Comparison

ARMAS vs Visibility Tool

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

Head to head
About

ARMAS

Real-time radiation monitoring for aviation and space weather awareness. Pairs with hardware detectors or provides data from global systems for pilots and travelers.

Highlights
  • Real-time radiation monitoring
  • Space weather awareness
  • Pairs with ARMAS Flight Modules
  • Detects various radiation types
  • Global airspace coverage
  • Data from ground and space systems
Features
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The Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) program has been developed with NASA funding. It provides accurate, real-time radiation monitoring along with radiation and space weather awareness for the global airspace up to 100 km altitude. The ARMAS app is part of this program and does two tasks: - it pairs with and controls the 7th generation ARMAS Flight Module (FM7) and the 12th generation ARMAS Flight Module (FM12) radiation detector (purchased separately) to provide the highest quality, real-time dose and dose rates in aircraft and suborbital vehicles. It is sensitive to radiation from all sources including heavy ions, alphas, protons, neutrons, electrons, and gamma-rays. - it provides radiation awareness by hosting real-time space weather data coming from dozens of ground- and space-based systems that report all the information relevant to radiation processes without requiring a purchase of the FM7 or FM12. ARMAS is the 'gold-standard' in real-time radiation monitoring and awareness used by professional pilots, business travelers, and commercial space tourists. The ARMAS program is developed and operated by Space Environment Technologies, which specializes in space weather as an official NOAA "Weather Ready Nation" Ambassador.

About

Visibility Tool

This app transforms your phone into a weather sensor to measure local visibility for safe and legal flights. Simply point your camera at the horizon and capture a photo to get an accurate visibility metric, usable even without cell service.

Highlights
  • Measures local visibility
  • Converts phone into weather sensor
  • Works offline, no cell service needed
  • Provides visibility metric (1-10+ miles)
  • Supports drone and general aviation compliance
  • Useful for first responders and Medevac
Currently charting
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Accurately determine local visibility to ensure your flight is safe and legal by turning your mobile phone into a weather sensor. The simple point-and-click capability enables anyone globally to determine local visibility, even in flight. The technology works by pointing the mobile phone camera towards the horizon and then angling up until the view is unobstructed by buildings, trees or other foreground objects. Users take a photo in any direction they want and the technology responds with a visibility metric ranging from 1-10+ miles (1.6-16+ kilometers). Visibility Tool software is downloaded on your device. It is not cloud-based and does not require cell service. As such, drone operations can be flown weather compliantly within the national airspace from your backyard to the remotest of destinations. Similarly, pilots can use the tool at altitude where cell service is not available. More information is available at https://lowaltitudeweathernetwork.com/ Visibility tool applications include: - UAS and drone operations (Instantaneous FAA part 107.51 regulatory visibility compliance for every UAS operation) - General aviation (As part of your preflight, obtain instantaneous FAR 14 CFR section 91.155 regulatory visibility compliance for your VFR operation) - First responder and Medevac flights (This tool allows First Responders to instantly determine if Medevac can be safely initiated or alternatively, ground transport is necessary because of poor visibility) - Other use cases: Ground transportation, Maritime operations, Athletic and outdoor activities, Pulmonary and health monitoring Accurate visibility is important because low visibility is a leading cause of weather-related accidents/fatalities in General Aviation, Helicopter/Medevac, UAS and ground transportation.

Screenshots

ARMAS4 screens
Visibility Tool3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ARMAS at 100% against Visibility Tool's 50%. ARMAS also leads on price (Free vs $9.99) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). Visibility Tool's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ARMAS is free to download; Visibility Tool costs $9.99 up front. ARMAS sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per year. Visibility Tool asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Visibility Tool holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ARMAS has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of ARMAS's written reviews are positive against 50% of Visibility Tool's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ARMAS ships an update every 2 months, Visibility Tool every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
ARMAS versus Visibility Tool: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterARMASVisibility Tool
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.3 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#79 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB1006 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSpace Environment Technologies, LLC.Flightprofiler, LLC

Customer experience

ARMAS

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Visibility Tool

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ARMAS

Subscriptions2
  • Premier$2.991 Year
  • Professional$2.991 Year
One-time1
  • Member$2.99
None

Visibility Tool

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ARMAS free?
ARMAS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Visibility Tool free?
Visibility Tool costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ARMAS or Visibility Tool?
Visibility Tool is rated higher. ARMAS averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Visibility Tool averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ARMAS or Visibility Tool have ads?
Neither ARMAS nor Visibility Tool shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ARMAS or Visibility Tool?
ARMAS ships an update every 2 months, and Visibility Tool every 5 months. Most recently, ARMAS was updated on August 28, 2026 and Visibility Tool on September 15, 2026.

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