Report updated Jun 12, 2026
Coaster-Count
For roller coaster enthusiasts and theme park visitors who track ride counts and participate in coaster clubs.
Coaster-Count is a challenged travel app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 3.3/5 rating from 28 reviews, it faces significant user friction. Users particularly appreciate comprehensive coaster database provides valuable trip planning and tracking utility for enthusiasts, though hidden subscription costs surfacing only after the initial app purchase frustrate new users remains a common concern.
What is Coaster-Count?
Coaster-Count is a global roller coaster tracking and database app for theme park enthusiasts on iOS.
Users hire the app to maintain a verified record of their ride history and plan travel, serving the need for organized enthusiast data that general travel apps ignore.
Current Momentum
v4.8 · 57mo ago
Zombie- Added ride time and re-ride tracking
- Introduced Queueline quiz feature
- Implemented visited parks map
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
What Are The Key Features?
Database of 17,304 roller coasters, theme parks, and funfairs with offline access
Premium subscription tier providing extra statistics, advanced filters, and exclusive app features
Logs ridden coasters, re-rides, and ride chronology with personal performance metrics
How much does it cost?
- Free basic access
- Coaster-Count TOTAL! premium subscription
Freemium model relies on voluntary contributions for premium features to fund server infrastructure without advertising.
Who Built It?
Providing a specialized tracking tool for roller coaster enthusiasts to catalog their ride history and locate parks globally.
Portfolio
1
Apps
Explore the full Volker Sauer report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Volker Sauer.
What do users think recently?
Low confidence · 16 reviews analyzed
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a frustrated sentiment. Users appreciate comprehensive coaster database provides valuable trip planning and tracking utility for enthusiasts, but report hidden subscription costs surfacing only after the initial app purchase frustrate new users and account registration and email verification failures prevent users from accessing purchased features.
Limited review volume (16 reviews). Sentiment analysis will deepen as more data lands.
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for Coaster-Count?
Where is it available?
Localized markets (9)
How's The Travel Market?
How does it evolve in the Travel market?
Coaster-Count occupies a niche within the Travel category, holding a #5 Paid rank in France but struggling with a #92 Paid rank in the US. The discrepancy between its enthusiast-focused database and its low overall grossing rank signals monetization friction.
Rank progression
30 active rankings tracked — 30-day window
Which niche is Coaster-Count in?
to locate and catalog roller coasters worldwide
Explore the full Roller Coasters Guides niche
Every app in this space — 1 tracked, the niche's live rankings, and Marlvel's editorial take on the job-to-be-done.
The rivals identified
Same space(4)
Sets the industry standard for park-specific digital experiences and operational efficiency.
Differentiators
- Offers virtual line management and interactive park maps that optimize the guest's physical visit.
- Deep integration with resort-wide services like mobile food ordering and hotel check-in.
Directly serves the park-visit experience with operational tools that the target app lacks.
Differentiators
- Provides real-time ride wait times and in-park navigation features for specific coaster locations.
- Integrated mobile ordering and digital pass management creates a high-utility park companion experience.
Dominates the logistics layer of travel, serving the 'getting there' phase of the target app's user journey.
Differentiators
- Real-time flight pricing and availability engine provides essential logistics for international coaster enthusiasts.
- Global distribution network offers superior price-tracking alerts that the target app cannot replicate.
Broad travel utility that captures the 'discovery' phase of roller coaster tourism through user-generated reviews and location data.
Differentiators
- Aggregates massive volumes of user-generated photos and tips for theme parks globally.
- Integrated booking engine for hotels and flights creates a comprehensive travel planning ecosystem.
New entrants(2)
Emerging as a specialized travel companion that bundles entertainment and logistics for specific travel segments.
Differentiators
- Focuses on the 'all-in-one' trip experience, integrating itinerary management with on-board activity scheduling.
- Aggressive update schedule reflects a shift toward mobile-first guest engagement for complex travel itineraries.
Rapidly growing utility for international travelers, solving the connectivity pain point for global coaster hunters.
Differentiators
- Provides seamless global connectivity, removing the need for local SIM cards while traveling abroad.
- High-velocity release cadence ensures compatibility with the latest device hardware and roaming standards.
Compare Coaster-Count against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for Coaster-Count
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- 17,304-coaster database creates high switching costs
- API access drives organic traffic from enthusiast forums
Critical Frictions
- Subscription costs surfacing post-purchase drive refund requests
- Registration failures block core feature access
- 3.3-star rating suppresses new user conversion
Growth Levers
- B2B data partnerships with theme parks
- Wearable integration for in-park tracking
Market Threats
- Tripadvisor discovery scale dominates travel planning
- Negative sentiment loop from registration failures
What are the next best moves?
Audit account registration flow because registration failures are a top complaint → reduce churn
Sentiment analysis identifies registration and email verification as a primary barrier to feature access.
Trade-off: Pause the Queueline quiz feature development — registration stability is a higher-impact retention lever.
Surface subscription costs on the App Store product page because post-purchase surprise drives refunds → improve rating
User reviews explicitly cite hidden subscription costs as a primary source of frustration.
Trade-off: Same-quarter capacity available — no major lever displaced.
A counter-intuitive read
The app's biggest risk is not a competitor, but its own monetization model, which turns a loyal enthusiast base into a source of negative sentiment and refund requests.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Real-time ride wait times (available in Six Flags app)
- Integrated booking engine (available in Tripadvisor)
- Virtual line management (available in Universal Orlando app)
Key Takeaways
The app holds a unique enthusiast database, but opaque pricing and registration bugs actively destroy user trust, so the PM must prioritize technical stability and pricing transparency to stabilize the rating.
Where Is It Heading?
Mixed Signals
The travel-utility market is consolidating around apps that offer real-time operational data, leaving static databases like Coaster-Count exposed. Unless the app addresses its registration friction and pricing transparency, it will continue to lose potential power users to more reliable, integrated park companions.
Persistent registration failures in the latest release block new users, which compounds the rating drag already visible on the platform.
Recent feature additions like ride time recording show active development, which signals the app is not in maintenance mode.