Comparison

ATC Radar vs VatView

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ATC Radar

Experience realistic air traffic control by guiding aircraft through airspace, assigning routes, altitudes, and speeds. Manage departures and arrivals, and utilize real-world weather overlays for an immersive simulation.

Highlights
  • Realistic air traffic control simulation
  • Manage aircraft departures and arrivals
  • Assign altitudes, speeds, and routes
  • Real-world weather overlay
  • Visual approach assignments
Features
Read full description

Be the air traffic controller. Now free to play. ATC Radar puts you in the radar room as an approach controller. Tap traffic, issue commands, and keep the metal moving โ€” safely separated and on the ground. Start working Kansas City Approach right now, free. How it plays โ€ข Sequence arrivals onto visual and instrument approaches โ€ข Issue headings, altitudes, speeds, and direct-to clearances in real time โ€ข Release departures and hand them off to Center โ€ข Accept handoffs as traffic enters your airspace โ€ข Keep 3 miles and 1,000 feet โ€” a loss of separation is a "deal" โ€ข Earn your controller rating across clean shifts, from Trainee to Area Manager Free โ€ข Full gameplay at Kansas City Approach โ€ข Unlimited 5-minute shifts โ€ข Optional: watch a short ad to extend a shift ATC Radar Pro โ€ข New York TRACON (N90) โ€” JFK, LGA, EWR, TEB and more โ€ข Choose your shift length โ€” 3 to 30 minutes โ€ข Instant shift extends, no ads โ€ข Every new airspace we add The most realistic ATC approach sim on iPhone and iPad. Take the scope.

About

VatView

Track air traffic controllers and flight information on the VATSIM network. View active ATC stations, frequencies, and ATIS messages. Explore an interactive map showing pilots and controllers, or search for airport-specific flight data.

Highlights
  • Interactive VATSIM map
  • Live METAR weather data
  • Filterable pilot and ATC lists
  • Airport-specific flight information
  • Enroute and FSS control areas
  • ATC bookings
Features
Read full description

VatView is a mobile app that allows flight simulation enthusiasts to track ATC presence and flight information on the VATSIM network. VatView aims to be your ultimate VATSIM companion! It provides easy access to active VATSIM terminal area ATC stations and frequencies and exposes the ATIS message easily. It also shows enroute ATC, including marking land, oceanic, UIR and FSS VATSIM controlled areas on the map. VatView features three main views: - a map displaying all pilots and air traffic controllers currently connected to the VATSIM network. - A filterable and searchable list page - displaying a detailed list of all connected pilots and ATC. - An airport search page - which concentrates all connected ATC, active flights and prefiled flight plans for a specific airport. VATSIM (short for the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network) is a completely free online platform that allows Flight simulator enthusiasts connect and fly virtually on one shared virtual aviation eco system. It simulates Air Traffic Control (ATC) with full voice and network connection between virtual pilots flight on flight simulator software and virtual air traffic controllers using software for providing ATC services. It is as real as it gets. It supports Microsoft's Flight simulator (MSFS, FSX and FS9), P3D and X-Plane. For more information visit https://www.vatsim.net. Features: - An Interactive map displaying VATSIM pilots and ATC - Detailed aircraft and terminal ATC station Icons - Enroute and FSS control areas - Live METAR (weather) data for any airport - ATC Bookings - Always up to date FIR boundaries synced with VATSpy's data project - Detailed flight information - Filterable and searchable list screen - An easy way to get all relevant terminal area stations with the relevant ATIS message * The app uses the storage permission to cache large airspace data it needs to display on the map. Disclaimer: The author is not affiliated with the VATSIM Organization in any way (other than being an enthusiastic user and member of the community)

Screenshots

ATC Radar4 screens
VatView4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: VatView at none against ATC Radar's 1. VatView also leads on review sentiment (25% vs 0%) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). ATC Radar's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. ATC Radar sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. VatView asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ATC Radar ships an update monthly, VatView weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences ยท 3 level
ATC Radar versus VatView: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterATC RadarVatView
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews25.0% of reviews โ€” better
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly โ€” better
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
MonetizationSubscriptionAd-supported โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.3 โ€” better15.1
Further details โ€” not scored
Size50 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBryan HeitmanOren Geva

Customer experience

ATC Radar

All ratings17 ratings
Positive11.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative88.2%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

VatView

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ATC Radar

Subscriptions1
  • ATC Radar$2.991 Month
None

VatView

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ATC Radar free?
ATC Radar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VatView free?
VatView is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ATC Radar or VatView have ads?
VatView shows ads; ATC Radar does not.
Which is updated more often, ATC Radar or VatView?
ATC Radar ships an update monthly, and VatView weekly. Most recently, ATC Radar was updated on October 9, 2026 and VatView on October 21, 2026.

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