PilotPal vs VatScope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PilotPal
This app provides FAA aviation airport charts and facility directories for easy flight planning. Access airport diagrams, frequencies, elevation, and helipad information offline. Stay updated with monthly chart revisions and quickly find nearby or favorite airports.
- Offline charts
- Airport Facility Directories
- Airport Diagrams
- Airport Information (Maps, Frequencies, Elevation, Helipads)
- Monthly updated FAA charts
- Nearby and favorite airports
- Airport search
Read full descriptionHide full description
PilotPal is the easiest way to flight plan. PilotPal brings the FAA airport facility directory and Airport Diagrams to your pocket. Features: • Offline Charts: Easily download airports or entire regions for offline use • Airport Facility Directories • Airport Diagrams • Weather via METAR and TAF • Wind maps • Airport Information including: • Maps • Frequencies • Elevation • Helipads • Updated FAA charts every month so you're always up to date. • Nearby airports: Easily find airports around you • Favorite airports: Save your favorites for quick access • Airport search: Easily find any airport or helipad • Dark mode • iPad support Built by real pilots with a love for aviation Feedback or issues: tinybyteapps@gmail.com Legal: Airport facility directories and airport diagrams are provided by the FAA. Always consult appropriate and available sources to prepare for your flight. Our privacy policy is available at: https://pilotpal-1139.firebaseapp.com/privacypolicy.htm Our terms of service is available at: https://pilotpal-1139.firebaseapp.com/termsofuse.html
VatScope
This application provides real-time information for the VATSIM network, allowing users to view pilot and controller data, track friends, and access airport weather. It also integrates flight plan routes and VATSIM events.
- Real-time pilot and controller information
- Friend tracking
- Airport weather and weather map
- Flight plan route display
- VATSIM events integration
- VATSIM member certificate details
- Dark mode support
Read full descriptionHide full description
VatScope is a tool to view online information of VATSIM network. Features: - Provide the latest pilots, controllers and airports information on VATSIM - Track yourself and your friends - Airport weather and weather map - Flight plan route display - VATSIM events integration - Certificate details for VATSIM members - Dark mode support - Fully ad-free
Screenshots
Verdict
PilotPal and VatScope both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of VatScope's written reviews are positive against 55% of PilotPal's. VatScope also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. PilotPal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and VatScope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for PilotPal against 4.8 for VatScope. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 663 and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of PilotPal's written reviews are positive against 85% of VatScope's.
PilotPal ships an update every 3 months, VatScope every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PilotPal | VatScope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (663 ratings) | 4.8 (1.4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.0% of reviews | 84.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 663 | 1.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tinybyte Apps LLC | 文俊 周 |
Customer experience
PilotPal
VatScope
User reviews
PilotPal
From 663 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Clean and simple user interface
- 🚀 Quick access to airport information
- 📱 Effective airport directory functionality
- ⭐ Excellent customer support
- 🎯 Minimalist design with focused mission
Room to improve
- 💰 Paywall-locked features behind subscription
- 🔒 Subscription access issues and bugs
- 📊 Incomplete airport chart coverage
- ❌ Missing chart supplement sections
- 🚫 Difficult to unsubscribe
VatScope
From 1.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Excellent app for Vatsim
- 🚀 Constantly updated and improved
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 👍 Packed with useful features
- 👍 Reliable and dependable
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Paywall for some features
- 🔒 Removing existing features behind paywall
- 🐛 Issues with recent updates
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance on different devices
Bugs and requests
PilotPal
Reported bugs
5 issues- Subscription verification loop - shows already subscribed but denies access
- Airport diagrams not displaying despite active subscription
- App stopped working after February update
- General app functionality failures
- Missing settings/preferences menu
Requested features
6 requests- Airport diagram printing functionality
- Ability to sort favorites tab
- Front and back page information inclusion
- Improved search functionality for VOR locations
- Legend/index documentation
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Comprehensive chart supplement data (VFR corridors, visual reporting points, VOR test locations)
VatScope
Reported bugs
5 issues- Aircraft labels and route lines disappearing on zoom
- Search functionality for airports and callsigns removed
- App not opening on iPad after recent update
- Frequent refresh errors and data not updating
- ATIS/controller info display issues with line breaks
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to filter by aircraft type
- Bring back busiest airports feature
- Option to set custom refresh rate
- Compatibility with new Mac devices
- Notifications for new ATC sectors coming online
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Display ATC sector boundaries on the map
In-app purchases
PilotPal
- Airport Diagrams$0.991 Month
- PilotPal Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- PilotPal Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
VatScope
- Extension$4.99
