# Qatar Airways vs Emirates

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Emirates at 57% against Qatar Airways's 22%. Qatar Airways's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Qatar Airways holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47K and 9.8K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 22% of Qatar Airways's written reviews are positive against 57% of Emirates's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Qatar Airways ships an update every 2 weeks, Emirates every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Qatar Airways | Emirates |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (47K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qatar-airways/id581264644/reviews)** | [4.5 (9.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emirates/id935307149/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **47K** | 9.8K |
| Positive reviews | 22.2% of reviews | **56.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#124** | #181 |
| Size | 510 MB | 295 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Qatar Airways](https://appshunter.io/developer/551975661) | [Emirates](https://appshunter.io/developer/331907534) |

## What reviewers say

### Qatar Airways

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qatar-airways/id581264644)

**Currently charting:** #124 Top Free · Travel (US App Store)

Manage your entire travel experience, from booking flights and checking in to earning rewards and exploring destinations. This app offers personalized recommendations, AI assistance for bookings and in-flight services, and convenient payment options.

**Highlights:** Personalized travel recommendations, AI-powered booking assistant (Sama), Earn and manage Avios rewards, Book stopover packages, Digital boarding passes, In-flight Wi-Fi access, Live Activity trip updates

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great airline, excellent service
- 🚀 Smooth booking experience
- 💯 Best airline, amazing flights

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy app with constant issues
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate, poor UX
- 🕰️ Slow and unresponsive app
- 🔒 Login problems and security concerns
- 🤖 Terrible customer service

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to create account due to password issues
- Login issues, unable to access account
- Seat selection not working, app crashes
- Boarding passes not showing up in app

**Requested features**

- Add passkey (Face ID) login
- Improve seat selection and upgrade process
- Integrate with Apple Wallet for boarding passes
- Provide better flight status updates


### Emirates

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emirates/id935307149)

**Currently charting:** #181 Top Free · Travel (US App Store)

Book flights to over 150 destinations, manage your trip details like meals and seats, and check in online. Receive real-time flight updates and access your loyalty program information.

**Highlights:** Search and book flights, Manage trip details (meals, seats), Online check-in and digital boarding pass, Real-time flight updates, Loyalty program management (Skywards Miles), Apple Watch integration for travel alerts

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Convenient features
- 🚀 Smooth check-in process
- 🚀 Informative and intuitive
- 👍 Excellent app for frequent flyers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and technical issues
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🐛 Unreliable app performance
- 🐛 Slow and unresponsive at times
- 🐛 Session timeouts and login problems

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to complete check-in through the app
- Passport and personal details not saving properly
- Seat selection and upgrade functionality not working
- Skywards miles not displaying correctly
- Boarding pass not showing all necessary information

**Requested features**

- Ability to manage family/group bookings with shared miles
- Improved seat selection and upgrade options
- Better integration with loyalty program and account management
- More language support, especially for Arabic
- Streamlined check-in and boarding pass handling


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Qatar Airways free?

Qatar Airways is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Emirates free?

Emirates is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Qatar Airways or Emirates?

Qatar Airways is rated higher. Qatar Airways averages 4.7 out of 5 from 47K ratings, while Emirates averages 4.5 from 9.8K ratings.

### Do Qatar Airways or Emirates have ads?

Both Qatar Airways and Emirates show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Qatar Airways or Emirates?

Qatar Airways ships an update every 2 weeks, and Emirates every 3 weeks. Most recently, Qatar Airways was updated on September 27, 2026 and Emirates on September 26, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Qatar Airways or Emirates?

Qatar Airways currently peaks at #124 in the App Store charts, and Emirates at #181. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*