Comparison

SkyCharts XC EFB vs DroneSense

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

Head to head
About

SkyCharts XC EFB

Access FAA aviation charts and approach plates updated regularly. This app provides international airport data and allows for route creation and modification directly on the map. Download charts for offline use and view weather overlays.

Highlights
  • Updated FAA aviation charts
  • Approach plates and geo plates
  • International airport data
  • Route creation and modification
  • Offline chart downloads
  • METAR/TAF weather overlays
  • Special Use Airspace information
Features
Read full description

Current FAA aviation charts updated every 28 days, including approach plates! Includes basic international airport data from ourairports.net and openAIP.net. Please note that for charts outside of USA non current ONC/VFR with a current openAIP overlay is available, but NO IFR charts or plates are available. Includes a free 30 day trial! If you wish to continue using SkyCharts after the trial, please purchase a $3.99/month subscription. Note that buying a subscription does not unlock any additional features. See full description regarding auto-renewing subscriptions, privacy policy and EULA below. For USA/Alaska, the application has all current FAA VFR (sectional+WAC), IFR (High and Low), TAC, FLY (flip side of TAC chart), Helicopter, Gulf Coast WAC, Gulf Of America, and Wall aviation charts. Grand Canyon charts are included in the TAC charts, and Bahamas and Mexico as WAC charts. Also included is a METAR/TAF overlay, and an IFR overlay to view routes on top of VFR charts. Its very easy to create and modify routes directly on the map or by drag&drop in table. Navigation readout is configurable to fit exactly what you want to see. It also has a nifty auto-layout feature that selects fields for you in both portrait and landscape mode. DOUBLE TAP on map to view A/FD and approach plates. Map has VFR/IFR/LIFR color-coded weather METARs, with orange TAFs. SUA (Special Use Airspace) information is also available. Download charts and plates for offline usage. Features: * Fast zoom/scroll of included charts using standard gestures. * Allows download of charts for offline usage. Charts are selected on a region basis. * Navigation computes GS, TRK, DTK, DIS & ETE to final waypoint. * METAR/TAF color coded dots according to ADDS: http://www.skycharts.net/?page_id=421 * Double tap on airport to select A/FD and TPPs/IAPs to view. * Huge built-in navigation database, with all 20,000 airports, 45,000 FAA IFR/VFR navigation fixes and 2,100 FAA VOR/ADF fixes. For more information, please see the webpage at http://www.skycharts.net The monthly subscription of SkyCharts XC aviation data of $3.99 is auto-renewed. Payment will be charged to your iTunes/App Store account at confirmation of purchase. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes/App Store account settings, but you must do so at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period to avoid being billed for the next cycle. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription to SkyCharts XC. The privacy policy and EULA can be found here: http://www.skycharts.net/?page_id=1465 For fast response to all questions, comments or suggestions, please email support@skycharts.net

About

DroneSense

This platform enables public safety agencies to manage drone operations, from pilot control and asset management to real-time situational awareness for incident commanders. It offers automated flight logging and a centralized system for organizing personnel, hardware, and flight history.

Highlights
  • Professional drone piloting
  • Live video streaming
  • Automated flight logging
  • Asset and risk management
  • Real-time situational awareness
  • Collaborative operations hub
Read full description

For UAS Pilots - Fly a wide range of professional drones with DroneSense! Simply download this app directly onto your iPad and plug directly into any drone remote. Incorporating the latest and greatest drone is easy; there is no new training as the pilot will always fly with our app and have the same experience, no matter what drone is chosen. Share your live video stream with incident commanders easily to enable increased situational awareness on-scene. Automated flight logging ensures all data from all flights are available at any time. For Program Administrators - DroneSense is your complete system of record. It is a complete asset and risk management tool that provides accountability and transparency across your organization. Organize your people, hardware, and flight history in a powerful but intuitive interface. Whether it is automatically logging flight hours, filing NOTAMs, or managing personnel, DroneSense is your one-stop solution. Our software lets you quickly leverage all your resources so you can spend more time focused on the mission at hand. For Incident Commanders - DroneSense gives incident commanders and remote stakeholders the power to strategize and tactically collaborate. Our Operations Hub enables you to share real-time, low-latency, high definition views of a scene and plan dynamically. Anyone with a connected device can see a live pilot session, and multiple drone pilots can work together seamlessly. Please note that usage of the DroneSense Platform requires user registration and authorization from accredited public safety agencies.

Screenshots

SkyCharts XC EFB4 screens
DroneSense2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DroneSense at 100% against SkyCharts XC EFB's 32%. DroneSense also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (32 vs 1). SkyCharts XC EFB's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, 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. SkyCharts XC EFB sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. DroneSense asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SkyCharts XC EFB holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DroneSense has 32 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 32% of SkyCharts XC EFB's written reviews are positive against 100% of DroneSense's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 2, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SkyCharts XC EFB versus DroneSense: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkyCharts XC EFBDroneSense
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.6 (32 ratings)
Positive reviews31.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings132 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB375 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSkyCharts LLCDroneSense INC

Customer experience

SkyCharts XC EFB

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive31.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative68.4%

DroneSense

All ratings32 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SkyCharts XC EFB

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly subscription to current aviation data.$3.991 Month
None

DroneSense

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SkyCharts XC EFB free?
SkyCharts XC EFB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DroneSense free?
DroneSense is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SkyCharts XC EFB or DroneSense?
SkyCharts XC EFB is rated higher. SkyCharts XC EFB averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while DroneSense averages 4.6 from 32 ratings.
Do SkyCharts XC EFB or DroneSense have ads?
Neither SkyCharts XC EFB nor DroneSense shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SkyCharts XC EFB or DroneSense?
SkyCharts XC EFB ships an update monthly, and DroneSense monthly. Most recently, SkyCharts XC EFB was updated on September 2, 2026 and DroneSense on June 11, 2026.

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