Private Pilot Test Prep vs CheckPrep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Private Pilot Test Prep
Prepare for the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test with over 900 practice questions and detailed explanations. Customize study sessions, review missed questions, and take simulated exams that mirror the official test format and question distribution. Unlock a complete ground school course for advanced features and tracking.
- Over 900 FAA practice questions
- Detailed explanations and references
- Customizable study sessions
- Practice sessions from missed questions
- Simulated FAA exams
- Data sync across iOS devices
- Instructor endorsement upon course completion
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The #1 Private Pilot test prep app is now free, and includes over 900 FAA questions and explanations to help prepare for the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test. Upgrade to the complete ground school course to unlock all lesson, detailed tracking and statistics, and premium test prep with hundreds of additional questions (free trial available). ▸ Custom study sessions based on topics, session size, and your overall mastery. Filters allow you to include or exclude questions that require the use of figures or an E6B. ▸ Create practice sessions from missed questions after a completed practice or exam session. ▸ Review missed questions after a practice or exam session. ▸ Take simulated FAA exams administered under the same rules and time constraints as the actual Private Pilot knowledge test. Unlike other test prep apps, our exams present the correct proportion of questions from each knowledge area per the ACS. ▸ Sync your data and course progress across on all of your iOS devices ▸ Access a library of study resources for the Private Pilot certificate ▸ Question bank covers all areas of the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards to ensure thorough preparation for the knowledge test. ▸ Detailed explanations and references for all questions. ▸ Obtain an instructor endorsement after completing the course.
CheckPrep
Prepare for your pilot checkride oral exams with this app. It's structured around the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and includes searchable regulations, adaptive quizzes, and real-world scenario trainers. Track your progress and know when you're ready.
- FAA ACS structured study
- Searchable FAR, AIM, and FAA documents
- Offline study and bookmarking
- Adaptive flashcards and quizzes
- METAR, TAF, and PIREP interpretation
- ATC clearance trainers
- Progress tracking (0-100%)
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Purpose-built for pilots who refuse to leave their checkride to chance. CheckPrep is the only checkride oral prep app structured around the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS), the exact framework your DPE will use to evaluate you. This isn’t written prep. This is checkride oral prep and nobody else does it like this. EVERY REFERENCE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Full searchable FAR, AIM, and FAA Documents, free for every user. Tap any citation in a study question to jump straight to the source. Bookmark passages, search by keyword, study offline. Every paragraph links back to the official FAA source so you never have to wonder if it’s current. STUDY THE WAY YOUR DPE TESTS YOU Every question, answer, and reference is organized by ACS Area of Operation and Task, the same structure your examiner follows. No wasted time on irrelevant material. Every minute of study maps directly to your oral exam. KNOW WHEN YOU’RE READY Track your mastery from 0–100% for every ACS task. Adaptive flashcards and quizzes target your weak areas automatically. When you see 100% across the board, you’ll know: you’re checkride ready. DECODE REAL-WORLD WEATHER Practice METAR, TAF, and PIREP interpretation with live FAA data. Build the pattern recognition that impresses examiners and keeps you safe in the flight levels. TRAIN YOUR EAR Departure and approach clearance trainers read ATC instructions aloud. Practice your readback skills with real-world scenarios using the CRAFT and P-TAC methods. BUILT FOR EVERY CERTIFICATE Private Pilot ACS: free, always. Instrument, Commercial, and Commercial Multi Add-On ACS guides available now. Add aircraft-specific content for your exact training aircraft: Cessna 172SP, Cirrus SR20 G7+, or Diamond DA42 NG. Six themes. Offline-first. iCloud sync across all your devices. Lightweight. No ads. No account required. No data collected. Walk into your checkride oral knowing you’ve covered every single ACS item. That’s what CheckPrep is for. CheckPrep is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the FAA. All regulatory content is sourced from official FAA publications.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: CheckPrep at every 2 days against Private Pilot Test Prep's fortnightly. Private Pilot Test Prep's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 4) and iOS requirement (17.1 vs 26.2). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Private Pilot Test Prep sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and CheckPrep sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Private Pilot Test Prep against 5.0 for CheckPrep. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Private Pilot Test Prep has 1.5K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update fortnightly, CheckPrep every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Private Pilot Test Prep | CheckPrep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.5K ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 — better | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 116 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aeroapps Technology | Robert Rousey |
Customer experience
Private Pilot Test Prep
CheckPrep
Bugs and requests
Private Pilot Test Prep
Reported bugs
4 issues- Grading issues and incorrect marking of answers
- Frequent app updates required, causing issues for users with poor internet
- Inability to review missed questions after exiting the app
- Crashes and login issues reported
Requested features
8 requests- Add sound when choosing correct answers
- Provide separate guides for each chapter
- Offer 50-question practice tests by chapter
- Allow users to pause and resume simulated tests
- Provide a bank of all practice tests and simulated tests
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- Display passed section grades to track progress
- Add a lock zoom feature for charts
- Integrate a protractor tool
CheckPrep
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Private Pilot Test Prep
- Private Pilot Course TrialFree
- Private Pilot Test Prep$49.99
- Upgrade to Ground School$99.99
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- Private Pilot Ground School$149.99
CheckPrep
- Cessna 172SP Content$19.99
- Cirrus SR20 G7+ Content$19.99
- Diamond DA42 NG Content$19.99
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- Commercial Multi Add-On Package$59.99
- Commercial Package$59.99
- Instrument Package$59.99
Questions
Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Is CheckPrep free?
Which has better reviews, Private Pilot Test Prep or CheckPrep?
Do Private Pilot Test Prep or CheckPrep have ads?
Which is updated more often, Private Pilot Test Prep or CheckPrep?
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