Vario One vs xcNav
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Vario One
This app provides a precise variometer for iPhone and Apple Watch, utilizing built-in sensors for real-time lift detection. It offers air traffic awareness, thermal assistance, and flight recording capabilities. Takeoff and landing sites are always visible, with a free 14-day trial for all features.
- Real-time variometer with acoustic lift signals
- Air traffic awareness with Safesky integration
- Thermal Assistant with climb/sink rate visualization
- Flight recording with GPS and IGC tracks
- Import flights via GPX/IGC
- Standalone Apple Watch functionality
- Visible takeoff and landing sites
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VARIO One – Your smart variometer for iPhone and Apple Watch. As precise as a pro vario. As simple as an app. No extra hardware. VARIO One combines a pressure sensor, an accelerometer and GPS into a full-featured variometer — right on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Both apps work independently and signal lift with acoustic beeps. Optionally connect an external Bluetooth vario for even more precision. Try all features free for 14 days. VARIOMETER - Instantly audible lift by combining pressure and acceleration sensors. - Internal barometer (baro + IMU fusion) — a calmer, more precise signal. - Display of altitude, speed and glide ratio. - Barometric altitude with QNH — set directly on the flight screen. - Climb tone threshold freely configurable (down to −0.5 m/s). - Rotating wind direction indicator. FLIGHT RECORDING - Automatic recording as GPS and IGC track. - Digital logbook with map view and statistics. - Automatic upload to DHV-XC and XContest. - Automatic take-off and landing detection. MAP - Airspaces downloadable per country or importable as OpenAir files. - Current wind from thousands of weather stations. - Take-off and landing sites — permanently free to view. AIRSPACE MAP & ALERTS Download airspace maps for any country right in the app from OpenAIP. Or import your own OpenAir files (classic as well as Naviter 1.0/2.0). All airspaces are shown as a vector map; tap for details, altitude profile and legend. As you approach, VARIO One warns you with a voice announcement and a configurable lead time — including a snooze function and automatic escalation. REAL-TIME AIR TRAFFIC WITH SAFESKY See nearby aircraft — paragliders, hang gliders, sailplanes, helicopters — using SafeSky, including other SafeSky users on the map. ADS-B, FLARM, OGN, PilotAware, and other supported traffic sources — all in one real-time view. Coverage depends on the availability of compatible transmitters and network reception. BUDDY FLYING – FLY TOGETHER, EVERYONE IN VIEW With Buddy Flying you see your flying partners live on the map — perfect for a shared cross-country flight or a day at your local mountain. One person creates a group and shares the code, the others join. As soon as "Sharing" is active, you all see each other in real time. For each buddy you see position with distance and bearing, absolute altitude and altitude relative to you, current climb and an 8-second average, plus speed. When a buddy is climbing, you see it in their climb rate — and know where the thermal is. A colour scale shows how their climb compares to yours. EXTERNAL BLUETOOTH VARIOS Connect your device wirelessly to use it as your vario signal source: BlueFly Vario (multiple protocols), Mipfly MipBipX & MipTrack, Stodeus BlueBip & UltraBip, Skytraxx (BLE). Connect any time from the settings — no onboarding needed. THERMAL ASSISTANT Your flight track is coloured live by climb and sink values — so you instantly see where the best thermal is in the turn. The app automatically detects circling and switches to the thermal view. Including wind direction and speed. IMPORT FLIGHTS Import previously flown flights as GPX or IGC files straight into the logbook — via the + button or via "Open with" from the Files app. APPLE WATCH - Standalone vario with precise pressure sensors. - Ideal for hike & fly, as a backup or when there's no room in the cockpit. - Flight recording in GPX and IGC format. New features are added regularly. Try everything free for 14 days. Take-off and landing sites remain free afterwards too. The subscription renews automatically and can be cancelled any time.
xcNav
This app provides essential navigation tools for paramotor pilots, including waypoints, ETAs, and live location sharing. It also offers group chat, airspace charts, weather information, and proximity warnings with external hardware.
- Navigation tools (waypoints, ETAs)
- Live location sharing
- Group chat
- Airspace sectional charts
- Weather tools
- ADSB-in proximity warnings
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- Navigation tools (waypoints, ETAs, etc) - Live location sharing - Live shared waypoints - Group chat - Airspace sectional charts - Weather tools - ADSB-in with proximity warnings (requires external hardware)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Vario One at 85% against xcNav's 20%. Vario One also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). xcNav's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Vario One sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. xcNav asks for nothing beyond the download.
xcNav holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 85% of Vario One's written reviews are positive against 20% of xcNav's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Vario One ships an update every 5 weeks, xcNav every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Vario One | xcNav |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (2 ratings) | 4.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.1% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 106 MB | 52 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Leobalo GmbH | Caleb Johnson |
Customer experience
Vario One
xcNav
In-app purchases
Vario One
- 7 days for Apple iPhone/Watch14 Days trial$3.997 Days
- 3 month Apple iPhone/Watch14 Days trial$11.993 Months
- 1 year iPhone and Apple Watch14 Days trial$22.991 Year
xcNav
No in-app purchases








