Comparison

Private Pilot Test Prep vs Checkride Compass

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

Checkride Compass

Prepare for your Private Pilot checkride with focused quizzes, flashcards, and real-world scenarios. This tool helps build confidence for oral exams, ACS standards, and written preparation.

Highlights
  • Practice quizzes
  • ACS flashcards
  • Checkride-style scenarios
  • Focused study experience
  • Build confidence
Features
Read full description

Checkride Compass helps student pilots prepare for their Private Pilot checkride with focused quizzes, flashcards, and real-world scenarios based on FAA ACS standards. Features: • Practice quizzes • ACS flashcards • Checkride-style scenarios • Focused study experience Build confidence and stay on course for your oral, ACS, and written prep. Disclaimer: Checkride Compass is an independent educational study tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA.

Screenshots

Private Pilot Test Prep4 screens
Checkride Compass4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Checkride Compass at Free against Private Pilot Test Prep's $14.99. Checkride Compass also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 months). Private Pilot Test Prep's advantage is ratings volume (116 vs 8) and chart position (#21 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Checkride Compass 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

Checkride Compass holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Private Pilot Test Prep has 116 ratings behind it against 8, 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 100% of Checkride Compass's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, Checkride Compass every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Private Pilot Test Prep versus Checkride Compass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivate Pilot Test PrepCheckride Compass
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (116 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings116 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSporty's Pilot ShopJainik Parekh

Customer experience

Private Pilot Test Prep

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

Checkride Compass

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Checkride Compass

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Private Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

None

Checkride Compass

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Private Pilot Test Prep free?
Private Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Checkride Compass free?
Checkride Compass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Private Pilot Test Prep or Checkride Compass?
Checkride Compass is rated higher. Private Pilot Test Prep averages 4.3 out of 5 from 116 ratings, while Checkride Compass averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Private Pilot Test Prep or Checkride Compass have ads?
Neither Private Pilot Test Prep nor Checkride Compass shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Private Pilot Test Prep or Checkride Compass?
Private Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, and Checkride Compass every 2 days. Most recently, Private Pilot Test Prep was updated on November 8, 2026 and Checkride Compass on November 9, 2026.

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