METAR Widgets vs Visibility Tool
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
METAR Widgets
Display real-time weather information directly on your home screen with customizable widgets. Choose from various themes and smart display options to see essential weather data at a glance. Access full details and save favorite stations within the app.
- Customizable home screen widgets
- Real-time weather updates
- Multiple theme options
- Smart weather condition display
- Raw METAR text view
- Save favorite weather stations
- Dark mode support
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What better way to keep abreast of current conditions than with a beautiful METAR widget, right on your home screen? Although these widgets look simple, they’ve been carefully designed and built to give you the most important information at a glance, while meshing seamlessly with iOS17’s features and design language. Here are a few of the things that make these widgets special: THEMES Choose a subtle theme that looks right at home on your iPhone or iPad, or a more bold and colorful theme that catches your eye more effectively. SMART… Each widget can figure out what weather factors to display. Generally, special weather conditions (e.g. rain, show, haze, smoke, tornadoes) take precedence, followed by any conditions that caused the current flight condition, like low cloud bases or limited visibility. Wind is always visible. … OR NOT Alternatively, you can use the “Retro” theme to display raw METAR text and practice your interpretation skills (great for exam prep). Protip - put both widget types in a Stack (drag one on top of the other), so you can flip between them! REALTIME All METAR widgets update in realtime, in the background. You can force a refresh anytime by simply launching the app. DARK MODE Widgets seamlessly follow the system-wide light/dark mode setting, which means they’ll be easier on your eyes once the sun goes down. Also, all colors across the app and widgets have been tuned to reduce eye strain when viewing in low-light conditions. FULL METAR VIEW Tap on any widget to launch the app and view the full details. Here, you can also toggle between visual and text modes. SAVE YOUR FAVORITE STATIONS You can save and manage your favorite stations in the app, which makes it even faster to set up a new widget. Thanks for reading this far! I’m an experienced software developer and a new PPL, and I built this while learning to fly in a J-3 cub. All proceeds will go to tailwheel time, and any feedback/reviews are much appreciated!
Visibility Tool
This app transforms your phone into a weather sensor to measure local visibility for safe and legal flights. Simply point your camera at the horizon and capture a photo to get an accurate visibility metric, usable even without cell service.
- Measures local visibility
- Converts phone into weather sensor
- Works offline, no cell service needed
- Provides visibility metric (1-10+ miles)
- Supports drone and general aviation compliance
- Useful for first responders and Medevac
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Accurately determine local visibility to ensure your flight is safe and legal by turning your mobile phone into a weather sensor. The simple point-and-click capability enables anyone globally to determine local visibility, even in flight. The technology works by pointing the mobile phone camera towards the horizon and then angling up until the view is unobstructed by buildings, trees or other foreground objects. Users take a photo in any direction they want and the technology responds with a visibility metric ranging from 1-10+ miles (1.6-16+ kilometers). Visibility Tool software is downloaded on your device. It is not cloud-based and does not require cell service. As such, drone operations can be flown weather compliantly within the national airspace from your backyard to the remotest of destinations. Similarly, pilots can use the tool at altitude where cell service is not available. More information is available at https://lowaltitudeweathernetwork.com/ Visibility tool applications include: - UAS and drone operations (Instantaneous FAA part 107.51 regulatory visibility compliance for every UAS operation) - General aviation (As part of your preflight, obtain instantaneous FAR 14 CFR section 91.155 regulatory visibility compliance for your VFR operation) - First responder and Medevac flights (This tool allows First Responders to instantly determine if Medevac can be safely initiated or alternatively, ground transport is necessary because of poor visibility) - Other use cases: Ground transportation, Maritime operations, Athletic and outdoor activities, Pulmonary and health monitoring Accurate visibility is important because low visibility is a leading cause of weather-related accidents/fatalities in General Aviation, Helicopter/Medevac, UAS and ground transportation.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Visibility Tool at 5.0 against METAR Widgets's 3.8. Visibility Tool also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). METAR Widgets's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $9.99) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 5 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
METAR Widgets costs $2.99 and Visibility Tool $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Visibility Tool holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: METAR Widgets has 48 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of METAR Widgets's written reviews are positive against 50% of Visibility Tool's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
METAR Widgets ships an update every 9 days, Visibility Tool every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | METAR Widgets | Visibility Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (48 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.6% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 48 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #116 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 1006 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cornfield Creative, LLC | Flightprofiler, LLC |
Customer experience
METAR Widgets
Visibility Tool
Bugs and requests
METAR Widgets
Reported bugs
7 issues- Widgets do not update automatically
- Widgets do not work at all
- App does not load data
- Airport selection is not working
- Missing some airports when searching
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- App stopped working
- Widget says station is unreachable after airplane mode
Requested features
11 requests- Add lock screen widget
- Add D-ATIS integration
- Add TAF in detailed view
- Add F scales and customizable options
- Add TAF access
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Add wide widget option
- Add option for multiple stations
- Add runway wind indicator
- Add temperature in Fahrenheit
- Add choice between C° or F°
- Add ability to choose airport from app
Visibility Tool
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
METAR Widgets
No in-app purchases
Visibility Tool
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is METAR Widgets free?
Is Visibility Tool free?
Which has better reviews, METAR Widgets or Visibility Tool?
Do METAR Widgets or Visibility Tool have ads?
Which is updated more often, METAR Widgets or Visibility Tool?
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