Comparison

SidePilot vs No Free Ride

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

Head to head
About

SidePilot

This portable ground station app connects to ArduPilot drones via WiFi, Bluetooth, or cellular. It provides real-time drone data, waypoint management, and advanced flight modes like Follow Me and Orbit. It also includes ADSB integration and live video streaming capabilities.

Highlights
  • Real-time drone telemetry display
  • Waypoint and geofence creation
  • ADSB aircraft integration
  • Follow Me and Orbit flight modes
  • Live video streaming
  • Parameter editing and calibration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The BEST ArduPilot GCS for iPhone and iPadOS! Works with ArduPilot autopilot via WiFi, Bluetooth Low Energy or Cellular connection, including 3DR Solo. Supports ExpressLRS MAVLink telemetry. NOTE: You must have either WiFi, Cellular or Serial Bluetooth connection to your drone. User Manual is available at https://sidepilot.net Features: • Supports ArduCopter, ArduPlane and ArduRover via ELRS, WiFi or Bluetooth. • Displays current drone location, with information such as altitude, yaw, pitch and roll. • Internet ADSB to display nearby aircraft and provide warnings. • Create, edit and delete waypoints and geofences. • Audible alerts for important information. • Edit, save and load parameters. • Perform a Pre-Flight checklist with live weather information. • Low battery warnings and alerts. • View onboard video, and live stream it to YouTube. • Record telemetry logs and export for sharing. • Follow Me - Have your drone follow you using your devices GPS location, or visually with Object Tracking. • Orbit mode - Automatically orbit an object for a fantastic cinematic shots! • Grid Waypoints - Create a survey grid to fly. • Tap to fly - Tap a location on the map to send your drone there! • Perform calibrations at the field. • DroneCAN Viewer and parameter editor. • And many, many more... Quick-start guide (Using a WiFi connection): 1. Turn on drone and connect using WiFi. 2. Start SidePilot, navigate to settings and select either WiFi UDP, TCP or 3DR Solo (as applicable). 3. If setting up WiFi manually, click on WiFi Settings and input the correct IP address and port that the MAVLink protocol is running over. 4. Go back to the main screen and press the connect button on the top right. The app will begin displaying information about the drone. If not, double check your WiFi settings. Please post suggestions and bug reports on the SidePilot Facebook page or via email to tom@sidepilot.net WARNING: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Note: iPads without cellular do not have GPS capability unless tethered to a iOS Device with cellular, and even then it is poor and not suitable for navigation.

About

No Free Ride

Easily split fuel and car expenses with friends and family. Track mileage, calculate costs, and ensure everyone pays their fair share for rides, from daily commutes to road trips.

Highlights
  • Track mileage and distance
  • Calculate fuel costs
  • Split gas, tolls, and parking
  • See individual balances
  • Share ride summaries
  • Send taxi-style bills
Features
Read full description

Stop Giving Free Rides ! Join thousands of drivers who are finally getting compensated for their time, gas, and emotional labor. You love your girlfriend. You love your friends. You love road trips. You do not love paying for everyone’s fuel. No Free Ride is the fun and simple way to split car costs, track mileage, and share fuel expenses without becoming the unpaid chauffeur. Whether you’re driving your girlfriend to brunch, picking up friends for a night out, organizing a carpool to work, or heading out on a weekend road trip, this app makes sure everyone pays their share. Track every trip automatically, calculate gas or petrol costs, and instantly split car expenses between passengers. No awkward math. No “I forgot.” No chasing people for fuel money. Just clear, fair cost sharing. What you can do: • Track mileage and distance for every ride • Calculate fuel costs in seconds • Split gas, petrol, tolls, and parking • See exactly what each person owes • Share simple ride summaries • Send Taxi style bill to passengers • Make carpool cost sharing effortless Perfect for daily commuters, couples, roommates, coworkers, road trip crews, and anyone tired of funding everyone else’s transport budget. No Free Ride combines trip tracking, mileage recording, fuel cost calculation, and expense splitting in one easy app. It’s built for real-life driving, real-life friends, and real-life fuel bills. Love is free. Driving isn’t. Stop giving free rides. Start splitting car costs the smart way.

Screenshots

SidePilot4 screens
No Free Ride4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: No Free Ride at Free against SidePilot's $13.99. SidePilot's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (107 vs 2). On rating, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

No Free Ride is free to download; SidePilot costs $13.99 up front. No Free Ride sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SidePilot asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for SidePilot against 4.0 for No Free Ride. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SidePilot has 107 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of SidePilot's written reviews are positive against 50% of No Free Ride's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
SidePilot versus No Free Ride: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSidePilotNo Free Ride
Price$13.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (107 ratings)4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings107 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#126 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size119 MB2 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperTom BreretonManimau Studios Pte Ltd

Customer experience

SidePilot

All ratings107 ratings
Positive71.0%
Neutral9.3%
Negative19.6%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral12.5%
Negative30.4%

No Free Ride

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

SidePilot

Reported bugs

51 issues
  • App does not connect to drone
  • No video feed from GoPro
  • Firmware update failures
  • Controller not pairing
  • Drone stuck in 'waiting for Solo' state
Show 46 more
  • App freezes or crashes during operation
  • Drone becomes unstable during landing
  • GoPro recording not triggered
  • Parameter changes not syncing
  • Inaccurate battery level warnings
  • Compass calibration errors
  • Map not loading
  • Laggy video feed
  • App crashes when pressing record button
  • App closes constantly
  • Drone crashes due to app malfunction
  • Camera disconnects during flight
  • Lost connectivity during flight
  • Drone stuck in 'Preflight Update' mode
  • WiFi connection alert 'No internet connection'
  • Gimbal left-right movement not working
  • GoPro Hero 4 Black control issues
  • Drone gets squirrely and throttles up during landing
  • Drone flips over and destroys props
  • Drone does not shut off
  • Issues with controller setup (A/B buttons)
  • App freezes or shuts down when changing button configurations
  • Functions showing as 'unsupported'
  • Parameters not loading from vehicle
  • Calibrations not functioning
  • Laggy live feed
  • Live feed shows drone in air after landing
  • GPS position does not match map in PRC
  • App crashes when trying to connect Solo to app
  • Live feed freezes during flight
  • Switching from video to photo freezes app
  • App closes constantly
  • Camera disconnected and lost connectivity
  • Pop-up 'swipe to arm' cannot be dismissed
  • Drone crashes into water
  • Lags horribly
  • Feed completely freezes
  • App is useless
  • Almost caused loss of drone
  • Lag and photo function issues
  • Video lags
  • Freezes mid-flight when switching modes
  • Awful lag issues with live feed
  • Developer stopped responding to questions
  • GPS position does not match map
  • App crashes every time to connect Solo to app

Requested features

11 requests
  • French language option
  • Ability to update Solo 3DR
  • Fix GoPro control issues
  • Fix compass calibration errors
  • Add support for GoPro video settings in air
Show 6 more
  • Add imperial measurements
  • Improve waypoint setup practicality
  • Fix GPS position matching map in PRC
  • Add lighting configuration options
  • Add smart shots functionality
  • Add A/B button functionality

No Free Ride

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

SidePilot

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

No Free Ride

One-time1
  • No Free Ride Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is SidePilot free?
SidePilot costs $13.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is No Free Ride free?
No Free Ride is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SidePilot or No Free Ride?
SidePilot and No Free Ride are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 107 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do SidePilot or No Free Ride have ads?
Neither SidePilot nor No Free Ride shows ads.

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