Comparison

Air Navigation Pro vs Sofia VAC

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

Head to head
About

Air Navigation Pro

Plan and navigate flights globally with an interactive moving map featuring aeronautical charts, real-time weather, and traffic awareness. Get visual and audio alerts for nearby aircraft and access detailed weather layers for enhanced flight planning and safety.

Highlights
  • Interactive moving map with aeronautical charts
  • Real-time traffic awareness with alerts
  • Advanced weather layers (radar, wind, clouds)
  • NOTAM display on map
  • SmartChart for detailed terrain and airport info
  • Elevation profile and synthetic view
Features
Read full description

Discover our flight planning & real-time navigation app for free for 28 days! - Everything you need to fly around the world - Plan your flight in a few minutes - Fly relaxed with up-to-date information Air Navigation Pro is a high-quality flight assistant app for pilots worldwide. Benefit from the following main features: MOVING MAP Plan and navigate using our interactive moving map. Choose between aeronautical charts, satellite or our vector map as a background. On top of that, the moving map displays waypoints, NOTAM, obstacles and airspaces from our comprehensive, always up-to-date worldwide aeronautical database. Tap on any waypoint directly on the map to easily create a route. Personalize the values shown on the navbar to have exactly the information you need: altitude, vertical speed, bearing, distance to the next waypoint, ETA calculations, etc. Choose the airport departure and arrival procedures for your route to have them also displayed on top of the moving map. ENHANCED TRAFFIC AWARENESS Get visual and audio alerts in all languages for nearby conflicting traffic. Choose your preferred traffic icon between generic, aircraft or TCAS symbols. Your safety is important to us, which is why we partnered with SafeSky to ensure our users have live traffic data during their flight. Benefit from the native integration with SafeSky included in our new Smart Lite, Smart Classic and Smart Advanced subscriptions—a two-in-one package! ADVANCED WEATHER LAYERS In addition to the basic weather reports & forecast of winds, TAF and METAR for your flight, subscribers of the Smart Advanced plan can activate see-through weather layers on top of the moving map. Available layers include rain radar, wind, pressure, clouds and rain, visibility, gust and for Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Balkans, we also have GAFOR. Tap on any point on the map to see the weather information for that area. Review the weather forecast for up to three days ahead. NOTAM After creating your route, set the departure time in the future to have the moving map display the NOTAM active for that specific time. NOTAM on the map change color dynamically based on their status. SMARTCHART Our cutting-edge SmartChart is a highly detailed and intelligent vector-based map that adapts to your needs, providing you with adequate information at any zoom level. The SmartChart optimizes the display of shadows to easily distinguish between valleys and mountains, and the text remains perfectly aligned, guaranteeing optimal readability. Including the latest significant improvements with forests and detailed airport information. ELEVATION PROFILE & SYNTHETIC VIEW Enable the profile view below the navbar for enhanced situational awareness of the elevation ahead of you or along your route. Choose the corridor width between 0 to 5 NM and overlay options: airspaces, NOTAM, obstacles, wind components, populated places, etc. Switch to the synthetic view for additional terrain information, plus an artificial horizon with altitude and vertical speed indicators. This function can also be used to pan around while preparing for your flight. Activate TAWS on the moving map as well as on the synthetic view. AERONAUTICAL CHARTS & APPROACH CHARTS We offer the most extensive worldwide catalog of aeronautical charts, including the ICAO charts. Have the georeferenced approach charts displayed on top of the moving map or the 3D view. BRIEFING Prepare your flight with our briefing section by creating documents with NOTAM and weather charts & stations relevant to your planned route. Optimize time by creating an aircraft profile which will be used in the Briefing section to pre-fill for you the ATC Flight Plan and calculate the W&B. AND SO MUCH MORE! Please note that WiFi-only devices do not include an internal GPS receptor, an external sensor is required. Refer to our user manual on our website: www.airnavigation.aero Terms of use: https://www.airnavigation.aero/en/terms-of-use.html

About

Sofia VAC

This app provides access to French aeronautical information, including airfield details and dynamic VAC maps. Users can search for airfields by name or code, filter by runway characteristics, and download maps for offline use. It offers personalized map views with various airspace and navigational point overlays.

