FlightAware Flight Tracker vs Pebbles
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FlightAware Flight Tracker
Track airplanes in real-time globally, monitor flight statuses, and receive delay notifications. Access weather radar and save favorite aircraft and airports. Offers free flight status alerts for departures, arrivals, cancellations, and gate changes.
- Real-time global plane tracking
- Free flight status alerts
- Weather radar integration
- Save favorite aircraft and airports
- Check flight delays
- Inbound aircraft delay checks
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Where’s that plane headed? Whether you’re an aviation enthusiast, a frequent traveler, a pilot, or part of a flight crew, FlightAware is a must-have app. Track planes in real-time above your head, or all over the world. Easily track the status of your flight, check for any delays on the inbound aircraft, see weather radar, and set up alerts to be notified of any changes – all for free! Free features: ▶ Track any plane around the world in real-time ▶ Get free flight status alerts: Departure, Arrival, Cancellations, Gate changes, Delays, Diversions ▶ See weather radar ▶ Save your favorite aircraft and airports ▶ Check for flight delays (with “Where is my plane?”) FlightAware is the leader in providing advanced, accurate, actionable intelligence and insights that inform every aviation decision. We believe that flying opens up the world around you. It makes distances shorter, the world more accessible and satisfies one of the core aspirations of mankind. Upgrade options: ▶ Ad Remove - Removes all advertisements from the app ▶ FlightAware Aviator - Register and enable advanced features for your piston-engine GA aircraft Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Pebbles
Effortlessly track days spent in countries and U.S. states for tax, visa, and residency compliance. This privacy-first app offers manual logging without GPS or ads, helping digital nomads and expats stay organized and audit-ready.
- 183-day tax residency tracking
- Visa limit tracking (e.g., Schengen)
- U.S. state tax domicile tracking
- Manual travel logging
- Customizable trip logs
- Smart filtering by country/trip type
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Pebbles: Private Day Tracking for Taxes, Visas & Residency STAY ORGANIZED WITHOUT BEING TRACKED Pebbles helps digital nomads, expats, remote workers, international homeowners, and permanent residency applicants count days in countries and U.S. states for taxes, visas, residency, and citizenship planning, all without GPS. TRACK DAYS WITH CONFIDENCE No spreadsheets. No guesswork. Pebbles keeps your travel history organized and easy to review for: - 183-day tax residency thresholds - Schengen 90/180-day visa limits - U.S. state tax residency and domicile reviews - U.K. statutory residence tracking - Permanent residency and citizenship day-count requirements PRIVACY-FIRST: NO GPS. NO ADS. Pebbles is designed for manual, private travel logging: - No background location tracking - No GPS or location permissions required - No third-party ads - No selling your travel history - You control what gets logged BUILT FOR CROSS-BORDER LIVES Use Pebbles to stay on top of day counts that may matter for: - IRS substantial presence reviews - HMRC statutory residence planning - U.S. state-to-state tax questions - Visa renewals and overstay prevention - Immigration interviews and travel history requests - Second passport and long-term residency goals CUSTOM TEMPLATES & SMART FILTERS Pebbles lets you create flexible trackers for the way you actually travel: - Track countries, U.S. states, or custom places - Create templates for work travel, personal trips, taxes, visas, residency, or citizenship - Set day goals to avoid limits or reach milestones - Filter trips by country, state, or trip type - Keep your travel history clean and audit-ready PERFECT FOR: - Digital nomads and global freelancers - Remote workers splitting time across states or countries - Expats applying for permanent residency, visas, or citizenship - Americans managing state tax exposure - Dual citizens and overseas homeowners - Nonresidents and frequent travelers managing day-count records NO GPS. NO ADS. JUST PEBBLES. Download Pebbles today and make day tracking simple, private, and stress-free. Questions or template ideas? Reach us at hello@norlandlabs.com Privacy Policy: https://www.pebbles.day/privacy-policy Terms: https://www.pebbles.day/terms-of-service
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Pebbles at none against FlightAware Flight Tracker's shown. Pebbles also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly). FlightAware Flight Tracker's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (391K vs 16). On price, review sentiment, 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. FlightAware Flight Tracker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and Pebbles sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
FlightAware Flight Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FlightAware Flight Tracker has 391K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of FlightAware Flight Tracker's written reviews are positive against 77% of Pebbles's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
FlightAware Flight Tracker ships an update monthly, Pebbles weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FlightAware Flight Tracker | Pebbles |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (391K ratings) — better | 4.5 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 73.9% of reviews | 76.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 391K — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #34 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FlightAware | Norland Labs LLC |
Customer experience
FlightAware Flight Tracker
Pebbles
Bugs and requests
FlightAware Flight Tracker
Reported bugs
4 issues- Flights disappearing from the app
- Inconsistent data between app and website
- Settings and preferences not saving properly
- Notifications not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Separate direct flights from layover flights
- Customizable color schemes and themes
- More detailed flight history and analytics
- Improved accessibility features
- Automatic updates without manual prompts
Pebbles
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
FlightAware Flight Tracker
- Ad Remove - Monthly$1.491 Month
- Ad Remove - Yearly$8.991 Year
- Aviator - Monthly$9.991 Month
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- Aviator+ - Monthly$19.991 Month
- Aviator - Yearly$99.991 Year
- Aviator+ - Yearly$199.991 Year
Pebbles
- Monthly$5.991 Month
- Annual$49.991 Year
Questions
Is FlightAware Flight Tracker free?
Is Pebbles free?
Which has better reviews, FlightAware Flight Tracker or Pebbles?
Do FlightAware Flight Tracker or Pebbles have ads?
Which is updated more often, FlightAware Flight Tracker or Pebbles?
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