# Garmin Pilot vs iFlightPlanner

The clearest difference is review sentiment: iFlightPlanner at 83% against Garmin Pilot's 42%. iFlightPlanner also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.0). Garmin Pilot's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (4.1K vs 93). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Garmin Pilot sells 18 one-off in-app purchases and iFlightPlanner sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Garmin Pilot holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Pilot has 4.1K ratings behind it against 93, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 42% of Garmin Pilot's written reviews are positive against 83% of iFlightPlanner's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Garmin Pilot ships an update fortnightly, iFlightPlanner every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Garmin Pilot | iFlightPlanner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (4.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/garmin-pilot/id340917615/reviews)** | [4.5 (93 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iflightplanner/id491618841/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.1K** | 93 |
| Positive reviews | 41.8% of reviews | **83.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#51** | #197 |
| Size | 633 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **9.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Garmin DCI](https://appshunter.io/developer/309920282) | [iFlightPlanner, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/491618844) |

## What reviewers say

### Garmin Pilot

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/garmin-pilot/id340917615)

**Currently charting:** #51 Top Grossing · Weather, #152 Top Free · Weather (US App Store)

This app offers comprehensive tools for general aviation and corporate pilots, including flight planning, interactive maps, weather briefings, and navigation. It streamlines pre-flight preparation, filing, inflight navigation, and post-flight logging with an intuitive interface.

**Highlights:** Pre-flight planning with aviation weather data, Interactive maps with track-up navigation, Flight plan filing via Leidos Flight Service or DUATS, En-route navigation with moving map and GPS panel, Electronic logbook with automatic GPS data generation, Real-time weather and traffic information (with compatible hardware)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (18)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Canada Premium | $74.99 | one-time |
| Latin American Premium Upgrade | $74.99 | one-time |
| Europe Premium Upgrade | $74.99 | one-time |
| U.S. Premium Upgrade | $99.99 | one-time |
| Africa Standard | $109.99 | one-time |
| Pilot Asia Standard | $109.99 | one-time |
| Australia Standard | $109.99 | one-time |
| Canada Standard | $109.99 | one-time |
| Europe Standard | $109.99 | one-time |
| Latin American Standard | $109.99 | one-time |
| U.S. Standard | $109.99 | one-time |
| Garmin Pilot Africa Premium | $184.99 | one-time |
| Garmin Pilot Canada Premium | $184.99 | one-time |
| Garmin Pilot Asia Premium | $184.99 | one-time |
| Garmin Pilot Europe Premium | $184.99 | one-time |
| Garmin Pilot Latin America Premium | $184.99 | one-time |
| Garmin Pilot U.S. Premium | $209.99 | one-time |
| Worldwide Premium | $599.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent EFB app
- 🚀 Seamless integration with Garmin avionics
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 👍 Reliable and stable
- 👍 Great features like engine monitoring and data recording

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Clunky and multi-step process to view plates
- 🐛 Issues with NOTAM updates and database concierge
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and lockups
- 🐛 Winds aloft data often inaccurate
- 🐛 Lacks support for some aircraft models

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when viewing weather data
- Weight and balance profile import/export issues
- Database concierge not working as expected
- Inability to file VFR flight plans in some regions
- Groundspeed and track data not working on certain devices

**Requested features**

- Ability to mark up and annotate charts
- Vertical navigation view
- Cabin altitude/hypoxia warning
- Apple Watch app
- Passenger app for flight following


### iFlightPlanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iflightplanner/id491618841)

**Currently charting:** #197 Top Grossing · Weather (US App Store)

This app offers comprehensive flight planning tools for pilots in the United States, accessible on web, iPad, and iPhone. It features auto-routing, weather briefs, navigation logs, and one-touch flight plan filing and closing.

**Highlights:** Seamless flight plan synchronization, Intuitive U.S. flight auto-routing, Detailed navigation logs, Thorough weather briefs, Integrated weight & balance calculator, One-touch VFR/IFR flight plan filing, Hi-resolution U.S. aviation charts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| iFlightPlanner Premium - 1 Month | $9.99 | one-time |
| iFlightPlanner Premium - 3 Months | $24.99 | one-time |
| iFlightPlanner Premium Plus - 3 Months | $39.99 | one-time |
| iFlightPlanner Core | $49.99 | one-time |
| iFlightPlanner Premium - 1 Yr | $89.99 | one-time |
| iFlightPlanner Premium | $99.99 | one-time |
| iFlightPlanner Premium Plus - 1 Year | $139.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Garmin Pilot free?

Garmin Pilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is iFlightPlanner free?

iFlightPlanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Garmin Pilot or iFlightPlanner?

Garmin Pilot is rated higher. Garmin Pilot averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.1K ratings, while iFlightPlanner averages 4.5 from 93 ratings.

### Do Garmin Pilot or iFlightPlanner have ads?

Neither Garmin Pilot nor iFlightPlanner shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Garmin Pilot or iFlightPlanner?

Garmin Pilot ships an update fortnightly, and iFlightPlanner every 3 months. Most recently, Garmin Pilot was updated on September 23, 2026 and iFlightPlanner on August 31, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Garmin Pilot or iFlightPlanner?

Garmin Pilot currently peaks at #51 in the App Store charts, and iFlightPlanner at #197. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*