Comparison

Air Navigation Pro vs Vario One

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

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
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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.

Screenshots

Air Navigation Pro4 screens
Vario One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Air Navigation Pro at 4.6 against Vario One's 1.0. Air Navigation Pro also leads on ratings volume (642 vs 2) and chart position (#150 vs unranked). Vario One's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 58%). On price, ads, 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

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 and Vario One sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Air Navigation Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Air Navigation Pro has 642 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Air Navigation Pro's written reviews are positive against 85% of Vario One's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Air Navigation Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, Vario One every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Air Navigation Pro versus Vario One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAir Navigation ProVario One
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (642 ratings) — better1.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews85.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings642 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#150 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size221 MB106 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperXample SarlLeobalo GmbH

Customer experience

Air Navigation Pro

All ratings642 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews895 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral9.4%
Negative32.3%

Vario One

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.9%

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

Vario One

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
3 purchases

Vario One

Subscriptions3
  • 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

Questions

Is Air Navigation Pro free?
Air Navigation Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vario One free?
Vario One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Air Navigation Pro or Vario One?
Air Navigation Pro is rated higher. Air Navigation Pro averages 4.6 out of 5 from 642 ratings, while Vario One averages 1.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Air Navigation Pro or Vario One have ads?
Neither Air Navigation Pro nor Vario One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Air Navigation Pro or Vario One?
Air Navigation Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, and Vario One every 5 weeks. Most recently, Air Navigation Pro was updated on October 29, 2026 and Vario One on October 30, 2026.

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