Comparison

Sport Pilot Test Prep vs FlightReady Academy

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

Head to head
About

Sport Pilot Test Prep

Prepare for the FAA Sport Pilot written test with this comprehensive study tool. It offers three modes: study questions by topic, review with flashcards, and take simulated practice tests. Detailed explanations are provided for each question to enhance learning.

Highlights
  • Study questions by topic
  • Customizable review sessions
  • Flashcard mode for knowledge testing
  • Simulated 40-question practice tests
  • Detailed explanations for answers
  • Progress reports and history tracking
  • Pause and resume test sessions
Features
Read full description

Sporty's Study Buddy prepares you for the FAA Sport 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 Sport 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 40 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

FlightReady Academy

Prepare for FAA pilot exams with comprehensive ground school courses and practice tests. Access a free basic test prep with hundreds of questions and simulated exams. Upgrade for full courses, instructor endorsements, and advanced study tools.

Highlights
  • FAA pilot exam preparation
  • Basic and premium test prep
  • Simulated FAA exams
  • Instructor endorsement
  • Detailed question explanations
  • SmartExam for weak areas
  • Progress tracking and statistics
Read full description

The #1 ground school for FAA Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, and Flight Instructor. Free access to Basic Test Prep. Upgrade to Premium Test Prep or the complete Ground School course via in-app purchase (free trial available). Free basic test prep includes: ▸ Basic question bank with hundreds of practice questions and explanations ▸ Practice sessions from missed questions, or review missed questions. ▸ Simulated FAA exams administered under the same rules and time constraints as the actual exam. Unlike other test prep apps, our exams present the correct proportion of questions from each knowledge area per the ACS. Upgrading to Ground School unlocks a complete ground school course that takes 15-35 hours to complete depending on the course. The course includes: ▸ An instructor endorsement after completing the course so that you can take the FAA exam. ▸ Hundreds of additional questions to ensure thorough preparation for the knowledge test ▸ View definitions of key terms and acronyms in lessons and answer explanations. ▸ Detailed explanations and references for all questions, many with high resolution images ▸ SmartExam zeroes in on your weak areas to ensure thorough preparation for the FAA exam. ▸ Sync your data and course progress across on all of your iOS devices ▸ View statistics and progress. Proficiency is tracked using an algorithm that assigns a mastery level to each question. Stop wasting time answering questions you've already mastered. ▸ Share reports via iMessage, AirDrop, e-mail, and more After you complete a course you can review all completed lessons and access all lesson questions. Unlike other ground school providers, we do not limit your access to one year, and all future updates are free. Ground School courses are available for: Private Pilot Instrument Rating Commercial Pilot Flight Instructor Airplane Flight Instructor Instrument Add-On ================================ Non-US citizens who can read, write, speak, and understand English may obtain a US pilot certificate per FAR 61.65, 61.103, and 61.123.

Screenshots

Sport Pilot Test Prep4 screens
FlightReady Academy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: FlightReady Academy at Free against Sport Pilot Test Prep's $14.99. FlightReady Academy also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.8) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). Sport Pilot Test Prep's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 17). 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

FlightReady Academy is free to download; Sport Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99 up front. FlightReady Academy sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. Sport Pilot Test Prep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FlightReady Academy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FlightReady Academy has 894 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Sport Pilot Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 60% of FlightReady Academy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sport Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, FlightReady Academy fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Sport Pilot Test Prep versus FlightReady Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSport Pilot Test PrepFlightReady Academy
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating3.8 (5 ratings)4.7 (894 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews59.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5894 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.1
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB122 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSporty's Pilot ShopAeroapps Technology

Customer experience

Sport Pilot Test Prep

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

FlightReady Academy

All ratings894 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral1.3%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive59.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative37.1%

Bugs and requests

Sport Pilot Test Prep

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

FlightReady Academy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • The app installed correctly. But when you open the app. It wants you to download what course you are interested in. But it gets to 90% downloaded and stops
  • App glitches out of WiFi range and has to constantly redownload and sinc data which leads to a lot of time wasted
  • Whenever I click on "study questions" my app crashes and brings me back to my home screen

Requested features

3 requests
  • Charts, graphs and scales and not selectable with a pc or Android
  • Test scores are saved and not resettable, the final test cannot be taken multiple times
  • Explanations for the answers

In-app purchases

None

Sport Pilot Test Prep

No in-app purchases

16 purchases

FlightReady Academy

One-time16
  • Instrument Rating TrialFree
  • Free Trial - CFII AddFree
  • Free Trial - Commercial PilotFree
Show 13 more
  • Free Trial - Private PilotFree
  • Free Trial - Flight InstructorFree
  • Remote Pilot Premium Test Prep$49.99
  • Private Pilot Test Prep$49.99
  • Instrument Rating Test Prep$49.99
  • Comm. Pilot Test Prep$49.99
  • Upgrade to Ground School$129.99
  • Drone Ground School$139.99
  • CFI Airplane Ground School$179.99
  • Commercial Ground School$179.99
  • CFII Ground School$179.99
  • Private Pilot Ground School2 variants$179.99
  • Instrument Ground School$179.99

Questions

Is Sport Pilot Test Prep free?
Sport Pilot Test Prep costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is FlightReady Academy free?
FlightReady Academy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sport Pilot Test Prep or FlightReady Academy?
FlightReady Academy is rated higher. Sport Pilot Test Prep averages 3.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while FlightReady Academy averages 4.7 from 894 ratings.
Do Sport Pilot Test Prep or FlightReady Academy have ads?
Neither Sport Pilot Test Prep nor FlightReady Academy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sport Pilot Test Prep or FlightReady Academy?
Sport Pilot Test Prep ships an update every 5 months, and FlightReady Academy fortnightly. Most recently, Sport Pilot Test Prep was updated on October 29, 2026 and FlightReady Academy on October 29, 2026.

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