Cirrus IQ vs PlaneBud
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cirrus IQ
This app provides pilots with a centralized hub for managing their Cirrus aircraft. It offers remote access to vital aircraft data, flight summaries, landing performance insights, and maintenance tracking. Owners can stay informed about their aircraft's status and performance from anywhere.
- Remote aircraft data sync
- Flight summary with manifest
- Approach landing insights
- Inspection and part tracking
- Flight data export
- Automatic database updates
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The Cirrus IQ app is the mobile pilot intelligence hub that organizes your Cirrus Life. Owners of connected SR-Series and Vision Jet aircraft may wirelessly access aircraft data from virtually anywhere in the world. IQ PRO includes a suite of features that provide vertically integrated aircraft management and pilot performance such as: • Remote Aircraft Sync for fluid levels, battery health, and oil temperature • Flight Summary with passenger manifest and purpose • Approach Score - gain insights on every landing • Inspection and Life-Limited Part tracking • Export flight lists and aircraft flight data • Automatic Database Updates for aircraft equipped with Garmin GDL 60 (Separate database subscription required) Available for Cirrus aircraft models: SR-Series starting in model year 2020 Vision Jets starting with serial number 0463
PlaneBud
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PlaneBud is the all-in-one aircraft management app built for private pilots, co-owners, flying clubs, and flight schools operating under Part 91. Whether you own a single Cessna or run a shared fleet, PlaneBud keeps your planes, pilots, and paperwork organized. AI ASSISTANT Ask about your fleet in plain English. The PlaneBud AI can check aircraft status, add up your hours, look up inspections and squawks, check the schedule, and pull live METAR weather for any airport. Log a flight, record an inspection, or report a squawk right from the chat — and escalate to human support anytime. AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT Track your entire fleet in one place. Monitor aircraft status, fuel, oil, Hobbs and tach readings at a glance. Set a home base to see live airport weather on every aircraft page. FLIGHT LOGGING Log every flight with pilot info, route, Hobbs and tach times, fuel burn, and oil. Automatic hour calculations save you time. Pilots review open squawks before each flight, and instructors can sign off student flights. Export to CSV or Excel anytime. INSPECTIONS & COMPLIANCE Stay on top of annuals, 100-hour inspections, transponder and pitot-static checks, ELT, oil changes, and more. Organize inspections into groups, track completion, and never miss a due date. SQUAWK TRACKING Report and manage maintenance issues with severity levels, from watch items to grounding. Keep your mechanic in the loop and your aircraft airworthy. PRE-FLIGHT DISPATCH A one-screen go/no-go check: live weather, open squawks, inspections coming due, and last known readings before you fly. PILOT CURRENCY & ENDORSEMENTS Track medical, flight review, IFR, and night currency with expiration alerts. Record CFI endorsements with built-in FAR templates. SCHEDULING & RESERVATIONS Book aircraft with an integrated calendar. View by month, week, day, or list. No more scheduling conflicts between co-owners. PAYMENTS & COST SHARING Split real-world flying costs fairly with built-in billing and balance tracking for club members. Admins set monthly contributions and manage transactions with secure payment processing. DOCUMENTS & LOGBOOKS Store registration, insurance, airworthiness certificates, weight and balance, STCs, and more in the cloud. Maintain digital logbooks for every aircraft. FLIGHT SCHOOLS The School plan adds unlimited aircraft and users, a school dashboard with student currency at a glance, pending sign-off tracking, drawn-signature endorsements, and PDF endorsement records. ORGANIZATIONS & TEAMS Create or join organizations for shared aircraft. Invite members and assign roles — owner, admin, instructor, mechanic, pilot, student, renter, or guest — with role-based permissions. BUILT FOR PILOTS Works offline with automatic syncing Sign in with email, Google, or Apple Real-time updates across all devices Reports: pilot hours, revenue, flight maps In-app AI assistant and human support Demo mode to explore before signing up SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION PlaneBud is free to download and use. Optional subscriptions unlock advanced features: - PlaneBud Pro: $6.99/month — up to 10 aircraft, attachments on flights, squawks, documents, and logbooks, priority support. 14-day free trial. - PlaneBud Flight School: $9.99/month — everything in Pro plus unlimited aircraft and users, school dashboard, drawn signatures, and PDF endorsement export. 14-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase (or when the free trial ends). Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://planebud.com/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://planebud.com/terms-of-service.html
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cirrus IQ at none against PlaneBud's 1. Cirrus IQ also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). PlaneBud's advantage is device support (4 vs 1). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. PlaneBud sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $6.99 per month. Cirrus IQ asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cirrus IQ ships an update fortnightly, PlaneBud every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cirrus IQ | PlaneBud |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (225 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 44.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 225 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 475 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Cirrus Aircraft | Scott Harrison |
In-app purchases
Cirrus IQ
No in-app purchases
PlaneBud
- PlaneBud Pro Monthly14 Days trial$6.991 Month









