Comparison

FS vs VatView

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

Head to head
About

FS

Enhance your flight simulation experience with a touch-optimized instructor station. Control aircraft positioning, weather, failures, and more. Connects to PC flight simulators for a comprehensive training tool.

Highlights
  • Touch-optimized instructor station
  • Real-time moving map with overlays
  • Weather condition control
  • Aircraft pushback control
  • Fuel and load manager
  • Failure system with random failures
  • Aircraft and approach statistics
Features
Read full description

This app is an iOS client for FS-FlightControl (www.fs-flightcontrol.com). Please first start the Windows application downloadable at FS-FlightControl.com. Then you can connect to it with this iOS app and use all features of FS-FlightControl also on your iOS device! TOUCH OPTIMIZED INSTRUCTOR STATION FS-FlightControl is a touch optimized instructor station for Lockheed Martin Prepar3D® 1.x, 2.x, 3.x and 4.x, Microsoft Flight Simulator X including Steam Edition, Dovetail Flight Sim World (FSW) as well as X-Plane 10 and 11. Get the Most out of your Flight Simulator with FS-FlightControl Featuring - easy aircraft positioning on approaches and other custom locations, - real-time moving map with detailed overlays and VATSIM, IVAO and PilotEdge support, - ProSim, Project Magenta, FSLabs, Aerosoft and Wilco enabled flight planning, - weather condition control including real-time-weather, - full aircraft pushback control, - a fuel and load manager, - control over aircraft views and slew mode, - a failure system with random failures, also for ProSim, AST, JeeHell and Project Magenta, - extensive aircraft overview with all your aircraft data and TCAS feature, - aircraft and approach statistics and graphs including Google Earth export, - detailed remote control options for all your network computers and - finally you can use the very detailed settings to customized everything to your specific needs! The connection to the Flight Simulator is established directly via SimConnect for best performance - no additional tools like FSUIPC needed! FLIGHT SCHOOLS AND FLIGHT SIMULATION CENTERS FS-FlightControl is the tool you need to provide the best experience for your pilots. Customization Options You need a special feature that is missing till now or you need a custom, even branded version? No problem, learn more about customization options or contact us directly. We are looking forward to hear from you and provide you with exactly the product you need! HOME USERS For all flight enthusiast we provide a price-reduced version for home use. You can order it directly online. FS-FlightControl combines a detailed moving map, flight planning, approach training support, real-time weather, fuel and load manager as well as aircraft failure control all in one comprehensive tool!

About

VatView

Track air traffic controllers and flight information on the VATSIM network. View active ATC stations, frequencies, and ATIS messages. Explore an interactive map showing pilots and controllers, or search for airport-specific flight data.

Highlights
  • Interactive VATSIM map
  • Live METAR weather data
  • Filterable pilot and ATC lists
  • Airport-specific flight information
  • Enroute and FSS control areas
  • ATC bookings
Features
Read full description

VatView is a mobile app that allows flight simulation enthusiasts to track ATC presence and flight information on the VATSIM network. VatView aims to be your ultimate VATSIM companion! It provides easy access to active VATSIM terminal area ATC stations and frequencies and exposes the ATIS message easily. It also shows enroute ATC, including marking land, oceanic, UIR and FSS VATSIM controlled areas on the map. VatView features three main views: - a map displaying all pilots and air traffic controllers currently connected to the VATSIM network. - A filterable and searchable list page - displaying a detailed list of all connected pilots and ATC. - An airport search page - which concentrates all connected ATC, active flights and prefiled flight plans for a specific airport. VATSIM (short for the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network) is a completely free online platform that allows Flight simulator enthusiasts connect and fly virtually on one shared virtual aviation eco system. It simulates Air Traffic Control (ATC) with full voice and network connection between virtual pilots flight on flight simulator software and virtual air traffic controllers using software for providing ATC services. It is as real as it gets. It supports Microsoft's Flight simulator (MSFS, FSX and FS9), P3D and X-Plane. For more information visit https://www.vatsim.net. Features: - An Interactive map displaying VATSIM pilots and ATC - Detailed aircraft and terminal ATC station Icons - Enroute and FSS control areas - Live METAR (weather) data for any airport - ATC Bookings - Always up to date FIR boundaries synced with VATSpy's data project - Detailed flight information - Filterable and searchable list screen - An easy way to get all relevant terminal area stations with the relevant ATIS message * The app uses the storage permission to cache large airspace data it needs to display on the map. Disclaimer: The author is not affiliated with the VATSIM Organization in any way (other than being an enthusiastic user and member of the community)

Screenshots

FS4 screens
VatView4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: FS at none against VatView's shown. FS also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 25%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). VatView's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). On price, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FS ships an update every 4 months, VatView weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
FS versus VatView: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFSVatView
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndreas BreitschoppOren Geva

Customer experience

FS

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

VatView

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

FS

No in-app purchases

None

VatView

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FS free?
FS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VatView free?
VatView is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do FS or VatView have ads?
VatView shows ads; FS does not.
Which is updated more often, FS or VatView?
FS ships an update every 4 months, and VatView weekly. Most recently, FS was updated on September 27, 2026 and VatView on October 4, 2026.

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