Comparison

SocialFlight vs NRST

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

Head to head
About

SocialFlight

Discover aviation events, attractions, and airport dining worldwide. Earn rewards and points for your travels, and access free FAA training courses. Connect with fellow aviation enthusiasts and share your passion.

Highlights
  • 20,000+ Aviation Events Mapped
  • Airport Restaurants & Attractions
  • Free FAA WINGS & IA Renewal Courses
  • FLY2WIN Challenge & Rewards Program
  • Social Networking for Pilots
  • Educational Aviation Videos & Webinars
Features
Read full description

Welcome to SocialFlight - We've mapped out over 20,000 Aviation Events, Amazing Things to Do, $100 Hamburgers, Airport Information and more! Free FAA WINGS and IA Renewal courses too! SocialFlight also includes the FLY2WIN Challenge and FLY2WIN Rewards where you can get points for your travels, deals & discounts and compete to win real prizes! NEW: THOUSANDS of AVIATION DESTINATIONS! (Museums, Restaurants, Attractions & More) NEW: FAA WINGS and A&P/IA Renewal Courses in our new FAASTeam Learning Center! Click on "FAA CREDITS" menu for more. NEW: SocialFlight Burger Flights - Display thousands of Airport Restaurants on the map, including photos and reviews! FLY2WIN Challenge - Get points for attending events and visiting new airports & destinations. Build your own virtual aircraft, compete on the monthly leader board and participate in our frequent Grand Prize drawings for awesome prizes such as avionics, headsets and more! FLY2WIN Rewards: Get special deals, discounts and offers from local businesses and SocialFlight partners. You automatically get rewards based on your location as you travel. SocialFlight also has a new, easy to use, user interface! Best of all, it's all FREE! Aircraft Fly-in's, Airshows, Pancake Breakfasts, Conventions, FAA Safety Seminars...we have it all. Includes Destinations, Restaurants, Museums, Golf Courses, Transportation, Camping, Aviation Businesses and more...ALL within walking distance from airports! We have gathered an extensive collection of educational videos, webinars and reference materials on all things aviation; from Pilot Training, Aircraft Ownership, Maintenance, Avionics, Flight Clubs, Travel and much, much more! And, as always, it's all FREE in our quest to promote General Aviation! Upload a picture of your plane in your profile and you could be selected as the SocialFlight Aircraft of the Day! SocialFlight makes getting "Social" easier than ever before. Find other users with similar aircraft, interests or ratings. Chat with other users, form clubs & even share photos! Whether you love flying, watching airplanes, ultralights, balloons or anything else airborne, this is the place for you. Keep exploring to discover all the features that SocialFlight has to offer.

About

NRST

This app helps pilots navigate by providing essential airport information, including distance, elevation, and required descent rates. It offers real-time data updates and customizable descent settings for various aircraft types. Worldwide airport coverage is available, with daily database updates.

Highlights
  • Real-time airport data
  • Customizable descent rate
  • Worldwide airport coverage
  • Filter airports by runway
  • Glide distance calculation
  • Watch app integration
Features
Read full description

Don't miss your airport! Designed for pilots of any size aircraft, this app provides you with bearing and vertical speed required to nearby airports. The following information is shown for destinations: • Distance from current location • Field Elevation • Descent rate required • Time to Top of Descent (TOD) • Bearing • Frequencies • Runways • Glide distance delta Additionally your current speed, course, altitude and vertical speed are displayed. Tapping on the information button, Time to TOD or Target Altitude allows you to customize the desired descent rate. All data is updated in real time as you fly. You may choose a nearby airport or select an airport by identifier by scrolling down on the airport list. Filter by runway length and surface type and choose any of the following: airports, seaplane bases, heliports, balloon ports and closed airports. You may optionally provide a glide ratio for your aircraft. The glide distance long or short of the selected airport is then displayed and is conveniently color coded. A positive, green glide delta indicates the glide distance has been estimated to exceed the distance to the airport with a 25% safety margin. Runway headings, if known, are used to draw runways on the heading indicator. If the magenta arrow is pointed straight up and aligned with a runway then you are headed straight in. Worldwide airport information is provided by multiple sources. Canada, Europe and all continents are covered! For more information go to ourairports.com/world.html. Database updates are performed daily. Your location and altitude is provided by your device's location services. If location or altitude is not available that information will not be displayed however you can still search for an airport by identifier. Unfortunately external GPS devices are generally NOT compatible. You must be moving for course information and the magenta relative bearing arrow to be displayed. The Watch app has many of the same features and fits on your wrist. See distances to nearby airports or bearing to a selected airport. Frequencies and runway lengths can be seen with a swipe. A green glide icon or delta indicates glideability is likely. Just like the iPhone and iPad app, the Watch app requires GPS information to locate nearby airports and relative bearing. Additionally, altitude is needed to calculate descent rates. Feedback and feature requests are appreciated. Thanks! Subscription Fine Print ---------------------- - 1 month FREE trial - Database Subscription or Apple Watch Subscription is required for new users - The subscription is for 1 year and updated data is available daily - The annual subscription is $11.99/year or $17.99/year for Watch - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - Privacy policy and terms of use are located at: http://toonsy.net/privacy.html - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication.

