# ACARS vs Novlee

The clearest difference is price: Novlee at Free against ACARS's $2.99. Novlee also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 12 months). ACARS's advantage is chart position (#133 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 15.1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Novlee is free to download; ACARS costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ACARS ships an update every 12 months, Novlee every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ACARS | Novlee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[3.0 (14 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acars/id386825917/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **14** | — |
| Positive reviews | 41.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | **#133** | — |
| Size | 2 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | **6.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Black Cat Systems](https://appshunter.io/developer/301047032) | [Novlee](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587319290) |

## What reviewers say

### ACARS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acars/id386825917)

**Currently charting:** #133 Top Paid · Lifestyle (US App Store)

View ACARS aircraft transmissions on your iOS device without a bulky computer. Requires a radio scanner tuned to the aircraft band. Save decodes to a file or transfer to your computer.

**Highlights:** View ACARS transmissions on iOS, Save decoded packets to a file, Transfer data to computer via iTunes, Built-in aircraft model database, Add custom plane information, Color-coded packet fields

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Novlee

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novlee/id1587476337)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ACARS free?

ACARS costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Novlee free?

Novlee is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do ACARS or Novlee have ads?

Neither ACARS nor Novlee shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ACARS or Novlee?

ACARS ships an update every 12 months, and Novlee every 3 months. Most recently, ACARS was updated on November 6, 2026 and Novlee on October 27, 2026.

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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.*