Comparison

Metro NYC Map vs RailARA

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

Head to head

About

Metro NYC Map

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Interactive map of NYC Subway

About

RailARA

Features

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RailARA gives you real-time NYC subway arrival times — fast, clean, and reliable. REAL-TIME ARRIVALS See live train times for any NYC subway station, updated automatically. RailARA shows you exactly how many minutes until the next train, which direction it's heading, and whether it's running on time. SMART ROUTE PLANNING Save your frequent destinations and let RailARA alert you when it's time to leave. Set departure windows, preferred days, and polling frequency so the app works around your schedule. NEARBY STATIONS RailARA automatically detects your nearest subway station the moment you open the app — no searching required. OFFLINE SUPPORT Stuck underground with no signal? RailARA caches recent arrival data so you always have something to work with. PREMIUM FEATURES Upgrade to RailARA Premium for express route optimization, backtrack suggestions, extended departure windows, faster polling, and more saved routes and favorites. Move Smarter. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Metro NYC Map4 screens

RailARA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RailARA at Free against Metro NYC Map's $0.99. RailARA also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.2). Metro NYC Map's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

RailARA is free to download; Metro NYC Map costs $0.99 up front. RailARA sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Metro NYC Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Metro NYC Map ships an update daily, RailARA weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 1 level

Metro NYC Map versus RailARA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter	Metro NYC Map	RailARA
Price	$0.99	Free — better
Update frequency	Daily — better	Weekly
Ads	No — better	Yes
In-app purchases	No — better	Yes
Devices	iPhone, iPad	iPhone, iPod
Requires iOS	26.2	15.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size	3 MB	40 MB
Age rating	4+	4+
Developer	Razvan IVAN	Michael Zmuda

In-app purchases

None

Metro NYC Map

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

RailARA

Subscriptions3

railara_premium_weekly$0.997 Days
railara_premium_monthly$2.991 Month
RailARA Premium$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Metro NYC Map free?

Metro NYC Map costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

Is RailARA free?

RailARA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

Do Metro NYC Map or RailARA have ads?

RailARA shows ads; Metro NYC Map does not.

Which is updated more often, Metro NYC Map or RailARA?

Metro NYC Map ships an update daily, and RailARA weekly. Most recently, Metro NYC Map was updated on October 31, 2026 and RailARA on October 25, 2026.