iVAC vs Airmate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iVAC
Access French and overseas VAC/IAC/DIRCAM charts and ULM airfield maps offline. The app automatically displays the latest downloaded chart version when internet access is unavailable, ensuring you always have a recent map for French airfields. Monthly updates are provided, with notifications for new downloads.
- Offline chart storage
- Search by name or ICAO code
- Favorites and recent charts
- Portrait and landscape view
- Full-screen map display
- Print and share maps
- Organize charts by folder (Premium)
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iVAC : une application de pilotes pour les pilotes. iVAC est une application qui vous propose un accès rapide à l'atlas VAC/IAC/DIRCAM FRANCE et Outre-Mer du SIA. L'application intègre également désormais l'atlas des terrains ULM du site BASULM. Si un accès à Internet est disponible, l’application télécharge automatiquement la dernière mise à jour d'une carte et l'affiche. Si l’accès à Internet n’est pas disponible (en altitude par exemple), l’application affiche automatiquement la dernière version téléchargée de la carte. Quelles que soient les conditions réseau, vous disposez toujours d’une carte plus ou moins récente pour tous les aérodromes français. Une mise à jour mensuelle est mise en ligne par le SIA et iVAC vous en informe pour vous en proposer le téléchargement complet. Les données téléchargées proviennent du site du SIA et de BASULM : https://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr https://basulm.ffplum.fr Fonctionnalités : - Stockage des cartes sur votre appareil pour une consultation sans connexion à internet - Affichage des cartes des terrains VAC/IAC Métropole et Outre-Mer - Affichage des cartes des hélistations Métropole et Outre-Mer - Affichage des cartes des terrains ULM - Affichage des terrains par nom ou code OACI - Recherche de terrains par nom ou code OACI - Onglet favoris regroupant vos cartes préférées - Onglet récent regroupant les cartes consultées récemment - Affichage des cartes en portrait et paysage - Affichage des cartes en plein écran - Impression et partage des cartes Avec l'abonnement Premium d'iVAC, profitez également de la possibilité d'organiser vos cartes par dossiers, de la possibilité d'afficher les cartes en mode nuit (écriture blanche sur fond noir) et de trier les cartes par proximité. Conditions d'utilisation : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Airmate
This app provides pilots with comprehensive flight planning tools, including weather forecasts, airport data, and navigation charts. It enhances situational awareness with a moving map, traffic displays, and terrain elevation views. Pilots can also file flight plans and record their flights.
- Flight planning and weather forecasts
- Airport data and aviation maps
- Moving map with aircraft location
- Traffic and terrain elevation display
- Flight plan filing and management
- Flight recording and replay
- ADS-B traffic and weather reception
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Airmate is a free and easy to use flight planning and weather app for pilots, improving situational awareness and providing instant access to airport data and aviation maps, up to date weather and NOTAMs, traffic around. IFR and VFR airport plates are freely available in US (FAA charts), Europe, and more than 200 other countries. Many of them are georeferenced and could be overlaid on the aviation chart. A powerful Plate Manager allows to download in advance all airport plates in a country, they could be easily printed and viewed. During the flight, the moving map will display the aircraft location along the route, show airports and aeronautical data details and traffic around, warn you if your planned route is crossing restricted areas. A profile view is available to display terrain elevation, crossed areas and forecasted weather across the route. Airmate can also display a backup aircraft attitude indicator and flight parameters in an EFIS-like view. In the whole world, Synthetic Vision displaying in the EFIS-like view the ups and downs of rolling terrain ahead is available. In selected countries, Airmate can display scenery if this option is purchased. Airmate includes a worldwide aeronautical database updated free of charge with airports, navigation beacons, waypoints, airways, obstacles, regulated and restricted areas. Topographic maps and elevation data for most countries may be downloaded free of charge, as well as additional aviation map overlays such US Sectionals. A procedure database provide details of departure (SID), arrival (STAR) and instrument approaches in the USA, and you could add those procedures to your planned flight route (the procedure database includes all US airports, we are workding to add airports in other countries). Once loaded, the procedure path is displayed on the aeronautical map, including curved paths and racetracks. When coupled with a supported external ADS-B received, Airmate will display nearby traffic on the moving map, and receive FIS-B weather and NOTAM during the flight. To improve safety, Airmate can display neighbouring traffic received over mobile network. Such traffic include commercial airlines and transponder-equiped aircrafts, FLARM gliders, aircrafts whose pilots are using Airmate and other users using other safety broadcasting equipment. Airmate is able to transmit the flight plan data to supported avionics such Dynon SkyView. Thanks to the Auto Route feature, you could search and select the best route for your flight, and then file your VFR or IFR flight plan. Once filed, your flight plan could easily be managed, delayed or cancelled. Airmate will also record your flights and allow to replay them later or export the flight path in gpx format, you could take pictures from the app during flights. Pilot log entries are automatically computed from flown flights. A Satellite map display mode in flight planning or replay mode allows to familiarize with significant landmarks. Airmate will save planned and flown flights, user waypoints and user aircrafts in the cloud and sync them between your devices and Airmate web flight planning. Airmate brings numerous social features to the community. Pilots may leave ratings, tips and comments to share their experience with fellow pilots, and report fuel prices and landing fees. They could find friends, instructors, flight schools, aviation events and aircraft to rent near their home airport or any visited airport. Airmate may be connected to most flight simulators to keep flying skills sharp, and will manage also AHRS and simulated traffic data transmitted by the flight simulator. Planned flights and personal waypoints may be imported and exported. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: iVAC at 5.0 against Airmate's 4.5. iVAC also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Airmate's advantage is ratings volume (545 vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, review sentiment, 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. iVAC sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per year and Airmate sells 21 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
iVAC holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Airmate has 545 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of iVAC's written reviews are positive against 75% of Airmate's.
iVAC ships an update every 2 weeks, Airmate every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iVAC | Airmate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.5 (545 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.9% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 545 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 107 MB | 220 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Julien Rozé | Myriel Aviation SA |
Customer experience
iVAC
Airmate
In-app purchases
iVAC
- Premium annuel$3.991 Year
Airmate
- Airmate Premium$24.991 Year
- Photorealistic terrain display$47.991 Year
- Flight plan filing token$1.99
- Token for 1 year chart access$3.99
- Support Airmate development!$4.99
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- Argentina Center VFR 2022$4.99
- Chile North VFR chart 2022$4.99
- Chile Santiago VFR chart 2022$4.99
- Argentina/Chile South VFR 2022$4.99
- Support Airmate development!$8.99
- Chart download token$8.99
- Italy North Avioportolano 2022$11.99
- Support Airmate development!$17.99
- Airmate Pro version$22.99
- Tunisia VFR Air Million 2024$24.99
- Skyguide Swiss VFR Airport Plates (with one year updates)$36.99
- Airmate Dispatcher$44.99
- Avioportolano VFR Airfield Plates for Italy (one year subscription)$46.99
- Airport Plates premium browser$54.99
- UAE 2023 Rogers Data$79.99
- UAE 2025 Rogers Data$89.99









