Comparison

Remote Pilot Ground School vs Drone Academy

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

Head to head
About

Remote Pilot Ground School

Prepare for your FAA Remote Pilot exam with comprehensive drone ground school lessons and over 500 practice questions. Track your progress, focus on weak areas, and take simulated exams. Access content on any device with lifetime updates.

Highlights
  • 10 hours of lesson content
  • Over 500 practice questions
  • Targeted practice sessions
  • Simulated FAA exams
  • Detailed explanations with images
  • Lifetime access and updates
  • Cross-device syncing
Read full description

Try the ground school course free for 7 days. After the trial ends you can continue to use basic test prep or upgrade to premium test prep or the complete ground school course. Our course will for the FAA Remote Pilot exam even if you have zero drone experience. Your purchase of this app also provides you with access via the web so you can use the course on any device. Unlike other drone course providers, we do not limit your access to one year, and all future question bank and course updates are free. The ground school course includes 10 hours of lesson content, covering all areas tested by the FAA on the Remote Pilot exam: ▸ Weather Formation ▸ Hazardous Weather ▸ Principles of Flight ▸ Aerodynamics for UA Pilots ▸ Airspace for UA Pilots ▸ Special Use Airspace ▸ Remote Pilot Certification ▸ Fitness for Flight ▸ Aeronautical Decision Making ▸ Airworthiness ▸ Obtaining Weather Information ▸ Loading and Performance ▸ Aeronautical Charts ▸ Flight Rules (UAS) ▸ Night Operations ▸ Operation Near Airports ▸ Operation Over People and Vehicles ▸ Operational Hazards and Emergencies After completing the course, prepare for the FAA exam with over 500 practice questions, including actual FAA questions. FlightReady identifies your weakest areas to focus your efforts, rather than wasting time answering questions you've already mastered. ▸ Create a practice session targeting only those questions that you miss most often ▸ View definitions of key terms and acronyms in lessons and answer explanations ▸ Create new session from all missed questions in the previous session ▸ View the most often missed FAA questions across all users. ▸ Create custom study sessions that include or exclude questions that require referencing figures, the use of a flight computer, or that have already been answered. Great for iPhones and on the go studying. ▸ Mark questions for later review within a session ▸ View definitions of key terms and acronyms ▸ Flashcards ▸ Simulated FAA exams administered under the same rules as the real exam. Unlike other test prep apps, our exams present the correct proportion of questions from each knowledge area per the ACS. ▸ Detailed explanations, many with high resolution images ▸ Full text of applicable regulations where applicable ▸ Regular question bank updates Proficiency is tracked using a proprietary algorithm that assigns a mastery level to each question, which helps your avoid wasting time re-answering mastered questions. Our statistics include: ▸ Average score on all simulated FAA exams. ▸ Mastery of the overall question bank ▸ Weakest subject areas ▸ Lesson completion status and quiz scores ▸ Total time spent in course Reports can be shared via email, iMessage, and more. ◖◖OTHER FEATURES◗◗ ▸ Multi-tasking support allows you to use FlightReady side by side with other apps ▸ Key terms are defined in the lesson by tapping on the term ▸ Sync your data across all of your iOS devices ▸ Take the course in Guided or Review Mode. ▸ Lifetime question bank updates are included An FAA remote pilot license is required to operate drones commercially. FlightReady has trained tens of thousands of drone pilots, and offers the most complete drone subject matter coverage. Our test prep and training courses are the key to success on the FAA drone exam.

About

Drone Academy

Access all your training courses, community forums, and helpful resources like checklists from your membership. This app keeps you connected to your learning materials and fellow members on the go.

Highlights
  • Access training courses
  • Engage with community
  • Utilize checklists and resources
  • On-the-go access
  • Membership management
Features
Read full description

Get the most out of your Drone Academy membership with The Drone Academy App! Users can get access to all Drone Academy's Training Courses, Community, and Resources (like checklists) on the go!

Screenshots

Remote Pilot Ground School4 screens
Drone Academy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Remote Pilot Ground School at 4.7 against Drone Academy's 4.2. Remote Pilot Ground School also leads on ratings volume (314 vs 5) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). Drone Academy's advantage is iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.1). 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. Remote Pilot Ground School sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Drone Academy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Remote Pilot Ground School holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Remote Pilot Ground School has 314 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Remote Pilot Ground School ships an update fortnightly, Drone Academy monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Remote Pilot Ground School versus Drone Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRemote Pilot Ground SchoolDrone Academy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (314 ratings) — better4.2 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews72.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings314 — better5
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.115.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size116 MB93 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAeroapps TechnologyDrone Academy LLC.

Customer experience

Remote Pilot Ground School

All ratings314 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive72.9%
Neutral10.4%
Negative16.7%

Drone Academy

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Remote Pilot Ground School

One-time4
  • Drone Ground School TrialFree
  • Plus access for this course$49.99
  • Premium access for this course$89.99
Show 1 more
  • Premium access for this course2 variants$139.99
3 purchases

Drone Academy

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Membership$5.991 Month
  • Annual Membership$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Membership$29.99

Questions

Is Remote Pilot Ground School free?
Remote Pilot Ground School is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drone Academy free?
Drone Academy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Remote Pilot Ground School or Drone Academy?
Remote Pilot Ground School is rated higher. Remote Pilot Ground School averages 4.7 out of 5 from 314 ratings, while Drone Academy averages 4.2 from 5 ratings.
Do Remote Pilot Ground School or Drone Academy have ads?
Neither Remote Pilot Ground School nor Drone Academy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Remote Pilot Ground School or Drone Academy?
Remote Pilot Ground School ships an update fortnightly, and Drone Academy monthly. Most recently, Remote Pilot Ground School was updated on September 21, 2026 and Drone Academy on September 25, 2026.

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