QField for QGIS vs FDsidekick
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
QField for QGIS
This app streamlines GIS fieldwork, enabling efficient data collection and seamless exchange between field and office. It brings the full power of QGIS to mobile devices, supporting a wide range of spatial data formats for viewing and editing.
- GIS fieldwork efficiency
- Data exchange with office
- QGIS project integration
- Customizable feature forms
- Support for vector/raster datasets
- Offline data editing
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QField focuses on efficiently getting GIS fieldwork done and exchanging data between the field and the office in a comfortable and user-friendly way. QField has won the prestigious Best of Swiss Apps Award 2022 in the enterprise category and thanks to its native integration with QFieldCloud, your fieldwork will be as efficient as possible. Built on top of the popular QGIS open-source project, QField lets users consume fully configured projects in the field, allowing for customized feature forms, map themes, print layouts, and more, bringing the power of QGIS to your fingertips. Leveraging open source libraries such as gdal, SQLite and PostGIS, QField reads, displays and allows editing of a wide variety of spatial vector and raster datasets. Users can view and modify datasets wherever they are, whether they have been downloaded onto your device, shared in emails or transferred via USB cable. The supported formats include: - QGIS project files (.qgs, .qgz, as well as geopackage-embedded projects); - SQLite-based geopackage and spatialite databases; - GeoJSON, KML, GPX, and shapefile vector datasets; - GeoTIFF, GeoPDF, WEBP, and JPEG2000 raster datasets. Looking for missing capabilities? OPENGIS.ch is happy to help with the implementation of new features. Contact us at https://www.opengis.ch/contact/ Permissions --- QField can use location permission to draw a marker overlaying device location on top of spatial projects and datasets. QField can also display and use location details such as latitude, longitude, elevation, and accuracy while entering data. Notes --- For bug reports, please file an issue at https://qfield.org/issues
FDsidekick
This app offers quick access to preflight and inflight notes and utilities. It includes features for customizing notecards, viewing imported PDFs, and a specialized aviation calculator. You can also create PA scripts and jot down notes with stylus support.
- Customizable Notecard with Autofill
- PDF Reference Viewer
- Aviation Calculator
- PA Script Creator
- Touch/Stylus Notepad
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FDsidekick provides ease-of-access for preflight and inflight notes and utilities. -Notecard: Customize and Autofill your card for easy flight plan review -References: Easily view imported PDFs -Calculator: With Aviation-related functions and memory -PA: Easily create a script for the Welcome Aboard PA -Notepad: Jot down notes via touch with support for Apple Pencil
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: FDsidekick at 5.0 against QField for QGIS's 4.1. QField for QGIS's advantage is ratings volume (37 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
FDsidekick holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: QField for QGIS has 37 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
QField for QGIS ships an update every 6 days, FDsidekick every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | QField for QGIS | FDsidekick |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (37 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 37 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 176 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | OPENGIS.ch | Erik Patrinostro |
Customer experience
QField for QGIS
FDsidekick
Bugs and requests
QField for QGIS
Reported bugs
26 issues- App is very unstable, random crashes
- Simple calculations in fields are not working
- Features built in QGIS do not work in Qfield
- No option to download tables
- App hangs, requires complete reinstallation
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- Camera is not functioning
- Instructions are confusing, difficult to import/open shape files
- Cannot take photos from within the app
- Application is unusable after 10 seconds, files downloaded are not found
- App crashes every time the screen is moved
- Base map is only displayed 10%
- Cannot import from cloud and cannot import in local storage
- App does not launch on iPhone 14 Pro Max
- No option for file import
- App crashes immediately on iPad mini iOS 16.1
- App cannot be opened
- App not launching on iPhone 11 Pro Max and iOS 16.1
- Update problem: new version cannot be saved
- Bluetooth GPS device not usable on iOS
- Cannot upload files from a zip folder on Apple devices
- New layers/files not in cloud folder cannot be packed and added to cloud
- Synchronization of individual layers is not working correctly
- No possibility to import data on iPad
- App crashes when loading slightly heavy aerial photographs
- Measure feature in imperial, navigation in metric only
- Work easily lost when data will not push to the cloud
Requested features
29 requests- Fix stability issues
- Improve handling of simple calculations
- Ensure QGIS features work in QField
- Add option to download tables
- Refine UI
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- Fix camera functionality
- Clarify instructions for file import
- Enable in-app photo capture
- Improve file handling and download visibility
- Make app more intuitive
- Resolve update saving issues
- Develop a real MacOS version for faster editing
- Optimize for large data volumes
- Allow measure and navigation features in imperial units
- Add option to save changes to device drive
- Enable Bluetooth GPS on iOS
- Allow uploading files from zip folders on Apple devices
- Enable packing and adding new layers/files to cloud
- Improve synchronization of individual layers
- Add possibility to import data on iPad
- Improve stability with large aerial photos
- Fix crashing when moving the screen
- Display base map fully
- Allow import from cloud and local storage
- Fix launching issues on specific iPhone models
- Add compass feature to navigation tool
- Allow selection of feature placement on screen (e.g., confirm buttons)
- Enable iCloud integration for local files
- Improve connection to external GNSS receivers
FDsidekick
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
QField for QGIS
No in-app purchases
FDsidekick
No in-app purchases
