PilotPal vs CX
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
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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
CX
This aviation tool simplifies flight planning for pilots. It offers accurate calculations for time, speed, distance, fuel, and more, along with unit conversions and a built-in calculator. Designed for ease of use, it guides users through flight planning and execution with a natural menu flow.
- Flight planning calculations
- Time, speed, distance functions
- Fuel and altitude calculations
- Unit conversions (12 categories)
- Weight and balance calculations
- Holding pattern details
- Built-in calculator, clock, timer
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Based on the ASA CX-3® Flight Computer for pilots, this CX-3 app makes flight planning simple by taking confusion out of the equation. Fast, versatile and easy to use, the CX-3® delivers accurate results quickly and efficiently. Whether used for flight planning, ground school, or FAA Knowledge Exam preparation, the menu organization reflects the order in which a flight is normally planned and executed, resulting in a natural flow from one function to the next with a minimum of keystrokes. Multiple aviation functions can be performed on the CX-3® flight computer including those related to time, speed, distance, heading, wind, fuel, altitude, cloud base, standard atmosphere, glide, climb & descent, weight & balance, as well as a holding pattern function to help determine entry method and holding details. The CX-3® has 12 unit-conversions: Distance, Speed, Duration, Temperature, Pressure, Volume, Rate, Weight, Rate of Climb/Descent, Angle of Climb/Descent, Torque, and Angle. These 12 conversion categories contain 38 different conversion factors for over 100 functions. A calculator, clock, timer, and stopwatch are also built in along with multiple settings for lighting, backlighting, themes, time zones and more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PilotPal at Free against CX's $19.99. PilotPal also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (663 vs 11). CX's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and chart position (#58 vs unranked). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
PilotPal is free to download; CX costs $19.99 up front. PilotPal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. CX asks for nothing beyond the download.
PilotPal holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PilotPal has 663 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of PilotPal's written reviews are positive against 36% of CX's.
PilotPal ships an update every 3 months, CX every 8 months. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.
| Parameter | PilotPal | CX |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $19.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (663 ratings) — better | 3.7 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.0% of reviews — better | 35.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 663 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #58 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tinybyte Apps LLC | ASA |
Customer experience
PilotPal
CX
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
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- Comprehensive chart supplement data (VFR corridors, visual reporting points, VOR test locations)
CX
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PilotPal
- Airport Diagrams$0.991 Month
- PilotPal Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- PilotPal Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
CX
No in-app purchases









