PlaneEnglish vs CheckPrep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PlaneEnglish
Master aviation radio communication with an AI-powered simulator. Practice procedures, phraseology, and gain confidence talking to air traffic control through realistic scenarios and instant feedback. Earn FAA WINGS Credits while learning.
- AI-powered air traffic controllers
- Voice recognition and speech analysis
- Realistic training scenarios
- Step-by-step phraseology lessons
- Airport, pattern, and hold training
- FAA WINGS Credits
- VFR and IFR flight training
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**No subscription required to find out what ARSim can do for you.** Practice aviation radio communication with interactive ATC scenarios, AI-powered controllers, voice recognition, and instant feedback. Build confidence, improve phraseology, and prepare for real-world communication before stepping into the cockpit.....and earn FAA WINGS Credits along the way. The PlaneEnglish Aviation Radio Simulator, or ARSim, helps pilots learn, practice, and improve aviation radio communication through realistic, interactive ATC scenarios. Whether you are a student pilot learning to talk on the radio for the first time, an instrument student preparing for IFR communications, or an experienced pilot refreshing your skills, ARSim gives you a practical way to build confidence outside the cockpit. With AI-powered air traffic controllers, voice recognition, speech analysis, and immediate feedback, ARSim helps you practice aviation phraseology, radio procedures, and real-world communication flows across VFR and IFR flight operations. ARSim includes structured training units designed to build your skills step by step: TRAINER helps you practice full ATC communication scenarios with guided lessons, randomized situations, and feedback on your radio calls. AIRPORT helps you learn airport signs, markings, lighting, and surface operations. PATTERN helps you understand and practice communications in the traffic pattern or circuit. HOLD helps you learn and practice instrument holding procedures. BASICS, GLOSSARY, and RESOURCES provide foundational knowledge, references, and supporting material to help you understand the language and structure of aviation communication. Across the app, you can access hundreds of airports, work through more than 200 lessons, and practice thousands of randomized ATC interactions covering many phases of VFR and IFR flight. Selected training units also allow eligible users to earn FAA WINGS credits...you won't find another communication tool that will do this for you! ARSim training content is guided by FAA and ICAO phraseology, standards, and radiotelephony procedures, helping pilots become more familiar with the communication practices used throughout aviation. For student pilots, ARSim provides an accessible way to build radio confidence before and between lessons. For experienced or non-current pilots, it offers a convenient way to refresh communication skills before returning to training, preparing for a flight review, or getting ready for a checkride. For flight schools and training organizations, ARSim can support more consistent communications practice across students and instructors. Download ARSim to explore the free content available in BASICS, AIRPORT, PATTERN, GLOSSARY, and RESOURCES, and use the free trial period to experience the full functionality of the app. You can also customize your experience in Settings, including phraseology standards, display options, and primary flight display preferences. Terms of Use: https://planeenglishsim.com/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy: https://planeenglishsim.com/privacy/
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 a checkride oral prep app for the Private, Instrument, Commercial and Commercial Multi Add-On practical tests, built around the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS), the exact framework your DPE uses to evaluate you. This is not written test prep. This is oral prep. 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. Every card maps to an ACS task, so every minute of study maps to your oral exam. THE FAA LIBRARY, FREE FOR EVERY USER Full FAR, AIM, Advisory Circulars, the ACS documents themselves, FAA letters of interpretation, InFOs and the FAA handbooks: PHAK, AFH, Instrument Flying, Instrument Procedures, Aviation Weather, Risk Management, Weight & Balance, Chart Users' Guide and the AMT handbooks. Tap a citation on a study card to open the exact paragraph, page or ACS element. Bookmark passages, search by keyword, read offline after download. AIM paragraphs also open on the FAA website, so you never have to wonder whether it is current. KNOW WHEN YOU'RE READY Mastery is tracked from 0 to 100% for every ACS task. Flash cards and multiple-choice quizzes are built from the same cards. Switch on the Needs Review filter to limit a session to the cards you still miss and leave the mastered ones out. When every task reads 100%, you know where you stand before the examiner does. DECODE REAL-WORLD WEATHER METAR, TAF and PIREP decoding practice with live data from aviationweather.gov. Included free. TRAIN YOUR EAR Departure (CRAFT) and approach (P-TAC) clearance trainers read the clearance aloud. You give the readback by voice. Beta, included with the Instrument guide. BUILT FOR YOUR CERTIFICATE Start with the free Private Pilot Sample: four complete ACS tasks with flash cards, quizzes and tappable citations. The full Private, Instrument, Commercial and Commercial Multi Add-On guides are one-time purchases, no subscription. Aircraft-specific add-on guides for the Cessna 172SP, Cirrus SR20 G7, Cirrus SR22 G6 and Diamond DA42 NG, each cited to the aircraft's own POH, AFM and PIM. Six themes. Offline-first. Study history and bookmarks sync across your devices through iCloud. Lightweight. No ads. No account required. No tracking. Walk into the oral knowing you have worked every ACS task. That is 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 comes from official FAA publications.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: CheckPrep at 5.0 against PlaneEnglish's 4.1. CheckPrep also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). PlaneEnglish's advantage is ratings volume (326 vs 4) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. PlaneEnglish sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and CheckPrep sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
CheckPrep holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PlaneEnglish has 326 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
PlaneEnglish ships an update every 5 weeks, CheckPrep every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PlaneEnglish | CheckPrep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (326 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 326 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 4 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 | 18.6 — better | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 381 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PlaneEnglish | Robert Rousey |
Customer experience
PlaneEnglish
CheckPrep
Bugs and requests
PlaneEnglish
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashing on startup
- Voice recognition not working properly
- Progress not saving between sessions
- Incorrect callsign/aircraft type displayed in scenarios
Requested features
5 requests- More realistic ATC communication scenarios
- Better feedback on pronunciation and pacing
- Ability to add custom airports and scenarios
- Offline mode for practicing without internet
- Integration with flight simulators
CheckPrep
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PlaneEnglish
- VFR Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- IFR Monthly3 Days trial$13.991 Month
- VFR+IFR Monthly3 Days trial2 variants$15.991 Month
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- VFR 6 Months3 Days trial$39.996 Months
- VFR Annual3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- VFR+IFR 6 Months3 Days trial2 variants$64.996 Months
- VFR+IFR Annual3 Days trial2 variants$95.991 Year
CheckPrep
- Cessna 172SP Content$4.99
- Cirrus SR20 G7+ Content$4.99
- Diamond DA42 NG Content$4.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Cirrus SR22 G6 Content$4.99
- Commercial Multi Add-On Package$19.99
- Commercial Package$19.99
- Instrument Package$19.99
- Private Pilot Package$19.99
Questions
Is PlaneEnglish free?
Is CheckPrep free?
Which has better reviews, PlaneEnglish or CheckPrep?
Do PlaneEnglish or CheckPrep have ads?
Which is updated more often, PlaneEnglish or CheckPrep?
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