Comparison

FAA Private Pilot Prep vs Private 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

FAA Private Pilot Prep

Prepare for your FAA Private and Recreational Pilot knowledge tests with a comprehensive database of actual, up-to-date questions. Features detailed explanations, included charts, and flexible study modes to help you pass your exams.

Highlights
  • Actual FAA questions
  • Free updates
  • Illustrated explanations
  • Compatible with FAA ACS
  • Comprehensive question database
  • Flexible study modes
Features
Currently charting
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Spend less time studying and more time flying! This is the FAA Private and Recreational Pilot version of GroundSchool, our FAA knowledge (written) test preparation featuring up-to-date questions, free updates, and illustrated explanations written by a professional team of pilot examiners and instructors. GroundSchool is fully compatible with FAA ACS (Airman Certification Standards) and our editorial team is working to keep it so as ACS continues to evolve. Don't be fooled by imitators! Competing apps use only the limited set of questions that the FAA publicly releases via its website - that is not enough to adequately prepare you for your test! Our GroundSchool app, on the other hand, features a much more comprehensive database (typically about 2-4 times the size of the demo FAA public one) of actual and current FAA questions that you likely can and will be asked on the actual test! This along with our detailed, professional explanations and easy to use interface are major reasons why pilots have come to trust GroundSchool. Study actual, up-to-date FAA questions and then ACE your FAA Private Pilot and/or Recreational Pilot knowledge (written) test the easy way with GroundSchool FAA Knowledge Test Preparation software by Dauntless Aviation, the trusted leader in FAA written test preparation. Features: * Actual FAA Questions Current and Valid for Right Now. As soon as you install the software, use the 'update' feature and the software will connect to our servers, grab the latest questions, images, figures, and explanation content, and you'll be good to go. * Detailed Explanations written by an experienced editorial team of examiner and instructor pilots. * All Charts and Figures Included * Several flexible study modes - fits the way you want to study! * Compatible with all FAA "ground school" classroom-based courses This Private and Recreational Pilot version of GroundSchool will prepare you for any or all of the following tests: * Private Pilot Airplane (PAR) * Private Pilot Rotorcraft Helicopter (PRH) * Private Pilot Glider (PGL) * Private Pilot Balloon - Gas (PBG) * Private Pilot Balloon - Hot Air (PBH) * Private Pilot Rotorcraft Gyroplane (PRG) * Private Pilot Powered Parachute (PPP) * Private Pilot Weight Shift Control (PWS) * Private Pilot Lighter-than-Air (Airship) (PLA) * Recreational Pilot Airplane (RPA) * Recreational Pilot Helicopter (RPH) * Recreational Pilot Gyroplane (RPG) * Private Pilot Airplane / Recreational Pilot - Transition (PAT) * Private Pilot Helicopter / Recreational Pilot Transition (PHT) * Private Pilot Gyroplane / Recreational Pilot Transition (PGT) * Canadian Private Pilot to USA FAA Conversion (PCP) With Dauntless Aviation's GroundSchool, you don't need to worry: * Our material is UP TO DATE. No matter what date is listed here in regarding the 'Release date', this date refers to the program itself only. Once you get the program on your device, use the built-in update feature and it will connect to our servers and download the latest and greatest version of the test prep content and our explanations that we have available. To learn more about this, please visit our website. * Furthermore, you are welcome to update the material as often as you like. This means that even if you don't take your test soon, when do you, GroundSchool will be ready for you. Compare this to books or DVDs (which are going out of date from the moment they are printed). * We pride ourselves on the quality of our explanations. This is not some idle boast - our explanations are more detailed and more illustrated than that of ANY other FAA knowledge test provider, period. * Tens of thousands of people have used our products to prepare for their FAA knowledge tests. Ours is a system that works. Good luck on your test!

About

Private Pilot Test Prep

Prepare for your FAA written test with this comprehensive study tool. It offers three modes: study questions by topic with detailed explanations, review using flashcards, and take full-length practice tests. Track your progress with detailed reports.

