Approach Charts vs Plotter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Approach Charts
Access FAA Instrument Approach charts for the US, including airport diagrams, minimums, and runway information. Get live weather and NOTAMs, and search by various criteria. The database and charts update monthly.
- FAA Instrument Approach charts
- Airport diagrams and runway information
- Live weather and NOTAMs
- Search by airport name, city, identifier, or state
- Quick access to favorite airports
- Monthly automatic updates
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FAA Instrument Approach charts (Terminal Procedures) for the US - Includes Airport diagrams, Minimums, STARS and DPs - Includes detailed airport and runway information for all US airports - Includes weather and NOTAMs when available - Search by airport name, city, identifier or state - Quick access to your most used airports - Always current: database and charts update automatically every month - Full screen view option Approach charts requires a subscription that will give you access to all FAA instrument approach charts for the United States, updated every 28 days, live weather and NOTAMs. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.bbflight.com/in-cockpit-apps-for-pilots/approach-charts/approach-charts-privacy-policy
Plotter
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Plan your flight by hand with Plotter on iPhone and iPad. Place a transparent navigation ruler on the map, align the rotating grid and keep your measurements, drawings and study notes in one workspace. A MANUAL PLOTTER ON YOUR MAP • Move, rotate and resize the ruler. Turn its gridded disk independently of the body. • Align the grid with map meridians, read reciprocal directions and choose nautical or statute miles. • Zoom in for shorter distances: distance marks recalibrate to the map scale. • Record your own readings, then compare them with calculated references when you choose. DRAW AND KEEP YOUR WORK Use Apple's drawing tools for pens, markers, erasers, colors and line widths. Apple Pencil works on supported iPads. Drawings stay attached to geographic positions when you pan or zoom. Add your own VOR, VOR/DME, NDB, airfield and reporting-point symbols, names and notes. Routes, drawings, symbols and student notes remain saved on your device when you reopen the app. Share a complete study document or export route JSON/GPX and navigation-log CSV. MAPS THAT TRAVEL WITH YOU Choose a whole-world package of approximately 4.05 GB or 8.53 GB, or download the visible area at your preferred detail level. Check size, follow progress, pause and resume. Offline coverage ends at the downloaded area and detail level; zooming further adds no new data. Initial downloads need internet and sufficient storage. PLAN AND LEARN Use route, wind-correction, heading, time, fuel and E6B calculations with your own inputs. View NOAA METAR observations and their timestamps. Optional GPS recording works while the app is active. The interface supports English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. Map place names depend on the available source data. No separate Plotter account is required. SUBSCRIPTION Map and study tools require a monthly auto-renewing subscription. Eligible users receive a 3-day free trial, then the U.S. reference price is USD 4/month. Apple shows the actual local price, currency and trial eligibility before you confirm. Without a trial, payment applies when you confirm the purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews monthly unless canceled. To avoid trial renewal, cancel at least 24 hours before it ends in Settings > your name > Subscriptions. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription. Expiry does not automatically delete saved work or downloaded files. Plotter is a planning and learning aid. The basemap is not an official or certified aeronautical chart. Use current official charts, NOTAMs, weather briefings and approved aircraft data. User symbols are annotations, not a live navaid database. Sharing a route does not file an ATS flight plan. New METAR requests require internet; map offline mode does not disable weather or Apple connections. GPS recording stops in the background. Privacy: https://akincijet.com/plotter/privacy/ Terms of Use (Apple EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: https://akincijet.com/plotter/support/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Plotter at every 3 days against Approach Charts's every 3 months. Approach Charts's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Approach Charts sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Plotter sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Approach Charts ships an update every 3 months, Plotter every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Approach Charts | Plotter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.0 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 122 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Candidus LLC | Yigit Can Akinci |
In-app purchases
Approach Charts
- Monthly subscription2 Months trial$0.991 Month
- Annual subscription2 Months trial$9.991 Year
Plotter
- Plotter Monthly3 Days trial$4.001 Month









