Comparison

Prepware Private Pilot vs Sporty's Pilot Training

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

Head to head
About

Prepware Private Pilot

Prepare for your FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Exam with this comprehensive study and test tool. It offers flashcard-style review of questions, answers, and explanations, allowing you to study by subject or take realistic practice tests.

Highlights
  • Flashcard-style review
  • Questions, answers, and explanations
  • Study by subject
  • Practice tests
  • FAA Knowledge Exam preparation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Comprehensive preparation, study and test tool for the FAA Knowledge Exam. Flashcard style review of questions, answers and explanations included for you to study by subject or with a true-to-form practice test.

About

Sporty's Pilot Training

Access a comprehensive library of aviation training courses, including video lessons, FAA test preparation, and interactive guides. Learn to fly, earn instrument ratings, and master various aircraft systems with expert-led content.

Highlights
  • Video training courses
  • FAA test preparation
  • Interactive flight maneuvers guide
  • Airman Certification Standards (ACS) reference
  • Flight Training Syllabus
  • Ask a CFI service
Features
Read full description

Sporty’s innovative Pilot Training app brings a variety of aviation training courses to one location, allowing you to access all of your Sporty's aviation content from your iPad, iPhone or AppleTV. It’s free to get started - including interactive free FAA handbooks, free FAR/AIM, FAA practice tests and HD/4K training videos. SPORTY’S 2026 LEARN TO FLY COURSE For the cost of a single flight lesson, Sporty’s Learn to Fly course will save you time and money earning your pilot certificate. This is not a weekend “cram course” or a boring ground school lecture on video. It is a comprehensive flight-training companion designed to make your lessons more efficient, more complete and more fun. There is nothing extra to buy—just add flight instructor! INCLUDES: 20 hours of HD video training with search, knowledge test prep, interactive flight maneuvers guide, video-referenced Airman Certification Standards (ACS), Flight Training Syllabus, Ask a CFI service. After successful course completion, you’ll earn an FAA knowledge test endorsement and FAA WINGS credit. SPORTY’S 2026 INSTRUMENT RATING COURSE With Sporty’s Complete Instrument Rating Course, you’ll ace your FAA written test—we guarantee it! But this app is much more than just test prep. With incredible in-flight footage and 3D animations, we unlock the secrets of the IFR system so you can be a safe, smooth and proficient pilot. Detailed video segments cover both glass cockpits and analog gauges. INCLUDES: 13 hours of video training, knowledge test prep, interactive instrument maneuvers guide, video-referenced Airman Certification Standards (ACS), Flight Training Syllabus, Ask a CFI service. AVIATION COURSE LIBRARY 2026 Learn to Fly/Private and Sport Pilot Training Course 2026 Instrument Rating Course 2026 Commercial Pilot Test Prep Course Aviation Weather Multiengine Training Course Tailwheel Checkout Course with Patty Wagstaff Seaplane Rating Course with Patty Wagstaff ForeFlight Power Users Training Flight Review Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) Takeoffs and Landings VFR Communications IFR Communications Pilot's Guide to Airspace Basic Aerobatics with Patty Wagstaff Garmin G1000 Checkout Course Garmin G5000 Training Course Garmin GTN 650/750 Essentials Garmin Aviation Weather Radar Garmin TXi Essentials Garmin GFC500 Autopilot Essentials Garmin G3X Touch Certified Essentials Flying the Aspen Evolution So You Want to Fly Twins So You Want to Fly Gliders Flight Instructor Course Remote Pilot Test Prep Complete PilotWorkshops library Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sportys.com/privacy/

Screenshots

Prepware Private Pilot4 screens
Sporty's Pilot Training4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sporty's Pilot Training at Free against Prepware Private Pilot's $9.99. Sporty's Pilot Training also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). Prepware Private Pilot's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and chart position (#9 vs #98). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Sporty's Pilot Training is free to download; Prepware Private Pilot costs $9.99 up front. Sporty's Pilot Training sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. Prepware Private Pilot asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sporty's Pilot Training holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sporty's Pilot Training has 11K ratings behind it against 137, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Prepware Private Pilot's written reviews are positive against 71% of Sporty's Pilot Training's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prepware Private Pilot ships an update every 4 months, Sporty's Pilot Training weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Prepware Private Pilot versus Sporty's Pilot Training: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrepware Private PilotSporty's Pilot Training
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (137 ratings)4.9 (11K ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews70.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13711K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#9 — better#98
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB226 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperASASporty's Pilot Shop

Customer experience

Prepware Private Pilot

All ratings137 ratings
Positive68.6%
Neutral9.5%
Negative21.9%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral16.7%
Negative20.8%

Sporty's Pilot Training

All ratings11,007 ratings
Positive98.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive70.7%
Neutral10.3%
Negative19.0%

