Comparison

X vs Flight Simulator

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

Head to head
About

X

Experience realistic flight simulation with detailed aircraft and interactive cockpits. Explore numerous 3D airports and terrain, with options to expand globally via subscription. Engage in multiplayer or practice with free tutorials.

Highlights
  • Realistic flight physics
  • Interactive 3D cockpits
  • Detailed 3D airports
  • Free tutorials
  • Massive multiplayer
  • System failure simulation
  • Combat missions
Features
Read full description

The most realistic aircraft. The world at your fingertips. It’s not a game, it’s a flight simulator. ▶ "Highly recommended." — Mel Martin, Engadget ◀ ▶ Featured by Apple in "Best New Games" ◀ ▶ Over 1 million downloads! ◀ Come experience why real pilots fly X-Plane. It starts with the flight model—the same flight model used in our FAA-certified desktop simulator—that’s complete enough to model the flex in your wings & the tilt in your landing gear. Add to that our desktop-quality aircraft with multiple liveries and interactive 3-D cockpits—so detailed you can do a full startup procedure using the hundreds of buttons, knobs, & switches in the cockpit. With working gauges, flight displays, & more, these cockpits are as realistic as those in our full desktop sim. But aircraft are no good without a place to fly them. That's why each of our 5 ▸free◂ regions features detailed terrain, lifelike city buildings, & 3D airports—complete with terminal buildings, jetways, hangars, & more. Want more? Subscribe to unlock global scenery, and get access to over 37,000 airports, with more than 11,500 airports featuring 3D terminals, hangars, & more. ▶ FEATURES √ 9 ▸free◂ tutorials, teaching the basics of takeoffs & landings, traffic patterns, helicopters, & more √ Massive multiplayer with thousands of other pilots and controllers in a single shared world (Professional subscribers only; non-subscribers can get free trial flights for a limited time) √ Fully interactive cockpits on many aircraft, wired to real systems models, with working gauges, displays, buttons, & switches √ Full startup procedures supported on many aircraft (optionally start any aircraft from cold & dark) √ More than 50 systems modeled, each of which can be failed on command √ Emergency scenarios √ Combat missions ▶ AIRCRAFT The app includes 2 aircraft (plus 5 scenery regions) for free. In addition, the following aircraft are available as in-app purchases: • ▸Free!◂ Cessna 172SP w/ 4 liveries • ▸Free!◂ Cirrus Vision SF50 w/ 5 liveries • Cirrus SR22 w/ 3 liveries • Cessna Citation X w/ 3 liveries • Airbus A320 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Airbus A330-300 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Boeing B737-800 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Boeing B777-200ER Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Boeing B747-400 Jumbo Jet w/ 3 liveries • Bombardier CRJ200 Regional Jet w/ 3 liveries • Douglas DC-3 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • McDonnell Douglas MD-80 w/ 3 liveries • A-10 Thunderbolt II (“Warthog”) Fighter • F-22 Raptor Fighter • F-4 Phantom II Fighter • Beechcraft Baron B58 • Beechcraft King Air C90B • Piper PA-18 Super Cub • Piaggio P.180 Avanti • Sikorsky S76 Helicopter ▶ SCENERY 5 scenery regions are ▸free◂ for everyone! • Oahu, Hawaii • Grand Canyon • Seattle/Tacoma, Washington • Juneau, Alaska • Innsbruck, Austria Global scenery is available by purchasing a monthly or yearly subscription. ▶ MULTIPLAYER Join tens of thousands of pilots and controllers in a single, shared world! Take part in the Fly-In of the Day to meet up with hundreds of other pilots, or explore the MMO world for spontaneous encounters with fellow aviators. X-Plane Mobile's massive multiplayer experience continues to grow, with ongoing updates bringing new features, refinements, and improvements to make flying together even better. Terms of Service available at: https://www.x-plane.com/x-plane-mobile-terms-of-service/ Download X-Plane now to experience aviation like never before.

