NomadSwipeApps Like Citymapper: 4 Alternatives in 2026
Apps like Citymapper are Transit, Moovit and Google Maps for getting around a city by public transport, and Rome2Rio for routes between cities. Transit's Google Play listing names 1,000+ cities and Moovit's more than 3,400. NomadSwipe, which I built, is not a transit app: it helps you choose what to see.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Coverage, per its own pages | Offline, per its Play listing | Paid parts on its pages | Google Play: downloads, rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citymapper | One city, with bike, scooter and ride options | 400+ major cities (homepage) | Official subway and bus maps for some cities | Contains ads and in-app purchases; ad-free CLUB was priced at £1.49 a month | 10M+, 4.8 from 392K reviews |
| Transit | Live departures and crowdsourced rider data | 1,000+ cities (Play), 1500+ (site) | Bus schedules, stop locations, subway maps, trip planner | Free to use, some features paid through Royale | 10M+, 4.6 from 410K reviews |
| Moovit | The widest country list for public transit | 3,400+ cities (Play), 112+ countries (site) | Offline transit maps | Contains ads and in-app purchases; paid Moovit+ tier | 100M+, 3.8 from 1.53M reviews |
| Google Maps | One app for transit, driving and places | Transit directions only where the local agency has added them | Offline maps for an area | Not stated on the pages I read | 10B+ |
| Rome2Rio | Comparing plane, train, bus, ferry and car between places | Global search; homepage lists route counts | Not read | Homepage does not describe selling tickets; partner links | Not compared |
| NomadSwipe | Choosing places, not routes | Place search by destination | No offline maps; up to 20 saved trips offline after you open them online | Optional Premium; limits on the plan without payment | 50+, too few ratings to quote |
Ratings are what Google Play showed on 12 November 2026 for the U.S. English listing, and review counts differ by a factor of four, so they are not comparable across apps. Google Maps and Rome2Rio ratings are left out because I could not read a clean figure for them. For a walk-through of Citymapper itself, see how to use the Citymapper app.
What Citymapper is today
Citymapper is a journey planner that, per its Google Play listing, combines bus, subway, train, ferry, cabs, ride share, bike share and e-scooters, with turn-by-turn directions and a Wear OS version. Its homepage says it covers 400+ major cities, and its 2024 recap says over 450, with live bus and tram tracking in over 260 cities and step-free routing in 27.
What changed
Three changes show up on Citymapper's own pages. Its Citymapper joins Via post says the consumer apps will keep supporting users; Wikipedia dates the acquisition to March 2023 and does not report any city being dropped. Its CLUB announcement opened voice instructions, extra routing options and best-time-to-leave planning to everyone while an ad-free version stayed paid at £1.49 a month, and that page carries no date. The homepage news list also mentions AI route help called "Best for you". The Play listing was updated on 4 November 2026.
Who leaves it, and why, is not something these pages say. The usual reasons are practical: your city may not be covered, or you may want a different default screen.
Citymapper alternatives, one by one
1. Transit
Best for: live departures and rider-reported conditions.
The Play listing lists live departure times, real-time vehicle tracking, crowding reports from riders, delay alerts, bikeshare and scooter locations, and fare payment in 100+ cities. transitapp.com says it is free to use with some features paid through Royale, and quotes 1500+ cities, while the Play listing says 1,000+. The two numbers differ, so I quote both.
- Offline support for schedules, stops, subway maps and the trip planner, per the listing.
- Its pages describe transit, not places to visit.
2. Moovit
Best for: a city outside the usual list.
The Play listing claims over 930 million users in more than 3,400 cities, plus step-by-step live navigation, an augmented reality way finder for stops and offline transit maps. moovitapp.com adds that live arrival times exist only in some areas, that long-distance tickets can be bought in over 40 countries, and that Moovit+ is a paid tier with an ad-free experience. That user figure is the company's claim, not something I verified.
- Widest coverage claim of the apps here.
- Contains ads, and Play shows the lowest rating of the three transit apps (3.8).
3. Google Maps
Best for: one app you probably have already.
Google's help page says not all cities have public transit directions, because the local agency must add its routes first, and that multi-stop directions are not available for transit. The Play listing adds real-time bus and train updates, offline maps, custom lists of saved places and 10B+ downloads. Saved lists are a partial answer to trip planning, covered in Google Maps lists alternatives.
- Transit, walking, driving and place search in one app.
- No transit multi-stop, and coverage depends on the agency.
4. Rome2Rio
Best for: the trip between cities rather than inside one.
The homepage shows multi-modal routes by plane, train, bus, ferry or car for any city, town, landmark or address, lists apps for iOS and Android, and cites 198,965 train lines, 969,666 bus routes, 13,273 ferries and 53,682 flight paths. It does not describe selling transport tickets itself: it lists partners such as Omio and Booking.com. It is not a city transit app. See Rome2Rio alternatives for that comparison.
