Comparison

Paragliding Map vs XCMania

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

Head to head
About

Paragliding Map

This app provides comprehensive flight site information, forecasts, and real-time weather data for paragliders and hang gliders worldwide. It features over 15,000 launch sites, 7,500 landings, and 30,000 weather stations, along with airspace and NOTAMs for safety.

Highlights
  • 15,000+ launch sites
  • 7,500+ landing sites
  • 30,000+ weather stations
  • Live webcams and photos
  • Airspace and NOTAMs
  • Valley wind and wind animation
  • SOS and ride requests
Features
Read full description

The world's most popular free-flight app! The most comprehensive source for site info, forecasts, webcams, photos & more! See where you can fly right now. Worldwide! ▪ Explore over 15,000 launch sites, 7,500 landings, 30,000 weather stations and 39,000 webcams. ▪ Official data from the DHV, Flyland, FFVL, Paragliding Earth and more. ▪ Forecasts from Meteoblue, Windy and WindFinder. ▪ Live webcams. ▪ Photos give you a great impression of each spot. ▪ Valley winds - Arrows show valley wind directions in the European Alps. ▪ Wind animation - View clouds, thunderstorms, rain and wind at different altitudes. ▪ Airspace - View airspace and NOTAMs (short notice, daily airspace restrictions) on the map. ▪ Official NOTAMs - View Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) on the map from international aviation authorities. A vital safety feature for every flight! ▪ Automatic NOTAM warnings - A prominent warning is displayed when an active NOTAM impacts your launch or landing. ▪ Filter the map to show only launches for paragliding, hang gliding, speed flying, thermalling, soaring, hike & fly, public transport, wind speed and much more! ▪ See soaring index, cloud cover, weather warnings and much more! ▪ Many forecast providers: UK MetOffice, German Weather Service, Meteo France, meteoblue, ECMWF, NOAA and others! ▪ Real-time weather station data from Pioupiou, Holfuy, MADIS and FFVL show you actual weather conditions. ▪ 3D view. ▪ "Hike & fly" trails. ▪ Ski lifts, cable cars and gondolas. ▪ Automatic translation of site descriptions into English. ▪ See future flying conditions on the map by using the Time Travel Slider. ▪ Directions to each spot using navigation. ▪ Favourites can be saved for easy access later. ▪ Alerts - Receive push notifications the evening before selected launches are flyable. ▪ Advanced search. ▪ Send “SOS!” and “I need a ride” messages to friends, including your GPS coordinates. ▪ Links to original info from the DHV, Flyland, FFVL und Paragliding Earth. ▪ No advertising. ▪ Full support included.   Your feedback is always welcome. Help us to make the best paragliding app in the world! Many feature of Paragliding Map are free but supported by advertising. If you choose to make any in-app purchase, advertising will automatically turn off and your purchase will be enabled (webcams, forecasts, etc). Information about subscriptions: Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions will auto-renew unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and will renew for the same price as the original subscription. You can cancel your subscription after purchasing by clicking the "manage subscriptions" button within the app or by opening Account Settings on your device. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period. Any unused portion of the free trial period will be forfeited when purchasing the subscription. Paragliding Map is a fully supported product. If you have any problems, please let me know and I will help you personally. Privacy policy and terms and conditions can be found at https://www.paraglidingmap.com/TermsAndConditions.aspx

About

XCMania

This app transforms your mobile device into a sophisticated flight computer, offering advanced features like real-time weather radar, 3D thermal visualization, and automated SOS alerts. It provides certified flight records and integrates with online contests, aiming to enhance pilot decision-making and safety.

Highlights
  • Real-time Doppler weather radar
  • 3D thermal visualization
  • Live Tracking with automatic SOS
  • Certified flight record for online contests
  • Flight Planner
  • Global elevation and airspace maps
  • Support for external varios and FLARM devices
Features
Read full description