About

Flight Simulator

Experience the thrill of piloting remote-controlled planes in a realistic 3D environment. Master flight controls, navigate challenging obstacle courses, and land your aircraft safely within a limited battery life.

Highlights
  • Realistic 3D flight simulation
  • Learn to fly and land planes
  • Navigate obstacle courses
  • Time-limited battery challenges
  • Progressive difficulty levels
Features
Read full description

Flight Simulator: RC Plane 3D is the most fun RC or Plane Simulator you will get to play here. Start off on the easy levels, learning how to fly your small airplane, after which you get to land it. Once you're past these few learning levels, that's where it gets exciting: you get to fly the plane through small gaps and obstacles. You only have a set amount of battery life to get the plane through all the hoops and through to the landing spot.

Screenshots

X4 screens
Flight Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Flight Simulator at none against X's 10. Flight Simulator also leads on rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 16.0). X's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (25K vs 660). On price, 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. X sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Flight Simulator asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Flight Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: X has 25K ratings behind it against 660, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of X's written reviews are positive against 45% of Flight Simulator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

X ships an update fortnightly, Flight Simulator every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
X versus Flight Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXFlight Simulator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (25K ratings)4.3 (660 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.1% of reviews — better45.0% of reviews
Number of ratings25K — better660
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.0 GB85 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperLaminar ResearchAttribute

Customer experience

X

All ratings24,665 ratings
Positive74.6%
Neutral7.2%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews2,671 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral14.5%
Negative27.5%

Flight Simulator

All ratings659 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral6.2%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative45.0%

User reviews

X

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Realistic flight physics
  • 👍 Highly interactive cockpits
  • 🤠 Great for flight enthusiasts
  • 💡 Potential to be used for flight training

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive planes and subscription
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches in some planes
  • 🌍 Limited free global scenery
  • 🎮 Challenging controls for beginners

Flight Simulator

From 660 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Engaging and addictive gameplay
  • 🧠 Challenging and requires strategy
  • 🎨 Good UI design
  • 😌 Relaxing and fun experience
  • 💡 Innovative airplane flying concept

Room to improve

  • 📺 Excessive ads throughout gameplay
  • 📺 Ads interrupt at critical moments
  • ⚠️ Difficulty level too high
  • 💸 Aggressive in-app purchases
  • 🐛 Game crashes on startup

Bugs and requests

X

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Altitude hold issues in the MD-80
  • Inconsistent cockpit quality across different planes
  • Unexpected plane behavior during takeoff and landing

Requested features

5 requests
  • More free planes, especially commercial airliners
  • Larger free flight area and more airports
  • Improved autopilot and flight planning features
  • Addition of ground services like pushback and jetways
  • More realistic weather, lighting, and environmental effects

Flight Simulator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes immediately on launch
  • Game crashes during gameplay
  • Level completion detection fails (shows 'level fair' error)
  • Ads appear before game even starts

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels
  • Paper plane option
  • Ad-free or reduced ad experience
  • Option to disable ads with offline mode

In-app purchases

10 purchases

X

Subscriptions2
  • X-Plane Mobile Basic$4.991 Month
  • X-Plane Mobile Professional$5.991 Month
One-time8
  • Piper SuperCub$0.99
  • Baron B58$1.99
  • Sikorsky S76$2.99
Show 5 more
  • Airbus A320$4.99
  • F-22 Raptor$4.99
  • Boeing 777-200ER$4.99
  • Boeing 747-400$4.99
  • Boeing B737-800$4.99
None

Flight Simulator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is X free?
X is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flight Simulator free?
Flight Simulator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, X or Flight Simulator?
Flight Simulator is rated higher. X averages 4.0 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while Flight Simulator averages 4.3 from 660 ratings.
Do X or Flight Simulator have ads?
Neither X nor Flight Simulator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, X or Flight Simulator?
X ships an update fortnightly, and Flight Simulator every 8 months. Most recently, X was updated on November 5, 2026 and Flight Simulator on November 2, 2026.

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