Highlights
  • Study questions by topic
  • Custom review sessions
  • Detailed answer explanations
  • Flashcard review mode
  • Simulated practice tests
  • Progress reports
Features
Currently charting
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Sporty's Study Buddy will prepare you for the FAA written test like no other study tool available with three modes of operation. Test material is expertly organized into categories based on subject matter and includes, questions, answers, correct answers, and detailed explanations. • STUDY QUESTIONS BY TOPIC • Learning Mode allows you to create custom review sessions by selecting exactly which categories you want to review. Each session randomly generates the question order, and provides instant feedback based on your answer selection. Each question also provides a detailed description as to why each answer is right or wrong. These explanations were developed by Sporty’s team of Master CFI’s, based on their experience preparing students for the Private Pilot certificate • REVIEW QUESTION FLASHCARDS • Flashcard mode tests your knowledge by allowing you to only see the question without the answer choices. After answering the question mentally, you can then select to show the correct answer, and self-grade your progress along the way. This is a great feature that keeps you from being distracted by incorrect answers! • TAKE PRACTICE TESTS • Test mode randomly generates a 60-question session from the entire database of published FAA test questions, simulating the real Private Pilot test. After answering all the questions, you’ll be given instant results, and have the option to review either all the questions, or just missed questions. Included in the review session are the same detailed explanations for why each answer is right or wrong. •PROGRESS REPORTS• After completing each test your results are saved in the app's Progress Report section, where you can review previous scores and and a detailed history of each question and answer selection. You can also pause a partially-completed session, and resume it at a later time here.

Screenshots

FAA Private Pilot Prep4 screens
Private Pilot Test Prep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Private Pilot Test Prep at $14.99 against FAA Private Pilot Prep's $69.99. Private Pilot Test Prep also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#22 vs #186). FAA Private Pilot Prep's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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

FAA Private Pilot Prep costs $69.99 and Private Pilot Test Prep $14.99 up front. FAA Private Pilot Prep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Private Pilot Test Prep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FAA Private Pilot Prep holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 73 and 115 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of FAA Private Pilot Prep's written reviews are positive against 82% of Private Pilot Test Prep's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FAA Private Pilot Prep ships an update monthly, Private Pilot Test Prep every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
FAA Private Pilot Prep versus Private Pilot Test Prep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFAA Private Pilot PrepPrivate Pilot Test Prep
Price$69.99$14.99 — better
Rating4.5 (73 ratings) — better4.3 (115 ratings)
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews81.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings73115 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#186#22 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size640 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDauntless SoftwareSporty's Pilot Shop

Customer experience

FAA Private Pilot Prep

All ratings73 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral2.7%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral2.6%
Negative18.2%

Private Pilot Test Prep

All ratings115 ratings
Positive81.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews65 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral6.2%
Negative12.3%

User reviews

FAA Private Pilot Prep

From 73 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💯 Excellent test preparation
  • 📚 Comprehensive explanations
  • 🔄 Frequently updated content
  • 🎛️ Numerous practice modes
  • 🎯 Clever stack system

Room to improve

  • 😞 Not modern or aesthetically pleasing
  • 🐛 Update issues
  • 🐛 Incorrect answers reported
  • 🐛 No response to review requests
  • 🐛 Poor audio system integration

Private Pilot Test Prep

From 115 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Excellent for exam prep
  • 💯 Questions are verbatim/similar
  • 💡 Affordable and valuable
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 📚 Good explanations

Room to improve

  • ⚠️ Some questions outdated/inaccurate
  • 📉 Not all questions match real exam
  • 😵 Repeat questions in test mode
  • 📱 Difficult to use on small screens
  • 🤔 Explanations not always perfect

