X vs Aviateur
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
Read full descriptionHide 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 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.
Aviateur
Experience realistic flight simulation with a variety of aircraft and diverse, accurate real-world locations. Engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, master challenging landings, and customize weather conditions for an immersive adventure.
- Multiple aircraft types
- Geographically accurate locations
- Air combat (WWII and Modern)
- Dynamic weather system
- Challenging landings
- Customizable flight dynamics
- Day/Night cycle
Read full descriptionHide full description
Features: -Several aircraft to choose from -Diverse, geographically accurate real-world locations - Air-to-Air and Air-to-ground combat battles against fighter jets, WWII aircraft, tanks, destroyers, submarines, AAAs, SAM missile systems - 2 Combat Eras to choose from - WWII and Modern - Command wingmen into combat, or fly various formations - Rack up a high score in Air Endurance mode where you fight endless enemies -Practice aircraft carrier, destroyer ship and oil platform landings -24 hour Day/Night cycle -Customizable, fully dynamic weather that varies spatially and with time (clear, cloudy, hurricane, thunderstorm, rain, snowstorm, thermals, and more!) -Landing/Engine failure Challenges -Racing Challenges -Air Traffic Control -Comprehensive flight dynamics - Pilot a variety of aircraft, from jet airliner, fighter jets, civilian and military helicopters, general aviation, and vintage planes! - Test your landing skills by landing on an aircraft carrier, destroyer ship or an oil rig, or perhaps add some crosswinds, some turbulence and rain to make things more challenging! - Create air-to-ground combat battles and make use of weapons such as cannons, missiles, bombs, rockets and flares and survive against enemies such as tanks, destroyer ships, surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artilleries and more! - Features fully customizable weather. Control the cloud cover in multiple layers, recreate thunderstorms, snowstorms, rain, customize winds and gusts, visibility and add turbulence! - Visit the locations of Cape Verde and Grand Canyons and take in the views of vast rugged terrain! Locations are recreated on a 1:1 scale with accurate terrain, fully recreated cities, towns and roads from real geodata. Airports are recreated with accuracy and detail to mirror their real life counterparts. - Put your aerobatic stunts on display with the use of customizable aerobatic smoke! - Launch your glider into the sky with a winch and soar through the clouds in an authentic glider simulation! - Try out some landing challenges or create your own! Test your emergency skills with engine failures! - Break the sound barrier in the sky with supersonic jets! - Features Attack Helicopters! - Race against time in racing challenges! - Ability to park your aircraft and walk around! - Features in-depth flight dynamics modelling to bring authenticity to each aircraft! - Features a full day and night cycle! - Features aircraft customization such as changing paint color, selecting weaponry loadouts, external fuel tanks and more! - Fly from a variety of viewing angles, be it 360 degrees around the aircraft, inside the cockpit, or from the passenger seat! - Features ATC (Air Traffic Control) communication and procedures! - Features customizable air traffic! - In-depth controls featuring flaps, gear, spoilers (arm), rudder, reverse thrust, engine start/stop, elevator trim, lights, drag chutes and more! - Features instruments such as: Artificial horizon, altimeter, airspeed, in-flight map, heading, Vertical Speed Indicator, Engine RPM/N1, fuel, G-force gauge, Head-Up Display etc. - Features 3D instrument gauges in cockpits! - Navigate using ILS systems! - Features in-depth Autopilot (Vertical Speed, Altitude change, Autothrottle, Heading) and warning systems for each aircraft! - Features in-depth weapon systems simulation!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Aviateur at 4.7 against X's 4.0. Aviateur also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 58%). X's advantage is ratings volume (25K vs 106) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). 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 Aviateur sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Aviateur holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: X has 25K ratings behind it against 106, 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 87% of Aviateur's.
X ships an update fortnightly, Aviateur every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | X | Aviateur |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (25K ratings) | 4.7 (106 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.2% of reviews | 86.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25K — better | 106 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| 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 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.0 GB | 793 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Laminar Research | Rajatdeep Bakshi |
Customer experience
X
Aviateur
User reviews
X
From 25K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Aviateur
From 106 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Amazing flight simulator experience
- 🚫 No forced ads
- 🎮 Agile interface with many controls
- ✈️ Large variety of aircraft
- 🗺️ Evocative graphics
Room to improve
- 💰 Most good planes cost money
- 💸 Pay to win aspect
- 🗺️ Limited maps
- 🛬 Landing on terrain can be difficult
- 💥 Unrealistic explosions on impact
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
Aviateur
Reported bugs
8 issues- Plane explodes when hitting a tree
- Enemy ground units lock on from too far
- Planes cannot be unlocked (network issue)
- Cannot purchase/restore plane purchases (internet connection required)
- Sun breaks the game (makes everything pink)
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Stalling when looking at the sun
- Weather editing doesn't allow continuation
- Purple vision when pulling Gs
Requested features
28 requests- Add 747 400, 747 8, 777
- Add 747
- Add 777
- Add AH64 Apache
- Add cars that drive on the streets
Show 23 moreShow fewer
- Worldwide boundless scale flying
- More cities
- More free planes (airliners, fighter jets)
- More alarms (pull up alarm)
- Add a new plane (747, 737-100)
- Better camera controls
- Free DC-10, L-1011, 727, 747
- More added aircraft (Airbus A380, Boeing 777, etc.)
- Add fighter jets
- Add WW2 plane and turboprop airliner
- Purchase pack for all planes
- More airports/promotions
- Add C-17 Globemaster III
- More maps (Pacific North West, Canada/Alaska, Japan, Alps)
- Career mode or procedurally generated tasks (cargo flights, passenger flights, rescue missions)
- Multiplayer
- Failure menu (engine fire, etc.)
- Add joystick control option
- Pause game photo mode
- Hide HUD icons
- Add more military planes
- Improve effect
- More free flights
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
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- 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
Aviateur
- Fishbed$0.49
- Lightning II Carrier Variant$0.49
- Blackbird$0.49
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- MH-6E$0.49
- Mi-28N$0.49
- Airbus A380$0.49
- Boeing 787$0.49
- Chinook$0.49
- Concorde$0.49
- Douglas DC-3$0.49
- F-16C$0.49
- Extra 330sc$0.49
- SU-27S$0.49
Questions
Is X free?
Is Aviateur free?
Which has better reviews, X or Aviateur?
Do X or Aviateur have ads?
Which is updated more often, X or Aviateur?
Other comparisons















