RocControl vs TrainNavigator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RocControl
Control your digital model railroad layouts remotely. Manage locomotives, switches, and signals, and set trains to run automatically. Connect to a Rocrail server to operate your entire layout from your mobile device.
- Control locomotives, switches, and signals
- Automatic train operation
- Dialogs for blocks, turntables, and staging yards
- Dedicated locomotive throttle
- Layout, driving, and system control tabs
- Automatic connection to local Rocrail servers
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The app controls digital model railroad layouts by driving locomotives, set switches, set signal, and let run trains automatically. This app is a mobile client for the model railroad program Rocrail. See https://wiki.rocrail.net for more information on Rocrail. The app offers dialogs for blocks, turntables, traversers, staging and fiddleyards; All you need to control your model railroad layout with a mobile device. A special dialog is the throttle for controlling locomotives speed and functions. The app has 3 main tabs: One for the layout, one for driving and one for the system controls and tracing. In order to control a model railroad layout the app must be connected to a Rocrail server. If one is found on the local network, mDNS/Bonjour, it will automatically connect to it. The Rocrail Demo server can be connected if no local server has been found. This option is available in the Settings menu, the gear symbol right on top, if no local server has been found.
TrainNavigator
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Simple DCCex controller for model railroad -multiple throttles to control locos -turnouts controller defined in DCCex setup -layout editor with turnout control -auto-discovery of your DCCex server The app needs only access to local network to connect to DCCex permission. Terms of use: https://trainnavigator.fisharea.eu/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RocControl at none against TrainNavigator's 1. TrainNavigator's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. TrainNavigator sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per year. RocControl asks for nothing beyond the download.
RocControl ships an update weekly, TrainNavigator every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on August 30, 2026 and May 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RocControl | TrainNavigator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rocrail | Michal Kajaba |
In-app purchases
RocControl
No in-app purchases
TrainNavigator
- TrainNavigator Premium$7.991 Year
