Comparison

PilotPal vs SimFly Pad

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Offline charts
  • Airport Facility Directories
  • Airport Diagrams
  • Airport Information (Maps, Frequencies, Elevation, Helipads)
  • Monthly updated FAA charts
  • Nearby and favorite airports
  • Airport search
Features
Read 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

About

SimFly Pad

Enhance your flight simulation experience with interactive checklists, in-game camera recording, and direct cockpit control. Manage flight records and sync media to the cloud for permanent storage.

Highlights
  • Interactive flight checklists
  • In-game virtual camera
  • Cockpit instrument control
  • Flight record management
  • Cloud synchronization for media
  • Voice interaction for checklists (Beta)
Features
Read full description

SimFly Pad is an app focused on enhancing your flight simulation game experience. In SimFly Pad, you can quickly find a sophisticated flight checklist to help you complete each stage of your flight with precision. SimFly Pad is also the first App that comes with a built-in "Camera" allowing you to capture and record every moment of your flight through your phone. All photos and videos are supported for syncing to the cloud for permanent storage. Through the built-in Cockpit page of SimFly Pad, you can directly manipulate the simulated aircraft in your game, such as turning on or off landing lights, adjusting NAV frequencies, and other operations. (Note: The camera function requires an application installed on your PC to work) All Features: * Interactable checklist * Over ten elaborate build-in checklists. * Supports voice interaction (Beta version) * Supports importing custom checklists. * Virtual Camera * Capture and record your in-game footage in real-time. (requires SimFly Linker) * All photos/videos support lossless synchronization to the cloud. * Your flight data is also carried in your photos and videos. * Support real-time view of in-flight data. (barometric pressure, wind, altitude, etc.) * Support exporting videos with beautiful flight data charts. * All exported videos/photos would carry geographic metadata. (meaning you can view the geographic location in your system album). * Cockpit Instrument Control * Direct control of various panels during flight (autopilot, lighting, switches, flaps, etc.) * Supports A320/A330//A340/A350/A380/B737/B757/B777/B787/C250/G1000/C172/CRJ/GA/TBM930/SR22/B777CDU/StreamingScreen. * All components are implemented natively, offering higher performance and lower latency. * Flight Records * Manage all your flight records by tags. * Supports analysis and display of FDR data. * Support for reviewing the flight path. * Support generating and exporting flight path maps. The checklists currently included in the app are: * Douglas DC6A/6B * Airbus A320NX * Airbus A310 * Boeing 737 * Boeing 777 * Carenado M20R * Bombardier CRJ-500/700 * DATER TMB930 * Bae 146 * Cessna 310R * Beech King Air 350 * McDonnell Douglas 82 * Cessna 172SP * Comanche 250 More checklists and features are arriving. If you have any suggestions, please let us know via email at ethantoken@gmail.com or in the comments. NOTE: !!! Please DO NOT use this App in real flight. This App should ONLY be used for simulation games!!!!

Screenshots

PilotPal4 screens
SimFly Pad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SimFly Pad at every 10 days against PilotPal's every 3 months. SimFly Pad also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). PilotPal's advantage is ratings volume (663 vs 15). On price, rating, review sentiment 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PilotPal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and SimFly Pad sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for PilotPal against 4.7 for SimFly Pad. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PilotPal has 663 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of PilotPal's written reviews are positive against 60% of SimFly Pad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PilotPal ships an update every 3 months, SimFly Pad every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PilotPal versus SimFly Pad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPilotPalSimFly Pad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (663 ratings) — better4.7 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews55.0% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings663 — better15
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB150 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTinybyte Apps LLCSeeingSky Inc.

Customer experience

PilotPal

All ratings652 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive55.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative40.0%

SimFly Pad

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%

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 more
  • Comprehensive chart supplement data (VFR corridors, visual reporting points, VOR test locations)

SimFly Pad

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

PilotPal

Subscriptions3
  • Airport Diagrams$0.991 Month
  • PilotPal Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • PilotPal Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
12 purchases

SimFly Pad

One-time12
  • SimFly Pad Premium Panel - B767$19.99
  • SimFly Pad B757 Premium Panel$19.99
  • Premium Panel - B737 Ng/Max$24.99
Show 9 more
  • Premium Panel - A320$24.99
  • Premium Panel - B787$24.99
  • SimFlyPad Premium Panel C250$24.99
  • Premium Panel - B777$24.99
  • Premium Panel - A330$24.99
  • Premium Panel - A380$24.99
  • SimFly Pad A350 Premium Panel$24.99
  • SimFly Pad A340 Premium Panel$24.99
  • SimFly Pad Panel - CRJ$24.99

Questions

Is PilotPal free?
PilotPal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SimFly Pad free?
SimFly Pad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PilotPal or SimFly Pad?
PilotPal is rated higher. PilotPal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 663 ratings, while SimFly Pad averages 4.7 from 15 ratings.
Do PilotPal or SimFly Pad have ads?
Neither PilotPal nor SimFly Pad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PilotPal or SimFly Pad?
PilotPal ships an update every 3 months, and SimFly Pad every 10 days. Most recently, PilotPal was updated on September 22, 2026 and SimFly Pad on September 13, 2026.

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