Comparison

Prepware Instrument Pilot vs Instrument Pilot Test Prep

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

Head to head
About

Prepware Instrument Pilot

Prepare for your FAA Knowledge Exam with flashcard-style reviews and practice tests. Study by subject or take a full practice exam to gauge your readiness.

Highlights
  • Flashcard-style review
  • Questions, answers, and explanations
  • Study by subject
  • Practice test simulation
  • FAA Knowledge Exam preparation
Features
Currently charting
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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

Instrument Pilot Test Prep

Prepare for your FAA Instrument Pilot written test with a comprehensive study tool. It offers three modes: study questions by topic, review using flashcards, and take simulated practice tests. Detailed explanations and progress reports help you track your learning.

Highlights
  • Study questions by topic
  • Customizable review sessions
  • Flashcard mode for knowledge testing
  • Simulated 60-question practice tests
  • Detailed explanations for answers
  • Progress reports and test history
  • High-resolution FAA figures and legends
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Sporty's Study Buddy prepares you for the FAA Instrument Rating knowledge test (the "written") with three ways to study: Study Questions, Flashcards and Practice Tests. Questions are organized by knowledge area, with explanations of the right and wrong answers developed by Sporty's team of Master CFIs, based on their experience preparing students for the Instrument Rating. • STUDY QUESTIONS BY TOPIC • Choose whole knowledge areas or individual topics to build your own study session. As soon as you answer, you'll see the correct answer, why it's right, and where to read more. Change your answer anytime, bookmark questions as you go, and jump to any question from the question list. Every study session is shuffled. • REVIEW WITH FLASHCARDS • Flashcards show just the question, so you answer from memory before revealing the correct answer and its explanation. Mark each card Know It or Still Learning, then start a new session from the cards you're still learning. On iPhone Duo, study a card with the phone open and close it to check the answer. • TAKE PRACTICE TESTS • Each Practice Test draws 60 questions at random from the full question bank, gives you 2 hours, and is graded at the FAA's 70% passing score. Afterward, see your score by topic, review every question or only the ones you missed, and turn your misses into a new study session. • PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF • Sessions save as you go. The History tab lets you resume any session in progress and review past results, including your scores by topic. • EVERY FIGURE, OFFLINE • The Figures tab includes the complete FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement for Instrument Rating, with every figure and legend listed by name and page. Swipe through the pages or open any one full screen. Questions show their figures right alongside, and you can study without a connection. Designed for iPhone, iPhone Duo and iPad, with Dark Mode and support for larger text sizes. The FAA does not publish its knowledge test questions, so the questions on your test won't necessarily appear in this app. Study Buddy is meant to complement your training, not to replace flight and ground instruction.

Screenshots

Prepware Instrument Pilot4 screens
Instrument Pilot Test Prep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Instrument Pilot Test Prep at 3.1 against Prepware Instrument Pilot's 2.6. Prepware Instrument Pilot's advantage is price ($9.99 vs $14.99) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Prepware Instrument Pilot costs $9.99 and Instrument Pilot Test Prep $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Instrument Pilot Test Prep holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 45 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Prepware Instrument Pilot's written reviews are positive against 39% of Instrument Pilot Test Prep's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prepware Instrument Pilot ships an update every 4 months, Instrument Pilot Test Prep every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Prepware Instrument Pilot versus Instrument Pilot Test Prep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrepware Instrument PilotInstrument Pilot Test Prep
Price$9.99 — better$14.99
Rating2.6 (45 ratings)3.1 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews37.8% of reviews39.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings45 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#126 — better#145
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB92 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperASASporty's Pilot Shop

Customer experience

Prepware Instrument Pilot

All ratings45 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral15.6%
Negative51.1%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral20.3%
Negative41.9%

Instrument Pilot Test Prep

All ratings16 ratings
Positive43.8%
Neutral6.3%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive39.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative46.4%

Bugs and requests

Prepware Instrument Pilot

Reported bugs

39 issues
  • Text frequently cut off
  • App cannot dynamically scale text
  • Some questions missing figures
  • Figures have nothing to do with the question
  • Correct answers no longer shown in green
Show 34 more
  • Dark mode broken
  • App crashes
  • Save feature does not work
  • Answers lost when returning to app
  • Progress lost when switching categories
  • App closes by itself
  • Loses test progress when minimized
  • Figures not displayed for questions
  • Incomplete questions
  • Questions and answers do not match
  • Questions not completely displayed
  • Can't get back to question from figure display
  • Back button disappears
  • Can't take entire test without shutting down or redownloading
  • Software reverts to quiz mode when returning to study mode
  • Explanation link missing in study mode
  • Can't go back when opening a figure
  • Answers longer than three lines are cut off
  • Figures are sometimes incomplete
  • Figures are sometimes at too low a resolution
  • No way to store previous test scores
  • No progress shown
  • Study modes stops showing correct answer
  • Practice test questions do not allow access to appropriate figure
  • Truncated answers
  • Truncated questions
  • Figures are sometimes incomplete
  • Font is hard to read and small
  • Bold indication of right or wrong is missing
  • No running tally of missed questions
  • App restarts in test mode even when last in study mode
  • Bugs causing crashes that instantly exit the application
  • Scans did not come over well, particularly weather graphics
  • Hard to see some images

Requested features

18 requests
  • Ability to focus on previously incorrect answers
  • Major update for functionality and display bugs
  • Ensure all software is up to date with FAA question banks
  • Add timer and number of questions selection
  • Ability to eliminate questions already known
Show 13 more
  • Autosave and clear progress button
  • Ability to search through questions
  • Save test results
  • Ability to uncheck material of questions not needed
  • Ability to select questions relating to chapters
  • Provide reasons for wrong answers
  • Make background red or green for visibility
  • Allow marking questions for review
  • Record wrong answers for review
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Ability to skip questions that do not apply to equipment
  • Add CX-2 to iPhone

Instrument Pilot Test Prep

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Prepware Instrument Pilot

No in-app purchases

None

Instrument Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Prepware Instrument Pilot free?
Prepware Instrument Pilot costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Instrument Pilot Test Prep free?
Instrument Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Prepware Instrument Pilot or Instrument Pilot Test Prep?
Instrument Pilot Test Prep is rated higher. Prepware Instrument Pilot averages 2.6 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while Instrument Pilot Test Prep averages 3.1 from 16 ratings.
Do Prepware Instrument Pilot or Instrument Pilot Test Prep have ads?
Neither Prepware Instrument Pilot nor Instrument Pilot Test Prep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prepware Instrument Pilot or Instrument Pilot Test Prep?
Prepware Instrument Pilot ships an update every 4 months, and Instrument Pilot Test Prep every 5 months. Most recently, Prepware Instrument Pilot was updated on November 4, 2026 and Instrument Pilot Test Prep on November 6, 2026.
Which is more popular, Prepware Instrument Pilot or Instrument Pilot Test Prep?
Prepware Instrument Pilot currently peaks at #126 in the App Store charts, and Instrument Pilot Test Prep at #145. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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