H0 track system comparison 2026: what the same layout costs in six systems

"Which track system is the best?" is the question beginners ask most — and the one answered worst. In the forums people argue. We did the arithmetic instead.

For that we build the same small but complete layout in every system: an oval, a passing siding, a stabling siding — three turnouts, roughly 2.2 × 0.9 metres. Then we count which parts that system needs for it, and put a real dealer's current prices on top.

The result

As of 11 August 2026 · Modellbahn Union · euro · DACH region

Between the cheapest and the dearest system lies €211.20 — for exactly the same layout. That is nearly double.

These are euro prices from a German dealer. We never convert prices between regions, so this table answers "what does it cost in continental Europe", not "what does it cost where you live". For the UK we have one system fully costed so far: Peco Setrack at £195.30 — noticeably cheaper than in DACH, and that is a home-market effect, not an exchange rate.

Three things you can read from it

Parts count and price run against each other. Peco Setrack needs the fewest parts at 31 and is still dearer than Piko A with 35. Comparing systems by "how many parts do I need" gets it wrong — and so does comparing the price of a single curve. Only the finished layout answers the question.

Märklin C is the dearest — and the reason is the turnouts, not the track. The three slim turnouts cost €38.69 each, plus a drive per turnout (€19.99) and a decoder (€38.27). That block alone is around €290 — more than the entire Piko A layout. If you run C track, this is exactly where you pay for the operational reliability of the three-rail system.

Ballast costs a premium — measurably. Piko A and Piko A with ballast are the same layout at the same size. The ballasted variant costs €49.82 more, a good 22 %.

Why this comparison is different

Adding up a parts list from target dimensions is easy — and can contain parts that never join into a closed layout. An oval only works out if the curve angles add up to 360°; a passing siding only if there is a curve that brings the turnout's diverging route back parallel.

That is why the layout is actually built and checked in every system: every joint has to be coincident, the loop has to close, the siding has to meet both turnouts. What does not close does not appear here as a number.

Five of the six layouts you can look at directly — real plans, rotatable, with a parts list:

• Piko A
• Peco H0 Setrack
• Piko A with ballast
• Roco geoLine
• Märklin C

Which system for whom?

Small budget, permanent layout, should look real → Piko A. Cheapest system in the test, flex track available, double slip in the range. Budget for cork and ballast on top (see below).

Build up, take down, children, run trains quickly → Piko A with ballast or Peco Setrack. Ballasted track is sturdier underfoot and more reliable in operation; the premium is around €50.

Märklin stock in the cupboard → Märklin C, but with open eyes. The three-rail decision is made by your vehicles anyway, not by the track. Budget the turnout block from the start.

The item almost everyone forgets

In 38 of 59 systems the turnout drive is not included: the turnout comes in the box as a manual one. A medium-sized station quickly has twelve turnouts — around €240 for Märklin C in drives alone.

Two traps in that:

"One turnout = one drive" is not always true. A three-way turnout needs two drives, a double crossover up to four. Anyone calculating by turnout count undercounts exactly the most expensive components.

Digital is cheaper than most people calculate. People read "one decoder per turnout" and multiply. But one four-channel module switches four drives: at twelve drives that is €105.66 (three modules) against €459.24 (twelve built-in decoders) — a factor of 4.3.

The open gap: Roco Line and Rocoline are missing

Honestly: this table is not complete yet, and the gap is a relevant one. Roco Line and Rocoline with ballast are missing — not because they are poor, but because in our own data several parts carry no real manufacturer article number (internal identifiers such as D4, D8). No article number, no price; no price, no total.

Both are serious candidates: Rocoline goes up to a 1962 mm radius — more than any other system in the test — and both offer flex track and a double slip. If they are on your list, do not cross them off because they are absent here. We will add them as soon as the numbers are maintained.

For the USA there is no total for the same kind of reason: the dealer there sells track largely in packs, and the piece count only appears in the product title. Calculating from that would mean guessing — we would rather leave it empty.

What the numbers do not include

The figures compare bare track with ballasted track, not with fully ballasted track. For an unballasted system, underlay, ballast and adhesive come on top — around seven metres of track for this layout. The underlay can be calculated (cork, 3 m per pack, from €16.63); for ballast and adhesive no manufacturer states a reach in metres of track. We therefore show those two items as "price known, quantity unknown" instead of inventing a number.

And prices change. The date above is 11 August 2026. We recalculate the dataset when the data changes — the figures here are an extract from it, not a hand-maintained list.

The full chain of decisions — two-rail or three-rail, with or without ballast, rail height, turnout shapes, which systems are still in production — is in our buying guide: Which track system suits you?