Drone Maps Japan vs DroneSense
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drone Maps Japan
This app displays prohibited airspace for drone flights in Japan, including areas around airports and densely inhabited districts. It also provides sunrise/sunset times, airport information, and location sharing features. Users can customize layers and search for locations.
- Prohibited airspace display (airports, DID)
- Sunrise and sunset times
- Airport name display
- Location sharing
- Layer customization
- Location and address search
- 3D view
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• Green areas: Airspace around airports Red areas: Densely Inhabited Districts (DID) Cyan areas: Exclusive Industrial Zones Yellow areas (black frame line): Important facilities • Emergency response airspace Yellow areas (red frame line) • Sunrise, sunset times (Pro: Date selection) • Airport name display (Pro: Link to Height Limit Inquiry) • Share location (coordinates, url, snapshot image) • Layer styling customization (Pro: Restore last state) • Location, address search • 3D View • about 'Civil Aeronautics Act' in Japan * Please be sure to check before flight: Even if it is outside the prohibited area by civil aeronautics act, flying may be prohibited by the local government ordinance or land owner's rule. Japan’s safety rules on Unmanned Aircraft (UA)/Drone [Definition] The term “UA/Drone” means any airplane, rotorcraft, glider or airship which cannot accommodate any person on board and can be remotely or automatically piloted. (Excluding those lighter than 100g. The weight of a UA/Drone includes that of its battery.) [Prohibited Airspace for Flight] Any person who intends to operate a UA/Drone in the following airspaces is required to obtain permission from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. (A) Airspace above 150m above ground level. (B) Airspace around airports. (airspaces above approach surface, horizontal surface, transitional surface, extended approach surface, conical surface and outer horizontal surface.) (C) Above Densely Inhabited Districts (DID), which are defined and published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (From July 1, 2026, “exclusive industrial zones” were excluded from “densely inhabited areas.”) *In this application, you can check the areas (B) and (C). [Operational Limitations] Any person who intends to operate a UA/Drone is required to follow the operational conditions listed below, unless approved by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 1. Do not operate UAs/Drone under the influence of alcohol and drugs. 2. Operation of UAs/Drone after Preflight actions. 3. Operation of UAs/Drone to prevent of collision hazard with airplane and other UAs/Drone. 4. Do not opaerate UAs/Drone in a careless or reckless manner. 5. Operation of UAs/Drone in the daytime. 6. Operation of UAs/Drone within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS). 7. Maintenance of 30m operating distance between UAs/Drone and persons or properties on the ground/ water surface. 8. Do not operate UAs/Drone over event sites where many people gather. 9. Do not transport hazardous materials such as explosives by UA/Drone. 10. Do not drop any objects from UAs/Drone. [Exception] Requirements stated in “Airspace in which Flights are Prohibited” and “Operational Limitations” are not applied to flights for search and rescue operations by public organizations in case of accidents and disasters. (Except for a part of rules.) [Penalty] If the above rules are violated, the UAV operator is liable for a fine of up to 500,000 yen. (* If the 1. is violated, the UAV operator is liable for an inprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 300,000yen.) [Permission & Approval] You are required to submit an application in Japanese for the permission or approval to the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism at least 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) before you fly a UA/Drone. For further information, please contact UA/Drone Counseling Service.(http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001112966.pdf) See link for details https://www.mlit.go.jp/en/koku/uas.html Law prohibiting the flying of small UAV See link for details "Untranslated" https://www.npa.go.jp/bureau/security/kogatamujinki/index.html
DroneSense
This platform enables public safety agencies to manage drone operations, from pilot control and asset management to real-time situational awareness for incident commanders. It offers automated flight logging and a centralized system for organizing personnel, hardware, and flight history.
- Professional drone piloting
- Live video streaming
- Automated flight logging
- Asset and risk management
- Real-time situational awareness
- Collaborative operations hub
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For UAS Pilots - Fly a wide range of professional drones with DroneSense! Simply download this app directly onto your iPad and plug directly into any drone remote. Incorporating the latest and greatest drone is easy; there is no new training as the pilot will always fly with our app and have the same experience, no matter what drone is chosen. Share your live video stream with incident commanders easily to enable increased situational awareness on-scene. Automated flight logging ensures all data from all flights are available at any time. For Program Administrators - DroneSense is your complete system of record. It is a complete asset and risk management tool that provides accountability and transparency across your organization. Organize your people, hardware, and flight history in a powerful but intuitive interface. Whether it is automatically logging flight hours, filing NOTAMs, or managing personnel, DroneSense is your one-stop solution. Our software lets you quickly leverage all your resources so you can spend more time focused on the mission at hand. For Incident Commanders - DroneSense gives incident commanders and remote stakeholders the power to strategize and tactically collaborate. Our Operations Hub enables you to share real-time, low-latency, high definition views of a scene and plan dynamically. Anyone with a connected device can see a live pilot session, and multiple drone pilots can work together seamlessly. Please note that usage of the DroneSense Platform requires user registration and authorization from accredited public safety agencies.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DroneSense at 4.6 against Drone Maps Japan's 3.7. DroneSense also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). Drone Maps Japan's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, device support and iOS requirement 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. Drone Maps Japan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. DroneSense asks for nothing beyond the download.
DroneSense holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 32 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Drone Maps Japan's written reviews are positive against 100% of DroneSense's.
Drone Maps Japan ships an update fortnightly, DroneSense monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drone Maps Japan | DroneSense |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (11 ratings) | 4.6 (32 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 67.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 32 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 119 MB | 375 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Keishi Ishimura | DroneSense INC |
Customer experience
Drone Maps Japan
DroneSense
In-app purchases
Drone Maps Japan
- Pro$1.991 Month
- Pro$19.991 Year
DroneSense
No in-app purchases







