Comparison

Private Pilot Test Prep vs Private Pilot Test Prep

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

Private Pilot Test Prep

Prepare for your FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test with over 900 questions and explanations. Unlock a complete ground school course with detailed tracking and premium test prep, including a free trial.

Highlights
  • Over 900 FAA questions and explanations
  • Custom study sessions by topic
  • Simulated FAA exams
  • Review missed questions
  • Cross-device data sync
  • Instructor endorsement upon course completion
Read full description

The #1 Private Pilot test prep app is now free, and includes over 900 FAA questions and explanations to help prepare for the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test. Upgrade to the complete ground school course to unlock all lesson, detailed tracking and statistics, and premium test prep with hundreds of additional questions (free trial available). ▸ Custom study sessions based on topics, session size, and your overall mastery. Filters allow you to include or exclude questions that require the use of figures or an E6B. ▸ Create practice sessions from missed questions after a completed practice or exam session. ▸ Review missed questions after a practice or exam session. ▸ Take simulated FAA exams administered under the same rules and time constraints as the actual Private Pilot knowledge test. Unlike other test prep apps, our exams present the correct proportion of questions from each knowledge area per the ACS. ▸ Sync your data and course progress across on all of your iOS devices ▸ Access a library of study resources for the Private Pilot certificate ▸ Question bank covers all areas of the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards to ensure thorough preparation for the knowledge test. ▸ Detailed explanations and references for all questions. ▸ Obtain an instructor endorsement after completing the course.

Screenshots

Private Pilot Test Prep4 screens
Private Pilot Test Prep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Private Pilot Test Prep at Free against Private Pilot Test Prep's $14.99. Private Pilot Test Prep also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). Private Pilot Test Prep's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and chart position (#27 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ads, device support 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

Private Pilot Test Prep is free to download; Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99 up front. Private Pilot Test Prep sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Private Pilot Test Prep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Private Pilot Test Prep holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Private Pilot Test Prep has 1.5K ratings behind it against 116, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Private Pilot Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 85% of Private Pilot Test Prep's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, Private Pilot Test Prep fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Private Pilot Test Prep versus Private Pilot Test Prep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivate Pilot Test PrepPrivate Pilot Test Prep
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (116 ratings)4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews85.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1161.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#27 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.1
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB122 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSporty's Pilot ShopAeroapps Technology, LLC

Customer experience

Private Pilot Test Prep

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

Private Pilot Test Prep

All ratings1,532 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral3.3%
Negative11.7%

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

Private Pilot Test Prep

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Thorough course with good foundation
  • 🚀 Great graphics and easy to follow
  • 🚀 Helped pass the FAA exam
  • 🚀 Realistic practice exams with FARs and AIMs
  • 🚀 Excellent explanations and figures

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Grading issues and incorrect marking of answers
  • 🐛 Frequent app updates required, causing issues for users with poor internet
  • 🐛 Inability to review missed questions after exiting the app
  • 🐛 Lack of zoom and drawing tools for charts
  • 🐛 Crashes and login issues reported

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

Private Pilot Test Prep

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Grading issues and incorrect marking of answers
  • Frequent app updates required, causing issues for users with poor internet
  • Inability to review missed questions after exiting the app
  • Crashes and login issues reported

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add sound when choosing correct answers
  • Provide separate guides for each chapter
  • Offer 50-question practice tests by chapter
  • Allow users to pause and resume simulated tests
  • Provide a bank of all practice tests and simulated tests
Show 3 more
  • Display passed section grades to track progress
  • Add a lock zoom feature for charts
  • Integrate a protractor tool

In-app purchases

None

Private Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Private Pilot Test Prep

One-time4
  • Private Pilot Course TrialFree
  • Private Pilot Test Prep$49.99
  • Upgrade to Ground School$99.99
Show 1 more
  • Private Pilot Ground School$149.99

Questions

Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Private Pilot Test Prep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Private Pilot Test Prep or Private Pilot Test Prep?
Private Pilot Test Prep is rated higher. Private Pilot Test Prep averages 4.3 out of 5 from 116 ratings, while Private Pilot Test Prep averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Private Pilot Test Prep or Private Pilot Test Prep have ads?
Neither Private Pilot Test Prep nor Private Pilot Test Prep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Private Pilot Test Prep or Private Pilot Test Prep?
Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, and Private Pilot Test Prep fortnightly. Most recently, Private Pilot Test Prep was updated on November 13, 2026 and Private Pilot Test Prep on November 13, 2026.

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