AeroWeather Lite vs Garmin Pilot
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AeroWeather Lite
Access current and precise weather conditions and forecasts for airports worldwide. View data in raw or decoded formats, with offline access and customizable alerts. Ideal for pilots and weather enthusiasts seeking detailed meteorological information.
- METAR and TAF data
- Raw and decoded formats
- Offline access
- Customizable METAR alerts
- Airport database
- Nearby stations groups
- Today widget
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*** AeroWeather: for pilots, aviation enthusiasts, and everyone who is serious about the weather! *** Current and precise weather conditions (METAR) and forecasts (TAF). AeroWeather Lite provides quick and intuitive access to METAR and TAF for airports worldwide. Data can be shown in its original (raw) format or as fully decoded and easy understandable texts. AeroWeather Lite is helpful for weather preflight-briefings, but also to just get very precise weather. All weather data is cached for offline access. There are many settings for units and format of METAR/TAF available. The app features a built-in airport database, which includes basic airport data like sunrise/sunset, twilight times, timezones etc. AeroWeather Lite offers built-in groups for nearby stations, today widget (pre iOS 14), and earthquakes. Depending on your needs, groups can be shown or hidden in the main list view. METAR alert notifications** is an helpful feature to stay up-to-date. Define multiple alerts for each station with the following criteria: flight rule (US NOAA), wind speed, temperature, pressure, present weather, visibility, and ceiling (BKN and OVC). Notifications will be sent to your device if the criteria is met (e.g., when wind is greater/equal 10 kts, flight rule becomes IFR). Dedicated METAR/TAF** access is optionally available. METAR/TAF data comes primarily from a certified ANSP (air navigation service provider) and is provided reliably and fast from our dedicated, redundant servers (indicated by blue checkmark underneath METAR/TAF). Please consult our web-site for a full description of all features. In order to keep AeroWeather Lite free we added a small ad banner at the bottom of the screen. Consider getting AeroWeather Pro, subscribe the additional features**, or remove the ad banner through one-time unlock* to have an ad-free app. * Additional functionality which needs to be unlocked (one-time purchase). These purchases are not transferable between Lite, Pro, and Mac. ** SUBSCRIPTIONS Additional features which generate recurring operation costs for us will be offered within a subscription. The following features are enabled while 'First' subscription is active: - Dedicated METAR/TAF data source - Meteograms - Alert push notifications - D-ATIS (bigger US airports only) - Area Forecast Discussions (currently US only) - RVR data (US and Germany only) - Home Screen Widgets for METAR, Plot, Meteogram - Imagery and Charts (requires 'Captain' subscription) - SIGMETs (requires 'Captain' subscription) - METAR/TAF from ADS-B receiver thru GDL 90 protocol (requires 'Captain' subscription) When using AeroWeather Lite also the following features are enabled: - Remove ad banner The subscription varies in time periods (1 month, 12 months). The subscription is valid in both AeroWeather Lite and Pro. Cross app subscription support is only available if iCloud (with the same Apple ID) is enabled. Previously purchased unlock features are not affected and will work with or without subscription. Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your account settings. A payment will be charged to your iTunes account at the end of the free trial period. Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. No commitment - you can cancel any time. Pleas read the full “Subscription Terms of Use” at: https://www.lakehorn.com/subscription-terms-of-use/
Garmin Pilot
This app offers comprehensive tools for general aviation and corporate pilots, including flight planning, interactive maps, weather briefings, and navigation. It streamlines pre-flight preparation, filing, inflight navigation, and post-flight logging with an intuitive interface.
- Pre-flight planning with aviation weather data
- Interactive maps with track-up navigation
- Flight plan filing via Leidos Flight Service or DUATS
- En-route navigation with moving map and GPS panel
- Electronic logbook with automatic GPS data generation
- Real-time weather and traffic information (with compatible hardware)
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*30 Days Free Trial on initial download!* Plan. File. Fly. Log. Garmin Pilot is the most comprehensive suite of tools for the iPad designed specifically for general aviation and corporate pilots. Flight planning, charts, interactive maps, weather briefing resources and navigation capabilities; it’s all included. The app’s intuitive interface mirrors those on the newest Garmin touchscreen avionics so you can go seamlessly from preflight to inflight. Plan Garmin Pilot’s powerful capabilities start with pre-flight planning, providing pilots with the most comprehensive aviation weather information to make better-informed flight decisions. Pilots can check NEXRAD radar, visible and infrared cloud imagery, METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, PIREPs, NOTAMs, winds and temperature aloft, TFRs and lightning data. With Garmin Pilot, data can be displayed over Garmin’s interactive maps that support track-up navigation, VFR sectional or an IFR low or high en-route chart to visualize the weather for your route. Add text-based weather widgets and use the exclusive NavTrack feature to view weather along the planned route. File With Garmin Pilot, users can easily enter a flight plan and interactively edit it on the map. Pre-loaded forms make it quick to save and reuse data for frequently flown routes. And when the flight plan is ready, Garmin Pilot makes it simple to file, amend or close the flight plan via Leidos Flight Service or DUATS. Fly Garmin Pilot provides full en-route navigation capability on its moving map. Pilots can also navigate with Garmin’s patented panel, a GPS-driven instrument pack with a graphical HSI directional display and indicators for groundspeed, altitude and vertical speed. After takeoff, pilots can continue to view real-time weather in the U.S. and traffic information by wirelessly connecting to Garmin’s GDL 50 series portable ADS-B Receiver (sold separately). Log Garmin Pilot includes a comprehensive electronic logbook that syncs with flyGarmin. The logbook automatically generates