Comparison

Metal Detector EMF vs Drone Start

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

Head to head
About

Metal Detector EMF

This application uses your smartphone's magnetic sensor to detect nearby metal objects. It can help you find hidden metallic items, act as a treasure hunting tool, or even assist in ghost hunting by visualizing magnetic field trends. Requires a device with a magnetic sensor to function.

Highlights
  • Detects nearby metal
  • Measures magnetic field
  • Finds hidden metallic objects
  • Acts as a treasure hunter tool
  • Assists ghost hunters
  • Visualizes reading trends with a graph
Features
Read full description

Metal Detector EMF detects the presence of metal nearby. Metal detectors measure magnetic field value using a magnetic sensor that is built into your smartphone. Now You can easily find metallic objects that are hidden underground, behind walls etc. , or be a treasure hunter or ghost hunters, also see a reading trend through the graph. Simple app in your device called Gauss Meter are used for measuring the Earth's magnetic field but can't detect silver, gold, copper coins (non-ferrous - no magnetic field). This Magnetometer app require a magnetic sensor otherwise does not work.

About

Drone Start

This app provides advanced flight checks and planning for drones, ensuring safe takeoffs and operations. It analyzes weather, GPS, battery health, and local airspace conditions, while also offering detailed flight route planning with elevation and wind data.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive pre-flight safety checks
  • Detailed flight route planning
  • Real-time drone battery and sensor monitoring
  • Weather, GPS, and airspace analysis
  • No-fly zone and wind map visualization
  • Daily FlyCast notifications
  • Intelligent Return To Home height calculation
Read full description

Drone Start is an advanced flight check & planning tool for drones. Drone Start is packed full of features that will help you plan a safe drone flight every time! You simply turn on your drone, plug your device into the drone controller, open the app & tap Start! Drone Start will then do a comprehensive set of advanced checks to see if its safe to fly in your current area & it will even check your drones battery and sensors in real time to check your drone is in perfect condition to take off! When your not out flying you can use Drone Start to create comprehensive flight plans, just type in where you want to fly and Drone Start will get Weather, GPS, Light Levels, Terrain Elevation, No Fly Zones and more! You can also plan your flight route and find out the elevation change & how much battery you'll have left! You can view the area map and see No Fly Zones, Terrain Elevations, Sunrise/Sunset Times & Positions plus you can also see an animated Wind Map, showing the wind direction with colour coded arrows so you can immediately see if its too windy to fly or not. Drone Starts calculation are also based on your drone model*, so things such as winds speeds and battery range are calculated using your actual drone! Drone Start also has some great advanced features too such as: Daily FlyCast Daily FlyCast is a daily notification sent at sunrise every morning outlining the days flying conditions. You'll also have access to the FlyCast Widget, so you can always quickly check if its good to fly without even opening the app! Solar Storm Warnings Solar Storm Warnings are notifications informing you incoming solar storms which can cause high levels of magnetic interference which can affect GPS signals and impact the accuracy of your RTH point. Intelligent RTH If enabled Drone Start will automatically calculate and set your Return To Home Height based on surround terrain elevation and building heights, making sure your doesn't fly into a mountain side or building when it returns to you! Fly Zone Alert When enabled you will receive a notification informing you have entered a No Fly Zone, we will also let you know when you leave one too! Battery Manager Drone Start records battery data before each flight so you easily check battery health, including deviations. It also recommends battery rotation order if you have multiple batteries. You can also perform a battery test to check it's heath & efficiency, plus create pdf reports from the results. Intelligent VPS If there are large bodies of water in the area, Drone Start will automatically disable your VPS for you and automatically enable it next time you fly in an area with low amounts of water. Active Drone Alerts Get notified when theres a another drone flying near your location. Drone Start Features Include**: Start Checks - Weather, GPS, KP Index, Terrain Elevation & Airspace Checks - Light Checks - Aircraft Checks - Aircraft Warming - Building Height Check - Drone Battery Health Check - Drone Sensor Health Check - Wind Altitude Checks - RTH Height Check - Wind Map - No Fly Zone Map - Terrain Elevation Map - Ephemeris - Dedicated Drone Model Checks - Golden Hour Times - Water Area Check - Active Drone Check - RTH Reminder Flight Plans - 7 Day Weather Forecast - 7 Day GPS Forecast - 7 Day KP Index Forecast - No Fly Zone Check - Terrain Elevation Check - Weather Check - Wind Map - 3D Building Map - No Fly Zone Map - Terrain Elevation Map - Ephemeris - Best Time To Fly - Flight Route Planner - Dedicated Drone Model Checks - Weekly Summary - Light Check - Golden Hour Times *DJI Drone Models are only currently supported. **Some Feature May Require An Active Monthly or Yearly Auto Renewing Subscription. See our Terms of Use here: www.faulknerlabs.io/drone-start-terms

Screenshots

Metal Detector EMF4 screens
Drone Start4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Metal Detector EMF at 4.6 against Drone Start's 4.1. Metal Detector EMF also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 41%) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 48). Drone Start's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Metal Detector EMF sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Drone Start sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Metal Detector EMF holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Metal Detector EMF has 2.5K ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Metal Detector EMF's written reviews are positive against 41% of Drone Start's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Metal Detector EMF ships an update every 9 months, Drone Start every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Metal Detector EMF versus Drone Start: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMetal Detector EMFDrone Start
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.5K ratings) — better4.1 (48 ratings)
Positive reviews68.4% of reviews — better41.4% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K — better48
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB120 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperExaMobile S.A.Neil Faulkner

Customer experience

Metal Detector EMF

All ratings2,390 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews475 reviews
Positive68.4%
Neutral5.3%
Negative26.3%

Drone Start

All ratings47 ratings
Positive76.6%
Neutral8.5%
Negative14.9%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive41.4%
Neutral13.8%
Negative44.8%

Bugs and requests

Metal Detector EMF

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Settings page not functioning
  • App crashes on some devices
  • Inaccurate readings in certain situations

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to detect non-magnetic metals
  • Improved sensitivity and detection range
  • Option to calibrate the sensor
  • Metal identification feature

Drone Start

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Metal Detector EMF

One-time1
  • AdBlock - Remove ads$1.99
2 purchases

Drone Start

Subscriptions2
  • Professional Monthly7 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Professional Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Metal Detector EMF free?
Metal Detector EMF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drone Start free?
Drone Start is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Metal Detector EMF or Drone Start?
Metal Detector EMF is rated higher. Metal Detector EMF averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Drone Start averages 4.1 from 48 ratings.
Do Metal Detector EMF or Drone Start have ads?
Neither Metal Detector EMF nor Drone Start shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Metal Detector EMF or Drone Start?
Metal Detector EMF ships an update every 9 months, and Drone Start every 3 weeks. Most recently, Metal Detector EMF was updated on November 6, 2026 and Drone Start on November 2, 2026.

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