Alt vs Flight Gauges
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Alt
This app calculates your precise altitude above sea level using your device's barometer or GPS. It offers a realistic, retro design and automatically calibrates for local atmospheric pressure, with optional manual calibration for advanced users.
- Barometer-based altitude calculation
- GPS fallback for devices without barometer
- Automatic local pressure calibration
- Optional user calibration
- Retro-style interface
- Precise height above sea level
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Alt-O-Meter uses the barometer (air pressure sensor) in your late-model iPhone or iPad to calculate your precise height above sea level. Great for hiking, skiing, driving through mountain passes, flying, and more! • Reads ambient air pressure for a more precise reading than GPS. • Realistic, retro style. Looks like a classic airplane's altimeter! • Automatically calibrates for local atmospheric pressure. • ...also allows precise user calibration (optional; for advanced users) • Uses GPS hardware in devices that lack a barometer. • Completely free! No ads or in-app purchases.
Flight Gauges
This app provides essential flight instruments including a barometric altimeter, vertical speed indicator, and GPS ground speed. It also features an attitude indicator and compass, with customizable units for pressure and altitude. Designed for pilots, it offers an alternative to physical instruments but should not be used as a primary source.
- Barometric Altimeter
- Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI)
- GPS Ground Speed Indicator
- Attitude Indicator
- Compass
- QNH Setting
- Alternate GPS Altimeter Mode
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Barometric Altimeter with Vertical Speed Indicator, and GPS ground speed indicator, in knots, mph and kph. Attitude Indicator and Compass. * Current pressure readings * QNH setting with mbar and inHg units * Alternate GPS altimeter mode * Altitude is displayed in feet and meters Warning: To use the Barometer, you need a device that supports it (iPhone 6 or later), otherwise the app will continue in GPS mode. DISCLAIMER: These instruments should never be used as primary source of orientation during flight. Drift and sensor error are expected. Speed is always GPS Ground Speed and depends on correct GPS signal. Altimeter can be GPS or Barometer based. If Barometer is selected, the source is cabin air, which usually resents a lower than outside pressure. Usage in pressurised cabins will present obvious errors.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Flight Gauges at 5.0 against Alt's 4.5. Flight Gauges also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 15 months) and iOS requirement (9.1 vs 17.0). Alt's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, ads and device support 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. Flight Gauges sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Alt asks for nothing beyond the download.
Flight Gauges holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Alt has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Alt ships an update every 15 months, Flight Gauges every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Alt | Flight Gauges |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 15 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 9.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joshua Hinman | Emidio Cunha |
Customer experience
Alt
Flight Gauges
In-app purchases
Alt
No in-app purchases
Flight Gauges
- Unlock QNH$1.99
Questions
Is Alt free?
Is Flight Gauges free?
Which has better reviews, Alt or Flight Gauges?
Do Alt or Flight Gauges have ads?
Which is updated more often, Alt or Flight Gauges?
Other comparisons
