# Air Codes vs Ground News

The clearest difference is update cadence: Air Codes at daily against Ground News's fortnightly. Air Codes also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and review sentiment (71% vs 53%). Ground News's advantage is ratings volume (49K vs 451) and chart position (#1 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Air Codes sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Ground News sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Air Codes against 4.7 for Ground News. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ground News has 49K ratings behind it against 451, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Air Codes's written reviews are positive against 53% of Ground News's.

Air Codes ships an update daily, Ground News fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Air Codes | Ground News |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (451 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/air-codes/id645448938/reviews) | **[4.7 (49K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ground-news/id1324203419/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 451 | **49K** |
| Positive reviews | **70.8% of reviews** | 52.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | **#1** |
| Size | 9 MB | 98 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Roman Magerko](https://appshunter.io/developer/602673950) | [Snapwise Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/922865702) |

## What reviewers say

### Air Codes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/air-codes/id645448938)

Stay informed about aviation news, incidents, and industry updates with a curated feed. Access detailed information on airports, airlines, and past accidents. Features include push notifications and personalized favorites.

**Highlights:** Curated aviation news feed, Detailed airport and airline information, Accident database, Push notifications for breaking news, Airport and airline favorites, Live airport weather

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Airports 10 days | $3.99 | one-time |
| Airlines 10 days | $3.99 | one-time |
| Accidents 10 days | $3.99 | one-time |
| Flights 10 days | $6.99 | one-time |
| Gift: All-Access 30 days | $8.99 | one-time |
| All-Access Pass 1 Month | $8.99 | one-time |
| All-Access Pass 1 Year | $39.99 | one-time |
| Gift: All-Access 1 year | $39.99 | one-time |
| Airlines Lifetime | $44.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Comprehensive airport and airline code database
- 📰 Up-to-date aviation news feed
- ✈️ Excellent resource for aviation enthusiasts and industry professionals
- 🎨 Good graphical presentation (in earlier versions)
- 🔄 Regular updates with new airports and information

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes on launch
- 💰 Paywall for features previously free
- 🔍 Search functionality is broken or unreliable
- 📵 Intrusive review prompts during usage
- 📰 Excessive messaging and YouTube link notifications

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on opening (iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 13, iPhone SE)
- Force closing issue persisting for months
- Search returns no results despite data being present
- Airline IATA code search not working
- Airport search unresponsive

**Requested features**

- Airline code search functionality
- Aircraft information (origin, seats, range, wingspan, status)
- Flight status feature (working properly)
- Test/quiz feature for studying
- Support for missing airlines (ASKY Airlines, etc.)


### Ground News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ground-news/id1324203419)

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Free · Magazines & Newspapers, #3 Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers, #5 Top Free · News, #5 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

This app aggregates news from thousands of sources, highlighting media bias, reliability, and ownership. It aims to help users escape echo chambers and understand different perspectives on any story.

**Highlights:** News aggregation from 50K+ sources, Media bias and reliability analysis, Source ownership transparency, Avoid algorithmic echo chambers, Compare partisan topic coverage, Daily breaking news updates

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ground News Pro Monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Ground News Premium Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Ground News Pro Yearly | $9.99 | per year |
| Ground News Vantage Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Ground News Premium Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Ground News Premium Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Ground News Premium Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Ground News Premium Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| Ground News Premium Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| Ground News Vantage Yearly | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Unique and useful news service
- 👍 Refreshing to see multiple news sources
- 👍 Factuality checks are helpful
- 👍 Provides a balanced view of news stories
- 👍 Excellent news resource

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Subscription issues (e.g. unable to cancel, auto-renewal)
- 🔍 Too US-centric, lacking international news coverage
- 💸 Excessive ads and paywalls
- 🤔 Bias ratings may not always be accurate
- 🤔 Cluttered user interface

**Reported bugs**

- Notification issues (e.g. not clearing, inaccurate counts)
- Subscription recognition problems across devices
- Compatibility issues on older devices

**Requested features**

- Ability to customize news feed by region/country
- Improved navigation and reading experience
- Sync topics/preferences across devices
- Built-in news reader mode
- Ability to filter out paywalled articles


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Air Codes free?

Air Codes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Ground News free?

Ground News is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Air Codes or Ground News?

Ground News is rated higher. Air Codes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 451 ratings, while Ground News averages 4.7 from 49K ratings.

### Do Air Codes or Ground News have ads?

Neither Air Codes nor Ground News shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Air Codes or Ground News?

Air Codes ships an update daily, and Ground News fortnightly. Most recently, Air Codes was updated on November 6, 2026 and Ground News on November 10, 2026.

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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.*