Comparison

Sim Flights Tracker vs What Plane?

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

Head to head
About

Sim Flights Tracker

Track live aircraft on the Vatsim and Ivao networks. View detailed flight information, network statistics, and an interactive map showing aircraft positions in real-time.

Highlights
  • Live aircraft tracking
  • Vatsim and Ivao network data
  • Flight information display
  • Network flight statistics
  • Custom interactive map
Features
Read full description

Sim Flights Tracker is an app that tracks aircraft that are live on the Vatsim and Ivao network. With this app you can see flight information, number of flights on the Vatsim and Ivao network, and a lot of other flight related data. There is also a custom map that shows exactly where the aircraft are at any given time in their flight.

About

What Plane?

Instantly identify aircraft overhead with this app. It offers a widget for quick glances and a live map for exploring nearby air traffic. View detailed information for planes within 30 nautical miles, with a unique compass ring for direction.

Highlights
  • Instant aircraft identification
  • Home Screen widget for quick access
  • Live map of nearby air traffic
  • Detailed aircraft information
  • Compass Ring bearing indicator
  • Customizable aircraft icons
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

What Plane? was built to answer one question—fast: what’s that aircraft overhead? Everything is designed for instant glanceability, so you can get the answer without “using an app”. Add the widget to your Home Screen and tap to refresh. Tap the custom aircraft icon to jump straight into the live map. Inside the app, controls stay just as simple. Want different units? Tap any stat (altitude, speed, distance) to cycle through options. The default view lets you explore nearby air traffic, and with a single tap on any aircraft—or the menu button—you can browse rich details for every plane within 30 nautical miles. To keep the interface minimal while adding real information density, What Plane? uses the Compass Ring: the panel border doubles as a bearing indicator, showing the aircraft’s direction relative to you at a glance. And when an aircraft is overhead, the widget brings it to life with airline-specific liveries and aircraft models—so your Home Screen matches what’s in the sky. WHATPLANE PRO (OPTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION) Choose the aircraft you want to spot and get an alert when a match is nearby. Chat with Lookout to ask about aircraft recorded in your area while you were away, and prioritise your matches in Dynamic Island. Pro is a monthly auto-renewable subscription, purchased separately in the app, with a one-week free trial for eligible new subscribers. After the trial, the subscription renews at the displayed monthly price unless cancelled. The local price is shown before purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Your subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Privacy: https://whatplane.org/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Sim Flights Tracker4 screens
What Plane?4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sim Flights Tracker at Free against What Plane?'s $8.09. Sim Flights Tracker also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). What Plane?'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On rating 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

Sim Flights Tracker is free to download; What Plane? costs $8.09 up front. What Plane? sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Sim Flights Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Sim Flights Tracker against 5.0 for What Plane?. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sim Flights Tracker ships an update every 2 months, What Plane? weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Sim Flights Tracker versus What Plane?: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSim Flights TrackerWhat Plane?
PriceFree — better$8.09
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#190 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDonald SepengDavid Wilkinson

Customer experience

Sim Flights Tracker

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

What Plane?

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Sim Flights Tracker

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

What Plane?

Subscriptions1
  • WhatPlane Pro7 Days trial$3.991 Month

Questions

Is Sim Flights Tracker free?
Sim Flights Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is What Plane? free?
What Plane? costs $8.09, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sim Flights Tracker or What Plane??
Sim Flights Tracker and What Plane? are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Sim Flights Tracker or What Plane? have ads?
Sim Flights Tracker shows ads; What Plane? does not.
Which is updated more often, Sim Flights Tracker or What Plane??
Sim Flights Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and What Plane? weekly. Most recently, Sim Flights Tracker was updated on October 24, 2026 and What Plane? on October 28, 2026.

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