Comparison

Instrument Pilot Test Prep vs Instrument Test Prep

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

Head to head
About

Instrument Pilot Test Prep

Prepare for your FAA Instrument Rating knowledge test with study questions, flashcards, and practice tests. Access all figures offline and track your progress by topic. Designed for iPhone and iPad.

Highlights
  • Study questions by topic
  • Flashcard review
  • Randomized practice tests
  • Offline figure access
  • Progress tracking
  • Resume study sessions
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Sporty's Study Buddy prepares you for the FAA Instrument Rating 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 Instrument Rating. • 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 for Instrument Rating, 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

Instrument Test Prep

Prepare for your FAA Instrument Rating Knowledge Test with over 900 questions and detailed explanations. Customize study sessions, track your weakest areas, and take simulated exams that mirror the official test format. An optional upgrade unlocks a full ground school course with additional lessons and advanced features.

Highlights
  • Over 900 FAA questions and explanations
  • Customizable study sessions by topic and size
  • Focus on weakest topics and missed questions
  • Simulated FAA exams with correct question proportions
  • Detailed explanations and regulation references
  • Cross-device data syncing
Read full description

Over 900 FAA questions and explanations to help prepare for the FAA Instrument Rating Knowledge Test. Upgrade to the complete ground school course to unlock lessons, additional questions, statistics, and more (free trial available). ▸ Create 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. Some advanced filtering options require Premium Test Prep or Ground School upgrade. ▸ View most often missed FAA questions across all FlightReady users (requires Premium Test Prep or Ground School upgrade). ▸ Quickly identify and create study sessions focusing on your weakest topic (requires Premium Test Prep or Ground School upgrade). ▸ 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 Instrument Rating exam. 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 (requires Premium Test Prep or Ground School upgrade). ▸ Access a library of study resources for the Instrument Rating - Airplane ▸ Question bank covers all areas of the FAA Instrument Rating Airman Certification Standards to ensure thorough preparation for the knowledge test. ▸ Detailed explanations and references for all questions, including the text of the regulation where applicable.

Screenshots

Instrument Pilot Test Prep4 screens
Instrument Test Prep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Instrument Test Prep at 88% against Instrument Pilot Test Prep's 39%. Instrument Test Prep also leads on price (Free vs $14.99) and rating (4.9 vs 3.1). Instrument Pilot Test Prep's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and chart position (#172 vs unranked). On 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Instrument Test Prep holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Instrument Test Prep has 156 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Instrument Pilot Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 88% of Instrument Test Prep's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Instrument Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, Instrument Test Prep fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Instrument Pilot Test Prep versus Instrument Test Prep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInstrument Pilot Test PrepInstrument Test Prep
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating3.1 (16 ratings)4.9 (156 ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.3% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16156 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#172 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.1
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB122 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSporty's Pilot ShopAeroapps Technology

Customer experience

Instrument Pilot Test Prep

All ratings16 ratings
Positive43.8%
Neutral6.3%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive39.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative46.4%

Instrument Test Prep

All ratings155 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.6%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

In-app purchases

None

Instrument Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Instrument Test Prep

One-time4
  • Instrument Ground School TrialFree
  • Instrument Rating Test Prep$49.99
  • Upgrade to Ground School$129.99
Show 1 more
  • Instrument Ground School$179.99

Questions

Is Instrument Pilot Test Prep free?
Instrument Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Instrument Test Prep free?
Instrument Test Prep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Instrument Pilot Test Prep or Instrument Test Prep?
Instrument Test Prep is rated higher. Instrument Pilot Test Prep averages 3.1 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Instrument Test Prep averages 4.9 from 156 ratings.
Do Instrument Pilot Test Prep or Instrument Test Prep have ads?
Neither Instrument Pilot Test Prep nor Instrument Test Prep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Instrument Pilot Test Prep or Instrument Test Prep?
Instrument Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, and Instrument Test Prep fortnightly. Most recently, Instrument Pilot Test Prep was updated on November 6, 2026 and Instrument Test Prep on November 2, 2026.

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