Comparison

Private Pilot Test Prep vs King Test Prep Companion

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 written test with this comprehensive study tool. It offers three modes: study questions by topic with detailed explanations, review using flashcards, and take full-length practice tests. Track your progress with detailed reports.

Highlights
  • Study questions by topic
  • Custom review sessions
  • Detailed answer explanations
  • Flashcard review mode
  • Simulated practice tests
  • Progress reports
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

King Test Prep Companion

Prepare for FAA knowledge tests with this app. Study FAA-style questions, flashcards, and unlimited practice exams offline. Track your progress and focus on areas needing review to achieve a high score.

Highlights
  • FAA-style question review
  • Flashcard study decks by category
  • Unlimited practice exams
  • Offline study capability
  • Progress tracking and syncing
  • Detailed question explanations
  • Pinch-to-zoom for figures
Features
Read full description

The KING Test Prep Companion App is part of the King VIP Study Method to get a guaranteed high score on your FAA Knowledge Test. It works with the question database of your Ground School and Test Prep course and allows you to study FAA style questions, flash cards and unlimited Practice Exams -- anywhere, anytime. Even when not connected to the Internet! Your question review progress will automatically sync to our online servers the next time your device is connected to the internet. Launching the app and signing in with your iLearn or Cessna credentials, you will be greeted with a list of your FAA ground school course(s). From there, selecting a course will open your choice of 3 King Study Method choices. Flashcards will give you "Decks" of questions by category such as Aerodynamics, Flight Instruments, Sectional Charts, etc. You can choose to shuffle the entire set of decks, or study just one category/deck. You will read the question on the front of the card, then "flip" the card to see the answer side. You can then choose to mark each card "Got This," or "Needs Review" so you can continue to focus on areas that need more work. Clicking the down arrow next to "Explanation" will provide in depth knowledge to help retain valuable information. Use a pinch zoom for any figures to get a closer look! Question Review will present All Questions of your FAA Test Prep course, also broken out by study category or all questions together. Be sure to "Mark" questions you want to review later, which you can toggle viewing only "Marked" questions at the top. You can also view only questions answered incorrectly to focus on troublesome topics. Practice Exams will provide curated exams carefully developed to simulate your FAA test. Mark each question that gives you difficulty for later review. Score your test and go through incorrectly answered questions. Retake any exams where you scored less than 80% until you are scoring high. Be sure to take Unlimited Random Exams repeatedly to get a Top Gun score! King Schools produces home-study courses used in preparation for FAA (The aviation authority in the United States) exams, overcome flying hurdles and meet mandatory flight training requirements. Whether you are studying for Sport Pilot, Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor (CFI), Multi-Engine or Airline Transport Pilot (ATP); King Schools has a course just for you. Follow the King Study Method and you are certain to achieve a high score on your FAA Exam! King Schools courses are specifically designed to efficiently give you the vital flying knowledge you'll use for the rest of your flying career. Born from a Passion for Flying King Schools, Inc. is the world's leading producer of aviation training videos and computer software. KING was first established in 1974, when John and Martha began flying throughout the country to teach ground school courses. Today, King Schools has over 50 employees operating from an 18,000 sq. ft. complex, housing a dedicated video production facility. In the past 10 years we have delivered more than 4 million hours of video instruction, teaching up to one-third of all pilots in the U.S. obtaining training. We are keenly aware of the importance of the work we do. During the time someone is learning to fly, flying is the most important thing in his or her life. We are privileged to play such a significant role in the lives of such committed individuals. We take pride in producing quality work for these special people.

Screenshots

Private Pilot Test Prep4 screens
King Test Prep Companion4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: King Test Prep Companion at Free against Private Pilot Test Prep's $14.99. King Test Prep Companion also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (2.4K vs 116). Private Pilot Test Prep's advantage is chart position (#22 vs unranked). On review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

King Test Prep Companion is free to download; Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

King Test Prep Companion holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: King Test Prep Companion has 2.4K 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 80% of King Test Prep Companion'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, King Test Prep Companion every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Private Pilot Test Prep versus King Test Prep Companion: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivate Pilot Test PrepKing Test Prep Companion
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (116 ratings)4.9 (2.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews — better80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1162.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#22 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.7 — better
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSporty's Pilot ShopKing Schools, Inc.

Customer experience

Private Pilot Test Prep

All ratings115 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral4.3%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral6.1%
Negative12.1%

King Test Prep Companion

All ratings1,426 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative16.0%

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

King Test Prep Companion

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Best teachers
  • 💡 Well thought out
  • 👍 Helpful
  • 👍 Efficient and intuitive
  • 👍 Great study tool

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Questions not always arranged to the video
  • 🐛 Progress not saved in question review
  • 🐛 Difficult to scroll and view figures
  • 🐛 Lack of context around correct answers

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

King Test Prep Companion

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Doesn't work with all King School courses
  • Charts hard or impossible to view when zoomed in

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to reset progress through modules
  • Roku app

In-app purchases

None

Private Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

None

King Test Prep Companion

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is King Test Prep Companion free?
King Test Prep Companion is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Private Pilot Test Prep or King Test Prep Companion?
King Test Prep Companion is rated higher. Private Pilot Test Prep averages 4.3 out of 5 from 116 ratings, while King Test Prep Companion averages 4.9 from 2.4K ratings.
Do Private Pilot Test Prep or King Test Prep Companion have ads?
Neither Private Pilot Test Prep nor King Test Prep Companion shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Private Pilot Test Prep or King Test Prep Companion?
Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, and King Test Prep Companion every 2 months. Most recently, Private Pilot Test Prep was updated on October 30, 2026 and King Test Prep Companion on October 30, 2026.

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