Comparison

FreeFlight Mini vs HolyStone

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

Head to head
About

FreeFlight Mini

Control Parrot Minidrones with your smartphone or tablet. Features intuitive piloting, easy connectivity, and advanced flight modes for acrobatic maneuvers. Capture photos and videos in real-time for an immersive FPV experience.

Highlights
  • Intuitive piloting interface
  • Easy drone detection and connection
  • Real-time HD video saving and transmission
  • FPV racing pilot modes
  • One-touch acrobatics and flips
  • Customizable flight parameters
  • Photo capture
Features
Read full description

FREEFLIGHT MINI The official dedicated app for Parrot Minidrones*. PILOT YOUR DRONE VIA YOUR SMARTPHONE OR TABLET Download FreeFlight Mini free of charge in order to pilot Parrot Minidrones. 

 INTUITIVE PILOTING FreeFlight Mini’s easy-to-use interface makes piloting simple, even for beginner pilots. The app connects to your Minidrone via Bluetooth Low Energy or Wi-Fi. EASY CONNECTIVITY The FreeFlight Mini App automatically detects which Parrot Minidrone you are using. Simply turn on your drone, activate Bluetooth on your smartphone/tablet and open the application. Select your drone from the list that appears on the screen. Your drone will then connect and you are ready for take-off! If you’re using Mambo FPV, activate wifi on your iDevice and connect to your drone in the app. List of drones compatible with this application: Parrot Mambo, Parrot Swing, Parrot Minidrones Airborne Night and Cargo, Hydrofoil*, and Rolling Spider. *For Hydrofoil: place the Airborne Minidrone into the Hydrofoil structure, select Hydrofoil mode in settings, and start sailing across the water. Parrot MAMBO FPV NEW FEATURES The application will instantly recognize the FPV camera that you have connected to your Parrot Mambo. You can now save and transmit HD video content in real time! To completely immerse yourself in the FPV experience, simply place your iDevice in your Parrot Cockpit Glasses 2. You’ll see exactly what your drone sees and discover new, thrilling sensations thanks to this innovative function. Become a FPV racing pilot using the three new pilot modes. Start with the Easy mode, which will keep your drone’s position in the air even after the controls have been released. Then, move on to Drift mode. This mode deactivates the horizontal stabilization, thus allowing for sharps turns and more complex maneuvers. Last but not least, push your piloting skills to the limit and try the new Racing mode. You’ll have complete control of the drone with no stabilization assistance. The possibilities are endless! ACROBATICS, FLIPS & TURNS From the home screen of the FreeFlight Mini app, you can easily access your settings for piloting, photos, and the "Parrot Cloud.” You can also customize flight parameters, including: altitude, speed and piloting mode (accelerometer, joypad). FreeFlight Mini app also includes fun features like one-touch flip: - Experience loops, barrel rolls, and high speed 180-degree turns with Parrot Swing - Front/back/side flips with Parrot Mambo, Airborne Minidrones, Rolling Spider and Hydrofoil* *Only when it’s removed from the Hydrofoil structure and in flight mode Parrot Minidrones are ultra-compact drones with impressive agility. They can fly both indoors and outdoors with great speed and stability. PHOTOS All Parrot Minidrones can take dronies of you and your friends. You can also store images from your drone races taken by Parrot Swing in plane mode. CUSTOMIZE YOUR FLYPAD SETTINGS The new Parrot Flypad allows you to pilot your Minidrone with extra-precision and control. There are two ways to connect the controller to the Minidrone: - Automatically and directly, without the use of a smartphone. This mode offers an increased flight range of up to 200 feet - Through your smartphone or tablet. This connection mode allows you to monitor your flight status on your device’s screen, and simultaneously pilot the Minidrone using the controller You can customize your Flypad controls to suit your piloting preferences through the use of the FreeFlight Mini app. Turn on your Parrot Flypad and select it in the “controller” section of the app. From there, you can modify the button mapping and check battery life. When you start piloting, enjoy the optimized display of flight information (flight time and drone battery percentage) on your smartphone. *To pilot Parrot Minidrone Jumping Night, Race, or Sumo, you need to download the FreeFlight Jumping app.

