Piste vs Flying Start
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Piste
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3 Ski apps in one. 1. Digital resort map for all 160+ resorts as standard 2. Ski fitness tracker with all day tracking as standard. 3. Friend Locator - see friends and family on the map as standard. The maps We try and find a half way point between paper maps and digital maps, our vector based maps give the familiar look of a paper piste map but won't get soggy! Where we differ from paper maps, is that ours are 'to scale' enabling you to plan your Off-Piste cut throughs and detours, or simply work out if you an reach a lift. But nearly everything you find on the resort map will be on our map. The ski tracker We’ve optimised our tracker to offer an excellent balance between stats collection and battery life, after all there's no point logging half your day! Piste knows the run you're on, the lift you're waiting at and the record time you’ve just achieved. Daily summaries are then available with a timeline and map of your adventure. Private groups Create and customise your very own ski group and invite friends or join others. Everyone in the group can see each other on the map, so you no longer need to worry if you take a wrong turn! Various tools like rendezvous points and push notifications can be used to meet back up throughout the day. Location sharing The location sharer not only shares your location, it shares what you are doing, queuing for a lift or stopped half way down a piste? No worries, your whole group can see - along with the name of the run/lift you are near. It is completely private and only visible to your group. Premium Features We are proud to offer the best of Piste for free with no annoying pop ups or dark patterns. For those with larger groups we also offer extended service, with affordably priced weekly or yearly subscription options. This unlocks the creation of large groups of up to 20 members, the joining of multiple ski groups and 3D Piste maps and exporting of data. Whether you're an experienced skier or just starting out, Piste is the perfect app for anyone who loves the thrill of skiing and snowboarding. Join our community of enthusiasts and start tracking your adventures on the mountain today! * An active Premium subscription may be required for some features in this description ** Trails and automated tracking supported at resorts in Europe only, other continents are not yet supported. Terms of service https://pisteapp.com/legal/tos
Flying Start
This app provides a specialized countdown timer and GPS instrument panel for sailing races. It helps racers optimize their start with features like distance to line, time to line, and off-center start detection. Track your performance and sync with your crew for a better racing experience.
- Purpose-built countdown timer
- Distance to Line (DTL)
- Time to Line (TTL)
- Off-center start (OCS) detection
- Start ratings and season stats
- Crew sync for multiple devices
- GPS track recording
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Flying Start is the countdown timer that every racing sailor wishes they had on their wrist. Built for dinghy and keelboat racers, Flying Start replaces clipboard timers and generic stopwatches with a purpose-built instrument panel that shows you exactly where you are relative to the start line. COUNTDOWN TIMER Standard 5-4-1-Go sequence plus 3-2-1-Go for short courses. Quick Start mode for instant race timing. Large, high-contrast digits you can read in full sun or spray. GPS INSTRUMENTS Distance to Line (DTL) shows how far you are from the start line in real time. Time to Line (TTL) tells you if you'll arrive early or late at your current speed. Course Over Ground (COG) gives you heading without a compass. OCS DETECTION Crossed the line early? Flying Start alerts you instantly with visual and haptic warnings so you can turn back before the recall flag goes up. APPLE WATCH Full countdown timer on your wrist — works independently or synced with your iPhone. DTL, TTL, and COG right on your watch face. Start celebration haptic when you nail the start. START RATINGS After every race, get a 0-100 score measuring how well you timed your start. Track your improvement over the season. Share branded start cards with your crew. GPS TRACK RECORDING Every race is recorded with GPS. Review your approach, share your top speed, and replay your starts at flyingstart.app. CREW SYNC Connect multiple iPhones via peer-to-peer so your entire crew sees the same countdown, perfectly synchronised. SUNLIGHT MODE High-contrast yellow digits at maximum brightness for when the sun is directly overhead and you can't see anything else. FREE FEATURES 5-4-1-Go countdown, Quick Start mode, basic race timing. FLYING START PRO Unlock DTL, TTL, COG, OCS alerts, start ratings, season stats, Apple Watch, sunlight mode, crew sync, and GPS track recording. Privacy Policy: https://flyingstart.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://flyingstart.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Piste at weekly against Flying Start's every 2 months. Piste also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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. Piste sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and Flying Start sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Piste ships an update weekly, Flying Start every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Piste | Flying Start |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 3.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Dye | Dominic Brandreth |
In-app purchases
Piste
- Weekly Premium$3.997 Days
- Monthly Subscription$5.991 Month
- Annual Subscription$14.991 Year
Flying Start
- Flying Start Pro$4.991 Month
- Flying Start Pro14 Days trial$19.991 Year









