Comparison

AutoDens vs Metar

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

Head to head
About

AutoDens

This app automatically calculates air density, relative humidity, and air pressure using real-time internet data. It provides essential meteorological information for engines and aircraft, including location, temperature, and dewpoint.

Highlights
  • Automatic, airport, and manual modes
  • Real-time location and weather data
  • METAR data from nearest airports
  • Calculates density altitude and pressure altitude
  • Supports custom units
  • Extensive airport database
Features
Read full description

AutoDens does all the air density calculation at just one single touch. Temperature, air pressure and humidity have affects to the performance of engines and aircrafts. AutoDens helps to get all the required parameters automaticly via the internet and calculates the current air density, relative humidity and air pressure. It also shows your geographic position, current temperature, dewpoint, physical elevation and the barometric pressure (QNH). Features: - automatic, airport and offline (manual) mode - getting current location - loading meteo-data (METAR) from the nearest airport - calculating meteo-values for the current geo position (using up to 4 different airports nearby) - shows METAR of nearest airport in raw format - calculates density altitude, pressure altitude, relative humidity, air density and QFE - choose your preferred units (celsius / fahrenheit, hectopascal/inches of mercury, feet/meters) - database with more than 40'000 airports worldwide AutoDens might help you as a efficient tool for calculating air density. But since it relays on a working infrastructure, it might not produce accurate results in all situations (internet connection could fail or some odd weather conditions might not act as it is calculated in ISA standard-atmoshpere). Do not use this as your single source for flight preparation.

About

Metar

This app visualizes aviation weather reports (METAR and TAF) for airports worldwide. It offers easy-to-understand metrics, weather symbols, crosswind calculations, and flight rule categories. Users can listen to decoded reports, track favorite stations, and view historical weather trends.

Highlights
  • Visualized METAR and TAF data
  • Weather symbols and flight rule categories
  • Crosswind calculations
  • Text-to-speech readout
  • Favorite station tracking
  • Interactive airport map
  • Weather trend graphs
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Visualized METAR and TAF weather information for all airports in the world. Concise summary of everything you need to know about today's aviation weather. METAR features: - Visualized in easy to understand and colourful metrics - Weather symbols for significant weather and clouds, like in a non-aviation weather report - Crosswind calculations, by combining METAR and runway information - Flight rules category: VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR - Read out by text-to-speech available, listen to a decoded METAR while doing other things TAF features: - TAF broken down and displayed per hour in a table - Show sunrise/sunset, minimum and maximum temperature Keeping track: - Add your favorite stations to the list, see their weather at a glance - Get observations near your location - Find stations in the interactive map with weather codes - Search airports by ICAO code or name History: - Graphs with weather trends today and yesterday: temperature, visibility, wind speed, QNH - METAR history for the last hours and link to more on the website Airport information: - See information about the airports, like runway directions, elevation, location - If the airport doesn't report a METAR, the nearest station used for calculations Calculations: - All units are customizable units: speed (knots, km/h, m/s, mph), altitude (meters/feet), visibility (kilometers/miles), temperature (Celcius/Fahrenheit) and air pressure (Hectopascal, Inch Hg) - Times are converted to the local time for each airport - Sunrise and sunset are calculated based on the airports latitude/longitude General: - METAR, TAF and airport data are automatically saved for offline use - Available in 6 languages: English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, German and French

Screenshots

AutoDens4 screens
Metar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AutoDens at Free against Metar's $5.99. AutoDens also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 77%) and iOS requirement (7.1 vs 15.1). Metar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 15 months). On rating, 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

AutoDens is free to download; Metar costs $5.99 up front. AutoDens sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Metar asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for AutoDens against 4.8 for Metar. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 185 and 583 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of AutoDens's written reviews are positive against 77% of Metar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AutoDens ships an update every 15 months, Metar monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
AutoDens versus Metar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAutoDensMetar
PriceFree — better$5.99
Rating4.8 (185 ratings)4.8 (583 ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.5% of reviews — better77.1% of reviews
Number of ratings185583 — better
Update frequencyEvery 15 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#19 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.1 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptobyte AGEveline van den Boom

Customer experience

AutoDens

All ratings185 ratings
Positive98.9%
Neutral0.5%
Negative0.5%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%

Metar

All ratings579 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral10.0%
Negative12.9%

User reviews

AutoDens

From 185 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient calculations
  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • ✅ Accurate and reliable
  • 💡 Useful for flight preparation
  • 👍 Great for pilots

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Outdated information
  • 🐛 Inconsistent pressure altitude readings
  • 🐛 Zeros elevation automatically
  • 🐛 Ads cannot be removed despite purchase
  • 🐛 Automatic pressure incorrect

Metar

From 583 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to read and understand interface
  • 📊 Clear visual representation of METAR/TAF data
  • 🎯 Quick access to airport weather information
  • ⚡ Fast and responsive app performance
  • 💰 Reasonable pricing for the features offered

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Autocorrect issues with ICAO airport codes
  • 🚫 Missing widget functionality (home screen)
  • 📍 Incorrect airport data for some locations
  • 🔐 Excessive verification prompts and login requirements
  • 📊 Visual cloud base calculation error on iPad

Bugs and requests

AutoDens

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Outdated identifier (K00V instead of KFLY)
  • Inconsistent Pressure Altitude readings on different phones
  • App zeros elevation every time
  • Ads not removed after purchase
  • Automatic pressure incorrect in automatic mode
Show 3 more
  • Airport selection interface not convenient
  • Automatic update does not work well, updates from distant locations
  • Broken support link

Requested features

6 requests
  • Include a cloud base calculator
  • Make app Android compatible
  • Output deviation to international standard atmosphere
  • Allow setting favorite airports
  • Show calculation formulas
Show 1 more
  • Fix broken support link

Metar

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Autocorrect adds unwanted spaces to airport codes
  • Visual cloud base off by 2000 feet on iPad
  • Screen goes black when searching for airports
  • App badge cannot be cleared
  • Browse Older Metars redirects to blank website
Show 3 more
  • App defaults to portrait mode on iPad
  • Incorrect METAR data shown for nearby airports instead of requested airport
  • Excessive 'verify you're human' prompts after donation

Requested features

14 requests
  • Home screen widget support
  • Crosswind with gust information
  • Runway alignment feature in app (not just web)
  • Dewpoint and temperature meteogram graph
  • Runway degree headings display
Show 9 more
  • Split-screen support for iPad
  • Refresh button on active METAR page
  • Ability to sort favorite airports
  • Landscape mode default for iPad
  • Unit conversion tools (gallons/liters)
  • MSFS 2020 integration or compatibility
  • Extended METAR history (12+ hours)
  • Disable autocorrect option for search
  • More comprehensive airport coverage

In-app purchases

1 purchases

AutoDens

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99
None

Metar

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AutoDens free?
AutoDens is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Metar free?
Metar costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AutoDens or Metar?
Metar is rated higher. AutoDens averages 4.8 out of 5 from 185 ratings, while Metar averages 4.8 from 583 ratings.
Do AutoDens or Metar have ads?
Neither AutoDens nor Metar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AutoDens or Metar?
AutoDens ships an update every 15 months, and Metar monthly. Most recently, AutoDens was updated on October 29, 2026 and Metar on October 30, 2026.

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