Garmin Pilot vs RocketRoute FlightPlan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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)
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*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.*
RocketRoute FlightPlan
This app offers comprehensive flight planning and in-flight navigation for pilots. It provides worldwide route creation, ICAO flight plan preparation, and real-time moving map navigation with terrain and route display. Designed by pilots for pilots, it supports various aircraft types and flying conditions.
- Worldwide flight planning
- In-flight navigation
- Route creation (IFR, VFR)
- ICAO flight plan preparation
- Moving map display
- Mass & Balance calculations
- Flight briefings
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RocketRoute combines Worldwide Flight Planning and In-Flight Navigation in a native designed iPad and iPhone app. Designed for pilots by pilots, with concise information, intuitive design, and powerful features. Ideal for private pilots and operators flying; jets, turbo props helicopter or piston aircraft. RocketRoute is a worldwide leader in advanced flight planning and navigation apps for professional pilots. The service has more than 200.000 users flying 24 x 7. For example: Canada, Europe, Peru, Brazil, S. Africa, China and the Middle East. Service has processed millions of flights for users. This is our sixth generation app. The app represents over 10 years of development and integrates everything that RocketRoute has learned from helping thousands of pilots flying worldwide. FLIGHT PLANNING FEATURES - Worldwide Enroute Upper / Lower Chart. - Create and display routes: IFR, Yankee, Zulu, VFR. - Search for Waypoints, Navaids, Airports, Airways, Cities. - Prepare ICAO Flight Plans. - Validate routes for flying in Europe via Eurocontrol. - File Flight Plans Worldwide. - Perform Mass & Balance Calculations. - Generate Flight Log. - Generate Flight Briefings what include METAR/TAF, NOTAM, ICAO Flight Plan reports. - Add and modify aircraft. - Nav Data is updated monthly for the AIRAC cycle. - Airline data everyday update (waypoints, airports, airways etc) MOVING MAP NAVIGATION FEATURES - Powerful globe view with Zoom control. - Display current Lat/Lon Coordinates. - Display Track. - Display Speed. - Display current position and direction of flight. - Display Enroute Upper / Lower Chart with Flight Details. - Display waypoints, airways, airports. - Display terrain elevation. - Select and display Planned Routes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Garmin Pilot at 4.7 against RocketRoute FlightPlan's 3.3. Garmin Pilot also leads on ratings volume (4.1K vs 7) and chart position (#49 vs unranked). RocketRoute FlightPlan's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Garmin Pilot sells 18 one-off in-app purchases and RocketRoute FlightPlan sells 10 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 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Pilot has 4.1K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of Garmin Pilot's written reviews are positive against 32% of RocketRoute FlightPlan's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garmin Pilot | RocketRoute FlightPlan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.1K ratings) — better | 3.3 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 41.8% of reviews — better | 31.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #49 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 633 MB | 130 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin DCI | Aircraft Performance Group, LLC |
Customer experience
Garmin Pilot
RocketRoute FlightPlan
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
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- Google Maps integration with user waypoints
- Ability to import GPX/CSV waypoints
- Printable logbook reports
- More detailed weather imagery and forecasts
RocketRoute FlightPlan
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Garmin Pilot
- Canada Premium$74.99
- Latin American Premium Upgrade$74.99
- Europe Premium Upgrade$74.99
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- 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
RocketRoute FlightPlan
- United Kingdom 1:250,000 Topographical$0.99
- Iceland 1:250,000 Topographical$0.99
- Saudi Arabia 1:250,000 Topographical$0.99
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- Saudi Arabia IFR Enroute Chart$0.99
- IFR Moving Map Expansion Pack$7.99
- Worldwide FBOs & Handlers - AC-U-KWIK / IFR$19.99
- Basic Plan - 12 Months$148.99
- Piston Plan - 12 Months$414.99
- Piston World Plan$589.99
- Turboprop Plan - 12 Months$889.00
Questions
Is Garmin Pilot free?
Is RocketRoute FlightPlan free?
Which has better reviews, Garmin Pilot or RocketRoute FlightPlan?
Do Garmin Pilot or RocketRoute FlightPlan have ads?
Which is updated more often, Garmin Pilot or RocketRoute FlightPlan?
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