User reviews

Prepware Private Pilot

From 137 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💯 High scores achieved
  • 📚 Great practice for harder questions
  • 📱 Convenient for studying on the go
  • ✅ Questions similar to real exam
  • 💡 Detailed explanations provided

Room to improve

  • ❓ Powered flight questions for glider pilots
  • 📱 Small screen issues for plotting/maps
  • 🤷 Missing essential questions
  • ⚠️ Not a sole reliance tool
  • 🤔 Questions worded differently

Sporty's Pilot Training

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Highly recommended and worth recommending
  • 🚀 Awesome training
  • 👍 Excellent quality
  • 👍 Great preparation for exams and flying
  • 👍 Passed written exams

Room to improve

  • 👎 Desktop site is much better
  • 👎 Not sure why all the good reviews
  • 🐛 Buggy Chromecast
  • 🐛 Lost ability to cast
  • 🐛 Sync issues between devices

Bugs and requests

Prepware Private Pilot

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • Powered flight questions appearing for glider pilots
  • Small screen makes chart plotting difficult
  • Missing essential questions for the written exam
  • Some answers are incorrect
  • Macbook app not working properly
Show 19 more
  • Dark mode has contrast issues, making text unreadable
  • Status bar bug with black text on black background
  • Right answers not highlighted after getting a question wrong
  • Study portion allows pushing through without selecting the right option, leading to false 100% scores
  • Questions cut off at the end
  • Save and exit function does not save progress
  • App resets to homepage after a short period or if not actively used
  • Quiz shuffles questions, preventing picking up where left off
  • Errors in questions referencing sectional charts
  • Sections on charts not available when referenced
  • New update degraded the app interface
  • White lettering on light background makes questions unreadable
  • Dark mode compatibility issues with white text on gray background
  • Questions in rotorcraft sections refer to fixed-wing regulations
  • Irrelevant gyrocopter and fixed-wing questions in rotorcraft section
  • Dark theme not displaying correct/incorrect answers properly
  • App not compatible with iPhone X screen
  • No way to systematically study, questions are random
  • Questions that reference a chart or diagram are cumbersome to view

Requested features

14 requests
  • Ability to save/create a bank of difficult questions
  • Scramble answer choices for realism
  • Improve UI for newer devices (iPhone X/Xs/Xr, iPad Pro)
  • Add Apple Watch support
  • Vary the length of test modules
Show 9 more
  • Allow studying more than one section at a time
  • Add better reference information in explanations (page/section numbers)
  • Allow resizing of figures on iPhone
  • Show explanation immediately after wrong answer
  • Fix grading to allow for incorrect answers without immediate correction
  • Make questions more compatible with dark mode
  • Fix contrast issues in dark mode
  • Add a feature to stop showing questions already known
  • Allow review of only missed items

Sporty's Pilot Training

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Login screen freezes
  • Video downloads reset to zero when switching apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Show progress/completion status of each video
  • Sync video progress across all devices
  • Ability to Airplay directly without third-party app
  • Continuous play mode

In-app purchases

None

Prepware Private Pilot

No in-app purchases

14 purchases

Sporty's Pilot Training

One-time14
  • Remote Pilot Test Prep$19.99
  • Sporty's CFI Lesson Plan Guide$19.99
  • Flying With ForeFlight$39.99
Show 11 more
  • Pilot's Guide to Airspace$39.99
  • Takeoffs and Landings$39.99
  • Instrument Proficiency Check$49.99
  • VFR Communications$49.99
  • Aviation Weather$79.99
  • Real World Flight Review$99.00
  • Garmin G1000 Checkout$99.99
  • Multiengine Training Course$129.99
  • Instrument Rating Course$299.00
  • Sporty's Learn To Fly Course$299.00
  • Commercial Pilot Course$299.00

Questions

Is Prepware Private Pilot free?
Prepware Private Pilot costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sporty's Pilot Training free?
Sporty's Pilot Training is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Prepware Private Pilot or Sporty's Pilot Training?
Sporty's Pilot Training is rated higher. Prepware Private Pilot averages 3.9 out of 5 from 137 ratings, while Sporty's Pilot Training averages 4.9 from 11K ratings.
Do Prepware Private Pilot or Sporty's Pilot Training have ads?
Neither Prepware Private Pilot nor Sporty's Pilot Training shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prepware Private Pilot or Sporty's Pilot Training?
Prepware Private Pilot ships an update every 4 months, and Sporty's Pilot Training weekly. Most recently, Prepware Private Pilot was updated on September 22, 2026 and Sporty's Pilot Training on September 23, 2026.
Which is more popular, Prepware Private Pilot or Sporty's Pilot Training?
Prepware Private Pilot currently peaks at #9 in the App Store charts, and Sporty's Pilot Training at #98. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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