Comparison

Rail Roster vs RailRoster Yard

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

Head to head
About

Rail Roster

Manage and catalog your model train collection with detailed records for trains, accessories, and consists. Track specifications, purchase history, and operational details, with powerful search and filtering tools. Visualize your collection's growth and value with insightful dashboards and charts.

Highlights
  • Catalog trains, accessories, and consists
  • Detailed model and prototype specifications
  • Track electronics, operation, and maintenance
  • Purchase history and value tracking
  • Photo support with galleries
  • Consist building and analysis tools
  • Collection insights and charts
Features
Read full description

Rail Roster helps model railroad hobbyists catalog trains, accessories, and consists with rich details, photos, and collection insights. Keep your entire roster in one place. Track model specs, electronics, condition, pricing, prototype info, and notes, then quickly find items with powerful search, sorting, and filters. Key Features • Track trains, accessories, and consists in one collection • Rich train records: category, locomotive type, road name/number, model number, livery, scale, era, coupler type, and notes • Prototype reference fields: builder, operator, dates, wheel arrangement, gauge, speed, horsepower, tractive effort, and more • Electronics and operation tracking: DCC, decoder/address, sound, lights, smoke, dummy units, and maintenance flags • NMRA weight guidance with compliance targets and status • Purchase tracking: date, location, price paid, and MSRP • Photo support across trains, accessories, and consists with thumbnail strips plus full-screen, swipeable, zoomable galleries • Consist tools: member ordering/roles/direction, readiness score, coupler consistency, DCC/DC mix, NMRA compliance, and aggregate stats (length, weight, paid value, MSRP) • Collection Info dashboard: inventory totals and value summary, plus premium charts for category, scale, era, locomotive type, DCC vs DC, NMRA compliance, and collection growth • Fast search, sort, and filter chips (category, scale, era, manufacturer, purchase location, coupler type, locomotive type, DCC, dummy, NMRA, and photo status) • iCloud sync diagnostics with account status, last sync/check timestamps, and detailed sync error history • Preferences and personalization: default scale and alternate app icons Rail Roster is built for collectors who want a clean, visual, data-rich way to manage and grow their model railroad fleet. Premium unlocks unlimited inventory/photos, advanced charts, and all custom app icons. Privacy Policy: https://www.roboticsnailsoftware.com/work/railroster/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

RailRoster Yard

Features
Read full description

RailRoster Yard is a local-first model railroad rolling-stock roster, yard, and service ledger. Track rolling stock passports, road numbers, DCC addresses, service events, layout and yard assignments, and box locations in one focused workspace. Search, filter, sort, and export your roster, then protect it with local backup, validated import, and restore tools. Create, edit, view, and delete records without an account or hosted dependency. Duplicate road-number and DCC-address warnings help keep your roster consistent. Service history stays attached to each item, while layout, yard, and storage details remain easy to find. Free access includes core roster management, local backup and restore, import, existing-record access, and Restore Purchases. Pro adds higher-capacity roster management and advanced roster tools for active rail collections. Monthly Pro is RM19.90 per month and renews automatically; Yearly Pro is RM119.90 per year and renews automatically; Lifetime Pro is RM249.90 as a one-time purchase. Each Pro plan includes the full Pro toolkit while active, and Restore Purchases recovers eligible purchases. Privacy Policy: https://www.estreamedia.my/railrosteryard/privacy. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.estreamedia.my/railrosteryard/terms. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled. RailRoster Yard does not program DCC hardware, provide electrical or repair advice, guarantee valuations, operate a marketplace, or require cloud collection of your roster data.

Screenshots

Rail Roster4 screens
RailRoster Yard3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: RailRoster Yard at 17.0 against Rail Roster's 26.0. On price, 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

Both are free to download. Rail Roster sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and RailRoster Yard sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Rail Roster versus RailRoster Yard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRail RosterRailRoster Yard
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size205 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRobotic Snail Software LLCTECK SOON NG

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Rail Roster

Subscriptions1
  • Premium - Yearly1 Month trial$4.991 Year
One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Premium - Lifetime$19.99
3 purchases

RailRoster Yard

Subscriptions2
  • RailRoster Yard Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • RailRoster Yard Pro Yearly$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • RailRoster Yard Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Rail Roster free?
Rail Roster is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RailRoster Yard free?
RailRoster Yard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Rail Roster or RailRoster Yard have ads?
Neither Rail Roster nor RailRoster Yard shows ads.

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