Screenshots

SocialFlight4 screens
NRST4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NRST at 4.5 against SocialFlight's 3.1. SocialFlight's advantage is monetization model (free vs subscription) and ratings volume (139 vs 8). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. SocialFlight sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per month and NRST sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NRST holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SocialFlight has 139 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of SocialFlight's written reviews are positive against 47% of NRST's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SocialFlight ships an update every 3 months, NRST every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SocialFlight versus NRST: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSocialFlightNRST
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (139 ratings)4.5 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.4% of reviews46.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings139 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB50 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperSalesApproach, IncToonsy Net

Customer experience

SocialFlight

All ratings127 ratings
Positive46.5%
Neutral9.4%
Negative44.1%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive39.4%
Neutral9.1%
Negative51.5%

NRST

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive46.9%
Neutral6.3%
Negative46.9%

Bugs and requests

SocialFlight

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on startup or when opening
  • Infinite 'please wait' loading screen
  • Map page takes excessive time to load
  • App freezes after 'please wait' completes
  • Crashes when adding or updating events
Show 10 more
  • Black screen on launch after updates
  • Video course progress resets when touched
  • Unclosable ad popups blocking functionality
  • Broken event registration links
  • Server connection errors intermittently
  • Map not displaying events properly
  • Incompatibility with older iOS versions
  • Background app refresh cannot be disabled
  • Repeated email notifications sent multiple times
  • Unsubscribe functionality difficult to access

Requested features

10 requests
  • Web app as primary alternative to mobile app
  • Improved data caching to reduce loading times
  • Better UI/UX modernization
  • Optional notification settings without forced prompts
  • Ability to skip forward in video courses
Show 5 more
  • Better event registration and link functionality
  • Support for international users (Canada, UK, Europe)
  • Simplified map view without all airports displayed
  • Airport review and rating system
  • Ability to customize which airports display on map

NRST

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

SocialFlight

Subscriptions8
  • Business Basic One$29.991 Month
  • Business Basic Two$29.991 Month
  • Business Basic Three$29.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Business Basic Four$29.991 Month
  • Business Premium One$59.991 Month
  • Business Premium Two$59.991 Month
  • Business Premium Three$59.991 Month
  • Business Premium Four$59.991 Month
6 purchases

NRST

Subscriptions6
  • Early Adopter Device Subscription1 Month trial$0.991 Year
  • Early Adopter Device and Watch Bronze1 Month trial$1.991 Year
  • Device Only1 Month trial$11.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Device Only1 Month trial$14.991 Year
  • Device and Watch1 Month trial$17.991 Year
  • Device and Watch1 Month trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is SocialFlight free?
SocialFlight is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NRST free?
NRST is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SocialFlight or NRST?
NRST is rated higher. SocialFlight averages 3.1 out of 5 from 139 ratings, while NRST averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.
Do SocialFlight or NRST have ads?
Neither SocialFlight nor NRST shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SocialFlight or NRST?
SocialFlight ships an update every 3 months, and NRST every 4 months. Most recently, SocialFlight was updated on September 19, 2026 and NRST on September 14, 2026.

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