Comparison

SkyDemon vs xcNav

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

Head to head
About

SkyDemon

Plan and navigate VFR flights across Europe with detailed aeronautical charts, dynamic airspace clipping, and real-time hazard warnings. Features include virtual radar, automated weather briefings, and comprehensive flight logging for pilots.

Highlights
  • Vector aeronautical charts with dynamic airspace clipping
  • Intuitive route planning and modification
  • Virtual Radar for hazard and airspace visualization
  • Automated weather briefings (TAF, METAR, SIGMET)
  • Real-time hazard and airspace warnings
  • Georeferenced airfield plates and documents
  • Fuel, weight, and balance calculations
Features
Read full description

SkyDemon is Europe's favourite software for VFR flight planning and in-flight navigation. Use this app to access your SkyDemon subscription on your iOS device, unlocking SkyDemon's powerful features while on the move. FLIGHT PLANNING FEATURES - SkyDemon vector charts are the clearest aeronautical charts you'll ever use, with dynamic airspace clipping and choice of map layers - Route planning is as simple as touching consecutive waypoints and dragging to make changes - Virtual Radar shows how your route relates to airspace, terrain, obstructions and other features - Pilot Log facility calculates headings and groundspeeds from actual wind data, and shows useful frequencies - Plates and other documents for relevant airfields are displayed automatically as you plan, and many are available georeferenced for use in flight - Intuitive pan, pinch and rotate support with no loss of map clarity or text legibility - File a VFR flightplan for your route directly to air traffic controllers - Automatic TAF, METAR and SIGMET briefing as you plan a route, with graphical decoding - Rainfall data can be overlaid on the main map, with animation, showing the trend of rainfall over time - Integration of GAFOR route forecasts for Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia - Both narrow-route and area NOTAM briefings available, updated as you plan - Advanced NOTAM graphical interpretation and depiction on the main map - Easily print your PLOG and the output from various briefings - Warnings for airspace and other potential hazards to your flight, updated in real time - Airfield Admin Information shows useful contacts and other details for airfields featured in our charts - Forecast winds aloft are automatically retrieved for the flight time and displayed on the map - Create an advanced flight performance profile for each aircraft you use - ATS Routes mode offers an alternative chart presentation for flight along airways - Accurate fuel, weight and balance calculations including flight costings - Create an unlimited number of user-defined waypoints - Analyse your track logs for posterity - Choose between six different vector chart styles - Extensive European chart coverage as standard GPS NAVIGATION FEATURES - Intelligent warnings for approaching airspace, NOTAM, obstacles, terrain and other hazards - Virtual Radar shows a side-on projection of all approaching features and how your trajectory relates to them - Vector map automatically follows the aircraft in north up, track up or course up orientation - Clear and concise instruments show you flight statistics and help keep you on track - An HSI/ILS instrument helps you keep to your planned route and line up early for approach - Live Pilot Log shows progress through your route, ETAs, ATAs and useful frequencies based on your current position - TerrainSafe dynamically colours mountainous terrain around you to quickly identify safer areas - Direct To allows easy re-routing in a hurry by picking from a selection of nearby airfields - Approach Information shows runway diagrams, TAF, METAR, NOTAM and other airfield details useful for making an approach - Live updates of TAF and METAR while in flight, with associated alerts* - Extended runway centrelines appear automatically on the map as you near your destination airfield - Permanent display of position relative to nearest well-known waypoint, for position reporting - Easy changing of the planned route while in flight by touching and dragging Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. * Internet connection required for live weather update while in flight

About

xcNav

This app provides essential navigation tools for paramotor pilots, including waypoints, ETAs, and live location sharing. It also offers group chat, airspace charts, weather information, and proximity warnings with external hardware.

Highlights
  • Navigation tools (waypoints, ETAs)
  • Live location sharing
  • Group chat
  • Airspace sectional charts
  • Weather tools
  • ADSB-in proximity warnings
Features
Read full description

- Navigation tools (waypoints, ETAs, etc) - Live location sharing - Live shared waypoints - Group chat - Airspace sectional charts - Weather tools - ADSB-in with proximity warnings (requires external hardware)

Screenshots

SkyDemon4 screens
xcNav4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SkyDemon at 92% against xcNav's 20%. SkyDemon also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (549 vs 4). xcNav's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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

Both are free to download. SkyDemon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. xcNav asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SkyDemon holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkyDemon has 549 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of SkyDemon's written reviews are positive against 20% of xcNav's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SkyDemon ships an update monthly, xcNav every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SkyDemon versus xcNav: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkyDemonxcNav
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (549 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews92.3% of reviews — better20.0% of reviews
Number of ratings549 — better4
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDivelements LimitedCaleb Johnson

Customer experience

SkyDemon

All ratings549 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews155 reviews
Positive92.3%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.5%

xcNav

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

Bugs and requests

SkyDemon

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Incompatible with latest iPad OS
  • Crashes when trying to download all charts

Requested features

6 requests
  • Print PLOG or route on iPad
  • Improved logbook functionality
  • Support for official CAA/NATS charts
  • Synthetic vision
  • IFR flight plan filing to Eurocontrol
Show 1 more
  • Integration with Jeppesen IFR charts

xcNav

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SkyDemon

One-time1
  • SkyDemon iOS Subscription$199.99
None

xcNav

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SkyDemon free?
SkyDemon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is xcNav free?
xcNav is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SkyDemon or xcNav?
SkyDemon is rated higher. SkyDemon averages 4.8 out of 5 from 549 ratings, while xcNav averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do SkyDemon or xcNav have ads?
Neither SkyDemon nor xcNav shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SkyDemon or xcNav?
SkyDemon ships an update monthly, and xcNav every 6 weeks. Most recently, SkyDemon was updated on October 15, 2026 and xcNav on September 24, 2026.

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