ForeFlight Mobile EFB vs CoastWarn
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ForeFlight Mobile EFB
This app simplifies flight planning, briefing, and filing for pilots. It offers interactive weather layers, detailed charts, and hazard awareness tools for enhanced situational awareness. Logbook features track flight hours and currency.
- Touch Planning on Map
- Interactive Weather Layers
- Geo-referenced Plates & Charts
- Global Hazard Awareness
- Digital Logbook
- Synthetic Vision
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Download for a 30-day free trial of our top subscription plan! Visit our website for more information on available plans and add-ons. ForeFlight is the leading flight app for VFR and IFR pilots everywhere, making flight planning and flying easier, safer, and more enjoyable. FLIGHT PLANNING, BRIEFING, & FILING Plan flights with Touch Planning on the Map or full-featured form-based Flights view. Tap out a route in seconds and quickly see if flights will be affected by weather or TFRs. Helpful Route, Altitude, and Procedure Advisors make planning easy and accurate. Generate a graphical preflight briefing and file your flight plan directly from the app. Print a professional-grade Navlog for inflight reference. WEATHER Interactive weather layers include animated radar, global satellite and winds aloft, global icing, turbulence, and surface analysis, graphical AIR/SIGMETs, flight category, visibility, and more. View decoded METARs, TAFs, and MOS forecasts. Thoughtfully organized Imagery view puts a full range of forecast tools at your fingertips. PLATES, CHARTS, & MAPS Both VFR and IFR operations are covered with all of the essentials required for planning and navigation: data-driven Aeronautical Maps, VFR Sectionals, High/Low Enroute charts, SIDs, STARs, approach and taxi charts, and terrain, satellite, and street map views. GEO-REFERENCED APPROACHES & TAXI CHARTS Plates and taxi charts enable the real time display of your GPS location on the chart. They can also be overlaid on the Maps view along with weather and hazards for the ultimate situational awareness. GLOBAL HAZARD AWARENESS TECHNOLOGY Plan and fly with more confidence in all conditions and terrain. Top-down-view Hazard Advisor map layer, Terrain Profile View, and 3D Synthetic Vision seamlessly integrate into the map display to depict a clear picture of terrain and obstacle hazards anywhere in the world. When paired with an AHRS source, Synthetic Vision provides a backup attitude display. LOGBOOK Logbook makes it easy to log and share flights, track hours, review currency, record certificates and ratings, receive electronic instructor endorsements, and create experience reports. Your data is automatically synced across all your devices and protected in secure cloud storage. ADDITIONAL FEATURES INCLUDE: Built-in documents catalog with FAR/AIM, charts supplements, and more Airport, FBO, and fuel price information for thousands of locations Dynamic data-driven Aeronautical Maps Weight & Balance Glide Advisor Automatic chart and data data updates Chart color inversion for better night flying experience Access to web planner
CoastWarn
Receive timely alerts for coastal flooding based on your custom water-level thresholds. Monitor NOAA data, get tide charts, and stay informed about potential flood events affecting your property or boat.
- Customizable flood alert thresholds
- NOAA water-level monitoring
- Tide charts and predictions
- Flood expected notifications
- Alert history
- Station map search
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CoastWarn monitors official NOAA water-level data and alerts you when observed levels reach the threshold you set. If you live, work, or keep a boat on the coast, you know the drill: nuisance flooding that soaks your car, a dock line that needs more slack, a driveway that disappears at high tide. CoastWarn helps you keep track of the water levels that matter to you. HOW IT WORKS - Find a supported NOAA station using your ZIP code or the station map. - Set the water-level threshold that matters to your property or boat. - Receive flood alerts and all-clear notifications, with current readings and trends. - See “Flood Expected” notices when supported regional forecasts predict your threshold will be reached. BUILT FOR COASTAL REALITY - Official NOAA CO-OPS water-level observations and tide predictions. - Adjustable alert thresholds at eligible stations. - Time-sensitive notifications for minor-or-higher flood alerts, subject to your iPhone’s notification settings. - Tide charts and regional model projections where available. - Alert history, monitoring status, and notices when monitoring is interrupted. WHO IT’S FOR Waterfront homeowners · boaters and marina tenants · coastal businesses · anyone who lives with a rising tide TRY IT FREE CoastWarn is free for 7 days. Continue with CoastWarn Pro Lifetime: a single $19.99 purchase that unlocks the app’s features with no subscription or renewal. No user account required. Restore Purchases is available in Settings. Data, forecasts, and alert monitoring vary by station. Alert delivery depends on current data, connectivity, notification permissions, and iOS scheduling. CoastWarn supplements official warnings; always follow National Weather Service guidance and local emergency instructions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: CoastWarn at 5.0 against ForeFlight Mobile EFB's 4.4. CoastWarn also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks). ForeFlight Mobile EFB's advantage is ratings volume (3.3K vs 1) and chart position (#13 vs unranked). 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
Both are free to download. ForeFlight Mobile EFB sells 14 one-off in-app purchases and CoastWarn sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
CoastWarn holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ForeFlight Mobile EFB has 3.3K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
ForeFlight Mobile EFB ships an update every 2 weeks, CoastWarn every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ForeFlight Mobile EFB | CoastWarn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (3.3K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3.3K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #13 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 592 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ForeFlight | Ryan Dean |
Customer experience
ForeFlight Mobile EFB
CoastWarn
Bugs and requests
ForeFlight Mobile EFB
Reported bugs
3 issues- Weather data not updating correctly
- Issues with syncing user waypoints and annotations
- Incompatibility with certain iOS versions and device models
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to add multiple landing legs in a single flight plan
- Improved map annotations and drawing tools
- Customizable logbook and flight data export options
- Better support for Apple Watch and other wearables
- More comprehensive coverage of international airports and charts
CoastWarn
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ForeFlight Mobile EFB
- Basic Plus US - 3 months$70.00
- Starter LATAM - 1 Year$129.99
- Starter US - 1 Year$129.99
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- Starter CA - 1 Year$129.99
- Starter EUR - 1 Year$129.99
- Starter APAC - 1 Year$129.99
- Starter ME & SA - 1 Year$129.99
- Essential APAC - 1 Year$259.99
- Essential ME & SA - 1 Year$259.99
- Essential US - 1 Year$259.99
- Essential CA - 1 Year$259.99
- Premium LATAM$390.00
- Premium ME & SA$390.00
- Premium US - 1 Year2 variants$390.00
CoastWarn
- CoastWarn Lifetime Unlock$19.99
Questions
Is ForeFlight Mobile EFB free?
Is CoastWarn free?
Which has better reviews, ForeFlight Mobile EFB or CoastWarn?
Do ForeFlight Mobile EFB or CoastWarn have ads?
Which is updated more often, ForeFlight Mobile EFB or CoastWarn?
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