date • View run numbers and other internal info from train, tram, ferry and bus operators • Remove all ads • Access to themes • Access to additional settings to customise the appearance and function of the app The subscription is optional and available in periods of either 1 month or 1 year. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Terms of use can be found at http://nextthere.com/support/terms.html. Check nextthere.com for details on the real-time data available in your area.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: NextThere at 72% against V/Line's 8%. NextThere also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (72 vs 1). V/Line's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. NextThere sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. V/Line asks for nothing beyond the download.
V/Line holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NextThere has 72 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 8% of V/Line's written reviews are positive against 72% of NextThere's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
V/Line ships an update every 6 months, NextThere every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 21, 2026.
| Parameter | V/Line | NextThere |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.6 (72 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 7.5% of reviews | 71.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 72 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 136 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | V/Line Corporation | AppJourney Pty Ltd |
Customer experience
V/Line
NextThere
User reviews
V/Line
From 1 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 App interface looks great
- 👍 Easy to set up
- 👍 Next five is useful (when working)
- 👍 Good app to have
- 👍 Countdown feature is loved
Room to improve
- 🐛 Widget unavailable/not working
- 🐛 Timetable not displayed
- 🐛 Next 5 not working
- 🐛 App not working properly
- 🐛 Difficult to navigate
NextThere
From 72 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Accurate real-time tracking
- 👍 Helpful and easy-to-use interface
- 🚌 Great for planning public transport trips
- ⭐️ Reliable and informative app
- 💻 Useful desktop and mobile experience
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- ⚠️ Inaccurate departure/arrival times
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Difficulty finding specific routes/stops
- 🔄 Inconsistent app performance updates
Bugs and requests
V/Line
Reported bugs
53 issues- Widget unavailable
- Timetable not displayed
- Next 5 not working
- App not working properly
- Next 5 not working for iphone 15
Show 48 moreShow fewer
- Message: Please check your internet connection
- App still not working
- No services from X to Y could be retrieved
- Next Five function hasn’t worked for about three years
- Albury/Wodonga line not an option
- No departures or arrivals visible
- App crashes
- Live line status not visible on ipad mini
- Next 5 feature broken for weeks
- App has a bug
- Next 5 function doesn’t show trips on added stations
- App stopped working for 2 weeks
- Next 5 Function Broken
- Next 5 train function doesn’t work
- Random misc error messages
- Nominated service runs with wrong carriage count
- Large lag time in sending alerts
- Next 5 function is unavailable
- Next 5 option doesn't show any timetable
- App saying no internet connection
- App isn’t working on iPhone for Next 5 since IOS17
- User interface is clunky and does not even work
- No real-time updates
- Journey planner doesn’t show journey
- No way to look at earlier or later services
- App doesn’t show real time arrival times
- Delay info not in the app
- App is great for on-the-go traveler but has issues
- Booking a ticket issues
- No seat information visible
- Quiet carriage is always full
- Countdown feature only gives next available train
- Journey planner fails to load multiple times
- Widget function no longer works
- Next 5 arrivals/departures section not working
- Next 5 not working on iPhones
- Next 5 feature broken on personal phone for years
- App not working in iPhone 12
- Next 5 and departures/arrivals doesn’t work
- Next 5 train schedule does not work
- Widget feature no longer works after latest update
- Next 5 option
- App saying no internet connection
- App not working properly anymore
- Widget doesn’t work anymore
- App not working properly
- Widget doesn’t work
- Next 5 function broken
Requested features
21 requests- Ability to toggle more than next five
- Modify day/date for travel
- Dynamic timetables
- Live tracking
- White and dark mode
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Merge V/Line into PTV
- Filter out timetabled coach services
- Filter for direct point A to B services
- Show specific line with all times
- Live tracking feature
- Pop up notifications for delays/cancellations
- Option to create account and save details
- See previous trains
- More comprehensive trip planning information
- Ability to move earlier and later in the day
- Display stops along the way in journey planner
- Real-time arrival times
- Default carriage to standard, not quiet
- Clearly indicate quiet carriage
- 24-hour time format option
- User friendly interface for journey planner
NextThere
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent app crashes
- Disappearing saved stops
- Incorrect route information
- Live tracking not updating in real-time
Requested features
5 requests- Offline mode for timetable access
- Journey planning across multiple modes
- Integration with mobile wallets/cards
- More detailed map and station information
- Customizable alerts and notifications
In-app purchases
V/Line
No in-app purchases
NextThere
- NextThere Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- NextThere Pro - Annual7 Days trial$12.991 Year
- NextThere Pro - Family7 Days trial$19.991 Year