Highlights
  • Search airfields by name, ICAO code, or map
  • Filter airfields by runway length and surface
  • Consult dynamic VAC maps
  • Personalize map views with airspaces and VFR points
  • Download maps for offline access
  • Receive update notifications
Features
Read full description

The official App of the SIA, french Aeronautical Information Service FIND AN AIRFIELD Find the aerodrome or helipad of your choice by his name, ICAO code or directly on the map. Filter the airfileds according to the length of the runway and the nature of the surface. CONSULT FRENCH METROPOLITAN AERONAUTICAL INFORMATION Consult VAC maps easily from a dynamic map. Personalize your consultation by displaying the airspaces of your choice - TMA - CTR - SIV - FIR, P - D - R zones, or even the various VORs and VFR points. Manage your preferences: aerodromes or heliports - French or English - Automatic map updates. YOUR VAC MAPS WITH NO LIMIT Download geographical tiles and the VAC maps of your choice on your tablet in order to consult them at any time, even offline. UPDATES You can see your dataset's date. You'll be notified if an update is needed when openning the app. You are informed of the updates that need to be made for each VAC map on your tablet.

Screenshots

Air Navigation Pro4 screens
Sofia VAC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sofia VAC at none against Air Navigation Pro's 15. Air Navigation Pro's advantage is review sentiment (58% vs 25%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Air Navigation Pro sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $69.99 per year. Sofia VAC asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Air Navigation Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, Sofia VAC every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Air Navigation Pro versus Sofia VAC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAir Navigation ProSofia VAC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (639 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings639 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB25 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperXample SarlDIR SERVICES DE NAVIGATION AERIENNE

Customer experience

Air Navigation Pro

All ratings639 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews894 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral9.4%
Negative32.3%

Sofia VAC

Written reviews12 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative58.3%

Bugs and requests

Air Navigation Pro

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Maps fail to download or display properly
  • Incorrect or outdated airspace and airport data
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Frequent crashes and freezes

Requested features

6 requests
  • Improved flight planning tools
  • Integration with external devices (AHRS, ADS-B)
  • Synthetic vision and terrain awareness
  • Automatic NOTAM and weather updates
  • Geo-referenced approach plates and airport diagrams
Show 1 more
  • Customizable instrument layouts

Sofia VAC

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

15 purchases

Air Navigation Pro

Subscriptions8
  • Aeronautical database$69.991 Year
  • Essential worldwide14 Days trial$71.991 Year
  • SMART14 Days trial$79.991 Year
Show 5 more
  • Smart Plus - Middle East14 Days trial$86.991 Year
  • Smart Lite14 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Smart Advanced14 Days trial$134.991 Year
  • Premium - United States14 Days trial$139.991 Year
  • Premium - Argentina14 Days trial$144.991 Year
One-time7
  • US Sectional to 02.2011 Los Angeles$0.99
  • US Sectional to 02.2011 Miami$0.99
  • US Sectional to 02.2011 New York$0.99
Show 4 more
  • USA VFR Terminal Area Raster Charts 2012$3.99
  • USA Sectional charts 2011-2012$9.99
  • Brazil WAC 2011$9.99
  • Venezuela 3D data$19.99
None

Sofia VAC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Air Navigation Pro free?
Air Navigation Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sofia VAC free?
Sofia VAC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Air Navigation Pro or Sofia VAC have ads?
Neither Air Navigation Pro nor Sofia VAC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Air Navigation Pro or Sofia VAC?
Air Navigation Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sofia VAC every 3 months. Most recently, Air Navigation Pro was updated on October 13, 2026 and Sofia VAC on September 21, 2026.

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