Comparison

Vulture vs Cloudracing

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

Head to head
About

Vulture

Plan, fly, and analyze soaring flights with live airspace, weather, and detailed thermal replays. This app offers advanced tools for glider, paragliding, and hang gliding pilots, eliminating the need for a laptop.

Highlights
  • Task planning from waypoints or imported files
  • Live airspace and weather integration
  • Detailed flight replay with barograph and statistics
  • Thermal analytics and wind estimation
  • Flight analysis and comparison tools
  • Cloud sync across devices via iCloud
Features
Read full description

Vulture is a soaring planning and analysis app built for glider, paragliding, and hang gliding pilots. Plan a task on the day, fly it with live airspace and weather, then replay every thermal back on the airfield — no laptop required. Plan * Build a task from waypoints, or import one from a CUP file, WeGlide, or SoaringSpot. * Scan a task straight from a QR code — the codes XCTrack and the other gliding tools share tasks with. * Edit any task to fit the weather of the day, with custom observation zones per turnpoint. * Check the day with dozens of SkySight weather layers — thermals, cloud cover, storms, rain, and wind — before you commit to a task. * Export a task to CUP or FLARM declaration files for your IGC-approved device, or share a FLARM declaration straight from the settings. * Import OpenAir, CUB, and openAIP airspace files, pull predefined sets from XCSoar, or show OpenAIP airspace directly on the map as a live vector layer — so every task respects the airspace around it. Fly * See airspace and optimized flight information in the air, and navigate to any waypoint. * Look up the nearest airfield and its frequency, provided by OurAirports. * Long-press the map to see the airspace above that point as a vertical profile, with your own altitude marked in flight. * Automatically detect your sport and apply optimized thresholds for thermals, takeoff, and landing. Analyze * Replay one or more flights with a barograph and detailed statistics as you scrub through them. * Overlay satellite cloud imagery on the map and scrub the barograph to see the clouds at each moment during a flight (requires SkySight). * Drag the graph handle for a calculated wind estimate at any point in a flight. * Dig into thermal analytics to see where you gained — or lost — time and height. * Review optimized distance, release point, maximum altitude, and much more. * Add searchable remarks to saved flights, mark contests, and keep your favorites. * Compare flights side by side with leader/leecher analysis — see who found thermals first, who waited, and who flew independently. * Upload flights to SkyLines, WeGlide, SoaringSpot, or Charron without leaving the app. Everywhere * Sync flights, tasks, waypoints, airspace, and all settings across your devices with iCloud. * Import flights by drag and drop, from Files, or straight from the share sheet. * Open flights and tasks directly in Vulture from SoaringSpot and Charron using the Chrome extension. * Share a Soaring Spot results link and it opens even without Vulture — that day's scoreboard, and every pilot's flight on a map. * Preview flight, waypoint, and airspace files in Files before you import them. * Find flights and tasks from Spotlight on your home screen. * Widgets for the wind at your home base, tomorrow's forecast for the launch window, and a flight from your logbook drawn as its track — on the Home Screen, the Lock Screen, and in StandBy. * Hardware keyboard shortcuts, pointer support, and dark mode included. Try every feature free during the trial. Keep flying with Vulture by choosing a subscription plan whenever you're ready. Tell us how we can make Vulture better. Terms of use: https://vulture.aero/terms

About

Cloudracing

Features
Read full description

Cloudracing is your companion: watch live glider traffic, follow ongoing competitions with live scoring and track aircraft on the map. For spectators, pilots on the ground and competition teams. Included for free: • Live traffic from public OGN receivers, supplemented with ADS-B data where OGN coverage is weak • 2D map with topo and elevation view; airspace, airfields and navigation points drawn as crisp vector layers – also available as a dedicated map layer • Track aircraft and save favorites • Competition tracking with live scoring: pick ongoing SoaringSpot competitions directly, task view and the live score table with ranking, speed, task progress and task status for every participant – including outlandings with a retrieve menu • Spectator counter: see how many people are watching live right now • Load your own tasks (XCSoar .tsk) and participant lists (CSV) Cloudracing Pro (optional subscription) additionally unlocks: • Competition insights and analysis: arrival projection (ETA) with virtual ranking, AAT advisor suggesting how deep to fly into the sector, start time analysis, weather-neutral climb comparison and current weather at the airfield (METAR) • Presenter mode for the briefing hall: the app automatically rotates leading group, score table, pilot spotlight and overview for the projector • Weather and thermal layers: rain, clouds, live thermals with climb rates, wind calculation and gaggle detection for groups circling together, plus the "Thermals 90 min" map with all recently flown thermals • Flight path prediction (experimental): glide range on the remaining task and the fastest route via measured thermals • Live barogram: altitude profile, flight phases and climb rates in real time – scroll back and forth during a live flight • IGC flight analysis: upload your own files or load entire competition days directly from SoaringSpot – with barogram, 3D replay and ghost racing against recorded flights with time delta and debrief • 3D terrain, buildings and satellite view – tasks and participants directly on the 3D terrain • Fly Along: the gliding simulator in the real air and the real terrain of the day (iPad-sized screens and larger) • Early access to new features Cloudracing is available in English, German, Czech, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch and Polish. Live tracking and basic competition tracking stay free for everyone. Pro is available monthly, yearly or as a one-time lifetime purchase; one subscription covers both web and app. Subscriptions start with a reduced early-bird introductory price for the first period. For information purposes only. Live data may be delayed, incomplete or unavailable and must not be used for primary navigation, collision avoidance or safety-critical decisions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms & Conditions: https://cloudracing.de/agb Privacy Policy: https://cloudracing.de/datenschutz Right of Withdrawal: https://cloudracing.de/widerruf

Screenshots

Vulture4 screens
Cloudracing4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cloudracing at none against Vulture's 3. Cloudracing also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Vulture sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Cloudracing asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vulture ships an update every 2 weeks, Cloudracing every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
Vulture versus Cloudracing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVultureCloudracing
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJelle VandebeeckAris Kuehl

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Vulture

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Quarterly subscription$11.993 Months
  • Annual subscription14 Days trial$40.991 Year
None

Cloudracing

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Vulture free?
Vulture is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cloudracing free?
Cloudracing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Vulture or Cloudracing have ads?
Neither Vulture nor Cloudracing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vulture or Cloudracing?
Vulture ships an update every 2 weeks, and Cloudracing every 3 days. Most recently, Vulture was updated on October 7, 2026 and Cloudracing on October 9, 2026.

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