Protest vs Flying Start
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Protest
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The app Protest helps to solve rules relevant conflicts in sailing regattas. With a series of yes/no questions, in which the Racing Rules of Sailing of World Sailing are checked in parallel, the app builds up the situation and presents the resulting decision. A menu provides access to the facts found, the conclusions and the rules applied. The default language of the app is English. If the phone is set to German as system-language the app language is German. The texts of the situation, conclusions and facts can be switched directly between English and German. Developed by Mag. Michaela Schmidleitner in cooperation with and on behalf of Sport Consult, Ing. Mag. Gert Schmidleitner. Protest Terms and Conditions: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/74452679 Protest Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/74452679/full-legal ======================== Version 25.0.0: => technical updates => database update to the racing rules of sailing 2025-2028 ------------------------------------
Flying Start
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Flying Start is the countdown timer that every racing sailor wishes they had on their wrist. Built for dinghy and keelboat racers, Flying Start replaces clipboard timers and generic stopwatches with a purpose-built instrument panel that shows you exactly where you are relative to the start line. COUNTDOWN TIMER Standard 5-4-1-Go sequence plus 3-2-1-Go for short courses. Quick Start mode for instant race timing. Large, high-contrast digits you can read in full sun or spray. GPS INSTRUMENTS Distance to Line (DTL) shows how far you are from the start line in real time. Time to Line (TTL) tells you if you'll arrive early or late at your current speed. Course Over Ground (COG) gives you heading without a compass. OCS DETECTION Crossed the line early? Flying Start alerts you instantly with visual and haptic warnings so you can turn back before the recall flag goes up. APPLE WATCH Full countdown timer on your wrist — works independently or synced with your iPhone. DTL, TTL, and COG right on your watch face. Start celebration haptic when you nail the start. START RATINGS After every race, get a 0-100 score measuring how well you timed your start. Track your improvement over the season. Share branded start cards with your crew. GPS TRACK RECORDING Every race is recorded with GPS. Review your approach, share your top speed, and replay your starts at flyingstart.app. CREW SYNC Connect multiple iPhones via peer-to-peer so your entire crew sees the same countdown, perfectly synchronised. SUNLIGHT MODE High-contrast yellow digits at maximum brightness for when the sun is directly overhead and you can't see anything else. FREE FEATURES 5-4-1-Go countdown, Quick Start mode, basic race timing. FLYING START PRO Unlock DTL, TTL, COG, OCS alerts, start ratings, season stats, Apple Watch, sunlight mode, crew sync, and GPS track recording. Privacy Policy: https://flyingstart.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://flyingstart.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Flying Start at none against Protest's shown. Protest's advantage is iOS requirement (15.8.3 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Protest sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 per year and Flying Start sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Protest | Flying Start |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.8.3 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 179 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michaela Schmidleitner | Dominic Brandreth |
In-app purchases
Protest
- Protest PRO$10.991 Year
- Protest PRO+$22.991 Year
Flying Start
- Flying Start Pro$4.991 Month
- Flying Start Pro14 Days trial$19.991 Year
Questions
Is Protest free?
Is Flying Start free?
Do Protest or Flying Start have ads?
Which is updated more often, Protest or Flying Start?
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