Comparison

Linesider vs Train

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

Head to head
About

Linesider

Features
Read full description

Linesider is the modern companion for transport spotting. Photograph a bus, train, tram, aircraft or ship and Linesider identifies it, cross-checking what it reads against live vehicle movements and your own catalogue before it fills in the details. What used to be a notebook and a lot of guesswork is a tap. See what's around you, live Open Around Me and Linesider shows the vehicles near you right now, with real fleet numbers, across a growing set of regions: today the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and the San Francisco Bay Area. Tap one and the spot is already half-written. Boards at airports and stations At an airport, see a map of the airfield with every aircraft landing, taking off, taxiing or parked. At a station in the UK, the Netherlands or Germany, see every train due now, with its platform and how late it is. Identify from a photo One photo is enough. Linesider reads the vehicle, matches it against the catalogue, and hands you a filled-in form to check rather than a blank one. Identification only ever runs when you ask it to. Ask Inspector Sands Inspector Sands is Linesider's AI. Ask him about your collection and he answers from your own records, or ask what is at an airport right now. Then try to beat him, naming the vehicle in real spotters' photos. Whole-train spotting Spot one unit and, where formation data is available, Linesider knows the whole train: carriage numbers and consists land on the record automatically, locomotives and coaching stock included. Fleet lists with a memory Operators, classes and individual vehicles live in one catalogue. Every spot ticks off progress against the rosters you care about, and an importer builds a fleet list in minutes instead of an evening. Journeys and achievements Rode it rather than just saw it? Log the trip with its route and stops. Badges arrive as your collection grows. A shared catalogue, kept clean Publish operator fleets and lists for other spotters, or keep yours private. Shared sets are reviewed before they land, and rosters kept current from official sources are badged as such, so you know whose list you're ticking before you trust it. Your log is yours Your spots, photos and journeys are private unless you choose to share them. Location on a spot is optional. You can delete your account, and everything in it, from inside the app. Linesider covers buses, trains, trams, aircraft and ships. The bus and rail catalogues run deepest, refreshed from official sources. Aircraft and ship fleets are lighter for now, and yours to build as you spot them. Free, Pro and credits Free includes a taster of the AI features, 3 operators and 200 MB of photos. Linesider Pro adds 1,500 credits a month for the AI features and 20 GB of photos. A day pass unlocks Pro for 24 hours. Linesider Pro is an optional subscription, monthly or yearly, with a 14-day free trial. It is paid through your Apple ID and renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://linesider.app/privacy

About

Train

Features
Read full description

A simple application for following trains live, see their speed and which stations they have stopped at and which they are stopping at next.

Screenshots

Linesider4 screens
Train4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Train at none against Linesider's 4. Linesider's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Linesider sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Train asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Linesider ships an update every 6 days, Train weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Linesider versus Train: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLinesiderTrain
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTony STILLINGTom Magnus Tobiasson

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Linesider

Subscriptions2
  • Linesider Pro, monthly14 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Linesider Pro, yearly14 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time2
  • Day pass$0.99
  • Top-up pack$3.99
None

Train

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Linesider free?
Linesider is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Train free?
Train is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Linesider or Train have ads?
Neither Linesider nor Train shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Linesider or Train?
Linesider ships an update every 6 days, and Train weekly. Most recently, Linesider was updated on November 5, 2026 and Train on November 10, 2026.

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