Comparison

FlightAware Flight Tracker vs Pebbles

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Real-time global plane tracking
  • Free flight status alerts
  • Weather radar integration
  • Save favorite aircraft and airports
  • Check flight delays
  • Inbound aircraft delay checks
Features
Read full description

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/

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

FlightAware Flight Tracker4 screens
Pebbles4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FlightAware Flight Tracker ships an update monthly, Pebbles weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
FlightAware Flight Tracker versus Pebbles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlightAware Flight TrackerPebbles
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (391K ratings) — better4.5 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews76.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings391K — better16
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#34 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB20 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperFlightAwareNorland Labs LLC

Customer experience

FlightAware Flight Tracker

All ratings386,428 ratings
Positive97.7%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews2,090 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral5.8%
Negative20.2%

Pebbles

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative23.1%

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

6 purchases

FlightAware Flight Tracker

Subscriptions6
  • Ad Remove - Monthly$1.491 Month
  • Ad Remove - Yearly$8.991 Year
  • Aviator - Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Aviator+ - Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Aviator - Yearly$99.991 Year
  • Aviator+ - Yearly$199.991 Year
2 purchases

Pebbles

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Annual$49.991 Year

Questions

Is FlightAware Flight Tracker free?
FlightAware Flight Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pebbles free?
Pebbles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FlightAware Flight Tracker or Pebbles?
FlightAware Flight Tracker is rated higher. FlightAware Flight Tracker averages 4.9 out of 5 from 391K ratings, while Pebbles averages 4.5 from 16 ratings.
Do FlightAware Flight Tracker or Pebbles have ads?
FlightAware Flight Tracker shows ads; Pebbles does not.
Which is updated more often, FlightAware Flight Tracker or Pebbles?
FlightAware Flight Tracker ships an update monthly, and Pebbles weekly. Most recently, FlightAware Flight Tracker was updated on October 29, 2026 and Pebbles on October 24, 2026.

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