Comparison

Shanghai Rail Map Lite vs Explore Shenzhen

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

Head to head
About

Shanghai Rail Map Lite

Navigate Shanghai's extensive rail and subway system with this visually stunning and user-friendly route planner. Find the fastest routes, explore station details, and easily locate nearby stations using GPS. Offers day and night map modes for optimal readability.

Highlights
  • Beautiful rail map design
  • Fast route planner with transfers
  • Stations index and lookup
  • Lines overview
  • Day and night map modes
  • GPS for nearby stations
  • Rotate and zoom functionality
Features
Read full description

Rail & Subway Map is a clear and concise route map that features: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RAIL MAP - representing the state of the art in information design. ROUTE PLANNER - instantly finds the fastest route and displays it on the map including transfer stations. STATIONS INDEX - quickly jump to any station. LINES OVERVIEW - shows the order of stations on each line with transit options. DAY and NIGHT MAPS - for easy legibility switching between a light and dark version of the map is possible. This can also be done automatically depending on the time of day. GPS SUPPORT - find the station closest to you. HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS - looks stunning on retina displays. ROTATE and ZOOM - hold your device any way you want. UNIVERSAL APP - optimized for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. LARGE MAP - includes the most important stations STATION LOOKUP - search for a station by name APPLE MAPS INTEGRATION - lookup your route directly from Apple Maps The LITE-Version is fully functional but needs an internet connection. If you like the app but need offline access you can get the regular version for a big discount. (Only for limited time!)

About

Explore Shenzhen

Navigate Shenzhen's metro system with this comprehensive offline map and route planner. Features include station street maps, GPS location services, and multi-language support. Upgrade for ad-free experience and advanced journey details.

Highlights
  • Offline metro map
  • Route planner
  • GPS station finder
  • Integrated street maps
  • English and Chinese support
  • Free updates
Features
Read full description

Recommended by CNN and Lonely Planet, this is Shenzhen's best subway map! Up-to-date with all the metro lines; Works offline; Routeplanner, GPS, Street maps; English and Chinese included. Download the app completely free! The free app is ad-supported. Upgrade to VIP features if you'd like to get extra features, remove ads and support future development! WHY EXPLOREMETRO? 1. Fully up-to-date Accurate metro map, includes every station on every line. Free updates for future station openings and timetable changes. 2. Designed for iPhone Our gorgeous maps have been fully redesigned for all iPhone devices. Runs on all iOS10-14 devices. 3. Designed for iPad Specially redesigned interface for the larger iPad screen with split screen. Drag and drop station names, tips, maps and timetables into other apps. 4. Street maps for every station Need to get your bearings at a station? Integrated Street maps show you metro exits and nearby streets for every station. 5. Route-planner A really easy route-planner. Get route and time information for any journey with just three taps. 6. "Find my nearest station" Using your GPS, see a list of the closest metro stations to your current location. 7. Works offline Everything works without an Internet connection. Search stations and plan routes on the go. UPGRADE TO VIP FOR EVEN MORE FEATURES I've been developing this app for 9 years. Upgrading to VIP helps support future development of the app. VIP users get additional features, like NO ADS, accurate prices for every journey, first/last train times, offline street maps, tips at every station, and a general warm fuzzy feeling. REVIEWS CNN Travel: "These maps are very easy on the eye and simple to navigate. They work offline and also include free updates of stations that have yet to be completed, operating hours and schedules." Lonely Planet: "Easy to use, up to date and work offline. Very handy, especially when they've run out of paper maps at the stations." SUGGESTIONS We'd love to hear your comments and suggestions on ways to improve the app. Please contact us via support@exploremetro.com, as we can't respond to comments left in the reviews.

Screenshots

Shanghai Rail Map Lite4 screens
Explore Shenzhen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shanghai Rail Map Lite at 100% against Explore Shenzhen's 53%. Shanghai Rail Map Lite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). Explore Shenzhen's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (188 vs 8). On price, update cadence 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. Explore Shenzhen sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shanghai Rail Map Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Explore Shenzhen holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Explore Shenzhen has 188 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Shanghai Rail Map Lite's written reviews are positive against 53% of Explore Shenzhen's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shanghai Rail Map Lite ships an update every 2 months, Explore Shenzhen every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Shanghai Rail Map Lite versus Explore Shenzhen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShanghai Rail Map LiteExplore Shenzhen
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (8 ratings)4.7 (188 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better52.9% of reviews
Number of ratings8188 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUrban-MapExploreMetro

Customer experience

Shanghai Rail Map Lite

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Explore Shenzhen

All ratings187 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.7%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive52.9%
Neutral11.8%
Negative35.3%

In-app purchases

None

Shanghai Rail Map Lite

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Explore Shenzhen

One-time1
  • VIP mode$4.99

Questions

Is Shanghai Rail Map Lite free?
Shanghai Rail Map Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Explore Shenzhen free?
Explore Shenzhen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shanghai Rail Map Lite or Explore Shenzhen?
Explore Shenzhen is rated higher. Shanghai Rail Map Lite averages 4.4 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Explore Shenzhen averages 4.7 from 188 ratings.
Do Shanghai Rail Map Lite or Explore Shenzhen have ads?
Explore Shenzhen shows ads; Shanghai Rail Map Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, Shanghai Rail Map Lite or Explore Shenzhen?
Shanghai Rail Map Lite ships an update every 2 months, and Explore Shenzhen every 4 months. Most recently, Shanghai Rail Map Lite was updated on October 22, 2026 and Explore Shenzhen on October 26, 2026.

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