Comparison

NYC Underground vs RailARA

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

Head to head
About

NYC Underground

This app provides real-time New York City subway arrival information and a comprehensive subway map. It offers live train times, station locations, and nearby station rankings, all without requiring an account or displaying ads.

Highlights
  • Real-time train arrivals
  • Full MTA subway map
  • Location on map
  • Nearby stations ranking
  • Automatic arrival refresh
  • Offline map functionality
Features
Read full description

NYC Underground turns your iPhone into a fast, native New York City subway companion. The complete MTA subway map is bundled right into the app: pinch to zoom anywhere, tap any station, and see real-time train arrivals the instant you look. No account, no sign-up, no ads. Your location never leaves your device. FEATURES • The whole subway map: the full New York City subway map is built in and renders at high resolution. Smooth pinch-to-zoom and pan, even at street level. • Real-time arrivals: tap any station to see live train times, straight from the MTA's official real-time feeds, grouped by direction with colored line bullets. • Your location on the map: an optional GPS dot shows exactly where you are on the subway map, so you always know which station is closest. • Nearby stations: one tap shows the closest stations ranked by distance, each with live arrivals. • All 445 stations: every line, every borough, with proper station complexes and direction labels sourced from official MTA data. • Always current: arrivals refresh automatically every 30 seconds. No API key, no login, nothing to configure. PRIVATE BY DESIGN NYC Underground does not collect analytics, has no trackers, and requires no account. Your GPS location is used only on your device to place the dot on the map and find nearby stations; it is never transmitted anywhere. The app's only network requests are to the MTA's public real-time data feeds. HOW IT WORKS 1. Open the app, the subway map loads instantly. 2. (Optional) Allow location to see your position and nearest stations. 3. Tap any station to see real-time arrivals by direction. 4. Tap the location banner for a ranked list of nearby stations. REQUIREMENTS • iPhone running iOS 18 or later. • An internet connection for live arrival times (the map itself works offline). NYC Underground is an independent app and is not affiliated with, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) or New York City Transit. "MTA", the subway map, and the route symbols are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to describe and display the transit system this app helps you navigate. Real-time and schedule data is provided by the MTA under its open-data program.

About

RailARA

Features
Read full description

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

NYC Underground4 screens
RailARA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NYC Underground at none against RailARA's 3. NYC Underground also leads on ads (none vs shown). RailARA's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price 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. RailARA sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. NYC Underground asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NYC Underground ships an update every 3 weeks, RailARA weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
NYC Underground versus RailARA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNYC UndergroundRailARA
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerkitdesai, LLCMichael Zmuda

In-app purchases

None

NYC Underground

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 NYC Underground free?
NYC Underground is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RailARA free?
RailARA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NYC Underground or RailARA have ads?
RailARA shows ads; NYC Underground does not.
Which is updated more often, NYC Underground or RailARA?
NYC Underground ships an update every 3 weeks, and RailARA weekly. Most recently, NYC Underground was updated on October 28, 2026 and RailARA on October 25, 2026.

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