Private Pilot Test Prep vs Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Private Pilot Test Prep
Prepare for your FAA Private Pilot knowledge test with study questions, flashcards, and practice tests. Features explanations from experienced instructors and offline access to all figures. Designed for iPhone and iPad.
- Study questions by topic
- Flashcard review mode
- Randomized practice tests
- Offline figure access
- Progress saving and history
- Explanations for answers
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Sporty's Study Buddy prepares you for the FAA Private Pilot knowledge test (the "written") with three ways to study: Study Questions, Flashcards and Practice Tests. Questions are organized by knowledge area, with explanations of the right and wrong answers developed by Sporty's team of Master CFIs, based on their experience preparing students for the Private Pilot certificate. • STUDY QUESTIONS BY TOPIC • Choose whole knowledge areas or individual topics to build your own study session. As soon as you answer, you'll see the correct answer, why it's right, and where to read more. Change your answer anytime, bookmark questions as you go, and jump to any question from the question list. Every study session is shuffled. • REVIEW WITH FLASHCARDS • Flashcards show just the question, so you answer from memory before revealing the correct answer and its explanation. Mark each card Know It or Still Learning, then start a new session from the cards you're still learning. On iPhone Duo, study a card with the phone open and close it to check the answer. • TAKE PRACTICE TESTS • Each Practice Test draws 60 questions at random from the full question bank, gives you 2 hours, and is graded at the FAA's 70% passing score. Afterward, see your score by topic, review every question or only the ones you missed, and turn your misses into a new study session. • PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF • Sessions save as you go. The History tab lets you resume any session in progress and review past results, including your scores by topic. • EVERY FIGURE, OFFLINE • The Figures tab includes the complete FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement, with every figure and legend listed by name and page. Swipe through the pages or open any one full screen. Questions show their figures right alongside, and you can study without a connection. Designed for iPhone, iPhone Duo and iPad, with Dark Mode and support for larger text sizes. The FAA does not publish its knowledge test questions, so the questions on your test won't necessarily appear in this app. Study Buddy is meant to complement your training, not to replace flight and ground instruction.
Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep
Prepare for your FAA Airplane Written Exam with this comprehensive study tool. It offers practice quizzes and simulated tests with up-to-date question banks and progress tracking. Features include random question order, zoomable figures, and optional feedback like vibrations.
- Up-to-date FAA question bank
- Progress tracking with scores and dates
- Randomized questions and answers
- Zoomable figures
- Simulated test mode
- Offline access
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The Commercial Pilot Knowledge Test Prep App is the fastest way to ace your FAA Airplane Written Exam! Our main goal is to keep you updated with the latest test bank! Questions are added, changed and deleted throughout the year. When they are, we'll update them as soon as possible. Features: • Simple to use interface recommended by Flight Instructors. • Scores, the date and time taken for quizzes and tests are saved to keep track of your progress. • Questions and answer choices are random just like the real exam! • Zoomable figures are activated and deactivated by a button tap. • Optional sound effects for selected answers in Quiz Mode. • Shocks! Answer incorrectly and feel your iPhone vibrate! (This can be turned on and off.) • No internet connection required. Modes: Quiz Mode - While taking a quiz, correct answers you choose are shown in green while incorrect ones are shown in red. Test Mode - Simulates the test you are going to take at a FAA Knowledge Test Center. In this mode, you are asked 100 questions that are pulled from the entire question bank. Study Mode - Here you can read all the questions with only the associated correct answers!
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Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Private Pilot Test Prep at 82% against Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep's 0%. Private Pilot Test Prep also leads on chart position (#26 vs #172). Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $14.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99 and Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Private Pilot Test Prep | Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (116 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 81.8% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 116 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #26 — better | #172 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sporty's Pilot Shop | Bravo Zulu Apps LLC |
Customer experience
Private Pilot Test Prep
Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep
Bugs and requests
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
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- 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
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- Dark mode option
- Compatibility with iPhone X
- More sample test questions from FAA
- Bundle option for instrument written prep
Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Private Pilot Test Prep
No in-app purchases
Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Is Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep free?
Do Private Pilot Test Prep or Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep have ads?
Which is updated more often, Private Pilot Test Prep or Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep?
Which is more popular, Private Pilot Test Prep or Commercial Pilot Airplane Prep?
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