About

HolyStone

Control your drone with your mobile device. Experience real-time FPV video, multiple control methods including gravity sensing and voice commands, and capture photos and videos directly from the app.

Highlights
  • WiFi real-time image transmission
  • Gravity sensing control
  • Trajectory control
  • Voice command control
  • Hand photography and video recording
  • Manual photography and video recording
Features
Read full description

A drone controls the app. The main features are as follows: 1. WiFi real-time image transmission 2. Real time manual control, gravity sensing control, trajectory control, voice command control 3. Hand photography and video recording, manual photography and video recording

Screenshots

FreeFlight Mini4 screens
HolyStone3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FreeFlight Mini at 3.7 against HolyStone's 3.5. FreeFlight Mini also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (513 vs 111). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FreeFlight Mini holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 513 and 111 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of FreeFlight Mini's written reviews are positive against 30% of HolyStone's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FreeFlight Mini ships an update every 5 weeks, HolyStone every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
FreeFlight Mini versus HolyStone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFreeFlight MiniHolyStone
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (513 ratings) — better3.5 (111 ratings)
Positive reviews34.2% of reviews — better29.7% of reviews
Number of ratings513 — better111
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB104 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperParrot SAHOLY STONE TECHNOLOGY Co.,Ltd.

Customer experience

FreeFlight Mini

All ratings512 ratings
Positive65.2%
Neutral10.5%
Negative24.2%
Written reviews351 reviews
Positive34.2%
Neutral12.8%
Negative53.0%

HolyStone

All ratings110 ratings
Positive58.2%
Neutral9.1%
Negative32.7%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive29.7%
Neutral2.7%
Negative67.6%

User reviews

FreeFlight Mini

From 513 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works well on iPhone
  • 👍 Fun and enjoyable
  • 🚀 Very nice and enjoyable for 10-year-olds
  • 👍 More reliable than a McLaren
  • 🚀 Camera works well

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Broken app sign-up/login
  • 👎 Built-in obsolescence
  • 👎 Difficult to control
  • 🔋 Short battery life
  • 🐛 Connectivity issues

HolyStone

From 111 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun drone to use
  • 👍 Good camera quality
  • 👍 Impressed by drone quality
  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • 👍 Easy connection with app and drone

Room to improve

  • 😞 App doesn't work
  • 😞 Drone won't pair
  • 😞 App freezes
  • 😞 Drone flies away unexpectedly
  • 😞 Connection issues

Bugs and requests

FreeFlight Mini

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when trying to transfer photos
  • Bluetooth connectivity issues
  • Drone firmware update problems
  • Drone goes out of control during flight

Requested features

4 requests
  • Automatic orientation adjustment for left-handed users
  • Ability to change control mode
  • Improved camera functionality
  • Emergency stop button

HolyStone

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App freezes
  • Drone won't pair with controller
  • Home button causes drone to fly erratically
  • Cannot log back into account
  • Videos turn screen white
Show 11 more
  • Cannot connect to Wi-Fi (security warning)
  • Videos and pictures are excessively large files
  • App steals information
  • Drone flies away on its own
  • App disconnects from drone
  • App doesn't show recorded videos
  • App requires location permission
  • App claims to be for email
  • Drone blades not spinning
  • Drone flies in random direction
  • App crashes iPhone when viewing media

Requested features

5 requests
  • Update app to fix bugs
  • Provide better customer support
  • Fix video file size issue
  • Improve drone control responsiveness
  • Fix account creation issues

In-app purchases

None

FreeFlight Mini

No in-app purchases

None

HolyStone

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FreeFlight Mini free?
FreeFlight Mini is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HolyStone free?
HolyStone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FreeFlight Mini or HolyStone?
FreeFlight Mini is rated higher. FreeFlight Mini averages 3.7 out of 5 from 513 ratings, while HolyStone averages 3.5 from 111 ratings.
Do FreeFlight Mini or HolyStone have ads?
Neither FreeFlight Mini nor HolyStone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FreeFlight Mini or HolyStone?
FreeFlight Mini ships an update every 5 weeks, and HolyStone every 3 months. Most recently, FreeFlight Mini was updated on November 4, 2026 and HolyStone on November 3, 2026.

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