Comparison

Altimeter for Aviators vs DroneReady

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

Head to head
About

Altimeter for Aviators

This app functions as a pressure altimeter, similar to those found in aircraft, utilizing your device's barometer. It's designed for pilots and aviation enthusiasts to understand altitude, height above a location, and flight levels. It works as a standalone Apple Watch app or on iPhones/iPads with a barometer.

Highlights
  • Pressure altimeter functionality
  • Standalone Apple Watch app
  • Calculates altitude above sea level
  • Calculates height above a specific location (QFE)
  • Calculates Flight Level (FL) using standard pressure
  • Supports pressure units (inHg, hPa, mb)
Features
Read full description

If you want a 'real' Altimeter, look no further. No GPS used here. Learn how a real pressure Altimeter works such as you would find in an aircraft. Altimeter for Aviators is primarily designed as an Apple Watch application, although it does also work on iPhones or iPads that have a barometer. Provided your watch has a Barometer it will even run stand-alone (no iPhone needed). Student and instructor pilots will find this App to be a valuable training tool, while those knowing how to use an altimeter will enjoy having it on their wrist. To obtain your Altitude (height above sea level): Set the 'pressure setting' to the current air pressure at sea level. Weather forecasts often give this (eg the BBC Weather App includes pressure in mb). You can also obtain the pressure from weather pressure charts or from METAR reports from airports (eg Q1017). In aviation speak, this is known as the QNH. Set the pressure setting by rotating the 'crown' on your watch. You can then 'Lock' this setting so you don't accidentally change it by doing a long-press and choosing 'Lock'. Alternatively, if you know the altitude of the point that you are currently at, you can rotate the watch crown until the Altimeter reads the correct altitude. To obtain your height above a certain location: Set the 'station' pressure for that location (the actual air pressure at that very point). Aviation language calls this pressure setting QFE. If you are at that location, you can just rotate the crown of the watch until the Altimeter reads zero. As a short-cut you can alternatively long-press and then pick "Zero (QFE)". To obtain your Flight Level (FL): Another setting that pilots use is the standard setting of 1013.25mb. This is used above 3000ft roughly and instead of giving you an accurate 'Altitude' gives you what is known as a 'Flight level'. Long-press and select the "STP (FL)" option as a short cut (FL stands for Flight Level. STP stands for 'Standard Temperature and Pressure'). If you are more familiar with inches of mercury (inHg) rather than hectapascals (hPa) or millibars (mb) then toggle this with the 'Units' menu item. Note that mb and hPa are the same unit. ACCURACY WARNING: Your watch (or iPhone) pressure sensing device has not been calibrated in the same way that the expensive altimeters found in aircraft have been. Your electronic device also has more points of failure and error being miniature and electrically based so this App in no way replaces or can be used for actual flying. If you run this App side by side on two different iOS devices, the chances are they'll give you slightly different altitudes. Further, if you're a pilot the pressure in your cockpit is unlikely to be as accurate as the location of the static pitot tube and will be susceptible to changes due to air vents being opened, doors with gaps, any climate control, your speed and any vibration. WEATHER WARNING: Air pressure changes throughout the day can cause readings to drift by up to 1 foot per minute, so keep the pressure-setting up-to-date by updating it whenever you can; as you get to any locations of known altitude or hourly if receiving pressure settings in some other way. Colours: Altimeter for Aviators shows how recent the altitude was calculated (it's not constant) White = updated in the last 10 seconds Yellow = updated between 10 and 60 seconds ago. Pink = updated between 1 and 10 minutes ago. Dark Red = updated more than 10 minutes ago. Altitude units: The long hand shows 100s of feet. The short hand 1000s of feet. The inward pointing edge arrow shows 10000s of feet. The barber pole (stripe at the bottom) is visible below 10000 feet, so if it disappears you are at risk of Hypoxia.

About

DroneReady

Features
Read full description

DroneReady ile drone uçuşlarınızı kolayca planlayın! Uçuş Planlama: Harita üzerinde rota belirleyin, uçuş noktalarınızı işaretleyin. Detaylı Haritalar: Uçuşa yasak bölgeleri, hava sahasını ve engelleri görün. Konum Tabanlı: Bulunduğunuz konuma göre uçuş alanı önerileri alın. Hava Durumu: Uçuş öncesi hava koşullarını kontrol edin. Kontrol Listesi: Uçuş öncesi güvenlik kontrollerinizi tamamlayın. DroneReady, hem hobi hem profesyonel drone pilotları için tasarlanmıştır. Güvenli ve yasal uçuş deneyimi için ihtiyacınız olan her şey tek bir uygulamada! Plan your drone flights easily with DroneReady! Flight Planning: Set routes on the map and mark your waypoints. Detailed Maps: View no-fly zones, airspace, and obstacles. Location-Based: Get flight area recommendations based on your location. Weather: Check weather conditions before your flight. Checklist: Complete your pre-flight safety checks. Designed for both hobbyist and professional drone pilots.

Screenshots

Altimeter for Aviators4 screens
DroneReady4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DroneReady at none against Altimeter for Aviators's 2. DroneReady also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks). Altimeter for Aviators's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Altimeter for Aviators sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. DroneReady asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Altimeter for Aviators ships an update every 5 weeks, DroneReady every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Altimeter for Aviators versus DroneReady: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAltimeter for AviatorsDroneReady
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (582 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings582 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB26 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperSTEARsoftMehmet Sinan EZELHAN

Bugs and requests

Altimeter for Aviators

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App hangs on 'reading pressure' with Apple Watch 8
  • Watch complication shows dashed line instead of altitude
  • Incompatibility with iOS 17.4
  • Watch app graphics fuzzy/wrong resolution
  • Crown and long press unresponsive on Watch 8
Show 4 more
  • Pressure setting increments in millibar even when units changed
  • Watch only displays millibars, can't change to inHg
  • Inaccurate altitude readings on some Watch models (off by 200 feet)
  • Developer contact form returns error messages

Requested features

11 requests
  • CarPlay integration and widget support
  • Night mode with dark theme
  • Keep screen on while flying option
  • Drum pointer altimeter display option
  • Digital altitude readout option
Show 6 more
  • Faster refresh rate for VSI
  • Automatic local pressure lookup via GPS
  • Additional instruments (airspeed, G-meter)
  • Toggle to disable pressure swipe adjustment
  • Complication display improvements
  • Better altitude flag deadband transition

DroneReady

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Altimeter for Aviators

One-time2
  • VSI$1.99
  • Altitude Units$1.99
None

DroneReady

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Altimeter for Aviators free?
Altimeter for Aviators is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DroneReady free?
DroneReady is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Altimeter for Aviators or DroneReady have ads?
DroneReady shows ads; Altimeter for Aviators does not.
Which is updated more often, Altimeter for Aviators or DroneReady?
Altimeter for Aviators ships an update every 5 weeks, and DroneReady every 5 days. Most recently, Altimeter for Aviators was updated on October 13, 2026 and DroneReady on October 7, 2026.

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