Comparison

Catenary Maps vs RailsMaps

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Catenary Maps

Navigate public transport with live tracking of trains, buses, trams, metros, and ferries across numerous countries. View detailed vehicle information, timetables, route connections, and real-time platform updates with delay notifications. This open-source software offers comprehensive transit data for travelers.

Highlights
  • Live vehicle tracking
  • Detailed vehicle information
  • Timetable and route connections
  • Nearby departures
  • Platform information and delays
  • Alerts
Features
Read full description

Live tracking of railways, buses, trams, metros, and ferries across European Union, Switzerland, Norway, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and more. Follow vehicles in realtime on the map. View detailed information such as vehicle assignment history, train formations, and vehicle amendities. View timetable information, route connections, nearby departures. Live platform information and delays. Detailed alerts information 100% open source software.

About

RailsMaps

Features
Currently charting
Read full description

See how the rail network is built. RailsMaps maps railway, metro and tram lines in 1,150+ regions (countries, states, provinces, cities): max speeds, lines under construction, proposed routes, disused and abandoned lines, stations, level crossings, bridges and tunnels, electrification and track gauge. It's an infrastructure map, not a journey planner. Pick a region and you get every line, from national main lines to city trams, downloadable for offline use. One-time purchase. No subscription, no ads. INFRASTRUCTURE MAP MODES • Max speed: lines colored by permitted speed • Electrification: electrified lines by system and voltage (AC and DC) • Track gauge: standard, broad, narrow and mixed • Usage: main lines, branch lines, industrial, heritage and military • High-speed: dedicated high-speed lines and upgraded fast corridors • Stations and halts • Level crossings, classified by safety level • Under construction: lines and extensions being built • Proposed: planned and approved future lines • Historical: disused and abandoned railways Available map modes depend on the region and rail type. EVERY RAIL TYPE • Mainline railways, metro (subway / underground), tram, light rail, narrow gauge, monorail, funicular and miniature railways TAP FOR DETAILS • Tap any line or station for speed, gauge, electrification, usage and Wikipedia info WORKS OFFLINE • Download a region once, then use it with no connection • Offline packs are updated weekly • Detail scales with region size: city packs zoom in further than country packs, and you see the zoom range before you download • Strict offline mode: the app uses only your downloaded packs and makes no network requests • Wi-Fi-only downloads and per-region storage control MAKE IT YOURS • Built-in presets: Default and FreakMaps (infrastructure-style colors) • Custom presets: set rail line colors, widths and opacity • Save up to 20 presets, with separate colors for light and dark maps • Light, dark or auto basemap, plus an OpenStreetMap-style Carto look • Adjustable rail opacity, map labels on or off • Country and city boundary overlays • Compare two regions side by side • App theme: light, dark or system SEE WHERE YOU ARE (OPTIONAL) • Show your position on the rail network, in passive or active location mode • In active mode the map follows you along the line, handy on heritage railways and old routes BONUS: 2 WEEKS OF WEB EXPORT Buying the app includes a free 2-week map export pass for railsmaps.com and freakmaps.com. Style a map, clip it to a region and download it as a watermark-free PNG, right in your browser. One-time claim. COVERAGE • 1,150+ regions: countries, states, provinces and major cities • 13 interface languages Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Detail and completeness vary by region. Same data as railsmaps.com, the free web map, now on your phone.

Screenshots

Catenary Maps4 screens
RailsMaps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Catenary Maps at Free against RailsMaps's $4.99. RailsMaps's advantage is chart position (#150 vs unranked). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Catenary Maps is free to download; RailsMaps costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Catenary Maps ships an update weekly, RailsMaps every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Catenary Maps versus RailsMaps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatenary MapsRailsMaps
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank—#150 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.416.4
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB104 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCatenaryBartomiej Banasik

In-app purchases

None

Catenary Maps

No in-app purchases

None

RailsMaps

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Catenary Maps free?
Catenary Maps is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RailsMaps free?
RailsMaps costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Catenary Maps or RailsMaps have ads?
Neither Catenary Maps nor RailsMaps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Catenary Maps or RailsMaps?
Catenary Maps ships an update weekly, and RailsMaps every 2 weeks. Most recently, Catenary Maps was updated on October 16, 2026 and RailsMaps on October 5, 2026.

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