Where NomadSwipe fits (and where it does not)
The other half of a city trip
I built NomadSwipe, so weigh this with that in mind. It is an Android app: pick a city and it deals real places one card at a time, swipe right or tap Save to keep one, and your saved places are pinned on a trip map you can turn into a day plan. It has no transit directions, no live departures and no offline maps, so it is not a Citymapper replacement.
A workable split: choose places in NomadSwipe, then open Citymapper, Transit or Google Maps for the route between them. Its Play listing says up to 20 saved trips are available offline after you open them online, and the copies expire. iPhone is coming soon. The steps are in saving places for a trip and planning a trip on a map.
If you are arriving somewhere new, finding things to do in a new city and planning a weekend city break cover the choosing step, swipe travel apps compares apps that work like NomadSwipe, and trip planner apps compared covers the planning side.
Citymapper alternatives by what you need
- Live departures and crowding: Transit, whose listing leads with them.
- A city Citymapper does not list: check Moovit, then Google Maps.
- One app for places and transit: Google Maps, with the transit limits above.
- A train, bus or flight between cities: Rome2Rio.
- Deciding where to go before the route: NomadSwipe, alongside any of the above.
The short version
- Apps like Citymapper are Transit, Moovit and Google Maps inside a city, and Rome2Rio between cities.
- Citymapper still exists: its Play listing was updated on 4 November 2026, and its own pages describe the Via acquisition and the CLUB change.
- Coverage numbers disagree even within one app (Citymapper 400+ versus 450+, Transit 1,000+ versus 1500+), so check your own city.
- NomadSwipe is not a transit app. It is for choosing places, and only up to 20 saved trips are available offline.
FAQ
What is the best app like Citymapper?
For city public transport, Transit and Moovit are the closest apps, and Google Maps is the one most people already have. On 12 November 2026 their Google Play listings showed Transit at 1,000+ cities, Moovit at more than 3,400 cities and Google Maps with transit directions that depend on each city's agency. Which one is best depends on whether your city is covered, so check each in the city you will visit.
Is Citymapper still available, and what has changed?
Yes. Citymapper's Play listing was updated on 4 November 2026 and still shows 10M+ downloads. Citymapper's own pages say it joined Via and that its consumer apps will keep supporting users, that the CLUB features were opened to all users while an ad-free version stayed paid, and its homepage now lists an AI "Best for you" route option. The Wikipedia article reports no city being dropped.
Which cities does Citymapper cover?
Citymapper's homepage says 400+ major cities, and its 2024 recap post says over 450, while Wikipedia repeats a 2023 company figure of about 100 cities. These numbers do not agree, so treat the exact count as unclear. The authoritative list is the city page in the app or at citymapper.com/cities, which did not return a city list when I fetched it.
Is there an app like Citymapper that works offline?
Partly, with each app defining offline differently. Transit's listing says bus schedules, stop locations, subway maps and its trip planner are available offline, and Moovit's lists offline transit maps. Citymapper's listing offers offline access to official subway and bus maps for some cities, and Google Maps lists offline maps for areas with a bad signal.
Is NomadSwipe an alternative to Citymapper?
No, not for transit. I built NomadSwipe, and it does not give transit directions or live departures. It is an Android app for choosing real places in a city by swiping, saving them and seeing them on a trip map, so you would use it to decide where to go and a transit app to get there.
Is NomadSwipe on iPhone?
Not yet. NomadSwipe is on Google Play for Android phones, and iPhone is coming soon.
Choose the places first. NomadSwipe is on Google Play for Android, and iPhone is coming soon.
Get NomadSwipe on Google PlayMethod, sample and limits
On 12 November 2026 I read the U.S. English Google Play listings of Citymapper, Transit, Moovit and Google Maps as raw HTML, the Citymapper, Transit, Moovit and Rome2Rio home pages, Citymapper's 2024 recap, Via and CLUB posts, Google's transit help page and the Wikipedia article on Citymapper. The Citymapper city list page returned no cities, and Rome2Rio's Play listing did not load, so those gaps are left empty. I installed none of these apps and tested no route, so this is what the pages say, not how the apps behave in your city. Prices and features change; check the current listing before you rely on a detail.
Sources
- Citymapper: home page, Play listing, 2024 recap, joins Via, CLUB features, Wikipedia (all read 12 November 2026; Play updated 4 November 2026)
- Transit: transitapp.com and its Play listing (read 12 November 2026; updated 2 November 2026)
- Moovit: moovitapp.com and its Play listing (read 12 November 2026; updated 8 November 2026)
- Google Maps: transit help page and its Play listing (read 12 November 2026)
- Rome2Rio: rome2rio.com (read 12 November 2026)
- NomadSwipe: its Play listing, plan limits and offline wording.
See also: How to use the Citymapper app · Rome2Rio alternatives · Google Maps lists alternatives · Swipe travel apps · Visit A City alternatives · NomadSwipe home · All comparisons