Comparison

Private Pilot Test Prep vs Sporty's Pilot Training

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Study questions by topic
  • Flashcard review mode
  • Randomized practice tests
  • Offline figure access
  • Progress saving and history
  • Explanations for answers
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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.

About

Sporty's Pilot Training

Access a comprehensive library of aviation training courses, including FAA test preparation and interactive guides. Start with free access to handbooks, practice tests, and HD videos, with options to purchase in-depth courses for pilot certificates and ratings.

Highlights
  • Interactive FAA handbooks
  • FAR/AIM access
  • FAA practice tests
  • HD/4K training videos
  • Learn to Fly course
  • Instrument Rating course
  • Flight maneuvers guide
Features
Read full description

Sporty’s innovative Pilot Training app brings a variety of aviation training courses to one location, allowing you to access all of your Sporty's aviation content from your iPad, iPhone or AppleTV. It’s free to get started - including interactive free FAA handbooks, free FAR/AIM, FAA practice tests and HD/4K training videos. SPORTY’S 2026 LEARN TO FLY COURSE For the cost of a single flight lesson, Sporty’s Learn to Fly course will save you time and money earning your pilot certificate. This is not a weekend “cram course” or a boring ground school lecture on video. It is a comprehensive flight-training companion designed to make your lessons more efficient, more complete and more fun. There is nothing extra to buy—just add flight instructor! INCLUDES: 20 hours of HD video training with search, knowledge test prep, interactive flight maneuvers guide, video-referenced Airman Certification Standards (ACS), Flight Training Syllabus, Ask a CFI service. After successful course completion, you’ll earn an FAA knowledge test endorsement and FAA WINGS credit. SPORTY’S 2026 INSTRUMENT RATING COURSE With Sporty’s Complete Instrument Rating Course, you’ll ace your FAA written test—we guarantee it! But this app is much more than just test prep. With incredible in-flight footage and 3D animations, we unlock the secrets of the IFR system so you can be a safe, smooth and proficient pilot. Detailed video segments cover both glass cockpits and analog gauges. INCLUDES: 13 hours of video training, knowledge test prep, interactive instrument maneuvers guide, video-referenced Airman Certification Standards (ACS), Flight Training Syllabus, Ask a CFI service. AVIATION COURSE LIBRARY 2026 Learn to Fly/Private and Sport Pilot Training Course 2026 Instrument Rating Course 2026 Commercial Pilot Test Prep Course Aviation Weather Multiengine Training Course Tailwheel Checkout Course with Patty Wagstaff Seaplane Rating Course with Patty Wagstaff ForeFlight Power Users Training Flight Review Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) Takeoffs and Landings VFR Communications IFR Communications Pilot's Guide to Airspace Basic Aerobatics with Patty Wagstaff Garmin G1000 Checkout Course Garmin G5000 Training Course Garmin GTN 650/750 Essentials Garmin Aviation Weather Radar Garmin TXi Essentials Garmin GFC500 Autopilot Essentials Garmin G3X Touch Certified Essentials Flying the Aspen Evolution So You Want to Fly Twins So You Want to Fly Gliders Flight Instructor Course Remote Pilot Test Prep Complete PilotWorkshops library Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sportys.com/privacy/

Screenshots

Private Pilot Test Prep4 screens
Sporty's Pilot Training4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sporty's Pilot Training at Free against Private Pilot Test Prep's $14.99. Sporty's Pilot Training also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Private Pilot Test Prep's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (82% vs 70%). On ads and iOS requirement 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

Sporty's Pilot Training is free to download; Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99 up front. Sporty's Pilot Training sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Private Pilot Test Prep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sporty's Pilot Training holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sporty's Pilot Training has 11K ratings behind it against 116, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of Private Pilot Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 70% of Sporty's Pilot Training's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, Sporty's Pilot Training weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Private Pilot Test Prep versus Sporty's Pilot Training: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivate Pilot Test PrepSporty's Pilot Training
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (116 ratings)4.9 (11K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews — better70.5% of reviews
Number of ratings11611K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#26 — better#95
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB194 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSporty's Pilot ShopSporty's Pilot Shop

Customer experience

Private Pilot Test Prep

All ratings116 ratings
Positive82.8%
Neutral4.3%
Negative12.9%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral6.1%
Negative12.1%

Sporty's Pilot Training

All ratings11,084 ratings
Positive98.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive70.5%
Neutral9.8%
Negative19.7%

User reviews

Private Pilot Test Prep

From 116 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

Sporty's Pilot Training

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Highly recommended and worth recommending
  • 🚀 Awesome training
  • 👍 Excellent quality
  • 👍 Great preparation for exams and flying
  • 👍 Passed written exams

Room to improve

  • 👎 Desktop site is much better
  • 👎 Not sure why all the good reviews
  • 🐛 Buggy Chromecast
  • 🐛 Lost ability to cast
  • 🐛 Sync issues between devices

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
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

Sporty's Pilot Training

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Login screen freezes
  • Video downloads reset to zero when switching apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Show progress/completion status of each video
  • Sync video progress across all devices
  • Ability to Airplay directly without third-party app
  • Continuous play mode

In-app purchases

None

Private Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Sporty's Pilot Training

One-time10
  • Remote Pilot Test Prep$19.99
  • Flying With ForeFlight$39.99
  • Pilot's Guide to Airspace$39.99
Show 7 more
  • VFR Communications$49.99
  • Real World Flight Review$99.00
  • Garmin G1000 Checkout$99.99
  • Multiengine Training Course$129.99
  • Instrument Rating Course$299.00
  • Sporty's Learn To Fly Course$299.00
  • Commercial Pilot Course$299.00

Questions

Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sporty's Pilot Training free?
Sporty's Pilot Training is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Private Pilot Test Prep or Sporty's Pilot Training?
Sporty's Pilot Training is rated higher. Private Pilot Test Prep averages 4.3 out of 5 from 116 ratings, while Sporty's Pilot Training averages 4.9 from 11K ratings.
Do Private Pilot Test Prep or Sporty's Pilot Training have ads?
Neither Private Pilot Test Prep nor Sporty's Pilot Training shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Private Pilot Test Prep or Sporty's Pilot Training?
Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, and Sporty's Pilot Training weekly. Most recently, Private Pilot Test Prep was updated on November 10, 2026 and Sporty's Pilot Training on November 11, 2026.
Which is more popular, Private Pilot Test Prep or Sporty's Pilot Training?
Private Pilot Test Prep currently peaks at #26 in the App Store charts, and Sporty's Pilot Training at #95. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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