X vs OptiFlight
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
X
Experience a highly realistic flight simulator with accurate physics and detailed 3D cockpits. Explore numerous airports and terrain, with options to expand scenery and aircraft through subscription and in-app purchases.
- Realistic flight model
- Interactive 3D cockpits
- Detailed 3D airports
- Free tutorials
- Massive multiplayer
- System failure simulation
- Emergency scenarios
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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 Come join tens of thousands of other pilots and controllers in a single, shared world! Try the Fly-In of the Day to meet up with hundreds of other pilots, or explore the MMO world for more chance encounters. Massive multiplayer is in early access—we wanted to get it in your hands as soon as possible—so we’re going to continue adding new features & improvements over the coming months. 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.
OptiFlight
Design intricate flight networks to connect cities and guide passengers efficiently. Adapt your routes to dynamic events like airport rushes and closures across over 350 themed levels. Test your strategic planning skills in historical, present-day, and weather-simulated scenarios.
- Design flight networks
- Create historical flight maps
- Simulate inclement weather
- Use real-world cities
- 350+ levels
- Analyze in-game statistics
- Compete on leaderboards
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Step into the world of airline route planning, where your goal is to create a flight network to guide passengers to their destinations in a limited amount of time. You get to call the shots on which routes to draw and which cities to designate as hubs that best serve each scenario. The flight maps you design will also need to be efficient and flexible to accommodate for events that may occur, like airport rushes and closures, as its effects ripple throughout your network. With over 350 geographically and historically themed levels to play, each map you make will be put to the test. MAIN FEATURES - Take a step back in time and create flight maps for past historical scenarios, like the 1849 California Gold Rush and the 2012 London Olympic Games - Prepare for the future and create flight maps in realistic inclement weather simulation, including Hurricanes and Blizzards - Understand the present and create flight maps using actual cities, like New York City and Tokyo, to reflect real flight patterns FAN-FAVORITE LEVELS Vote for your favorite level in the Preferences page ① Big Game (Level 36, Contiguous US) ② Silk Road (Level 17, Asia) ③ Big Apple (Level 18, Contiguous US) ④ Sustain (Level 38, Contiguous US) ⑤ Sustain (Level 38, Europe) ⑥ Tourism Capital (Level 20, Oceania) OTHER FEATURES - Play 350+ levels across multiple maps like America, Europe, and Asia - Analyze in-game statistics to help fine-tune your flight map - Speed up or slow down the game to your comfort - Compete for the top spot on worldwide leaderboards - Simplistic interface and experience - No ads FUTURE FEATURES - More maps! - More levels! - More cities!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: OptiFlight at 4.6 against X's 4.0. OptiFlight also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 58%). X's advantage is ratings volume (25K vs 1.3K) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. X sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and OptiFlight sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
OptiFlight holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: X has 25K ratings behind it against 1.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of X's written reviews are positive against 80% of OptiFlight's.
X ships an update fortnightly, OptiFlight every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | X | OptiFlight |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (25K ratings) | 4.6 (1.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.2% of reviews | 79.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25K — better | 1.3K |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.0 GB | 131 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Laminar Research | Krish Suchdev |
Customer experience
X
OptiFlight
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
OptiFlight
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
X
- X-Plane Mobile Basic$4.991 Month
- X-Plane Mobile Professional$5.991 Month
- Piper SuperCub$0.99
- Baron B58$1.99
- Sikorsky S76$2.99
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- McDonnell Douglas MD-80$4.99
- Airbus A320$4.99
- F-22 Raptor$4.99
- Boeing 777-200ER$4.99
- Boeing 747-400$4.99
- Boeing B737-800$4.99
OptiFlight
- Small Tip$1.00
- OptiFlight Expansion$1.99
- Large Tip$5.00
Questions
Is X free?
Is OptiFlight free?
Which has better reviews, X or OptiFlight?
Do X or OptiFlight have ads?
Which is updated more often, X or OptiFlight?
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