Comparison

Ground School vs FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep

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

Head to head
About

Ground School

Prepare for your FAA written test and become a safer pilot with this comprehensive training app. It combines expert instruction, engaging videos, and interactive practice tests to ensure you gain the knowledge needed to fly your best.

Highlights
  • Expert FAA flight instructor knowledge
  • Engaging educational videos
  • Pilot perspective flight footage
  • Over 1,000 practice test questions
  • CG animations for concept illustration
  • Pilot Proficiency dashboard
  • FAA Knowledge Test endorsement
Features
Read full description

Featuring expert knowledge from an award-winning FAA flight instructor, Ground School will teach budding pilots everything they need to know for their FAA written test and beyond. By combining years of teaching know-how with cutting edge CG animation, informative video demonstrations, and more, Ground School is more than an app that teaches you how to fly — its gives you the knowledge you need to Fly Your Best, whether you're a complete novice or more experienced pilot. By following this FAA pilot knowledge course, you'll learn much more than is needed to pass an FAA written test. In fact, we guarantee you will pass that test and go on to be a better, safer pilot, too. Ground School users can look forward to: ・ Engaging videos that show you the things you need to know, perfect for visual learners. ・ Get the Pilot Perspective — Every video is filmed as if you are the one flying so there are no surprises when you're in the cockpit. ・ More than 1,000 questions that form unlimited practice tests so you know exactly what to expect when taking your FAA exam. ・ Cutting edge CG animations that help illustrate concepts that will help you understand the material in front of you. ・ The Pilot Proficiency dashboard that distills all of your interactions with Ground School into a single screen showing areas where you are strong as well as others that need work. ・ Get your endorsement to take the FAA Knowledge Test directly within Ground School. ・ And much more! Ground School is in active development and is always improving to give you the very best shot at not only passing exams, but being safe in the skies, too. Terms of Service: https://www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ground-school/tos Privacy Policy: https://www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ground-school/privacy

About

FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep

Prepare for your FAA Inspection Authorization Knowledge Test with a comprehensive question bank. This app offers quiz, test, and study modes to track your progress and familiarize you with exam-style questions. It requires no internet connection for offline study.

Highlights
  • Extensive question bank for IA exam
  • Quiz, Test, and Study modes
  • Progress tracking with scores and dates
  • Randomized questions and answers
  • Offline functionality
  • Optional sound and vibration feedback
Read full description

The Inspection Authorization Knowledge Test Prep app is a great resource to test yourself on the hundreds of possible IA specific questions that you may see on your FAA Knowledge Test. Our goal is to provide you with the largest, most current, pool of IA questions. Give yourself every possible advantage! Remember, the actual exam will also test you on skills you would have learned as an A&P mechanic so its also recommended to review our General, Airframe and Powerplant Knowledge Test Prep Apps. The questions from the IA exam is will refer you to excerpts of selected advisory circulars, airworthiness directives, Code of Federal Regulations, type certificate data sheets, aircraft specifications, FAA orders, and forms. Since these documents are provided for free in PDF format from the FAA, they are not included to keep the app’s file size as small as possible. The Computer Testing Supplement for Inspection Authorization is available at https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/supplements/media/FAA-CT-8080-8D.pdf. Features: • Simple to use interface. • Scores, the date and time taken for quizzes and tests are saved to keep track of your progress. • Questions and answer choices are random. • Optional sound effects for selected answers in Quiz Mode. • Shocks for iPhone. Answer incorrectly and feel your iPhone vibrate! (This can be turned on and off.) • No internet connection required. Modes: Quiz Mode - While taking a quiz, correct answers you choose are shown in green while incorrect ones are shown in red. Test Mode - Simulates the test you are going to take at a FAA Knowledge Test Center. In this mode, you are asked 50 questions that are pulled from the question bank. Study Mode - Here you can read all the questions with only the associated correct answers!

Screenshots

Ground School4 screens
FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ground School at 88% against FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep's 11%. Ground School also leads on price (Free vs $9.99) and rating (4.9 vs 2.0). FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On 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

Ground School is free to download; FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep costs $9.99 up front. Ground School sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per month. FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ground School holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ground School has 1.8K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Ground School's written reviews are positive against 11% of FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ground School ships an update every 2 weeks, FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Ground School versus FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGround SchoolFAA IA Knowledge Test Prep
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.9 (1.8K ratings) — better2.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews — better11.1% of reviews
Number of ratings1.8K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size215 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOn The Flight Line Productions LLCBravo Zulu Apps LLC

Customer experience

Ground School

All ratings1,761 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews136 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.1%
Negative6.6%

FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep

All ratings3 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive11.1%
Neutral22.2%
Negative66.7%

Bugs and requests

Ground School

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Syncing issues between iPhone and iPad
  • Some questions have incorrect or outdated answers

Requested features

4 requests
  • Desktop version of the app
  • More robust flashcard and spaced-repetition system
  • Deeper interactive practice with sectional charts
  • Expansion to commercial and ATP levels

FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Ground School

Subscriptions10
  • All-Access – Monthly Plan2 variants$49.991 Month
  • All-Access – Monthly Plan3 Days trial$49.991 Month
  • All-Access – Monthly Plan14 Days trial$49.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • All-Access – 3-Month Plan$149.993 Months
  • All-Access – 3-Month Plan3 Days trial$149.993 Months
  • All-Access – 3-Month Plan (Sale)3 Days trial$149.993 Months
  • All-Access – Annual Plan$299.991 Year
  • All-Access – Annual Plan3 Days trial$299.991 Year
  • All Access – Annual Plan (Sale)3 Days trial$299.991 Year
  • All-Access – Annual Plan14 Days trial$299.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$299.99
None

FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ground School free?
Ground School is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep free?
FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ground School or FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep?
Ground School is rated higher. Ground School averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep averages 2.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Ground School or FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep have ads?
Neither Ground School nor FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ground School or FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep?
Ground School ships an update every 2 weeks, and FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep every 14 months. Most recently, Ground School was updated on October 26, 2026 and FAA IA Knowledge Test Prep on October 24, 2026.

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