Turn the world’s most powerful mobile phone into a flight computer with FAI Triangle assistant and real time rain cloud radar. Certified flight record for most online contest and FAI system. The definition of computer here is to utilize massive computing power but not limit it to show a few nav-boxes. If you look deep inside today’s flight instruments, too often you will find a single core CPU with tiny memory, even slower than a 2005 Nokia phone. Here is XCMania: - Certified flight record for most online contest web site - Realtime doppler weather radar with global coverage. A must have for long distance XC. - True Wind, it does not require two perfect circles, in fact with complicated wind algorithm in XCMania even a simple turn is enough to calculate wind. Yes, this can be done with a phone thanks to multi core CPU power. - Live Tracking with automatic SOS, shall an impact landing be detected and the pilot is not responsive or moving, an emergency SOS message will be sent. - The first flight computer shows real time 3D thermal shape. Yes, you do have a powerful GPU in hand. - Mania Circle helps you to visualize thermal hunting range. - Thermal meter helps you lock down the core, is this circle better than the last one or is it faded out. - Intuitive design, this is 2020, try not to be an old kinky black box with 196 pages of manual. - Flight Planner create flight plans - Global 30 meter high resolution elevation map And many more. What XCMania does here is make as much computing and visualization as possible to save your brain power for important flight decisions. - FAI Triangle assistant - Worldwide map, elevation and airspace automatic match and download. - Global airspace and obstacles in the Alps area, and scheduled hot update. - Support Airdrop/download WPT, CUP to import waypoints. - Support Airdrop/download any IGC to replay. - Support external Bluetooth 4 (BLE) varios for top class accuracy - Support Bluetooth FLARM devices - OLED screen protection technology - What you see is what you get, by just browsing the map, everything relevant would be automatically downloaded. - OLC 3 turn point / Free triangle / FAI triangle - Thermal efficiency - XContest.org integration, one button submit. - CloudLink makes backup automatically, restore settings, waypoints, plans to a new phone couldn't be easier. - Export plans to .WPT - Thermal hotspots - Support Airdrop IGC files for 3D track review and flight analysis. - Speedbar indicator, show you when and how much bar you should push for best glide angle. - Custom HUD. - Ground proximity warning system - throw reserve alert - With full HUD customization support, you could add, remove, resize on-screen items. - Quadrant thermal core guide - Livetrack24 support - Wind Layers by altitude

Screenshots

Paragliding Map4 screens
XCMania4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Paragliding Map at 77% against XCMania's 33%. Paragliding Map also leads on ratings volume (50 vs 7). XCMania's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Paragliding Map sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and XCMania sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

XCMania holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paragliding Map has 50 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Paragliding Map's written reviews are positive against 33% of XCMania's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paragliding Map ships an update every 2 months, XCMania every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Paragliding Map versus XCMania: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterParagliding MapXCMania
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (50 ratings)4.9 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.1% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings50 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB133 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCraig Payne刚 刘

Customer experience

Paragliding Map

All ratings50 ratings
Positive74.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative18.0%
Written reviews118 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative17.8%

XCMania

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Paragliding Map

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes or freezes
  • Unsubscribe function not working
  • Unexpected charges after cancellation
  • Purchase bugs (pro features not enabled)
  • Inaccurate wind direction/speed reporting
Show 9 more
  • Sites marked as flyable but are not
  • App not loading or showing white screen
  • Favorites not saving after phone change
  • Error 404 with Windfinder integration
  • Icon flyable/non-flyable doesn't match text info
  • Map placement errors (e.g., Dunstable Downs)
  • Webcam price too high
  • App does not handle landscape orientation on website
  • Restoration of purchase not working

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add contact info for local instructors and clubs
  • Include locations for gear purchase
  • Filter search by altitude difference
  • Visualize nesting zones (ZSM)
  • Add date to future planning preview
Show 6 more
  • Improve recognition for user contributions (reviews, photos)
  • Add iPad version
  • Tailor for all powerless flight groups, not just paragliding
  • Show wind as arrows and option for mph
  • Integration with hill top weather stations
  • Option to buy for a lifetime payment

XCMania

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Paragliding Map

Subscriptions2
  • PRO subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • PRO subscription1 Month trial$95.991 Year
One-time5
  • Remove Advertising Only$0.99
  • Small donation$0.99
  • Buy Craig a beer$4.99
Show 2 more
  • Webcams and Forecasts, Ad-free$9.99
  • Lifetime PRO Subscription$449.99
2 purchases

XCMania

Subscriptions2
  • Competition - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Competition - Annual$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Paragliding Map free?
Paragliding Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is XCMania free?
XCMania is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Paragliding Map or XCMania?
XCMania is rated higher. Paragliding Map averages 4.1 out of 5 from 50 ratings, while XCMania averages 4.9 from 7 ratings.
Do Paragliding Map or XCMania have ads?
Neither Paragliding Map nor XCMania shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paragliding Map or XCMania?
Paragliding Map ships an update every 2 months, and XCMania every 3 weeks. Most recently, Paragliding Map was updated on September 23, 2026 and XCMania on September 9, 2026.

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