entries based upon GPS data collected during the flight, tracks currency, supports manual entries, endorsements and creates reports. Garmin Pilot U.S. Standard: - Rich, interactive maps support Track-Up navigation - Charts: VFR Sectionals, low and high IFR en-route, airport diagrams and approach procedures - Ability to view Jeppesen Terminal Charts (Jeppesen echart subscription required) - Weather Maps: Animated radar, Infrared and Visible Satellite, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Lightning, TFRs and more! - Extensive text products: METARs, TAFs, Winds Aloft, PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Area Forecasts and NOTAMs - AOPA Airport Directory - Weight and Balance - Checklists - Flight plan filing via Leidos Flight Services - Garmin patented navigation panel - Terrain and Obstacles - Smart Airspace - Fast Find predictive Waypoint Entry - Logbook - Optional VFR Premium: Synthetic Vision (SVX), Terrain and obstacle alerting, and Garmin SafeTaxi® - Optional IFR Premium: VFR Premium plus geo-referenced Garmin FliteCharts® Garmin Pilot has regional offerings for Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and Latin America. Features include: - Worldwide Jeppesen NavData - Rich, interactive maps support Track-Up navigation - Radar and Satellite imagery for Western Europe, U.S., Canada and Australia - Ability to view Jeppesen Terminal Charts (Jeppesen echart subscription required) - Worldwide METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, NOTAMs and winds aloft - VFR Flight Plan Filing - IFR autorouting and Flight plan filing in Europe - Terrain and Obstacles with alerting - Synthetic Vision (SVX) - Smart Airspace - Logbook - Optional VFR charts from DFS, IGN and NATS and IFR enroute charts from EuroControl - Optional Garmin FliteCharts® and SafeTaxi® diagrams available on a country-by-country basis *Note: Use of GPS running in the background may decrease battery life.* *Note: One subscription to Garmin Pilot may be used on three devices.*
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Garmin Pilot at 4.7 against AeroWeather Lite's 3.5. Garmin Pilot also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (4.2K vs 160). AeroWeather Lite's advantage is review sentiment (54% vs 42%) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. AeroWeather Lite sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Garmin Pilot sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Garmin Pilot holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Pilot has 4.2K ratings behind it against 160, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of AeroWeather Lite's written reviews are positive against 42% of Garmin Pilot's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
AeroWeather Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, Garmin Pilot fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AeroWeather Lite | Garmin Pilot |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (160 ratings) | 4.7 (4.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews — better | 41.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 160 | 4.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #109 | #68 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 676 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lakehorn AG | Garmin DCI |
Customer experience
AeroWeather Lite
Garmin Pilot
User reviews
AeroWeather Lite
From 160 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent weather information
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🔍 Helpful weather decoding
- 💻 Great for pilots and aviation enthusiasts
- 🔍 Detailed weather data
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes after updates
- 🚫 Missing data for some locations (especially outside USA)
- 💰 Subscription model for full features
- 🔍 Confusing app versions (Lite, Pro, etc.)
- 🔍 Cluttered UI after recent updates
Garmin Pilot
From 4.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent EFB app
- 🚀 Seamless integration with Garmin avionics
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 👍 Reliable and stable
- 👍 Great features like engine monitoring and data recording
Room to improve
- 🐛 Clunky and multi-step process to view plates
- 🐛 Issues with NOTAM updates and database concierge
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and lockups
- 🐛 Winds aloft data often inaccurate
- 🐛 Lacks support for some aircraft models
Bugs and requests
AeroWeather Lite
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent crashes and data loading failures
- Saved airports disappearing after updates
- Inconsistent data refresh and update issues
- Incompatibility with certain mobile networks
Requested features
4 requests- Add more airports, especially in Australia and Canada
- Improve dark mode and overall UI consistency
- Restore old features like METAR history and crosswind calculation
- Provide better customer support and communication
Garmin Pilot
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when viewing weather data
- Weight and balance profile import/export issues
- Database concierge not working as expected
- Inability to file VFR flight plans in some regions
- Groundspeed and track data not working on certain devices
Requested features
9 requests- Ability to mark up and annotate charts
- Vertical navigation view
- Cabin altitude/hypoxia warning
- Apple Watch app
- Passenger app for flight following
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- Google Maps integration with user waypoints
- Ability to import GPX/CSV waypoints
- Printable logbook reports
- More detailed weather imagery and forecasts
In-app purchases
AeroWeather Lite
- First (Monthly)14 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Captain (monthly)14 Days trial$1.491 Month
- First (Yearly)14 Days trial$5.491 Year
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- Captain (Yearly)14 Days trial$8.991 Year
- Remove Ad-Banner$2.49
Garmin Pilot
- Africa Standard$109.99
- Pilot Asia Standard$109.99
- Australia Standard$109.99
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- Canada Standard$109.99
- Europe Standard$109.99
- Latin American Standard$109.99
- U.S. Standard$109.99
- Garmin Pilot Latin America Premium$184.99
- Garmin Pilot U.S. Premium$209.99
- Worldwide Premium$599.99
Questions
Is AeroWeather Lite free?
Is Garmin Pilot free?
Which has better reviews, AeroWeather Lite or Garmin Pilot?
Do AeroWeather Lite or Garmin Pilot have ads?
Which is updated more often, AeroWeather Lite or Garmin Pilot?
Which is more popular, AeroWeather Lite or Garmin Pilot?
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