Comparison

Private Pilot Test Prep vs PilotBound

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

Head to head
About

Private Pilot Test Prep

Prepare for your FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test with over 900 questions and explanations. Unlock a complete ground school course with detailed tracking and premium test prep, including a free trial.

Highlights
  • Over 900 FAA questions and explanations
  • Custom study sessions by topic
  • Simulated FAA exams
  • Review missed questions
  • Cross-device data sync
  • Instructor endorsement upon course completion
Read full description

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.

About

PilotBound

This app provides a personalized roadmap for aspiring pilots, guiding them from the initial decision to fly through to passing their checkride. It tracks flight hours and costs against a custom plan, offering CFI guidance at each step. Users can log flights, monitor progress, and understand their real expenses.

Highlights
  • Personalized flight training roadmap
  • Cost projection and tracking
  • Flight hour logging
  • Progress monitoring against requirements
  • CFI guidance on training steps
  • Per-aircraft and per-certificate costing
Features
Read full description

Flight training costs more than the quote. PilotBound tells you what yours will actually cost, priced on the rates your own school publishes, and tracks every dollar against it until checkride day. PRICED ON YOUR SCHOOL, NOT AN AVERAGE • Search 1,713 flight schools and pick where you train • 535 publish enough for us to price your certificate on their real rates • Every figure says where it came from and when it was read • Where a school publishes nothing, we say so and use a national median WHAT YOUR CERTIFICATE WILL COST • A full projection to checkride, not an hourly rate times the legal minimum • Built on the hours examiners actually report, not 40 hours • Sharpens with every flight you log until it is your number • One projection per certificate: Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI, CFII, ATP • Per aircraft, so a 152 and a Cirrus never hide inside one average CAN YOU AFFORD IT • Track savings, loans and scholarships against what is still ahead • See whether your funding covers the finish, and for how long • Set a budget and get told before you cross it, not after YOUR PLAN, START TO CHECKRIDE • A step by step roadmap from "I want to fly" to checkride passed • Discovery flight, school, medical, student certificate, ground school, gear • First solo, first cross country, the written, the checkride • Plain CFI guidance on each step: what to do, what to skip, what to watch EVERY HOUR, EVERY FIELD • PIC, dual, solo, cross country, night, instrument, approaches, landings, holds • Every Part 61 and Part 141 requirement, completed and remaining • Milestones detected as you fly: first solo, first cross country, first night • Costs pre-filled from your aircraft and instructor rates Built by a CFI for the years before anyone hands you a plan. Your training data stays private. By downloading PilotBound, you agree to the Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/.

Screenshots

Private Pilot Test Prep4 screens
PilotBound4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PilotBound at none against Private Pilot Test Prep's 4. Private Pilot Test Prep's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 3). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Private Pilot Test Prep sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. PilotBound asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PilotBound holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Private Pilot Test Prep has 1.5K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update fortnightly, PilotBound every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Private Pilot Test Prep versus PilotBound: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivate Pilot Test PrepPilotBound
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better3
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.1 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB24 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAeroapps TechnologyFlightXplorer LLC

Customer experience

Private Pilot Test Prep

All ratings1,532 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral3.3%
Negative11.7%

PilotBound

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
Show 3 more
  • Display passed section grades to track progress
  • Add a lock zoom feature for charts
  • Integrate a protractor tool

PilotBound

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Private Pilot Test Prep

One-time4
  • Private Pilot Course TrialFree
  • Private Pilot Test Prep$49.99
  • Upgrade to Ground School$99.99
Show 1 more
  • Private Pilot Ground School$149.99
None

PilotBound

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Private Pilot Test Prep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PilotBound free?
PilotBound is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Private Pilot Test Prep or PilotBound?
PilotBound is rated higher. Private Pilot Test Prep averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while PilotBound averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Private Pilot Test Prep or PilotBound have ads?
Neither Private Pilot Test Prep nor PilotBound shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Private Pilot Test Prep or PilotBound?
Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update fortnightly, and PilotBound every 3 weeks. Most recently, Private Pilot Test Prep was updated on November 2, 2026 and PilotBound on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons