Comparison

Garmin Pilot vs Wind & Runways

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

Head to head
About

Garmin Pilot

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
Read full description

*30 Days Free Trial on initial download!* Plan. File. Fly. Log. Garmin Pilot is the most comprehensive suite of tools for the iPad designed specifically for general aviation and corporate pilots. Flight planning, charts, interactive maps, weather briefing resources and navigation capabilities; it’s all included. The app’s intuitive interface mirrors those on the newest Garmin touchscreen avionics so you can go seamlessly from preflight to inflight. Plan Garmin Pilot’s powerful capabilities start with pre-flight planning, providing pilots with the most comprehensive aviation weather information to make better-informed flight decisions. Pilots can check NEXRAD radar, visible and infrared cloud imagery, METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, PIREPs, NOTAMs, winds and temperature aloft, TFRs and lightning data. With Garmin Pilot, data can be displayed over Garmin’s interactive maps that support track-up navigation, VFR sectional or an IFR low or high en-route chart to visualize the weather for your route. Add text-based weather widgets and use the exclusive NavTrack feature to view weather along the planned route. File With Garmin Pilot, users can easily enter a flight plan and interactively edit it on the map. Pre-loaded forms make it quick to save and reuse data for frequently flown routes. And when the flight plan is ready, Garmin Pilot makes it simple to file, amend or close the flight plan via Leidos Flight Service or DUATS. Fly Garmin Pilot provides full en-route navigation capability on its moving map. Pilots can also navigate with Garmin’s patented panel, a GPS-driven instrument pack with a graphical HSI directional display and indicators for groundspeed, altitude and vertical speed. After takeoff, pilots can continue to view real-time weather in the U.S. and traffic information by wirelessly connecting to Garmin’s GDL 50 series portable ADS-B Receiver (sold separately). Log Garmin Pilot includes a comprehensive electronic logbook that syncs with flyGarmin. The logbook automatically generates entries based upon GPS data collected during the flight, tracks currency, supports manual entries, endorsements and creates reports. Garmin Pilot U.S. Standard: - Rich, interactive maps support Track-Up navigation - Charts: VFR Sectionals, low and high IFR en-route, airport diagrams and approach procedures - Ability to view Jeppesen Terminal Charts (Jeppesen echart subscription required) - Weather Maps: Animated radar, Infrared and Visible Satellite, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Lightning, TFRs and more! - Extensive text products: METARs, TAFs, Winds Aloft, PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Area Forecasts and NOTAMs - AOPA Airport Directory - Weight and Balance - Checklists - Flight plan filing via Leidos Flight Services - Garmin patented navigation panel - Terrain and Obstacles - Smart Airspace - Fast Find predictive Waypoint Entry - Logbook - Optional VFR Premium: Synthetic Vision (SVX), Terrain and obstacle alerting, and Garmin SafeTaxi® - Optional IFR Premium: VFR Premium plus geo-referenced Garmin FliteCharts® Garmin Pilot has regional offerings for Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and Latin America. Features include: - Worldwide Jeppesen NavData - Rich, interactive maps support Track-Up navigation - Radar and Satellite imagery for Western Europe, U.S., Canada and Australia - Ability to view Jeppesen Terminal Charts (Jeppesen echart subscription required) - Worldwide METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, NOTAMs and winds aloft - VFR Flight Plan Filing - IFR autorouting and Flight plan filing in Europe - Terrain and Obstacles with alerting - Synthetic Vision (SVX) - Smart Airspace - Logbook - Optional VFR charts from DFS, IGN and NATS and IFR enroute charts from EuroControl - Optional Garmin FliteCharts® and SafeTaxi® diagrams available on a country-by-country basis *Note: Use of GPS running in the background may decrease battery life.* *Note: One subscription to Garmin Pilot may be used on three devices.*

About

Wind & Runways

This app provides pilots with essential preflight information, including wind components, runway diagrams, and weather data for over 76,000 airports worldwide. It helps pilots assess conditions at both major and smaller, non-towered fields, and includes NOTAMs for operational awareness.

Highlights
  • Wind component calculations for runways
  • Visual runway diagrams with surface type
  • METAR, TAF, and NOTAM data integration
  • Map view with radar and airspace layers
  • Flight route creation and navigation log
  • Support for over 76,000 airports worldwide
  • Live observation age updates
Features
Read full description

Wind & Runways helps pilots quickly understand how the current wind lines up with the runway. It brings together METARs, runway data, TAF-based wind trends, NOTAMs, airport details, radar coverage, airspace information, and route planning in a simple view built around the decisions pilots actually make. For pilots using Stratux, Wind & Runways can also connect directly to compatible Linux-based Stratux ADS-B hardware to provide live traffic information along with cockpit instruments including an artificial horizon and compass with an adjustable heading bug. For each airport, the app calculates headwind, tailwind, and crosswind components for every runway end using the latest available weather. A visual runway diagram makes it easy to see the wind direction at a glance, and the app can suggest the best runway based on the strongest headwind component. When the wind is calm or mostly direct crosswind, it says that clearly instead of forcing a recommendation. Runway diagrams show paved runways in gray and turf or grass runways in green, making surface type easy to spot. Helipads are displayed separately with an H symbol and wind indication. The map view helps you understand the bigger picture around your route or local flying area. You can view nearby METAR stations, see where current observations are available, check radar coverage, display rendered airspace, and turn on a TFR layer directly on the map. You can also create, edit, and save flight routes by adding airports, stations, or fixes, then view a basic navigation log with leg distances and route details. This makes it easier to compare conditions across airports, spot nearby reporting stations, identify active flight restrictions, and keep weather, airspace, and route-planning awareness in one place. Wind & Runways is not limited to airports with their own weather stations. I built it specifically so pilots could check conditions at the little grass strips, private fields, and non-towered airports around them — not just the larger airports with METARs. If an airport does not report its own weather, the app finds a nearby reporting station and clearly shows where the weather is coming from, including the distance to that station. Weather data comes from NOAA’s Aviation Weather Center. Airport cards show wind, gusts, altimeter, temperature, visibility, ceiling layers, present weather, and flight category. Observation age updates live so you can quickly tell how fresh the report is. The Wind tab uses TAF data to show how wind is expected to change over the next several hours, helping you plan for a later departure or arrival. Wind & Runways includes airport and runway information for more than 76,000 airports worldwide using the OurAirports database, including many smaller strips and private fields. Name, elevation, runway data, and surface information are available even for many airports that do not report their own weather. The NOTAMs tab pulls active FAA Notices to Air Missions so you can check for runway closures, TFRs, equipment outages, and other operational items without leaving the app. You can save favorite airports, reorder them, and sync them across devices with Apple or Google sign-in. You can also use the app without an account. Recently loaded METAR, TAF, and NOTAM data remains available offline, with stale data clearly marked. Unit preferences are supported for wind speed, temperature, altimeter, and elevation. Wind & Runways is built by a pilot, for pilots — with a fast, cockpit-friendly layout focused on runway wind, airport weather, traffic awareness, airspace, route planning, and the information you want close at hand before and during a flight. Free to download. Sign in to sync favorites, or use it anonymously.

Screenshots

Garmin Pilot4 screens
Wind & Runways4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Garmin Pilot at 4.7 against Wind & Runways's 4.0. Garmin Pilot also leads on ratings volume (4.1K vs 2) and chart position (#66 vs unranked). Wind & Runways's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 18) and update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads and device support 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. Garmin Pilot sells 18 one-off in-app purchases. Wind & Runways asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Garmin Pilot holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Pilot has 4.1K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Garmin Pilot ships an update fortnightly, Wind & Runways every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Garmin Pilot versus Wind & Runways: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGarmin PilotWind & Runways
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.1K ratings) — better4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews42.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.1K — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#66 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size650 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGarmin DCIJeff Cardillo

Customer experience

Garmin Pilot

All ratings4,144 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews343 reviews
Positive42.0%
Neutral14.6%
Negative43.4%

Wind & Runways

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Garmin Pilot

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • 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

9 requests
  • Ability to mark up and annotate charts
  • Vertical navigation view
  • Cabin altitude/hypoxia warning
  • Apple Watch app
  • Passenger app for flight following
Show 4 more
  • Google Maps integration with user waypoints
  • Ability to import GPX/CSV waypoints
  • Printable logbook reports
  • More detailed weather imagery and forecasts

Wind & Runways

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

18 purchases

Garmin Pilot

One-time18
  • Canada Premium$74.99
  • Latin American Premium Upgrade$74.99
  • Europe Premium Upgrade$74.99
Show 15 more
  • U.S. Premium Upgrade$99.99
  • Africa Standard$109.99
  • Pilot Asia Standard$109.99
  • Australia Standard$109.99
  • Canada Standard$109.99
  • Europe Standard$109.99
  • Latin American Standard$109.99
  • U.S. Standard$109.99
  • Garmin Pilot Africa Premium$184.99
  • Garmin Pilot Canada Premium$184.99
  • Garmin Pilot Asia Premium$184.99
  • Garmin Pilot Europe Premium$184.99
  • Garmin Pilot Latin America Premium$184.99
  • Garmin Pilot U.S. Premium$209.99
  • Worldwide Premium$599.99
None

Wind & Runways

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Garmin Pilot free?
Garmin Pilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wind & Runways free?
Wind & Runways is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Garmin Pilot or Wind & Runways?
Garmin Pilot is rated higher. Garmin Pilot averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.1K ratings, while Wind & Runways averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Garmin Pilot or Wind & Runways have ads?
Neither Garmin Pilot nor Wind & Runways shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Garmin Pilot or Wind & Runways?
Garmin Pilot ships an update fortnightly, and Wind & Runways every 5 days. Most recently, Garmin Pilot was updated on October 24, 2026 and Wind & Runways on October 25, 2026.

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