Rail Guide vs RailRoster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rail Guide
Explore detailed maps of active, historic, and abandoned rail lines across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Includes milepost data for most routes and points of interest. Stay updated on map changes via the official Facebook page.
- North American rail line maps
- Current, historic, and abandoned lines
- Milepost data
- Points of interest
- Map update notifications
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Maps of current, historic, and abandoned rail lines plus points of interest in the US, Canada, and Mexico with mileposts for most lines. Follow facebook.com/railguide for map updates.
RailRoster
Explore the world of diesel locomotives with this comprehensive catalog. Featuring detailed information, high-quality images, and historical context, it's an essential resource for rail enthusiasts.
- Detailed locomotive information
- High-quality images
- Horsepower stats
- Wheel arrangements
- Years built
- Railroad rosters
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Discover the power, history, and variety of diesel locomotives with RailRoster. Built for railfans and train enthusiasts, RailRoster is your complete guide to the diesel era — from first-generation switchers to today’s high-horsepower giants. Browse beautifully designed cards with high-quality images, horsepower stats, wheel arrangements, and years built. See which railroads rostered each locomotive and explore the technological progress that defined modern railroading.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: RailRoster at none against Rail Guide's shown. RailRoster also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Rail Guide's advantage is ratings volume (21 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Rail Guide against 5.0 for RailRoster. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rail Guide has 21 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | Rail Guide | RailRoster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (21 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 21 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | — | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rail Guide LLC | Josh Fenton |
Customer experience
Rail Guide
RailRoster
In-app purchases
Rail Guide
No in-app purchases
RailRoster
No in-app purchases
