# ACARS vs Truck & Driver

The clearest difference is price: Truck & Driver at Free against ACARS's $2.99. ACARS's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and chart position (#100 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Truck & Driver is free to download; ACARS costs $2.99 up front. Truck & Driver sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $39.99 per year. ACARS asks for nothing beyond the download.

ACARS ships an update every 12 months, Truck & Driver every 10 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | ACARS | Truck & Driver |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | **Every 10 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | **#100** | — |
| Size | 2 MB | 29 MB |
| Requires iOS | **6.0** | 11.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Black Cat Systems](https://appshunter.io/developer/301047032) | [Magzter Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/406791755) |

## What reviewers say

### ACARS

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

**Currently charting:** #100 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


### Truck & Driver

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/truck-and-driver/id602992871)

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Truck & Driver | $39.99 | per year |
| Truck & Driver February 2013 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver March 2013 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver April 2014 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver May 2014 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver August 2014 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver May 2015 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver Summer 2016 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver Jul 2020 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Truck & Driver | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ACARS free?

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

### Is Truck & Driver free?

Truck & Driver is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do ACARS or Truck & Driver have ads?

Neither ACARS nor Truck & Driver shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ACARS or Truck & Driver?

ACARS ships an update every 12 months, and Truck & Driver every 10 months. Most recently, ACARS was updated on November 1, 2026 and Truck & Driver on November 1, 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.*