Bugs and requests

FAA Private Pilot Prep

Reported bugs

66 issues
  • Update issues
  • Incorrect answers
  • No response to review requests
  • Poor audio system integration
  • Lacks dark mode
Show 61 more
  • Appalling audio quality
  • Inconsistent cloud storage
  • Lacks 'Sign with Apple'
  • UX/UI design issues
  • Expensive compared to alternatives
  • Dated UI design
  • Annoying sound effects
  • Difficult to read UI
  • Annoying figure viewing
  • Need to flip back and forth
  • Customer service issues
  • Rude customer service
  • Unusable after iOS update
  • Crashing on devices
  • Blank screen on test questions
  • No customer service phone
  • Limited MP3 questions
  • Crashing frequently
  • Audio volume varies
  • Sectional diagrams poor quality
  • PDF issues
  • Slow website
  • App restarts from main menu
  • Nuisance switching contexts
  • Missing chart/sectional questions
  • E6B used differently
  • Some questions not in app
  • Phrasing and figures differ
  • Not all questions covered
  • Expensive
  • Vocal teaching inconsistent
  • Audio files disappear
  • Wasted money
  • Needs programmer work
  • Database failure
  • Bugs, bugs, bugs
  • Never performs updates
  • Database corrupted message
  • Crashes on launch
  • Slow loading
  • Not as effective as old tapes
  • Not a test simulator/tutor
  • Limited to test passing ability
  • Lacks silly graphics/mnemonics
  • Needs tweaks
  • Cannot see charts and questions simultaneously
  • Lose progress when going home
  • Why would anybody use this app?
  • Floundering and falling asleep
  • Needs human instructor videos
  • Interface quirks
  • Doesn't always save progress
  • Cartoon-like UI
  • Expensive
  • Vocal teaching only sometimes works
  • Buggy
  • Cannot update test questions
  • Likely out of date questions
  • Poorly tested on iPad
  • Ignores non-working parts
  • Not a serious piece of software

Requested features

15 requests
  • Dark mode
  • Use Apple's iCloud for storage
  • Use 'Sign with Apple'
  • More FAR/AIM questions
  • Improved UI/UX design
Show 10 more
  • More modern interface
  • Better audio playback system
  • More comprehensive MP3 review
  • Fix sectional diagram quality
  • Improve chart and sectional questions
  • Better saving of progress
  • Allow viewing charts and questions simultaneously
  • Add CFI sign-off to iPad version
  • Improve audio loudness consistency
  • Add more human instructor videos

Private Pilot Test Prep

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes in test mode
  • Progress not saved on phone
  • Blackout bug when viewing figures or rotating screen
  • Crashes after deleting test sessions
  • Not updated for iPhone X
Show 1 more
  • Save function issues

Requested features

9 requests
  • Ability to save flagged questions across sessions
  • Randomized questions in test mode
  • Improved cross-device progress syncing (iCloud)
  • Interactive map features for practice
  • Search functionality for specific questions
Show 4 more
  • Dark mode option
  • Compatibility with iPhone X
  • More sample test questions from FAA
  • Bundle option for instrument written prep

In-app purchases

1 purchases

FAA Private Pilot Prep

One-time1
  • Audio Review$19.99
None

Private Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FAA Private Pilot Prep free?
FAA Private Pilot Prep costs $69.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FAA Private Pilot Prep or Private Pilot Test Prep?
FAA Private Pilot Prep is rated higher. FAA Private Pilot Prep averages 4.5 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while Private Pilot Test Prep averages 4.3 from 115 ratings.
Do FAA Private Pilot Prep or Private Pilot Test Prep have ads?
Neither FAA Private Pilot Prep nor Private Pilot Test Prep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FAA Private Pilot Prep or Private Pilot Test Prep?
FAA Private Pilot Prep ships an update monthly, and Private Pilot Test Prep every 4 months. Most recently, FAA Private Pilot Prep was updated on September 22, 2026 and Private Pilot Test Prep on September 21, 2026.
Which is more popular, FAA Private Pilot Prep or Private Pilot Test Prep?
FAA Private Pilot Prep currently peaks at #186 in the App Store charts, and Private Pilot Test Prep at #22. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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